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Inside The Minds
50
The chief executive’s reputation and his or her ability to
develop a top-notch senior-management team are also
critical factors to consider when developing a company’s
communication initiatives. Security analyst presentations
serve as a good example of how important these factors are.
At the presentation, security analysts will listen to the chief
executive’s report on the company’s performance, analyze
the company’s quarterly results and listen to the chief
executive’s answers to analysts’ questions. The chief
executive not only interprets company activity, but also
delivers a sense of confidence and hope and the company’s
future goals. Communications help convey the chief
executive’s values and capabilities, while helping to
interpret company activity and then create a foundation
upon which future goals can be built. Analysts will make a
judgment on whether the chief executive is trustworthy and
able to deliver on his or her promises.
In addition, innovative public relations often include
brainstorming sessions that serve as opportunities for
groups of professionals to talk through and build upon
shared, multiple ideas. Well-organized brainstorming
sessions that feature the right mix of participants who
generate the energy needed to uncover fresh approaches
and innovative strategies can result in communications
target audiences understand and strongly respond to.
Regarding changes in the industry, I would like a serious
understanding between clients and agencies that client
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51


presentations – not capabilities presentations, but rather
those with original ideas, recommendations, strategic
thinking, or creative work – are paid for by prospective
clients. I believe public relations firms would approach the
assignment more thoughtfully and that clients would
receive an even better work product. Public relations firms
have one key asset – their people, combined with their
individual and collective experiences. To give that away
doesn’t make sense.
Success in Public Relations
To succeed in public relations, a person must approach
communicating with the public from the perspective that
individuals have the inherent ability to make the right
decision for themselves, as long as they possess a strong
foundation upon which to base those decisions. The
information that a public relations professional provides the
public should reflect this perspective and be presented with
honesty and respect for others’ beliefs. Spinning
information is disrespectful to others because it presumes a
person can manipulate the decisions of others. Successful
public relations relies on setting priorities and keeping the
public perspective a top priority.
Having a high degree of respect for an individual’s ability
to develop information from his or her own perspective
results in the public relations professional providing useful
Inside The Minds
52
information. If individuals receive useful information in an
interesting, creative, engaging, and exciting way, then they
will be far more likely to listen to it, absorb it, process it,

and make decisions based upon it, whether they are stock-
purchase, career, or political decisions.
Communications with the public must also be
straightforward. Public relations professionals need to have
the ability to step back from the situation and determine
whether their target audience members received and
understood the message they delivered, were able to act
upon the message, and obtained value as a result of their
services. Delivering value can be anything from selling
cases of shampoo to raising investor confidence in a
company.
The following guidelines can assist public relations
professionals when creating communications that are both
timely and relevant to their target audience:
R
Read newspapers, magazines, and books; watch
television; listen to the radio; go online; and become
media savvy.
R
Supplement participation in local industry events with
professional and social activities in other industries and
regions to understand what is appreciated and desired in
different markets.
R
Understand different attitudes and behaviors, while also
recognizing the unique position of target audiences.
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53
This understanding helps public relations professionals
develop a unique, innovative campaign that meets the

client’s objectives.
R
Obtain insight into specific media. Public relations
professionals work through the media and other third
parties to win media coverage and deliver an
understanding of what a particular company does and
why.
People need three key skills if they want to lead a public
relations firm. First, being responsible for a client
relationship of some size, probably larger than $1 million in
fee income. Second, gaining international experience.
Third, managing a P&L – managing a business to make a
profit so that there is a return for investors.
From a broader perspective, motivating, developing, and
properly managing people are critical skills. You have to
communicate clearly and often. And you absolutely must
understand what’s on their minds. After all, in public
relations, people are our product.
The greatest challenge international firms face is building
and shaping knowledge, as well as best practices, across the
globe. This means public relations professionals have to be
equally sophisticated everywhere in the world in how they
work for clients, regardless of where or when. This also
means they have to operate 24/7. Sometimes this can be
Inside The Minds
54
difficult, but it is what the international or global client
wants.
What this means for our firm is twofold: First, the scope of
the work and the expectation must be clear and realistic.

Second, we must commit ourselves to a different kind of
training – we need to use technology to transfer more and
more knowledge to our people around the world. We must
also have a team at the ready, so they can act quickly and
flexibly in sending talented staff to other parts of the world
to help our staff learn, grow, and develop the skills the
client expects of them. This makes knowledge a key
strategy for the future – developing it, sharing it, and
making it available to every part of our world, all for the
benefit of delivering value to the client.
For this reason, knowledge is a key strategic platform for
our firm. We have built our own online university, with
client-devoted intranet sites to share skills around the
world, pioneer our own original research into reputation
and the Internet, and devote considerable resources to
training.
Because of external circumstances and because public
relations is not performed in a vacuum, there are no
specific, traditional standards to measure success, such as
frequency in reach, which is used to gauge success in
advertising. Some public relations companies use
shareholder, consumer awareness, customer and employee
The Art of Public Relations
55
satisfaction, and public-opinion surveys to measure the
success of their programs. Ideally, the first survey is
performed before the campaign begins, with the second
survey performed six to eight months later to track the
campaign’s progress. Because of the expense, however,
companies are often reluctant to make the necessary

investment. In addition, many companies prefer to survey
the reputation of a brand – its relevance in the marketplace
and distinguishing features. But results can be unreliable
because of the tremendous influence advertising has on a
brand.
Although it may be difficult for a public relations firm to
measure the success of a campaign, a proven approach is
not the number of times a particular audience received a
particular message, but rather the quality of the message
and the target audience member’s actions that were based
upon it. Success also lies in understanding the client and
the public, and the public relations company’s ability to
blend with the client.
Public relations has become both art and science – the
research makes it a science, and the understanding of the
public makes it an art. The need to have a strong grasp of
the corporate mission is underscored by behavior. The
public relations professional must understand the messages
a company wants to communicate and, just as importantly,
who the desired public is, what their perceptions are, what
they believe is the real story, and what type of information
Inside The Minds
56
they need or want to make a particular decision. Real
public relations understands the message from a corporate
standpoint, but also from the individual’s standpoint –
specifically, where he or she is in terms of the company’s
perceptions. To achieve success in public relations, these
perceptions must be addressed directly and honestly.
Christopher P. A. Komisarjevsky is president and chief

executive officer of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, one of
the world’s leading communications consulting firms.
Before joining Burson-Marsteller in 1995, Mr.
Komisarjevsky was president and chief executive officer of
Gavin Anderson & Company, a public relations subsidiary
of Omnicom, and was responsible for the firm’s U.S.
operations.
Before Gavin Anderson, Mr. Komisarjevsky held a series of
senior leadership positions at Hill and Knowlton, Inc.
During his 20-year career there, he served as president and
chief executive officer of the firm’s Europe, Middle East,
and Africa operations, and chief executive of its Carl Byoir
& Associates subsidiary. Mr. Komisarjevsky also served as
head of the firm’s New York office and Corporate Practice.
Mr. Komisarjevsky has been responsible for public
relations and public affairs activities for major corporate
and trade association clients in a number of industries,
including financial services, building materials,
The Art of Public Relations
57
entertainment, pharmaceuticals, healthcare,
communications, real estate, management consulting, and
consumer products. He also has extensive experience in
crisis management and labor negotiations.
In addition to being a widely published author of articles
on a variety of public relations topics, Mr. Komisarjevsky
has lectured on communications and business at Spain’s
Instituto de Empresa, Switzerland's International Institute
for Management Development, and the New York
University Graduate School.

Mr. Komisarjevsky holds a master’s degree in business
administration, has performed graduate work in German
literature and international affairs in the United States and
Europe, has attended the Wharton School, and holds a
bachelor’s degree in political science.
A 1996 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Mr.
Komisarjevsky serves on the boards of a number of not-for-
profit organizations and is a trustee of EQ Advisors Trust.
Mr. Komisarjevsky also served in the U.S. Army from 1967
to 1972 as a captain, helicopter pilot, instructor pilot, flight
commander, and plans officer, serving in Vietnam with the
First Cavalry Division in 1969 and 1970.

The Art of Public Relations
59
THE CREATION OF TRUST
R
ICH
J
ERNSTEDT
Golin/Harris International
Chief Executive Officer

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