ECONOMICALLY?
Southern America and Latin America are facing political, economic and social challenges, because the continent is becoming a major player in the global marketplace. State-owned industries are becoming privatized, democratic and economic reforms are continuing, trade barriers are eliminated, export is rising, consumerism is increasing and there are more foreign investors in the business field - like Finnish UPM and Stora Enso.
IN MEDIA ENVIRONMENT?
Media environment is also changing rapidly: media is moving away from an informal system, in which reporters and journalists were paid to publish stories. Journalists are freer to express their opinions and the number of media outlets is growing. For example in Brazil there were almost 1.000 magazines and thousands of radio stations already in 1998. During these last ten years, the number has increased rapidly.
IN PR FIELD?
Alan Freitag and Ashli Q. Stokes state that the profession is highly valued and it has become institutionalized with legal support and scientific research studies. PR practitioners see their role as practitioners concerned with ethics, social responsibility, community well-being and government harmony.
The most important thing to remember is that practitioners should adopt tailored approaches for each country, because each country has a long complex history and understanding these origins will help today’s practitioners to be prepared for a dynamic public relations environment. For example Brazil has changed from colonialism to a federal republic – and again from dictatorship to democracy! History might be the reason why public relation practitioners in Brazil are concerned with social environments.
It’s fundamentally important to recognize that US standards for public relations won’t work in Latin America. Campaigns that are planned for US standards might fail because they would not be designed for effectiveness in different cultures.
Reference: Alan R. Freitag & Ashli Quesinberry Stokes. 2008. Global Public Relations – Spanning borders, spanning cultures. 1. ed. New York: Routledge. Pages: 206-211.
Writer: Katja Ruokamo
Posts
In this book I think we all can find useful information. Some Finnish companies has challenges in these markets, but in my opion UPM has succeeded better than Stora Enso.
ReplyDeleteWhat you think Katta? Do you have some information about this?
Sure, Freitags and Stokes book is very informative and in my point of view, also modern. You can find the electrical version via Google. Please feel free to use it as a source material. :)
ReplyDeleteStora Enso has had conflicts in Brazil due to cultural differences and communication difficulties. There has been claims about money laundering and illegal expansion of eucalyptus plantations. I'm planning to write more about Stora Ensos conflicts later on! Stay tuned! :)
:Katja
Thank you Katja for interesting text..I'm looking forward your text about Stora Ensos conflicts. I find it really fascinating case.
ReplyDeleteI agree that they have different culture and own PR-strategies in South America. We must always take account the culture.
ReplyDeleteHow about the situation of ethnic minorities? How they are seen in PR? What about powerty in Latin America? These are the questions, that are missing in PR.
ReplyDelete