PR is a business science that faces an accelerated evolution. Bozidar Novak, the founder of SPEM Communication group is one of the communication experts that pushes business of strategic communications on the top of agenda of many big companies. To put it simply, in the past the Public Relations agencies did 80% of their work directly managing contacts with media and supplying them stories, nowadays well over 50% of expert communication consultancy time goes to educating and leading the top management of the client.
Every company has to take ongoing efforts to build sustainable image within the array of different stakeholders. Public Relations people like Bozidar Novak have are in a role of strategic partners with client’s executive board, making client’s life easier once a crisis situation happens. They are needed as prevention experts more than for cleaning up after the crisis already occurred. We should all remember that there is that small, repeatedly overlooked word in the term “Public Relations”, a word called Relations!
Therefore Bozidar Novak suggests that Public Relations need to be a self-understanding and all present part of each strategically oriented company, especially if the company quotes on stock market. The reputation has a “best before” date, and this date is just before the crisis happens. There is too much on stake for a responsible company to gamble with its international image, and there are good financial reasons why not to do it as well. A lack of clearly managed Public Relations function within a company is worse than having no PR function at all, especially in times of crisis. The consequences of not having communication experts on board are extremely unpleasant.
Bozidar Novak SPEM witnessed many bad communication decisions that ruined the reputation of some successful companies worldwide. If perception oriented company loses its reputation, it loses all – Bozidar Novak “Crisis communications 2000″. Bozidar Novak spent over 20 years as strategic communication consultant in the Adriatic region.