Two months ago on August 1, the Institute of Public Relations Singapore (IPRS) successfully organised the “PR 2.0: Engaging Stakeholders in the New Media Landscape”, a full-day conference at the Suntec Convention Centre.
I was one of the eighty participants who had learnt a great deal from the prominent international media experts on how to turn the new media to our advantage.
The conference brought me to another dimension I never knew existed. It was a kaleidoscope of user-generated content at large. Unrestrained, unconventional, undeterred.
The potential of this new platform simply blew my mind!
Put it in PR terms, user-generated content such as blogs, online sharing, podcast etc have now surpassed traditional online forums or banner advertising. Word of mouth has now gone virtual. Media monitoring of blogs can even be done through a portal such as Technorati.
I shall now proclaim: PR folks, engage in new media! (But do not let your guards down…)
This is not a pitch and I hope you are well to read my blog.
As a new generation of Public Relations practitioners, I am always challenging traditional marketing mindsets to push the bounderies of what can essentially be communicated to drive a leading healthcare brand and its products. To begin with, the pharmaceutical industry is not just about big bucks – each product takes years of research and millions of investments to make it to the market. But not many people are aware of that.
With the influx of the new media, all of a sudden, Public Relations gets an instant upgrade. PR version 2 entails more than press releases and press conferences, but instead is about being highly visible and constantly accessible whereever you may be!
Formally a health writer, reporting about health-related issues was my passion. Now, handling regional Public Relations in a multinational healthcare company based in Singapore, engaging stakeholders through greater awareness is my goal.
At the end of the day, medicines saves or prolongs lives. If one patient benefits from learning about more, we shall continue to spread the benefits through Public Relations…
