Global Public Relations
1
Abstract
This study explores how public relations professionals at public relations firms, especially those
who are specialized in international public relations, manage their job and work with global clients.
It also examines how these professionals’ practices coincide with the global theory of public
relations, “generic principles and specific applications” in public relations. While most theoretical
principles are based on organizations’ perspectives, I attempt to focus more on the voices of public
relations professionals working at firms, or agencies, and investigate issues surrounding the reality
of public relations professionals in international settings. Through in-depth interviews with senior
public relations professionals, I also examine the professionals’ perspectives on how to
communicate with their international clients, how to manage differences, and what they recommend
as the most effective practices of international public relations based on their experiences.
The findings show that public relations professionals try to balance general principles and
specific applications in their practice. However, their unique identity as consultants makes it
difficult to follow all the principles; the relationship with clients as individuals plays an important
role. The best approach to
the practice of public relations in an international setting is the mixture of
both the global and the local approach, or local implementation under a global consistency, with
providing local practitioners latitude under clear guidelines and goals of clients.
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Convention