PR, as already noted, is not a deception, but skillful information. Skillful means the informant knows what to say, who to speak, how to speak, and when. You can't lie. There is an Arabic saying on this topic: "The guilty tongue is cut off with the head." They also say that there is no such beastliness from which a skilled PR man would not cut himself a slice of ham, and this is also true. But it is not so easy to cut it off. People are willing to pay for things, but how do you get them to pay for words? Is that when it is already very "backed up", but this does not happen so often. Meanwhile, if they knew the history better, they would have a different attitude to PR. And then our media created a real scarecrow out of him. You read other newspaper material - you are afraid of yourself in the mirror. But in fact, all this is from lack of information.
Returning to the topic of the war, let's remember who won the famous Battle of Jutland? Some will say - the Germans, others - the British. Do you know why the outcome of this battle is controversial? It's all about competent PR for some and illiterate for others. And it was like this: when the orderly battered German fleet returned to its base (and it was closer to it than the British Grand Fleet), they arranged a magnificent meeting there. The Kaiser himself came there, awarded the commander of the fleet, and the newspapers immediately spread around the world a message about the grandiose victory of the German fleet over the British. And the British newspapers, for lack of information of their own, reprinted the German messages!
As for the British admirals Jellicoe and Beatty, they delayed their return to the bases (they just had to sail further), but most importantly, they started with reports of their sunk ships and dead sailors. Who was not on their ships? That's right: an experienced PR man!
Because as soon as the battle was over, they had to send the following message to the British newspapers: “… in 1916, the full German fleet went to sea to bombard the coastal cities and villages of Britain and bring destruction and death to our peaceful land. Our fleet in a fierce battle repelled the attack of the enemy and did not allow the implementation of his cruel plans, although it suffered certain losses. But the enemy ships eventually retreated in disgrace, leaving the battlefield for the British ships! Honor and glory to our hero sailors who defended their native land!"
Such a message in this case can be regarded as a press release, and … they, however, are told everything. The Germans wanted … they were not given … the place of the battle remained with us. Well, further it could already be written about the victory. And most importantly - well, who can say for sure why the Germans went to sea? Certainly, not to catch fish. Moreover, the British coast has already fired at their ships. So, everything is true, and our sailors defended our homes at the cost of their own death! This means that if someone nevertheless begins to inquire about the losses and talk about the incompetence of the sailors. And no matter what they say in Germany after that, the victory in this battle would have remained with the British!
But in 1939, a battle took place between British ships and the German "pocket battleship" "Admiral Count Spee", the outcome of which was just decided … by the skillful PR of the British. And it was like this: during the battle in the Gulf of La Plata "Admiral Count Spee" with three British cruisers, he inflicted quite severe damage on them (the heavy cruiser of the British "Exeter" immediately went to be repaired after the battle), however, he himself suffered, although not much. To fix himself, he went to the neutral port of Montevideo, and the two remaining English ships remained to watch him.
What were the British to do? To pull all the available forces to Montevideo? On time they did not have time! And then it was decided to use "information technology". The very next day, the British consul, who had received instructions from London, began to negotiate with the port authorities of Montevideo on the admission of "two large ships." And then local fishermen informed the Germans that they had met a large English ship with "big guns" at sea. "Which ship?" - the Germans asked them, and they answered: "Renaun". And the battlecruiser Renown was the worst threat to the pocket battleship. He could neither run away from him, nor fight with him on equal terms! The harbor prostitutes added despondency to the German sailors: “Lump, lump! they shouted to the German sailors. - Love for the last time!
And then a completely inexplicable thing happened. The heavy cruiser Cumberland, hurrying with all his might, approached the blocking ships, and the German observer officer on duty identified him in the rangefinder as … "Renaun"! They certainly say: fear has big eyes! But how could he confuse them? After all, Renown has two pipes, and Cumberland has three! Meanwhile, even with the "Cumberland" the British would have been weaker than the Germans, but the battleship commander contacted Hitler, explained everything as it was, asked for permission to sink the ship and got it!
With a massive crowd of people - that's a sight, so much a sight! - The Germans brought the battleship to the outer roadstead and sunk there, but since it was shallow there, they also set it on fire, and smashed the sights with hammers! The commander himself shot himself in a hotel in Buenos Aires, and his crew, who else, in a roundabout way went to "serve" to Germany. It is now clear (such a science as military psychology explains this well) that the identification error was associated with the panic mood of the team. But after all, who brought her to panic and, most importantly, how ?!
The last example is from a series of anecdotes, but it is known to all PR people as an example of the effectiveness of rumors, which they are also taught to launch, and there are very effective technologies that have been repeatedly tested in practice. So, during the war with the guerrillas in the Philippines, it was found that they are afraid of … vampires! Big bats, supposedly biting sleeping and drinking all the blood from them! Then rumors began to spread intensively on this topic, and then they completely planted the corpse of the insurgent, completely drained of blood and, moreover, with two holes on the neck. As a result, they left the area without firing a shot!
And the rumors about the imminent end of the world, which three years ago were not circulated only by the lazy? It seems to be an "innocent horror story" - to tickle the nerves. Well, after all, as a result of this "horror story", the Russians lost 30 billion rubles. That is, they did not lose, of course, but they simply moved from the pockets of some people to the pockets of others! For example, kits "End of the World" were sold (there was a bag of buckwheat, "sprat in a tomato", a candle, a Chinese flashlight, etc.), and people bought them on the principle "on the farm and the rope will fit" and "no matter what happens" … But all this was only sold at retail, and purchased in bulk, so the profit margin was just off scale!
There is also the so-called event management in PR - the management of people through events. They are designed and then embodied in holidays, mass events, the purpose of which seems to be the same, but in fact, it is completely different! For example, during the "Gulf War", the American military delivered journalists by helicopters to the battle zone, where Iraqi tanks were still burning down, the uncleared corpses of Iraqi soldiers were lying, spent cartridges and even randomly flown shells exploded. But all this was a specially organized setting, and they were transported on helicopters on purpose, because in the air people lose their orientation!
By the way, this is why the West does not like our reports from Donbass so much. Both in scale and in the number of participants, it simply cannot be any "event", and what can be opposed to this? But nothing! And this is what annoys Western news-makers the most!
By the way, what is the most effective way to deal with rumors? After all, rumor is something ephemeral … And here is how the British did it during the Second World War. The Germans, in their radio broadcasts to the British, reported high losses among the British troops, which gave rise to panic rumors. Then the BBC began to deliberately overestimate its losses and underestimate the German losses, so that Goebbels' propaganda was powerless to outplay them! After that, the British stopped believing rumors about their own failures, and the BBC began to be considered the most truthful radio station in the world! To publish the rumor in print means to kill him altogether!
So, unfortunately, people are very, very manageable, no matter how they say “I do not believe”. Properly organized information affects everyone. And just those who with aplomb declare “I don’t believe”, most often they fall for the bait of experienced PR specialists! And therefore, the role and importance of PR in the modern world only increases over the years, because the number of people on planet Earth is also growing!
P. S. Perhaps the best series about the work of PR people that you can watch today is "Absolute Power". The film is played by Stephen Fry and John Bird.
