What does a public relations specialist do? Advertising and public relations - what it is and who to go to work with. What does an advertising and public relations specialist do?

With the change in the life of the state, its political and socio-economic restructuring, many innovations came into the life of society. Changes also affected the areas of education, careers and the labor market. Many new positions have been added to the list of staff positions, the definition of which is still not familiar to many, although these specialists have been working for more than 20 years for the benefit of domestic companies and businesses of various levels. A similar question often arises about the specialty « Advertising and public relations": what kind of profession is this, what are the prospects after receiving such an education, where to go for a university graduate with such a note in the diploma.

Next, we examine from all sides the definition of a profession, the list of included disciplines, demand, salary expectations and other important components for applicants to educational institutions, people planning to change their usual course of life, and business owners who are in search of magical personnel who will take their business to the skies.

Determination of direction and scope of activity

“Advertising and public relations” is a specialty that became necessary during the transition to a market economy. Many individual objects of private property, private business, promotion of one’s own goods and services on the basis of competition require the use of specific methods and techniques of influence and promotion. In order to balance at the desired level, an entrepreneur must constantly be in communication with his audience, represent the interests of the organization and announce his products. Advertising and PR (Public Relations) professionals help carry out this procedure competently and with the desired result.

A specialist with such an education can find a job in any field, any organization, regardless of the level and value of business assets and social orientation. Nowadays, public relations are needed in politics, in the public sector, and in the sectors of small, medium and large enterprises. There are also highly specialized agencies involved in creating and promoting brands, launching and setting up advertising campaigns. If you didn’t manage to get a full-time position in a large company, gain experience in an agency under the supervision of an experienced PR manager.

What does an advertising and public relations specialist do?

The basis of the work of a specialist in this area is communication skills. By influencing the public with certain behavioral patterns and techniques, a PR manager must form public opinion about his employer - about a company, a brand, a specific product or service. The client (employer) of a specialist can be a specific commercial or government organization, a foundation, a social movement, political figures, show business stars, and others. The main tasks of a professional include the following:

  • control over the work of the press service;
  • formation and control of the advertising campaign process;
  • holding events to improve the client’s image (concerts, exhibitions, promotions, public works, etc.);
  • planning events and advertising campaigns in an operational and long-term mode;
  • adjusting the course of the advertising campaign in case of force majeure situations and loss of control;
  • creation and distribution of promotional materials;
  • conducting surveys, questionnaires, collecting and processing incoming information, analytics and reporting.

Depending on the specifics of the work, the list of tasks and functions can be expanded or reduced. It all depends on the budget allocated for promotion, the number of staff, the presence of related professionals (for example, marketers), and the scale of work.

Training of specialists

The profession ranks high in demand. Although many people graduate from educational institutions, courses and trainings in this area, there are few truly good specialists in this field. We are ready to wait for creative, efficient and knowledgeable professionals in their craft and pay them decently. A sensible entrepreneur always understands how important the public’s attitude to his business is and how difficult it is to create an ideological shell around a brand without the services of an advertising professional.

Now the specialty is taught in higher educational institutions of global and national importance, secondary vocational institutions, in MINI-MBA courses, in training and coaching modes. Anyone can learn, even on their own – there is a lot of freely available materials on this topic. But still, the full scope of disciplines can be mastered and fully understood only by studying with a competent lecturer.

Complex of disciplines studied

Studying at a university involves a four-year course including more than 40 specialized and general disciplines. An advertising and public relations specialist must be truly versatile and erudite:

  • a special emphasis is placed on subjects related to the humanities: psychology, sociology, social science, cultural studies, philosophy;
  • No less important are related disciplines: economics, marketing, finance, management;
  • The following subjects are specific in the direction: rhetoric, basics of communications, history of media, PR technologies, social media, design and others.

Taken together, all this knowledge gives the specialist an idea of ​​what the product should look like, what its usefulness is for people, how to present it, how to beautifully present the product and attract attention.

Basic admission requirements

Admission to a university is possible for applicants who have completed 11 classes of a secondary school or have completed training at a secondary vocational educational institution (college). In the first case, you must pass the Unified State Exam in three subjects:

  • history or foreign language;
  • Russian language;
  • social studies (major subject).

After receiving the SPO, you do not need to take the Unified State Exam. The examination is conducted orally or in writing in an interview format.

Recruitment of students is proceeding as usual. Budget places are given to applicants with the highest scores. Others who wish can continue their studies on a commercial basis. Prices for a year of study vary from university to university. The cost per year ranges from 25,000 to 198,000 rubles. Metropolitan universities offer prices at the upper end. Regional educational institutions are more democratic in this matter. If a specialist decides to undergo retraining or advanced training courses, the payment will be about 15,000 rubles.

Where to work after graduation

The further fate of graduates of the specialty largely depends on personal ambitions, abilities and communication skills. For aspiring advertising and public relations specialists in the following areas:


Salary offers vary depending on experience, personality characteristics, knowledge and field of activity. At the initial stage, a specialist can receive 20,000 rubles at a permanent place of work (press, media, glossy publications, advertising agency). With remote or free-lance employment, income can be from several thousand per month at the start. Reputable specialists earn several hundred thousand a month. There is no ceiling on earnings, so everything depends only on the specialist.

In contact with

The beginning of the 21st century was marked by the development of all spheres of life. At the same time, a number of new professions emerged, including public relations specialist.

Job responsibilities of a PR specialist

Every enterprise cares about his image, and a PR specialist helps him with this. It is he who is responsible for relations with the media, deals with the promotion of the company’s goods or services on the market, as well as issues of advertising placement.

PR specialists are involved in all areas of activity, because thanks to their work an opinion is created about a person or company. Politicians, public figures, stars of art and show business - they all use the services of PR specialists, and in our time Their popularity and success depend on good PR.

The responsibilities of a PR specialist are varied:

  • He is responsible for holding various press conferences and events.
  • Engaged in holding events that can have a beneficial impact on the image of the company and brand, in particular participation in charity events.
  • Provides assistance in conducting marketing research and advertising campaigns.

In addition, the PR specialist is responsible for promoting the company brand, writing advertising content, working with company employees.

What qualities and skills should a PR specialist have?

Knowledge and a diploma alone are not enough to become a good PR manager. A good PR specialist should have the following qualities and skills:

  • Preferably higher education in the humanities in areas such as psychology, journalism, marketing, advertising, PR.
  • A PR specialist must be a good psychologist, since his work is directly related to people, and must be able to find an approach to any person. His work is related to advertising, so the PR specialist must be able to express his thoughts beautifully and competently.
  • Besides this he must be communicative creative, sociable, presentable, speak a foreign language, have knowledge of the specifics of the advertising market. He must also be responsible, purposeful, and a good speaker.

This is a partial list of qualities and skills that a public relations professional should have.

Education

Public relations - faculty, which is now very popular among applicants. Almost all universities have this department.

But a university diploma alone is not enough to become a successful specialist in this field. Most employers firmly believe that a good PR specialist must have, in addition to a diploma, knowledge in the field of psychology, journalism, marketing, and sociology.

They must be a kind of universal specialists, have a broad outlook, extensive knowledge in many areas. And, in addition to knowledge, to become a good specialist you need experience.

Scope of activity of a PR manager

The profession of a public relations specialist is very popular and involved in all areas.

Every company, regardless of the scale and scope of its activities, needs a good reputation, advertising, promotion of goods or services. It is for this purpose that a company hires a public relations specialist.

PR managers are needed both in government structures and authorities, as well as in commercial enterprises. Government officials also use the services of PR specialists in order to raise their rating in the eyes of the public.

Every year, the country's universities graduate hundreds and thousands of PR specialists. The reality is that the most persistent, strong individuals remain. Talent is needed, but without fortitude it is impossible to survive in this area.

Pros and cons of the profession

Like any profession, public relations has its advantages and disadvantages.

The obvious advantage of the specialty is the likelihood of professional growth. PR manager in progress meets many people Thus, he makes new acquaintances. The main advantage is the demand for the profession in the modern world.

Jobs of a public relations specialist - a constant whirlpool of events. They have irregular work schedules, frequent business trips, trips. In addition, obvious disadvantages include the high pace of work, psychological and emotional overload.

When talking about the disadvantages of the profession, you need to understand that everything is individual, and if some people like measured, calm work, then for others, work in constant tension brings pleasure.

Summarizing all of the above, we can come to the conclusion that, despite the demand for the profession, it requires dedication, love for one’s work, strength of character, and endurance.

As you know, absolutely everyone in Russia understands two things – politics and football. Everyone knows how to run a country and how to win a World Cup. However, sometimes it seems that in the field of PR, or, in Russian, public relations, every first person in our country is a major specialist. There is an opinion that this profession does not require any special skills other than a well-spoken tongue. Let's try to figure out if this is really so.

Average salary: 38,000 rubles per month

Demand

Payability

Competition

Entry barrier

Prospects

The image of the profession and its essence

The image of a creative slacker, whom language brought to a stable salary, is strictly ingrained in society. In another interpretation, a public relations manager is an anecdotal “PR girl.” Like any copy of the Western model, before taking its rightful place in Russian reality, the profession of a PR specialist has come a long way through criticism, misunderstanding, silent acceptance - to the realization of its necessity.

What is this incomprehensible public and why do you need to contact it?

If we give a clear definition, then Public Relations is the provision of a favorable information environment around the subject.

The subject can be either a private commercial company or a government agency. In addition, a separate project can become a subject, be it a book, an art exhibition, or even an invention.

The market economy, among other things, introduced foreign business models into Russian reality and established new rules of the game. And one of these rules - transparency of companies' activities for investors, the state, consumers, and society. It is not just about tax returns and annual accounts, but also about ensuring that there is sufficient information about the company and its work, creating a positive public opinion, creating the right reputation and increasing the weight and authority of the company. This is if we are talking about the commercial sphere. Government structures, of course, have their own rules, but these structures do not exist in a vacuum - and one way or another they are obliged to inform the public about their actions.

We live in the information age. And the task of a PR specialist is to make information work for themselves, and not vice versa.

Advertising Connection

PR activity is at the intersection of advertising, marketing, sociology of communication and journalism. By the way, quite often many people confuse advertising and PR. Moreover, according to the latest version of the educational standard, the specialty that bachelors receive is called “Advertising and Public Relations.”

Unlike advertising, PR does not set itself the task of selling or selling. His task is to form an opinion and convey information correctly. Therefore, a PR specialist must first of all learn to work with information. You need to develop the skills of searching and processing information, learn to present it correctly and competently: at the next stage, he will have to identify exactly the audience that needs this information, choose a method of delivering information. And after all this is done and the message is sent "to the masses", he must obtain feedback from the "public".

When choosing this profession, you must be prepared to play the role of a one-man orchestra every day for an encore. A PR specialist is a press secretary, copywriter, event manager, strategist and journalist rolled into one. Of course, ideally managers should work as a team - and each person should have their own function. But the desire to save human resources and “optimize” business leads to the fact that most often all these functions are combined in one employee.

What to read

What books should you read before deciding to choose this particular profession? Oddly enough, here it is best to recommend fiction, and not textbooks and “working notes” of honored figures in the field of communications. It is unlikely that today something better has been written about the career of a PR specialist than the book “They Smoke Here” by Christopher Buckley, and something more interesting has been filmed than the film “Cunning” (there are several options for translating the title of this film into Russian, in the original it sounds like “Wag the Dog”). And in order to get rid of unnecessary illusions, George Orwell’s book “1984” is a must-read.

Practice or theory?

Although recently almost every major university has opened a department of public relations, higher education in this area has not yet achieved serious success. And most often, PR specialists come from related fields - journalism, sociology, even philology. Moreover, only recently have truly useful and serious textbooks begun to appear, most often based on the experience of their authors. After all, initially PR in Russia was built almost on an intuitive level. Foreign developments helped, but their adaptation to Russian reality also took a sufficient amount of time.

Public relations is a strictly practice-oriented specialty. You can try to understand the basics of communication theory, learn (finally!) the rules of the Russian language, memorize the structure of Maslow’s pyramid of needs, and so on. But only practice allows you to really understand what’s what in this area. However, it will never be possible to “know everything.” PR is a constant learning from your own and others’ mistakes, it is analysis and introspection.

What to study

Let's try to translate these arguments into the plane of knowledge and skills that need to be acquired and developed.

Of course, communication skills are the basis of everything: personal communication skills, negotiation skills.

It is also necessary to learn how to work with sources: documents, the media and their representatives.

Let’s not forget about competent oral and written communication: anecdotes about the already mentioned “PR girls” were born mainly from press releases with grammatical errors and unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with journalists.

The choice of target audience most often follows from strategic and marketing objectives. Therefore, you will still have to delve into the essence and specifics of the activities of the company you work for. Yes, and you need to expand your horizons in any case. Methods of delivering information are standard in most cases, but no one will stop you from inventing something new. It is at this stage that creativity begins...

One can talk endlessly about the tasks that a PR specialist faces in the course of his daily work. Moreover, each area has its own specific issues and problems that cannot be known to an outside observer.

Work experience

You should begin to accumulate experience during your studies. I in no way encourage you to skip lectures in search of a job, but I also don’t recommend neglecting various internships.

PR specialists can find work under the wing of the company and become full-time employees (most often they are assigned to marketing departments so that they are closer to the consumer). Or they can join a team of their own kind at one of the many communications agencies.

It is clear that the great work of forming public opinion begins with small things - with assistant work, with the preparation of press releases and editing other people's texts, with coordination work in the preparation of events. In the future, functions and responsibilities will grow exponentially - and it will be time for planning, searching for non-standard solutions, and managing processes. This path is approximately the same for both a full-time employee of a company and an agency project manager.

The media is the main tool and lever of work. Therefore, it will be quite useful to get into the shoes of a journalist, at least for a short time, that is, to be “on the other side of the barricades.” Even if it’s to be a freelance writer for a local newspaper. In any case, the experience you will gain is invaluable.

Prospects

There is a lot of debate now about whether the PR profession in its current form will die out with the advent of the social media era. Discussions and round tables are being held, workers are frantically studying Western experience of working in the virtual space. Even beautiful definitions are given for new types of activities - SocialMedia Marketing, New Media PR. And it is no longer possible to ignore these new ways of delivering information and receiving feedback. But learning to work with them is possible and necessary.

***

Until now, PR specialists often face a lack of understanding of their purpose and their work on the part of the very “general public” with whom they try to contact every day. However, once you think about it, it becomes clear that most of our judgments and opinions are the result of the subtle and painstaking work of PR managers. Remember what book or movie you discussed with your friends yesterday. Are you sure that you learned about them directly from space? Remember what motives prompted you to go or not go to the recent elections. Think about why you bought and read this particular magazine or visited this particular news portal today. As newsmakers like to say - no comments.

The most common entrance exams:

  • Russian language
  • Mathematics (basic level)
  • Social studies is a core subject, at the choice of the university
  • History - at the choice of university
  • Foreign language - at the choice of the university

Advertising and PR (public relations) are two popular niches that are closely related to each other. They represent a wide field where a talented and ambitious professional can realize his potential. Today, specialty 42.03.01 “Advertising and Public Relations” is one of the most popular, which does not mean oversaturation of the market. Employers highly value true masters of their craft and are willing to pay what they deserve for their work.

Admission conditions

This course is designed to train masters who have a command of words, are familiar with the trends of society and are ready to use their knowledge to achieve a specific goal. Here, professional implementation is impossible without deep linguistic knowledge, as well as familiarity with social phenomena. What subjects are required to be taken by applicants:

  • social studies (profile exam);
  • Russian language;
  • history or foreign language.

Future profession

A graduate with a bachelor's degree will be able to deal with communication processes that occur at different levels and in different areas. At the same time, he will understand the methods, techniques and technologies of communications, which can be business or personal. By working with words during the learning process, he will be able to create materials that promote certain products, companies or organizations. How well public opinion will be formed depends on his skills.

Where to apply

The most popular direction can be mastered at universities in Moscow and Russia, choosing the best universities:

  • Moscow State Mechanical Engineering University;
  • Moscow Technical University of Communications and Information;
  • Russian New University;
  • Moscow Humanitarian University;
  • International Academy of Business and Management.

Training period

The bachelor's degree program is designed for four years of study (if admitted on the basis of the eleventh grade for full-time study). Choosing a part-time/mixed/evening course means extending your studies for another year.

Disciplines included in the course of study

This specialty requires in-depth familiarity with the following subjects:

Acquired skills

What functions will a graduate with a bachelor's degree be able to perform:

  • management and organization of the work of the press service, advertising company;
  • carrying out events aimed at promoting goods/companies, improving the image of companies;
  • operational planning and control in the field of advertising and public relations;
  • creation of advertising products;
  • advertising distribution;
  • organization of marketing research, surveys, questionnaires and participation in them;
  • mediation between authorities and commercial companies;
  • working to improve social processes at the enterprise;
  • creation of a personnel management system of increased efficiency.

Job prospects by profession

A good specialist who has completed a bachelor’s degree in this field will take his place in any government organization or commercial structure. He may work in an agency that deals with public relations or advertising. As an option, there is the opportunity to get a job in any media, in the press service of an enterprise/government body. Such workers are in demand in antimonopoly associations and election campaign headquarters. They can engage in business consulting and formation of a political image.

What do graduates of the direction do:

  • political strategist;
  • press attache;
  • stand attendant;
  • manager - BTL, PR, GR, FR;
  • image maker;
  • copywriter;
  • media planner;
  • political strategist

The income levels of such specialists may vary significantly. It depends on the place of employment, the ability to use the acquired knowledge and skills. Traditionally, graduates already earn at least 30-40 thousand, but after gaining practical experience they can count on a salary many times more.

Advantages of Master's Degree Studies

A master's program is, first of all, about gaining practical experience. In addition, in the process of mastering it, the student consolidates his competencies, deepening his knowledge. Modern universities do not forget about the study of foreign languages, which are necessary against the backdrop of globalization and strengthening interstate relations.

After completing the master's program, the graduate will be able to engage in management activities in the field of PR and advertising. Such professionals are in demand in the labor market, and having deep knowledge of foreign languages, they can realistically aspire to the international level.

 

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