{"id":7162,"date":"2016-07-07T14:57:27","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T18:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=7162"},"modified":"2018-08-09T16:11:46","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T20:11:46","slug":"brexit-european-public-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2016\/07\/07\/brexit-european-public-relations\/","title":{"rendered":"Brexit and the Future of European Public Relations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a world where global and cultural literacy is becoming increasingly important, public relations plays a vital role in various aspects of the international arena. From foreign diplomacy to domestic policy, it takes strategic communication skills to bring countries together and build support on both foreign and familiar soil.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In alliances such as the European Union (EU), building mutually beneficial relationships with fellow countries is especially imperative. However, with the recent elections in the United Kingdom (U.K.) signaling the island nation\u2019s impending departure from the EU, the EU and the public relations industry in Europe have been thrown a proverbial curveball. The impact of the June 23 decision called \u201cBrexit\u201d on the public relations industry has yet to be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7164\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7164\" style=\"width: 375px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/27323547984_9ef3a4456a_z.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7164\" src=\"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/27323547984_9ef3a4456a_z-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Photo courtesy of flickr.com.\" width=\"375\" height=\"211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/27323547984_9ef3a4456a_z-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/27323547984_9ef3a4456a_z-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/27323547984_9ef3a4456a_z-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/27323547984_9ef3a4456a_z.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7164\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo courtesy of flickr.com.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b>What is European public relations?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The public relations profession,<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.adweek.com\/prnewser\/pr-is-americas-best-creative-job\/107440\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recently named the best creative job in America<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, is still relatively young in other parts of the world. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Within Europe itself, the relationships forged by the economic and social ties within the EU bring into question the type of public relations strategy that can be applied to it as a whole, if such a strategy even exists. Is there a particularly \u201cEuropean\u201d style of public relations that can be applied to the entire EU?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In reality, the idea of an all-encompassing \u201cEuropean\u201d style of public relations doesn\u2019t exist. Like practices in the United States, each country has its own set of values and perceptions that practitioners need to tap into in order to have a maximum effect. In some countries, this can even span into qualities specific to certain regions, or even cities, qualities that still stand out even within alliances such as the EU.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the unity brought forth by alliances such as the European Union, it can be said that public relations still remains a uniquely targeted and strategic function, specified to its publics wherever they may be. \u00a0With the U.K.\u2019s impending exit, it may build a barrier between public relations professionals there and the relationships they create in continental Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Shaking up a young profession<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another factor in the future of European public relations is the relative immaturity of the industry as a standalone profession. While the field of public relations has grown as a profession, it is just now beginning to hit its heyday in Europe, where it has to navigate the various cultural boundaries that lie within it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The potential impact of Brexit has sparked discussion over the future of public relations in Europe, both in the U.K. and the EU. While this new development may help the industry cement itself as a standalone profession in the U.K. and form a uniquely U.K. style of public relations, it could also lead to a further cultural divide and stylistic conflict that could hamper practice across European borders. Brexit may send the U.K. towards its own type of public relations, but it may also allow for other countries to take the lead in the future of public relations in Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public relations is about relationships, and it is yet to be seen whether or not the U.K.\u2019s exit from the EU will be a positive or negative development for public relations practitioners interacting with the relationships between European countries. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In terms of U.S. practice, it\u2019s still just as unclear as to where Brexit could lead. While the EU does provide American practitioners and businesses easier access to and a smoother transition between different countries, Brexit could make an impact on U.S. practitioners working within Europe and the U.K. It could build stronger relationships within the U.K., further investment in continental Europe, or some combination of the two. Either way, big days are ahead across the pond. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drew Pendleton is a senior at The University of Alabama majoring in public relations and Spanish. He is currently the editorial director for <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/platformmagazine.org\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Platform Online Magazine<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the freelance editor for Mosaic Magazine and a media relations strategist for Capstone Agency, the university\u2019s student-run firm. He will serve as the publications committee leader for UA\u2019s PRSSA Chapter beginning in August. Connect with him on Twitter <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/drew_pendleton\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">@drew_pendleton<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/drewpendleton17\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LinkedIn<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or by email at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"mailto:ampendleton1@crimson.ua.edu\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ampendleton1@crimson.ua.edu<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a world where global and cultural literacy is becoming increasingly important, public relations plays a vital role in various aspects of the international arena. From foreign diplomacy to domestic policy, it takes strategic communication skills to bring countries together and build support on both foreign and familiar soil. In alliances such as the European Union (EU), building mutually beneficial [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2896],"tags":[2531,2532,40,601,2533],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7162"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7162"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7168,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7162\/revisions\/7168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}