Diversity today, action tomorrow?

Diverse, multicultural, inclusive. Or white, middleclass and exclusive. Which description fits best the PR industry? asks Gro Elin Hansen

Understanding and targeting the right audience – the mantra of good PR. How many speeches have you listened to and books have you read that have included those seemingly magical words? We all know their meaning, but do we really know how to practice them when it comes to reaching Britain’s ethnic communities? Or more importantly, do we actually practice them?

According to Bieneosa Ebite MCIPR, the answer is a definite no. The daughter of Nigerian parents and a well-established communications officer herself, her description is of an industry that has not yet seen the potential of recruiting practitioners from ethnic backgrounds and is unable to target ethnic audiences as part of a public relations campaign. “If you’re not doing this,” she says, “you’re in effect saying that these people don’t exist.”

The figures
The 2001 Census showed that 7.9% of the population classified themselves a non-white. It predicts that by 2010, 30% of the population in metropolitan cities will be from ethnic communities. In his CIPR Guide to Ethnic Marketing and Public Relations, Ardi Kolah FCIPR points out that increasing ethnic and cultural diversity – like other forms of societal change – represents both a threat and an opportunity to marketers.

In 2003, data published by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) – based upon a profile of staff within its member agencies – indicated that, amongst those agencies which retain ethnic diversity information, 95.7% are from a white, British background. Amongst the rest of the staff, 1.4% are classified as black, 1.3% Asian, 0.8% are mixed, and 0.8% from other backgrounds. Similar figures are likely to be found in the PR industry. According to a PRWeek survey from September last year, only 4% of all PR account managers in the UK have ethnic backgrounds.

Two sides of public relations
Bieneosa Ebite’s first experience of PR came while working for Western Union, the global money transfer provider. Her job involved liaising with African, Caribbean, Asian and Eastern European communities in the UK. "Everything was focused on diverse groups,” she says. ”We utilised the skills of smaller agencies that specialised in ethnic marketing, as well as our own. It was easy to communicate with our customers because we understood where they were coming from and were not afraid to use the ethnic press and community events to reach them. Business wise it made very much sense.”

A few years into her job, she decided to study for the CIPR Diploma in Public Relations. From being used to operating in a multicultural work environment, she saw the other side to PR. "In my group at the London campus, I was the only non-white student.”

Whilst writing her thesis on diversity in PR, Bieneosa compared the situation in the UK to that of the US. “The US PR industry is far more advanced in its approach to multicultural audiences. In the UK we haven't yet smelled the coffee – mass communication is still the common tool,” she notes. According to an article in The Strategist, the Public Relations Society of America’s magazine, ‘the Hispanic market is hot right now. Corporate America is in a feverish rush to cash in on this booming and lucrative market. PR practitioners and communications professionals who continue to ignore this waking giant do so at their own peril’.

Perceptions of PR
So why is the UK lagging behind? Bieneosa sees two reasons for the gap. "Firstly, in many ethnic communities, there's a traditional notion of what leads to a prosperous future. For the parents who came from Africa, the Caribbean or south-east Asia in the early 60s, it’s extremely important to secure their children’s future. Education is the key, but only within ‘solid’ subjects such as law, medicine, accountancy, business. My dad moved into accountancy, which was seen as a stable and reputable job.”

When Bieneosa decided to study English at university, many people questioned her choice. “I was asked ‘what can you become with an English degree?’ But I wanted to do something a bit creative that involved communication, so PR and marketing was an obvious pick after graduation."

Secondly, within the PR community, Bieneosa believes fear and knowledge gaps are widespread. “The industry doesn’t see why it should put special effort into reaching ethnic communities. Agencies think of their campaigns from an advertiser’s perspective: ‘we need to reach as many as possible’. Of course, it's about striking a balance. But I don't see how this can be anything but beneficial. A more diverse approach and work force will enrich the industry. How can you argue against that?"

Sangeeta Haindl MCIPR, Director of Communications and Marketing for Breast Cancer Awareness, believes that the industry itself has done very little to rectify the diversity problem. “Our sector has not been very good at selling itself. I've been in PR for almost eight years, and nothing has changed.”

She says that within the Asian community, it’s important to be seen to be doing the right thing. “Far too many people in the general population don’t really understand what PR is about, so how can we expect people from ethnic communities to appreciate us? Asian people wonder what is a good career choice. Medicine, accountancy, law, IT are respectable options. Of all media jobs, TV or radio jobs – especially within the BBC World Service – are the most commonly accepted.”

Sangeeta thinks that many Asian people view the profession as something out of Absolutely Fabulous: all drugs and rock’n’roll. It’s not what they had in mind for their kids. “Another stereotype of PR is that you don't need a degree, so Asian parents wonder ‘how does such a job progress? Where’s the security?’.”

Pro-active targeting
Her solution is to incorporate PR as a career option both at A-levels and university. “You need to give people an option. The agencies who offer graduate training programmes have to become much more pro-active in selling this to ethnic students. If you are unsure, contact the ethnic media. They have their finger on the pulse. “

Anjna Raheja is the Managing Director of the specialist Asian PR and marketing agency Media Moguls, based in Wembley in west London. “There was – and still is – a lack of understanding on both sides,” she says. Ten years after starting Media Moguls, a few more companies are targeting Asian and black markets, but she thinks the progress is too slow. “Convincing agencies and consultancies to open up to new markets takes a long time. The most usual explanation I hear is ‘We haven’t been given an ethnic brief from the client’. Well, then I say it’s their job to take the lead and come up with new ideas, not just accept status quo.” In her view, ethnic communication is a supplement to mass communication, “you just use the same formula, but shift the focus of the audience, because it’s not difficult to reach the ethnic communities. They are often gathered in large pockets in certain geographical areas.”

She agrees that ethnic communities sometimes have a prejudiced perception of the PR profession: “It’s seen as something fluffy, arty, non-professional. My parents still ask me what I’m doing! But this is the job that I adore!” In her opinion, career advisers need to get involved at a much earlier stage, and not be overly focused on the traditional jobs. Another problem, she highlights, is the lack of role models for the young people. “There are so few public role models in communication jobs. People in the industry need to get out there, talk to people, be open about the job and its advantages.”

In her company, they collaborate with universities to take ethnic students on work placements. “We need to reflect this country’s multiculturalism. It’s not about positive discrimination, it’s about inclusivity.”

Anne Gregory FCIPR, President of the CIPR in 2004, is aware of the problems of lacking diversity. ”As an industry and as a professional association, we need to draw on the expertise of all areas of society. There’s no question that we need the insight of a diverse community – and it’s not about being PC. The approach needs to be holistic – if not, we’re missing the richness of our society. I want us to work with all parts of the communications industry, and several initiatives will be implemented this year. Among them will be an advertising campaign in the ethnic media.”

This article originally appeared in Profile, the CIPR member magazine