Public Relations - Celebrity Couple - Case Study - Assessment Answer

Public Relations Assignment

Assignment Task

Introduction

Roxy Jacenko is a socialite, author and businesswoman. She is the founder and director of Sweaty Betty PR firm which is a prominent beauty, lifestyle and fashion public relations agency. This paper focuses on an in depth analysis of Roxy Jacenko’s career as both prominent Australian celebrity and publicist as well as the key theoretical concepts that are related to the processes of public relations.

Public relations practices of Sweaty Betty PR

To start with, Sweaty Betty PR team pride itself in a commitment, coverage and contacts so as to ensure that the clients’ expectations based on time and every time is met beyond what the client anticipated. Moreover, Sweaty Betty PR firm has distinguished itself as modern, fresh and original in its approach to ensure customer’s satisfaction. The firm recognizes that public relation is not static but dynamic in the long run. Therefore, to meet customer’s satisfaction, the firm through its PR team usually takes time to learn more about the client, what the client need and the target of the client or the individual the client is trying to reach (Howell & Miller, 2006). By unearthing more information about the client, Sweaty Betty PR is able to make commitment in providing the best services day in and day out. This has resulted in better service provision, best coverage and perfect ideas for each and every customer. Through such strategies, the firm has redefined public relation by relentlessly pursuing perfection in every task it does to both the current and potential clients. The results are obvious and it can be observed through the high demand for public relations services offered by the firm (Morath, 2008). To say the least, Sweaty Betty PR has been the pacesetter in the Australian fashion, beauty and lifestyle industry with every other firm in this industry borrowing a lot from Sweaty Betty PR firm.

It is worth to note that Sweaty Betty PR firm is the passionate, fastest and brightest agency in fashion, beauty and lifestyle industry in Australia. The reason being the fact that the firm’s employees are diverse and dynamic. The diverse and dynamic team of publicists, writers, an in-house designer and driver are able to provide a broad spectrum of specialized and unique public relation services. Consequently, Sweaty Betty PR firm are apparently excelling in delivering different kinds of public relations staples like; brand profiles, press releases, and media coverage. Moreover, the firm has distinguished itself in provision of fabulous, unique as well as attention grabbing services. The diverse and dynamic team of publicists has attained this by being super creative (John , 2014). They have also delivered a series of events that are unforgettable, social media campaigns, launches as well as public relation stunts for their esteemed clients.

The company understands the diverse nature and changes in communication. The social media platform being the most immediate locations being well utilized by Betty PR firm. The company is connected to Facebook, twitter, google plus, instagram among others. This ensures their availability to their clientele irrespective of geographical locations. Additionally, the firm understands the importance of timing and positioning as key aspects of any public relations activity. Through this understanding, the firm has applied the theoretical approach referred to as “targeted and tailored approach”. This has ensured that a client’s brand is recognized, loved and preferred by the people the client is targeting to reach by engaging the services of Sweaty Betty PR firm. To effect the “targeted and tailored approach” and attain positive results, the firm conduct research, does planning and execute all the public relations activities with focus on incorporation of the finest detail so as to ensure that no any opportunity is left out or overlooked (Crawford & Macnamara, 2012).

Sweaty Betty PR firm has dominated every facet of both print and electronic media across Australia. This is a strategy the firm uses to ensure that a client’s brand is exposed in all the platforms and in the right places. One of the many methods Sweaty Betty PR firm employees in ensuring that it dominates all the media coverage is by obtaining all the contact list of Australian media ranging from luxury magazines, newspapers, monthlies, online television outlets, social media and blogs. The firm prides itself by having personal relationships, especially with journalists, freelancers, publishers, editors, columnists, stylists, and bloggers. In addition, the firm has a close working relationship, especially with a host of models, designers’ celebrities and sports personalities. This strategy has had the impact of ensuring that a client’s brand is at the forefront and always in the minds of the opinion leaders in the public relations industry. Finally, the head quarter of Sweaty Betty PR is a hub of numerous activities with visits from stylists, editors and celebrities on a daily basis to explore the 700 m²showroom. The showroom is well stocked with current collections from its vast portfolio of customers.

Challenges faced by Sweaty Betty PR

Like any other PR firm, Sweaty Betty PR faces challenges, issues and problems that are common to all. The first one is the mobile mind shift. The firm face the challenge of determining how the brand of a client fits into the consumer’s reliability and constant communication of mobile device. Secondly, there is the challenge of hyper-personalized content. Most consumers want personalized information sent to them via right channel as well as the right time. Thirdly is the global industry issue. Most PR stakeholders and clients seem to search for support from their neighborhood. Therefore, Sweaty Betty PR has to understand the cultural and geographical specifics of different states in Australia. Furthermore, Sweaty Betty PR risk losing its control over negative news. Some of the brands, the firm promotes having a negative image among the populace which trickles down to spoil the image of Sweaty Betty PR. Repairing the already damaged image of the firm is a heinous task (O'Donnell, O'Brien & Junor, 2011).

Roxy Jacenko’s career path

Roxy Jacenko started her public relations firm (Sweaty Betty PR) in 2004 at the age of 24. In 2004 she had about four months experience in public relations and marketing having worked as a receptionist at an Italian firm. Even though taking the plunge to start her own business was neither easy nor obvious, Roxy in my view is an achiever. She beats the odds when her parents sacked her from the family’s fashion manufacturing company.

The analyst would describe her as an illustrious individual who would stop at nothing until she gets what she wants. This is observed when she enrolls for a Diploma in Fashion Manufacturing at East Sydney Technical Institute. Roxy became the leader of the PR team of her company despite the fierce competition from other PR firms. Through her advocacy for teamwork, she would later steer Sweaty Betty PR to greater heights of being recognized internationally. The decision to start this company was perfect. It has seen her scale the ladder of her career path (Lansbury, Wailes, & Yazbeck, 2007). The only poor decision that I see is in terms of accounting of the firm's finances. She should not do it on her own, but engage the financial experts, especially when it comes to collection of debts. By doing this, she will be relieved of the burden of running all the departments of the firm.