Pioneer puts his spin on the industry

Pioneer puts his spin on the industry

By Chris Brummit

JAKARTA (JP): More than 30 years coordinating the public
relations (PR) of PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia has given Wisaksono
Noeradi the right to call himself one of the "old soldiers" of
the Indonesian PR industry. Caltex has not been his sole concern
though: he has also found time to lecture on PR, write about it
and, in 1981, form the Indonesian association dedicated to it.

In 1958, when he gave up his journalism career to join Caltex,
the concept of PR in the region was still in its infancy. He has
watched it grow, from its initial corporate base into other areas
and other roles, to where it stands today, where even the
President is being told his PR needs improving.

After stepping down from Caltex in 1990, he and a partner
started a consulting business that has offered advice to, among
others, the World Bank, Arianespace and the liquidation team of
Bank Summa. "Just a hobby" is how he referred to it when The
Jakarta Post caught up with him in his office on Monday.

Asked to describe what PR was, he said that its ultimate goal
was "to have a third party say good things about you". It could
be the myriad ways to achieve this end that has resulted in the
often times off the mark perceptions surrounding PR and its
related industries in Indonesia. As an example he mentioned
street-side banner makers who call themselves advertising
agencies.

Dubbing PR a science, his academic approach to the subject was
evident in his manner and supported by the handouts, case studies
and other teaching aids that he referenced during the interview.
The topics discussed ranged from the state of the industry in
general, his work with political parties and his views on PR
schools. Before the interview, he first attempted to pin down PRs
slippery nature:

"There are many interpretations of what PR is. First you have
those who call themselves or consider themselves consultants or
counselors. Secondly you have those who are just events
organizers. And third, those who actually running a production
house -- those who take orders to produce something ...

"And all call themselves a public relations firm, though they
are three different animals. Aside from this, a lot of people
have said that public relations is equal to media relations --
Getting free publicity, killing hostile stories etc. Which is not
true. Its just one important part of PR."

Question: Before the crisis, was the PR industry good?

Answer: Oh yes, it was. And even afterwards, because among the
many services offered by a PR consultant is crisis management. So
it should have been the case many institutions needed that crisis
management. But in Indonesia many people give into their fate
very easily. You know, "Whatever I do I tend to be wrong anyway.
Why make a special effort, I'm bankrupt. So what! Everyone is
bankrupt. So I don't think I need to improve my image".

Q: But there must be less business now, post-crisis?

A: Not really, I think the amount of business is about stable.
It's just that now we have political parties. This is a new
phenomenon. All of a sudden we had more than three participants
in the election. Before, the thinking was, 'Hey you vote for me
or I'll step on your toes.' Now PR has to be one of the planks of
political parties.

Q: Do you have any experience working with a political party?

A: Yes, we do. My partner and I were assisting the PKB (National
Awakening Party: Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa)

Q: What kind of assistance did you offer them?

A: Well, it started long before the election itself. We provided
them with a checklist. Actually its something normal we do in
public relations. We have to know their competitors. To formulate
the strategy we have to identify interested parties. The
potential voters ... what are their hopes, dreams and
expectations.

Q: If there were a party whose policies you didn't agree with at
all, racist ones for example, or one that was corrupt, would you
handle their PR?

A: No. (pause) If I had the choice ... Maybe. You are aware of
the expression, 'If you can't beat them join them'. If you want
to restructure the mafia, for example, you have to do it from the
inside, not from the outside. If I thought my participation might
help them not to be corrupt, then I would consider it.

Q: The International Public Relations Association (IPRA) says
that PR promotes an understanding of democracy. How?

A: Because PR respects and solicits views and opinions of others.
That is the basis of democracy. If we apply PR and do not respect
other opinions then it's useless. How can we communicate
effectively if we don't know what is on the other persons mind?

Q: What do you think about Gen. Wiranto's PR campaign, if indeed
it is one?

A: I wouldn't deny the fact that Gen. Wiranto is formulating and
implementing a PR strategy. And if you ask whether it was
successful or not, I would return the question to you.

As a member of the public how do you feel about it? A campaign
is not just one or two appearances, right? It's not timely yet to
say if it was a success or not. As a practitioner I would need
the complete information on the beneficiaries and the campaign,
then I would be able to evaluate. It is difficult to say whether
a PR campaign is a success or not before its completed. He's
presenting it the way he sees it now. He wanted to tell his
story, because prior to his removal, he wasn't given a chance to
do so. It's my experience that he is one of the few Indonesians
who believe in good public relations. We helped him when he was
Territorial Military Commander, when he launched his National
Discipline Campaign. From that we know he is fully aware of the
value of PR as a strategy.

Q: What's the standard of PR as taught in Indonesia?

A: Well, much is to be desired. Back in 1990 I answered a similar
question and it appears the situation has changed very little.
Text books not good enough, courses not long enough and schools
are tending to be 'diploma mills'. The curriculum is roughly
stitched together. Actually in a short course you can't produce a
scholar. All you can do is skill training.

Q: Are studies in PR important, or do you value experience more?

A: Studies in PR are not very important, especially when people
have studied here. The tendency now is to take graduates from any
discipline. Because what you need is common sense. Not that I
want to discriminate between PR graduates from Indonesia and
overseas, but the syllabuses are simply different. If you study
PR for only two semesters what do you know? There are no short
cuts. Sometimes their (prospective employees') Indonesian is
terrible. It's all over the place and they use Jakartan, not even
the national language.

Q: Any truth to the stereotype of the pretty-but-clueless PR
executive?

A: Well, I'm glad this is your terminology. It's not mine, right?
Well, in life, its nice to have something that is a pleasure to
the eyes and a pleasure to the ears, right? It should be a
combination of those two things. In some cases, yes it is true,
especially in certain industries. As it turns out, those types
don't stay long in the profession.

Q: How do you rate the inhouse PR departments of major companies?

A: I hate to evaluate my colleagues. I can be misinterpreted.
Just like the police when they arrest someone, and they say
anything you say can be taken down in ....

They are getting better... I'm glad that inhouse PR units are
improving, but unfortunately many are a matter of personality.
When the good guy retires or resigns then the company doesn't
have a good in-house PR unit anymore.