Pages: 6

This chapter introduces the reader to the author and to the purpose of the book. Students, PR professionals, marketing specialists, and other professionals providing professional services are invited to read this book. Here, the author briefly acquaints the reader with his professional experience and the history of the book’s emergence. The main goals of the book are then described: to tell of the challenges public relations professionals face; to show that public relations specialists are sailors in the stormy sea of information; to emphasize that public relations professionals are not robots; to support public relations professionals; and finally, to present a new, contemporary model of communication. Additionally, each subsequent chapter of the book is briefly and engagingly introduced in this chapter.

Pages: 87

This chapter is divided into five sections. Its main goal is to reveal the essence of the PR profession and how that relates to reputation. The author looks at PR somewhat differently: not so much through technologies, functions, or instruments, as through the emotions that PR professionals and their clients experience. First, the author presents the history of PR through the technical capabilities used to disseminate information throughout human history (Fire, Book, Television, and Network). Next, the author discusses the PR profession. Why is it so valuable that even one of the wealthiest people in the world, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, says, “If I were down to the last dollar of my marketing budget, I’d spend it on PR!”? The author identifies and discusses five critical abilities in the PR profession. Another integral part of the chapter is the idea of reputation. The author examines the relationship between PR and reputation, the complexity of reputation, and presents ten benefits of a good reputation. The chapter also focuses on PR-related terms (the duality of PR and marketing terminology, pseudo-terms, and coercion terms). At the end of the chapter, six characteristics of an ideal client are provided. The chapter includes 11 figures, created mainly by the author, and numerous practical examples.

Pages: 45

This chapter is divided into four sections. It is devoted to the process of change which began with the emergence of social media and continues to this day as social media plays an ever-greater role in our lives. The author provides a fresh comparison: yesterday’s communication was like playing darts, in that we tried to hit the target as accurately as possible, and today’s communication is like tennis, where playing the game without the involvement of the other side is impossible. In this chapter, the author distinguishes between two eras of communication (the marketing era and PR era), describes the three main reasons for the communications revolution (dream, inferiority, and opportunity), and discusses the question: “What is changing and what stays stable forever?” At the end of the chapter, the author presents a new phenomenon: the transition from hierarchical to picnic-style communication. The chapter includes 12 figures, created mainly by the author, and numerous practical examples.

Pages: 59

This chapter is divided into four sections. It presents the Social Picnic – a contemporary communications model of how communication does or should function in our times, when we have all the tools for achieving multilateral communication. In this section, the author introduces intriguing terms such as the Social Picnic and Picnic Society. The author vividly and playfully acquaints the reader with the components of the Social Picnic model (sun, meadow, plaid, sharer, food, vase, and concert). Further, the four main pillars/activities of the Social Picnic are outlined (communication, collaboration, education, and entertainment), and the ten most important rules of Social Picnic behavior are identified. At the end of the chapter, the six main participant groups of the Social Picnic (ignorers, spectators, joiners, collectors, critics, and creators) are highlighted and discussed. The chapter includes five figures created by the author and numerous practical examples.

Pages: 32

This chapter is divided into ten sections. It serves as the practical component of the book – a brief guide to organizing your activities as a Social Picnic. It is structured into ten steps, or stages, that should be followed in order and without distractions. Neither you nor anyone else initiates the Social Picnic – it is always present. Therefore, before joining or participating, it’s worth understanding the main principles underlying it. A fictionalized example – the building of a waste-to-energy power plant – is used to illustrate each step or stage. The chapter also includes ten figures created by the author.

Pages: 15

This chapter is divided into seven sections. Its purpose is to explore dreams. Of course, they are all related to the future, because somewhere far ahead is that destination we’re all moving toward. While some dreams should come true sooner, others are still far out of reach, and neither the author nor anyone reading this book will see them actually fulfilled. But the author believes that our forefathers made plenty of efforts so that today we could not only fly in airplanes but reach other planets. We can do our bit for our descendants by at least dreaming. In this section, the author playfully presents their seven predictions about the future of PR.

Pages: 2

In this chapter the author sincerely and openly describes his feelings while writing and after completing this book. The ideas presented in the book are expected to be further developed, considering the changing world, new tools (such as artificial intelligence), and new possibilities. The author expresses gratitude and sends motivating wishes to the readers of this book.

Pages: 3

In this chapter the author expresses gratitude to everyone who contributed to the creation of the book.