"It is impossible to control the image a nation projects"

I knew Jordi Xifra, lecturer in the Advertising and Public Relations Department at the UPF, and he introduced me to Lluís Pastor, director of the UOC Information and Communication Department, and Ferran Lalueza, director of the UOC Advertising and Public Relations Programme. I agreed straightaway with developing the idea that they had of holding a conference in Barcelona to talk of the role of public relations in the twenty-first century among academics. It is known that some ten years ago we saw the real key moment in public relations with the publication of the book by Robert L. Heath Handbook of Public Relations (2001). From the University of Houston, Heath was also at the sessions. His book transformed the idea of public relations, expanding it and making it more international, and this was developed at the conference, to the point where there came a time when no one knew what exactly public relations was. The conference has helped us define public relations but not as a paradigm but by creating a cluster of people and projects. That's why having done it in Barcelona is so important, because the city itself is a blend of classical and modern styles. The challenge, therefore, is to maintain a level of consistency between so much diversity. For many years, public relations was seen as something monolithic, and now, thanks to Professor Heath, we have a more plural vision of it. But we still have to clarify more what we can offer and how. Public relations competes in the employment market because it uses part of marketing and advertising, for example. It also competes in universities because public relations is a relatively new discipline and universities like it because it brings in new students, but at the same time it lacks respect precisely because it's new and lacking in tradition. In this sense, we are also developing a project to publish public relations books with a more intellectual content which, on the other hand, the publishers don't want to publish because they're less attractive to the market. Yes, in the study conducted jointly with Fabrice Desmarais, we observed, for example, that sixty per cent of voiceovers in New Zealand are men's voices, whereas in France, they're women's voices. Based on this and other data, we're interested in looking for the micro-identity of nations. Advertisements imagine us through stereotypes and project them on to society, while at the same time feeding from them in a kind of circle. By studying these aspects, we have a better knowledge of how the image of a nation is constructed on a large scale. Besides this, if for example, what we want is to achieve a nation that is as productive as possible, these studies may tell us if we give enough relevance to and value women or different ethnic groups, as an example, in order to be able to mobilise everyone on this direction. The key to public relations, therefore, is this constant feedback. To begin with, I think we have to take Benedict Anderson's definition that a nation is an 'imagined community' very seriously. It is often thought that a nation is a piece of land or a group of people that has an army, and that's not the case. This 'imagined community' has greater strength than religion, than political convictions, than economic interests. It's easy to observe that for this 'imagined community', immaterial things carry a lot of weight. In fact, nations compete with each other in immaterial things most of the time. Even if they do it through sport, for example. It's here where public relations comes into play, because they are also based on perceptions. I think it's impossible. If we consider the case of Tiger Woods the golfer as a representative of the United States, for example. After his last sex scandal, his image became distorted and you have no control over it. The same goes for other celebrities who represent the nation at certain times. Perceptions are fragile and that's why I say that the images of a nation are hard to control. Once you accept that, what you need to do is build bridges between the different actors, which is what public relations does. We're used to marketing and advertising controlling the results. Public relations, by contrast, is continuously prepared for change because the key to how you're perceived as a nation varies constantly. I like the word 'brand', but I find it's dangerous because it suggests that it's controllable. In any event, it's acceptable to see it that way, because a brand is still something that is invented and that people perceive as belonging to them, and that's why we need to listen to people and take on board what they say. The case of nations such as Catalonia or Scotland is especially interesting because on the road to achieving their own state, they have to be able to mobilise the passion of their people. To be independent, for example, perhaps the majority of the Scottish will have to be willing to make economic sacrifices. The question, therefore, is whether Catalonia and Scotland will be brave enough to take on the economic risk of being independent, because, to prevent secession, this is the fear projected about the future of these nations by both the United Kingdom and Spain. Right now, both Catalonia and Scotland are wondering whether it's better to stay at this intermediate stage or if it's better to go. In other words, in the midst of this economic crisis, how to satisfy national demands and still have a place at the table.