Today we observe major military conflict that is developing now between two largest countries in Europe. It happened that no one stands on the sidelines and the warfare went far beyond the battlefield long ago. We do not intend to make any moral judgements, except that every war is horrible, we just state that non-military organisations are trying to impact the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Sometimes the scale of such an impact is so substantial that these parties can be fully considered as war participants.
Public relations has been always an effective tool of managing and disseminating information. What is more, PR agencies not only deliver the massage, they influence people’s perception of this message.
The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is the world’s largest professional PR body. PRCA officials were among the first who made statements about the war in Ukraine. The mood of these claims made explicit whose side they support.
PRCA director-general Francis Ingham said: “I simply felt unable in good conscience to be associated with anything Russian given the war unleashed by Russia’s president” The organisation has also urged its members to consider the reputational consequences of working for companies that are not sanctioned by the UK Government but have links with Russia.
In March 2022, PRCA among with another UK PR agency ICCO (International Communications Consultancy Organisation) established a new project – The Ukraine Communication Support Network (UCSN) “to coordinate volunteer communications activity in support of the people of Ukraine”. In fact, the project is designed to promote the Ukrainian narrative and damage the reputation of Russia.
For instance, UCSN pushes forward newsletters about military situation in Ukraine released by the Ukrainian think-tank the Centre for Russian Studies. The letters are intended to “inform and educate” international, English-speaking media and politicians. In other words, ‘legitimate’ Ukrainian propaganda replaces ‘malicious’ Russian disinformation.
Several initiatives advertised by UCSN look simply absurd. Letter ‘Z’ that is considered as symbol of Russian invasion of Ukraine was suggested to be removed from the name of popular brands. It is remarkable that such garbage ideas turn into reality. For example, in March 2022, Zurich Insurance Group retired its short logo (a white Z in a blue circle) due to the symbol becoming associated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Next step might be total abolishment of letter Z from the English alphabet.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. The largest and the most influential PR agencies play a critical part in the military conflict in Ukraine. These organisations affect people’s understanding of what is happening in the world. In fact, they decide what is right and what is wrong as well as determine and legitimate current scheme of values.
