A hobby

Fishing, skiing and knitting - these were the kind of hobbies I was aware of until this month. A couple of weeks ago, while watching the evening TV news, I learnt about a new hobby that people may have.

Watching the national TV news may be quite an educating experience. One evening I turned the TV on and had my dinner with the news as a background noise. At some point there was a report on a diversity campaign that gained too much attention and opposition from the officials. To put it in a nutshell, two buses painted in rainbow (i.e. gay) colours were supposed to ride the streets of Vilnius and Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania. But the "gay buses" never left the garages: in Kaunas the bus "broke down" while the Vilnius bus company simply opposed the idea. The TV reporter asked Vilnius Mayor to comment on the "bus scandal". His reply was something like "People shouldn't expose their hobbies but should rather keep them to themselves." This made my eyebrows rise.

At first I wasn't sure if I heard what I heard (rushed to blame my attention deficit:). But when the Mayor tried to expand and referred to the same "hobby" again, it became crystal clear that to him being gay is a hobby.

Well, he may not have come up with a better euphemism if he needed one but clearly he needs PR advice and media training.:) Not to mention a general education "refresher" course. I was wondering - what the former, PR-minded, Mayor of Vilnius would have said in this situation?

Now beware if someone asks you or tells you about hobbies and make sure you understand well what they mean... Do you have a hobby? :)

People with hobbies. Elektrenai, May 2007. Photo by Asta G.

CSR = PR?

It's no news that both every person and every company are part of society. They can't live or operate in isolation from the rest, at least in most cases. So how much individuals and businesses owe to the society? Maybe the main and only responsibility of profit-seeking companies is to make money?

The subject of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been more and more discussed over the last couple of years in Lithuania. International organisations, such as the UNDP, promote CSR among local businesses and encourage them to become ambassadors of CSR principles. It's all very welcome. However, in the initial stages of its awareness and implementation, CSR is sometimes understood as simply part of a company's public relations (PR) programme.

Be it as it may, CSR and PR are closely interrelated. Just like anything within an organisation is relevant to PR. If company management want to maximise the effects of their efforts, decisions, etc., they must employ proper communication. Every action must be supported by communication/PR in order to avoid potential misunderstandings, minimise adverse effects and gain public support.

Adhering to ethical business principles, respecting human rights in the workplace, addressing environmental issues and supporting those in need are the fundamental principles of CSR. Where does PR fit in here?

There are a few companies in Lithuania that eagerly participate in public events and show how socially responsible they are. I've listened to presentations where company managers pride themselves in their CSR programmes. Sometimes I get a strange feeling that - judging from those presentations and the pathos in which they are made - CSR is just PR: we care about our employees' welfare, about the environment, we don't tolerate corruption, etc. Where's that dividing line between CSR and PR?

Some four years ago when I worked for a professional services firm, we, the marketing team together with our advertising agency, produced next year's branded calendars with drawings by children from a child-care home. Each month of the year was illustrated by a drawing done by a disadvantaged child. We wanted to acknowledge authors of each drawing, however, the children were too embarrassed and we were asked not to put their names on the calendar. In return for the drawings, we provided one-off financial support to the institution and brought those kids chocolates for Christmas. We also said on the calendar that the firm provided support to the child-care home and invited others (clients and business contacts) to do so too (details of the institution were given on the calendar).

In the beginning I wasn't sure if acknowledging the firm's support to the child-care home on the calendars that were sent to clients was an appropriate thing to do. But my account manager from the ad agency persuaded me: why should anyone be ashamed of the good things that they do? It's a good thing to DO good things so why should it be a bad thing to SAY that one has done a good thing?

On 22 May, I will attend an interesting seminar where these issues will be discussed by a CSR and PR expert in more detail: www.vcc.lt/en/csr_en

Lewis, US, July 2006. Photo by Giedrius CP

Choosing your neighbours

Some people say that life is a series of choices. Every day is a marathon of choices: we choose what to wear, where to go, what to say, what to do. That's an interesting - although not incorrect - view on life. Yes, we make myriads of choices but can we choose everything? Certainly, there are some things that we cannot choose.

We cannot choose our parents, for example. But what about our neighbours?

To continue the story on luxury shops in Vilnius, I'd like to show you two outlets that rub shoulders - or rather shop windows - in the very heart of the Old Town. I don't need to introduce the label on the left (see the picture below). The one on the right is a grocery store of a Lithuanian retail chain. It runs supermarkets and no luxury shops.

My question is does the luxury shop (and its posh customers!) feel comfortable about such neighbourhood? And can it - or did it have a choice to - do something about it? I believe it can and it did. But let me know your opinion.

Vilnius, April 2007. Photo by Gediminas Zilinskas