Entrepreneurism
No longer do we live in a society where our celebrities and idols are formed through a elite group of sporting people and entertainers. These days, it is just as easy to become a household name through Instagram as it is through movies. As such, the world of public relations has had to respond to this evolution of what makes a person influential; as it strongly affects how businesses now interact with their audience. Here is where entrepreneurialism comes in as public relations agencies and people have been forced to adapt to their changing environment and employ new means of managing organisations and their publics.
An enterprise can be defined as a project or undertaking that is especially bold or complex. Someone who encapsulates the word entrepreneurial through their risk-taking initiative is public relations guru Roxy Jacenko. Already impressive enough is the formation of Jacenko’s public relations agency ‘Sweaty Betty PR’ in 2004 at the age of 24. However, where Jacenko truly demonstrates entrepreneurism is in the birth of her talent management agency ‘The Ministry of Talent’ in late 2012. The Ministry of Talent was Australia’s first management agency solely dedicated to creative talent and digital influences. Jacenko showcases her understanding of where the public relations industry was heading as she formed a business to cater to the social media age where those who are famous on Facebook and through blogging are the ones who businesses are turning to help expand their brand and reach their audience. Jacenko encapsulates the idea of an entrepreneur as Deuze defines; “The worker of today must become an enterprise of her own: perfectly adept at managing herself, unlearning old skills while reflexively adapting to new demands” (Media Work, Deuze). Unlike other public relations agencies, The Ministry of Talent wholly focuses on social media influencers and aids brands to connect with their consumers in unique and immersive ways.
Where once the focus was on using well-known people in print advertisements or television ads, nowadays connections are being made through sponsored Instagram posts and in-store appearances. Jacenko saw a gap in the market and has brought together talent in areas such as fashion, lifestyle, health and illustration to offer brands the latest in trend setting. The risk of creating The Ministry of Talent had clearly paid off for Jacenko as she now boasts talent such as Mel Tan who is the brand consultant and owner of the online clothing boutique Joy Hysteric. As well being a stylist and fashion influencer who currently has just under 100 000 Instagram followers and over 10 000 Facebook likes. Jacenko partners such niche talent with well-known brands such as Vogue, Westfield and Clinique. The formation of The Ministry of Talent is a perfect example of how Powe describes entrepreneurialism requiring those to “zoom out” from their business and look at their environment (The Entrepreneurial Process, Powe). Jacenko looked outside her own traditional public relations business and looked at how the market was changing and thus saw the need for an agency catering to the emergence of social media talent.
Following in The Ministry of Talent’s footsteps in new talent and media agency ‘The Co Collective’ in Melbourne. Similar to Jacenko, founder of The Co Collective Kate Bensimon also founded public relations agency ‘Kate & Co’ in 2011. Bensimon also realised the changing face of public relations and launched The Co Collective last year to focus on social media talent in the lifestyle and beauty areas. The move away from solely television and print to more social media was noted by Bensimon in an interview as she agreed: “all the corporates are paying attention now.” She continued that “some brands are 100 per cent in already but others will be more of a slow burn. They know they have to be in there and they’re dipping their toes in a little. They’re not yet fully immersed, but in the future they will be. I don’t think they will have a choice” (The Financial Review, 2015).
Ultimately, it is clear through the actions of forward thinking individuals in the public relations sector that the rapid pace of technology has played a vital role in entrepreneurism. Those with new and somewhat risky ideas have focuses their new enterprises on how society is fixated on technology and constantly being kept up to date with the latest trends, gossip and news. As seen through new social media based talent agencies, public relations now has enterprises which are catering to the publics fascination with those who have a following online. Public relations maven Roxy Jacenko fulfils Meydani’s criteria for an entrepreneur as they must use their influence and name to “convince the public that their proposed solution is appropriate and acceptable” (Political Entrepreneurs, Meydani). Jacenko highlight how enterprise is evolving in the are of public relations as through her already strong brand name she was able to fill a gap in the market and successfully reflects societies rapid pace needs.
References
https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Media_Work.html?id=kK6j4M400mcC