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导读：此文是一篇英国作业，说的是在数字时代，公关角色发生了很大的变化，从舆论的控制转变为舆论的领导者，从组织形象的维护者转变为符合公众利益的人，从信息生产者转变为信息控制者。顾的自我品牌成功与他在战略中扮演正确的公关角色有着密切的关系。
1.0 Introduction引言
公共关系（PR）是指社会组织利用沟通手段，在自身与公众之间形成双向沟通，以实现双方相互理解和相互适应的管理活动（侯，2016）。良好的公关对于企业的成功起着重要作用（Cheng、Huang和Chan，2016）。值得注意的是，在数字时代，由于网络技术带来的不同的沟通方式、信心沟通和消费者行为，公关的角色发生了重大变化（Charest、Bouffard和Zajmovic，2016；Allagui和Breslow，2016）。如何正确理解这一变化已成为当代企业和组织取得成功的关键因素（Lee等人，2015）。本研究将关注公关在数字时代中的角色变化，以香港娱乐圈中的一位明星古巨基为例，以自我品牌为例，分析如何适应这一变化，以求成功。
Public relations (PR) refer to the management activities that a social organization uses the means of communication to form a two-way communication between itself and the public to achieve the mutual understanding and mutual adaptation of the two sides (Hou, 2016). Good PR plays an important role in the success of an enterprise (Cheng, Huang and Chan, 2016). It is worth noting that in the digital eras, the roles of PR have undergone significant changes due to the different modes of communication, communication of confidence and consumer behavior brought by network technology (Charest, Bouffard and Zajmovic, 2016; Allagui and Breslow, 2016). How to correctly understand this change has become the key factor for a contemporary enterprise and organization to achieve success (Lee et al., 2015). This study will focus on the changes in the roles of PR in the digital eras, taking a star in the amusement circle in Hong Kong named Leo Ku as an example of self branding to analyze how to adapt to this change to be successful.
2.0 Body主体
2.1 Change from a controller of information into a leader of public opinion从信息控制者转变为舆论领袖
信息获取的开放性在于数字化时代的公关角色从信息控制者转变为舆论领袖（Toledano和Avidar，2016）。传统公关活动必须通过广播电视等大众媒体进行（侯，2016）。大众传媒资源稀缺，拥有支配信息资源的特权，具有形成或塑造舆论的能力（Allagui和Breslow，2016）。现在，任何具有一定计算机或网络知识和技能的人都可以通过网站的建立、发送电子邮件等网络功能发布新闻、传播信息（Toledano和Avidar，2016年），这使得一些人通过控制媒体来控制和操纵舆论变得一文不值。
传统的公关媒体受信息传播速度、地域和时间的限制，难以实现快速有效的传播（Lee等人，2015）。信息时代的信息传播工具具有无与伦比的快速、及时的优势，使组织能够尽快获得信息，信息也能迅速地从组织向公众传播，从而实现组织间更有效的互动和沟通，从而使组织间的信息交流真正成为现实。公共关系可能的有效沟通（Allagui和Breslow，2016年）。
The openness of information acquisition lies in that PR roles in the digital eras change from the controller of information to the leader of public opinion (Toledano and Avidar, 2016). Traditional PR activities must be carried out through the use of mass media such as radio and television (Hou, 2016). The mass media have scarce resources and the privilege of dominating information resources, which makes them have the ability to form or shape public opinions (Allagui and Breslow, 2016). Now, anyone with a certain degree of computer or network knowledge and skills can publish news, disseminate information through network functions such as the establishment of the Website, sending e-mail (Toledano and Avidar, 2016), which makes a few people’s control and manipulation of public opinion through controlling the media become naught.
Traditional PR media is limited by the speed, region and time of the information transmission, which makes PR difficult to achieve the rapid and effective communication (Lee et al., 2015). The information communication tool in the information age has unparalleled fast and timely advantages, making organizations have an access to information as soon as possible, and the information can also be spread rapidly from the organizations to the public to achieve a more effective interaction and communication between them, which make real timely and effective communication of PR possible (Allagui and Breslow, 2016).
In the digital eras, it is almost impossible for organizations to control public opinion freely by controlling the absolute right of speech to affect the public (Charest, Bouffard and Zajmovic, 2016), to take public recognition as an example, the existence of the network brings a large number of sources of information, the public have the opportunity to fully express their views, the public are through the analysis, debate and exchange of events to ultimately form their own views and attitudes to be divided into different social groups, and ultimately forming their own identification. Considering from the process of formation of identification in the digital eras, the decisive role of PR in the formation of identification has lost, the public plays an increasingly important role in the process of formation of identification. However, it should be noted that PR in the digital eras does not completely lose its function, it still plays the role of public opinion leader. In the digital age, the monopoly of traditional media towards information is broken, on the premise that organizations do not violate laws and professional ethics, they can make use of network communication tools, according to their own wishes to publish information to all types of the public, including the media, and paying attention to effective interaction with them (Allagui, and Breslow, 2016). In this way, organizations will be able to grasp the initiative in PR activities, they have a direct impact on the public, and thus playing a good role of a public opinion guider.
2.2 Change from a defender of corporate image into a role to satisfy public interest
In the past, one of the main roles of a government or enterprises in the implementation of PR management strategies is maintenance of their own public image (Hou, 2016), in the digital age, the role of PR is transformed into a defender of public interest.
PR scholars point out that there are four PR practice models: news agent model, public information model, bidirectional asymmetric model and bidirectional symmetric model (Hou, 2016; Cheng, Huang and Chan, 2016). Among them, the bidirectional symmetric mode is considered to be the most ideal. However, in the PR communication activities which mainly use traditional media, sender of information copies and transmits the mass information to the audience through the mass media. The audience only accepts the information passively, and they often have no right to speak. Such "one-to-many " or "minority-to-many ", top-down mode is difficult to achieve the two-way symmetry of transmission (Lee et al., 2015). Therefore, organizations or the media usually fails to understand what the public demand for, but in the digital eras, with the development of the trend of consumerism, individualism, the public prefer to express self to cause everyone's attention, they pay more attention to whether their personal needs can be met, while the emergence of the network allows those who have an access to the Internet can convey their views, opinions, suggestions to many people. This communication essentially guarantees the two-way nature and symmetry of transmission. This interactive nature makes it possible for the public to truly participate in the whole PR process. The initiative of the public to participate is increased, and their initiative of making a choice is also strengthened, which requires that organizations should provide personalized information services to the public with diverse needs. Therefore, the role of PR in the digital eras will be transformed into a role to satisfy public interest.
2.3 Change from an information publisher into an information manager
Excessive and random information the digital eras poses a significant barrier to PR personnel to identify valuable information (Allagui and Breslow, 2016). Since anyone can publish information, have an access to information and exchange information online, it also brings a series of problems such as information explosion on the Internet, information pollution and so on. In the past, PR department is mainly responsible for information dissemination, but the digital eras, PR department must redefine their duties and roles, their traditional role of an information publisher is changed into an information manager. In this network society with excessive and random information, how to distinguish useful information and useless information, how to determine the flow of information has become a crucial issue. For example, in the digital age, an organization should observe the development trend of the whole society, the public opinion, the public speech, use the information and opportunity which is beneficial to the organization to make the public understand the enterprise's policy, policy and development prospect to establish the good relationship between the enterprise and the society, so as to strive to improve its corporate brand image. At the same time, as PR personnel, they need to take the initiative to fully and accurately collect information to understand the public’s psychology, needs and trends, and then taking targeted measures to affect the public psychology and decision-making.#p#分页标题#e#
2.4 Case study
There are many stars who use their influence to create their own clothing brands, but not all of the brands are successful, Leo Ku is a successful example in terms of self branding, he has successfully built his own clothing brands, such as: SOLO CELEB and HTDG and made the brands match with his personal image and be accepted by the public. In the following content, it will be from the perspective of PR to analyze the key to his success relating to self branding.
2.4.1 Guiding public opinion
Ku's strategy of promotion of his clothing brand is not simply to tell his fans or consumers how perfect it is, Leo's strategy is to increase his exposure in the media, while wearing his own designed clothing brand, through triggering discussion of the media and his fans for the clothing brand to increase the popularity of the brand. For example, in 2015, Ku participated in a most popular a program named “I am a singer” hosted by Hunan Television, which is known as the most welcomed local television station in China. The program was broadcasted weekly, and Ku chose clothes of his own brand to match with the song he would sing each week. Because of the popularity of the program and Ku, his clothes attracted attention from the media and fans, causing a lot of discussion online on the brand. In 2016, as the first fashion designer from the amusement circle, Ku held a show for his own brand of clothing in the influential Shanghai Fashion Week. He brought a series of gorgeous and fashionable design, which once again shocked the media and the network. In the digital age, consumers have an access to a lot of information, simple preaching has been unable to convince consumers. The success of Ku is through a variety of high-end channels to show his brand directly to attract the attention from fans and the media, indicating that in the digital age, the role of PR is how to guide the concern of public opinion on self branding (Allagui and Breslow, 2016).
2.4.2 Public’s demand
Ku is through Facebook, Instgram and other public media tools to communicate with his fans regularly, he regularly shows his new designed products for users to comment, he also takes valuable advice and ideas from users and these will also be used in his later works. To avoid resentment arising from high frequency of display of products through the social media, he regularly shares his own lives with fans, which is in fact in line with his brand image. His propaganda strategy deepens the fans’ impression for his brand. Through promotion through social media, on the one hand, it expands the influence of his brand, on the one hand, he understand what fans need to improve his products, thus confirming that the role of contemporary PR is not only to enhance their image, but also to better meet the needs of consumers’ (Toledano and Avidar, 2016).
2.4.3 Information management
There are a lot of stars who have created their self brands, and Ku’s brand is one of the most popular, the most important reason lies in the following two aspects. Firstly, simple street style clothing has become less popular, High Street style clothing began to be concerned about, Ku’s brand is a typical High Street style, which meets the aesthetic needs of the contemporary young people for clothing. Secondly, many of his life ideas are through his costume design to show, the public choose his clothing because of recognizing his philosophy. For example, he launched a series of clothing taking "RICH IN SOUL" as the theme, expressed his life attitude of setting free from the yoke of money in life, the concept is consistent with contemporary young people's attitude, so the brand is welcomed by many consumers and it also becomes one of the best-selling clothing. In the digital age, the excessive information makes how to convey the right message to the right people become the key to the success of PR management, PR role is no longer publishing information but a information manager (Lee et al., 2015).
2.5 Discussion
PR in the digital eras has lost its role in determining formation of public identity, as what it did in the past. However, it should be noted that in the digital eras, organizations can still use the Internet communication tools to publish information according to their own wish to the public of all kinds, including the media, and attaching importance to effective interaction with them. In this way, organizations will be able to grasp the initiative of PR to have an impact on public recognition, thus playing a good role of guiding public opinion. The success of Leo Ku lies in the use of all kinds of communication channels in the digital eras to directly display his products to guide fans and the media's attention, this high exposure can not only display products, more importantly, the exposure of his clothing in a variety of fashionable places, which has a subtle influence on the audience’ recognition, the public are aware of that Leo Ku’ brand, products and style represents the current fashion, so they are willing to buy his products.
In the digital eras, people prefer to express themselves (self), they pay more attention to whether their individual needs can be met, so that organizations need to provide personalized information services to the public with different needs, so in the digital age, PR roles change into the public interest defenders. Leo Ku makes use of the media in the digital eras to communicate with the public, or it is even one-on-one communication, which helps to promote products and his own ideas, and it is also the process to understand public demand for products to improve, so as to meet consumers’ personalized demand, because the public have needs to express themselves, they also hope that their needs can be answered. All in all, in the data age, PR roles are more concerned about the interests and needs of the public.
Due to a series of problems such as information explosion, information pollution and so on, on the Internet, PR roles in the digital eras change from traditional information publishers to information managers. PR personnel need to take the initiative to fully and accurately collect information to understand and grasp the public’s psychology, needs and trends, and then taking targeted measures to affect the psychology and decision-making of a particular public. Leo Ku's success lies in that his products and the concept transmitted meet the public's needs and attitudes, this is one of the key factors of his success.
It can be seen from the above discussion that the success of Leo Ku's self-branding is closely related to its correct understanding of the PR roles public relations in the digital eras and taking the right strategy. Leo Ku is a well-known star, the right PR strategy makes the business interests of his public image be developed most. However, it is known that there are many contemporary stars who are willing to carry out self-branding, some of the stars are even more famous than Leo Ku, how Leo Ku highlights his own personality to maintain the public’s awareness and recognition for his products needs he to do more in terms of PR strategy in the future.
3.0 Conclusion
In the digital eras, PR roles have changed a lot, from a control of public opinion into a leader of public opinion, from a defender of organizational image into those who meet the public interests, from an information producer into an information controller. Ku’s success of self branding has a close relationship with his playing a right PR role in his strategy.
References
Allagui, I. and Breslow, H. (2016). Social media for public relations: Lessons from four effective cases. Public Relations Review, 42(1), 20-30.
Charest, F., Bouffard, J. and Zajmovic, E. (2016). Public relations and social media: Deliberate or creative strategic planning. Public Relations Review, 42(4), 530-538.
Cheng, Y., Huang, Y. C. and Chan, C. M. (2016). Public relations, media coverage, and public opinion in contemporary China: Testing agenda building theory in a socialmediated crisis. Telematics and Informatics, 11 (5), 102-116.
Hou, J. Z. (2016). The emerging “field” of public relations in China: multiple interplaying logics and evolving actors’ inter-relations. Public Relations Review, 42(4), 627-640.
Lee, N., Sha, B. L., Dozier, D. and Sargent, P. (2015). The role of new public relations practitioners as social media experts. Public Relations Review, 41(3), 411-413.
Toledano, M. and Avidar, R. (2016). Public relations, ethics, and social media: A cross-national study of PR practitioners. Public Relations Review, 42(1), 161-169.
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