The hottest new sector in public relations is GLOBALISM. But this is not the globalism of old, it’s different. It’s inbound, referring to foreign companies doing business in the U.S., and it is growing rapidly.
For more than 50 years, as the dollar has declined, more and more foreign companies’ products have been both made and sold in the U.S. In fact, few products manufactured by foreign companies today are even made in their homeland. Up to now, everything seemed made in China, which itself is getting more expensive.
Years ago, only big, multi-billion dollar corporations like IBM, were international. “Global” wasn’t even a popular term back then. “Multi-national” and “world-wide” were more common. Then, along came Microsoft. Today, global companies can have sales of a mere few million dollars by using the Internet and networks of dealers and other re-sellers to reduce staffs and overcome cultural obstacles.
The opportunity for public relations from this new globalism is due to several factors that will continue:
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- A distinctly capitalist tool, the power of public relations is understood by everywhere. Even monarchs have ministers of information and they know credibility increases as governmental control decreases.
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- Despite China’s tremendous growth, the U.S. remains – for the moment – the #1 market for both business-to-business and consumer products and services. And it’s a big, rich market by any standards, particularly the middle class. To wit, Tiffany’s is in shopping malls everywhere.
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- English is spoken by everyone, including media and corporate executives. Everyone studies it in school, here and abroad. Help desks for Japanese products sold in the US are often located in India.
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- Technology – the Internet, computers and cell phones – has simplified and improved communications and commerce.
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- Other countries have emerged as leaders in certain sectors, but they are too small for their industries to grow exponentially. Companies in places like Israel, Japan, Netherlands and Vietnam, have found new growth in the U.S.
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- New York remains the world’s media and financial center – and PR center, too. It is almost equidistant from one side of the world to the other. Clients want their PR agencies near media and Wall Street. In New York, you can literally walk down the block and sit with a broker, analyst, editor or blogger.
-Jerry Schwartz