Think Twice before Releasing Another Greenwashing Statement

Irena Buřívalová attained her Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media at UNYP in cooperation with the State University of New York in 2005, before going on to complete her Master’s in Professional Communication and Public Relations also at UNYP in cooperation with La Salle University. She has held a number of interesting positions in Public Relations as well as journalism since graduating, but for the last two years has worked for the domestic media industry bible Marketing & Media (MaM). All those statistics and predictions that Dr. Nesbitt brings to his classes about the Czech and Central European media environment? That is where he often gets them from. A major source of those insights is none other than a Communication and Media graduate. He decided to ask her a few questions about her career, her work, and the challenges she sees.

Can you give a brief summary of your career after finishing your studies? 

During my last year at UNYP, I started working as a part-time intern at the daily newspaper MF DNES (not owned by Andrej Babiš at that time). Our journalism professor had arranged for us to meet editor-in-chief Petr Šimůnek (later the editor-in-chief of Forbes), who encouraged us to send our (very insufficient) CVs, and simply apply. This is how I originally, back in 2006, got my start. I started working in the business section, so it kind of set the way forward for the type of titles I would later work for such as Czech Business Weekly and the weekly Euro. After these posts, I felt a bit discouraged by the whole industry, and decided to try PR, partly craving some stability and partly a less stressful environment than the journalistic one. It was true back in 2006, and I guess it is true nowadays; things are even more difficult and complex than in the “olden days”. But for me, going back into journalism was simply a matter of following my heart.

How is the journalism you currently do different from regular, general journalism?

Trade journalism is different in many ways; your audience is more educated for starters, you have a niche segment, where everyone knows each other. But apart from that, I think the mechanisms are much the same, and one newsroom is pretty much the same as any other. Deadlines, pressure, never-ending attempts to find good angles and original stories, keeping up with breaking news, lots of insider jokes and sarcasm…

If I see correctly you started at MaM during the pandemic. How would you describe this experience?

I guess for many people Covid changed a lot. For me, personally, it was what made me think about going back to journalism. I have very good work conditions and can often work from home, which very much helps me to deal with all the quarantines my two kids have been going through during the pandemic. I am not quite sure about the mental benefit of home office, but technically, it’s a great bonus these days. Also, people have gotten much more used to video interviews, something which proved very handy during lockdowns. I even interviewed one manager while he was quite sick with Covid. And with these video links, one gets to see a lot of bookshelves and experience many funny and surreal situations!

How much has the local advertising and marketing market been impacted by the pandemic?

There was an initial phase of shock and anticipation, when advertisers didn’t know what to make of the whole situation and how to efficiently use their budgets. As you might imagine, out of home media suffered during the lockdowns, daily newspapers were no longer a ‘thing’, because people weren’t travelling to work by public transport. What they certainly were doing was watching linear TV and streaming platforms. TV advertising, along with digital formats, are two clear “winners” of the crisis. Whilst some advertisers quit or temporarily abandoned TV, some new eager e-commerce players entered the ATL “scene” for the first time. In terms of PR, marketing and the whole agency world, lots has been happening, too. Some moving around on the executive levels, people experimenting with more open office operations, and “looser” contracts on the basis of project management became more common amongst professionals.

You seem to report on a variety of areas. Is there a particular area that you prefer writing about?

I am covering media, which includes the world of publishing houses as well as media planning. I also write about retail and sustainability. I like all these areas, though media planning is a very closed, secretive segment for competitive reasons, so it’s more difficult to figure it out, and I am always learning. But I very much like covering the media market and observing its transformation. Some of it is controversial, worrying even, but I still believe in the value of good journalism, and I admire what some reporters are willing to do in order to discover the facts. I also think it’s great that at MaM we cover sustainability, of course, in a way which is relevant for our readers. It has become a kind of a buzzword and I think marketing and PR people should really think twice before they release yet another greenwashing statement or press release. It diverts attention from the important issues and creates the false notion that we are all doing something, and that the world is ok, when in fact, it is not, and what we, companies and politicians do, is not nearly sufficient or good enough.

A recurring theme written about by journalists and professionals in MaM is the lack of people for available positions in advertising, PR, and related areas. Companies are overstretched, many are desperate for people. Do you see any solution to this crisis?

In fact, I just happened to interview the CMO of Jobs.cz, Milan Fořt. And it turns out that you can’t really do much about the starting point. There are less and less people coming into the jobs market. It’s down to simple population statistics. Also, new sets of skills are needed – digital agencies are truly booming. More IT-driven people are needed also in the publishing world, but not nearly enough people have all the necessary skills. I think that we all feel some change is coming, people want something more from their jobs than they did decades ago. It will be less and less about money and more and more about the working environment, flexibility and feeling that one is taking part in something that matters. Employers, who understand this will be the winners – agencies included.

You are at the epicenter of information concerning marketing and media in the Czech Republic. Do you have any predictions, or see any new trends for 2022?

In terms of media, there is no doubt a digital transformation taking place across publishing houses that will continue through this year. Television stations will continue to deal with their shrinking advertising inventory, penetrating more and more into the digital world. I think speaking of a duopoly of digital and TV (media) will no longer be a thing, because they will interface and blend into each other. We will also see streaming efforts intensifying with local as well as foreign providers, such as new services like HBO Max or Disney +. The efficiency of digital advertising will be under scrutiny with the end of third party “cookies”. Moreover, we should finally have some legislation that will partly equalize the relationship between technology giants and traditional publishers. It will also be a year of exploration of the metaverse with some brands becoming the trend-setters, testing all the metaverse can do, and taking a potentially bigger piece of the market, whereas others might choose a more careful and steady approach with less visible results. And I mustn’t forget about the increasing popularity of audio – that is a highly underbudgeted area in terms of advertising and we will definitely hear more about that.