Ever heard of terms such as "PR Poppie" or "perfuming the pig"? Well, you will now - and many others... and their numbers are very likely growing all the time, so it's as well to learn the lingo if you want to communicate clearly.
These are two of over 350 terms explained in a weighty international public relations industry glossary compiled by the Worldcom group of top independent PR consultancies in the world operating in 46 countries in the US, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. It's published in a free downloadable e-book format: Worldcom glossary.
One of the terms submitted by Lange 360, the only Southern African partner in the global Worldcom Group, is "PR Poppie" - a disparaging term for a person that values blatant publicity over strategic PR.
"Perfuming the pig", commonly used in United States markets is a euphemism for taking a failed product or company and re-positioning it through new branding and communications, while winning air is the disappointment which comes after gaining a new client which turns out to be non-participatory, making the PR team's task difficult.
New hybrid words such as "snark", meaning sarcasm, a combination of the words "snide" and "remark" and "glocal" - used to describe companies who are seeking new business opportunities in overseas markets against the larger multi-nationals
Other words spawned by social media include the "Twitterverse", to describe the twitter universe and all its users, a "meme" which is a thought, joke, concept or idea that is shared by a large number of online users.
The e-glossary contains terms submitted by Worldcom partners from across the globe. In Indonesia, "Community Audio Towers" is a term to describe the importance of reaching rural markets and Lange's Worldcom partner in Japan added "Kizuna" a term to describe a common hardship that unites people.
And from South Africa...Common industry terms include a "KOL" which means hosting a brainstorming session in New York and a "lekgotla" which is unique to South Africa.
"It is wonderful to see hybrid words which are becoming commonplace in all world markets and also to see how language is evolving", says Ruth Golembo, MD of Lange 360 Strategic Communications.
"The problem is that these jargon words start infiltrating our lexicon and we stop finding them strange. But when I scanned the list there were many words not commonly known to all and one needs to guard against using words which can be misinterpreted. "
You can download the e-glossary here:
Worldcom Glossary.
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