THE ICONIC Absolutely Fabulous television sitcom that parodies public relations through the champagne lifestyles of Eddy and Patsy bears only a passing resemblance to the reality of the industry in Hong Kong.
Commonly known as 'PR', the business is dominated by women, with a survey by the Hong Kong Public Relations Professionals' Association finding that women outnumber men by four to one.
Public relations involves a fair level of entertaining, but life is not one long party.
'I wish there was more champagne, but the reality is that business growth does not come from party planning, but very established and serious issues - such as ensuring that firms meet corporate governance standards, report financial results transparently or engage government regulators, customers and various special interest groups on environmental issues,' said David Ketchum, chairman of the Council of Public Relations Firms of Hong Kong.
Every sizeable local company has at least one staff member dealing with public relations, with duties ranging from dealing with the media and sending out press releases to organising brochures and websites.
Bigger firms and corporations have entire PR departments. Many others are represented by specialist firms. The principal objective of all is to promote the corporate brand, image and product.
According to Fortune magazine, public relations will be one of the world's fastest-growing professions over the next 10 years and, as one of Asia's most sophisticated economies, Hong Kong is not surprisingly brimming with PRs.