Last year, many Ateneo-related stories were featured in newspapers, television and other media. Aside from the UAAP men’s basketball championships dominating the headlines, the bonfire incident, H1N1 in campus, and the RH Bill stance all put the university in the spotlight.

Behind all the news reports and issues that involved the university name is a team responsible for maintaining the Ateneo image and brand. How do they represent the university?

The team

In 2005, University President Fr. Bienvenido Nebres asked Sonia Araneta to update and develop the school’s website. “It should also reflect the life and the heart of Ateneo,” recalls Araneta of the president’s directive. Considering the ubiquity of the internet and the many alumni scattered around the world, the website needed to become the access point for news about the Ateneo.

The team was initially composed of various university units including the Management of Information Systems Department to the Office of Research and Publication, and alumni. The website initially reached 60 million unique hits, eventually hitting a high of 127 million unique hits.

Eventually, in February 2006, the team was formalized into the Communication and Public Relations Group (CPRG) under the Office of University Development and Alumni Relations (OUDAR), with Araneta as its head.

“We are like a newspaper and media agency.” Araneta says. She explains that the team includes writers, editors, production and technology assistants, and web professionals.

Its duties have also grown beyond merely taking care of the website; the CPRG now creates press releases, plans advertisements for various university units, and handles press relations.

“When something happens, it goes straight to us,” Araneta says. The CPRG also manages information tools, like publications for the university. Their most recent publication was the President’s Report, which contains all the information and updates in the school. All the tarps and banners seen on campus are also produced by the team. The CPRG, along with the OUDAR, also supervised the whole sesquicentennial celebration.

Public relations

Two sources are used in disseminating information to the community, according to Araneta. The first would be the various university units, which regularly supply the CPRG with press releases about conferences, awards, and other events. The second would be self-generated; the CPRG covers the events, and would then supply the press releases to the various media establishments.

According to Marketing Professor Aaron Palileo, one advantage of PR is that it creates “subconscious albeit powerful effects.”

“It can be as simple as creating a positive image for the school, or as mentioned, relaying some of the school’s strategies. This in turn can spur these people to relay this information to others, which could go viral,” he says.

According to Araneta, with the Ateneo now partnering with universities abroad and other organizations for scholarships, presenting to them the quality of the students and faculty helps in “presenting the university as cutting edge.”

A year of crises

“Last year was very bad,” Araneta says, however, referring to the many incidents in 2009.

During the height of the A-H1N1 cases in the community, Araneta said to The GUIDON: “The press wants to know what happened, and how we [the administration] would deal with it… It isn’t hard to push Ateneo to give information.”

But one incident that pushed the Ateneo PR team was the traffic accident in the grade school department. Amiel Alcantara, a grade school student, passed away after being hit by a car driven by a parent of another grade schooler. It has been over a year since the accident.

“No less than three crews stopped by the office after the incident,” she says. The course of action was to tell reporters to use the press releases as any more information would be disrespectful to the grieving family of the young boy.

“The press [can be] really easy to please because the media needs honesty, and they can tell if you are lying.”

For Philosophy Instructor Jacqueline Jacinto, Ateneo did well in handling the incident. “They were very transparent while keeping certain details private [in respect of the family]” she says.

Meanwhile Junior Ria Rigoroso feels that the school was “covering up” some details to maintain the school’s reputation. “Ateneo could have prevented [the accident” in the first place. I dislike how something bad had to happen before action is taken,” she says.

Even with the media being given adequate information, various interpretations are unavoidable. Kacci Morales, Sanggu Secretary-General, was surprised when news reports in TV presented the incident in such a way that there was something wrong with the traffic system in the school.

In relation to another incident close to her personally, she saw how an article in the newspaper basically used hearsay and in effect scandalized the whole incident.

For her, the school got the short end of the stick just because the incident happened inside campus. “It happened under Ateneo’s jurisdiction, that’s why there was a need for a reaction [from the school],” she says.

No resting on our laurels

Public relations are now more important than ever, as Palileo explains. “An institution like Ateneo should continuously maintain relations with its various stakeholders. From a brand management paradigm, Ateneo should continue to foster its relationship with its stakeholders,” he says.

According to Political Science professor Benjamin Barretto, public relations can be a double-edged sword because “[Sometimes] organizations only show their positive side, sometimes lie to look good, and hide all the bad things about them.”

Just like in politics, he also admits that there is a need for public relations in institutions like the Ateneo. “Media can intentionally or unintentionally be used to destroy the name of Ateneo, because media has become too powerful in today’s world,” he says.

For Morales, public relations is crucial in “marketing yourself” for branding and the public image. PR is also important in “selling the brand to specific people.” She adds, “An organization shouldn’t live without public relations.”

Araneta says that in a globalized world, universities have to keep up not only with the best school in the country but the world.   “You can’t rest on your laurels,” says Araneta.