5 ‘Breaking Bad’ takeaways for PR pros

The Emmy-winning series wraps up Sunday, prompting one writer to cook up a few industry insights.

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

However, from the few episodes I have watched, I’ve picked up a few public relations lessons:

1. Be careful whom you trust.

In Season 2, Badger believes an undercover police officer when he tells him he’s not a cop; Badger tries to sell him meth and gets arrested. What does this tell us? Even if you feel you can trust an outsider with insider information, you must proceed with caution. Information is power and should be treated accordingly. When sharing information with an outsider, make sure that person is trustworthy.

2. Stick to your turf.

In Season 2, Walt asserts his dominance over his meth turf by telling some other cooks to beat it. I’m not saying you should go around to all the other PR people in town and tell them to hit the road; I’m saying this can be applied choosing our clients. Specializing in certain areas as a PR professional can prove beneficial. Say you take on a few clients in the health/wellness sector, your knowledge base grows the longer you work in the field. This helps improve the experience for your clients by eliminating the time needed to learn the industry before beginning work. Stick to your area of expertise instead of trying to have clients all over the map.

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.