4 PR lessons from ‘Seinfeld’

This year marks the 25th anniversary of “Seinfeld,” the ultimate “show about nothing” that became quite something. Though you may think of Jerry and the crew as a bunch of laughable slackers, watching the episodes on repeat in syndication has revealed that there are some business takeaways that apply to public relations. Read on and see if you agree.

Read the social cues. “Seinfeld” explored the minutiae of relationships, and much of the show’s comedy questioned etiquette or social discourse. For example, which conversations are too important to be made via cell phone (or now, via text)? How many dates must you have been on before you need to end a relationship in person?

These questions can be applied to the proper handling of client-agency situations as well. Can you read the signs of a faltering relationship? Do you know which situations can be addressed in a call or which demand the “personal touch”? It may take some finessing, but the better able you are to read between the lines of an email or understand the subtext of a conversation, the better decisions you will make. As Jerry once astutely observed, “The fabric of society is very complex.”