Public relations (PR) involves strategic communication to build mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their stakeholders. PR aims to earn understanding and support through influencing opinion and maintaining goodwill. It is the planned effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding. PR deals with both internal and external audiences. It focuses on obtaining favorable publicity, building a good image, and handling crises through tools like press releases, newsletters, blogs, and social media. In contrast, advertising is paid, controlled communication aimed at direct sales, though it also raises awareness. PR relies on third party endorsement for non-biased perception, while advertising is recognized as self-interested.
2. Public Relations
Looks after the reputation
Earning understanding and
support
Influence the opinion and
behaviour of publics
Establish and maintain goodwill
and understanding between and
organisation and its public
5. Definitions of Public Relations
“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds
mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their
publics.”
PRSA (Public Relations Society of America)
‘Public relations is about reputation - the result of what you do, what
you say and what others say about you.
Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with
the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing
opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to
establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between
an organisation and its publics.’
CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations)
6. Definitions of Public Relations
‘Public Relations is the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to
establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organisation and
its public.’
British Institute of Public Relations
Public relations is communication between an organization and its
various stakeholders—both internal and external.
PR focuses on building good relations with the company’s various
publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building a good corporate
image, and handling crisis management issues. Today, a good PR
firm must be experts in use of social media.
8. Publics in Public Relations
Publics are the interested audiences that are important in some way to
an organization including current and potential customers, current and
potential employees and management, investors, vendors and suppliers,
media, government, and opinion leaders. They can be internal within an
organization or external from an organization.
Internal publics are people employed by a firm or members of an
organization. External publics are people and organizations that are
clients doing business with a firm or agency.
10. Media Relations — writing press releases and pitch letters, identifying media
that are important in communicating your message and building relationships
that ensure your success.
Strategic Planning — creating a communications plan that identifies what
public relations opportunities exist for your company and what should be done to
ensure maximum benefit.
Sales Communications — providing support for ongoing sales efforts by
creating brochures, product information, literature, presentations, etc.
Community Relations — building goodwill with target markets through
community, philanthropic and special programs that enhance your public image.
11. Internal Communications — creating internal public relations initiatives
targeted at specific staff and internal constituencies through published
materials, special events or electronic communications.
Crisis Management — communications initiatives that are designed to
manage internal and external crises that have the potential to negatively impact
the future of your business.
Social Media and Marketing — utilizing social media such as Facebook and
Twitter to communicate your key messages by developing an online following,
writing content and creating advertising.
Public Affairs and Issues Management — enhancing your public awareness
by distributing information, holding educational programs and taking leadership
on key issues that are affecting your community or industry.
12. Steps in PR practice
Public Relations activity has four steps:
Analysis, research and defining problems
Drawing up a programme of action
Communicating and implementing the programme
Monitoring the results, evaluation and possible modification
14. • Press releases. Information that is communicated as a part of the regular
TV or/and radio programme, newspapers, magazines and other types of
mainstream media achieves a much bigger impact than advertisements.
This is due to the fact that most people consider such information more
trustworthy and meaningful than paid adds. Press release is therefore one
of the oldest and most effective PR tools.
• Newsletters. Sending newsletters – relevant information about the
organisation or/and its products/services - directly to the target audience
is also a common method to create and maintain a strong relationship
with the public. Newsletters are also a common marketing strategy but PR
specialists use it to share news and general information that may be of
interest to the target audience rather than merely promoting
products/services.
15. • Blogging. To reach the online audience, PR specialists use the digital forms
of press releases and newsletters but they also use a variety of other tools
such as blogging and recently, microblogging. It allows them to create and
maintain a relationship with the target audience as well as establish a two
-way communication.
• Social media marketing. Like its name suggests, it is used primarily by the
marketing industry. Social media networks, however, are also utilised by a
growing number of PR specialists to establish a direct communication with
the public, consumers, investors and other target groups.
17. Paid vs Free
Advertising
• Advertising is paid, non-
personal communication
through various media by
business firms, NGOs and
individuals.
• The objective of advertising
is to sell products through
paid means.
Public Relations
• PR is the ,planned and
sustained effort to establish
and maintain mutual
understanding between an
organization and its public.
• Public relations attempts to
sell the organization itself.
18. Message Control
Advertising
• Message in Advertising can
be controlled as you buy
space for an ad in media,
the advertiser can say
anything about the product
he advertises. However, the
audience shall remain
skeptical.
Public Relations
• There is not much control
over what gets printed in
the columns of a
newspaper. A PR person
should learn to increase a
company’s chances of
positive publicity.
19. Duration of Coverage
Advertising
• In advertising you can pay
for an advertisement to be
shown in the media as
many times as your budget
allows.
Public Relations
• PR professionals give story
idea to journalists. The
journalists will then publish
the story in different ways.
This allows your target
audience to see the
information differently in
many mediums, which may
be more effective at
reinforcing the message.
20. Biased Vs Non-biased perception
Advertising
• When customers see the
ad, they realize that the
objective of the message is
to influence their buying
behaviour, with the
ultimate objective of selling
that product.
Public Relations
• PR goes for third-party
endorsement that removes
bias and lends credibility to
your story, product or
service.
21. Advertising and PR
Advertising may or may not be used by an organisation but every organisation
has a public perception and public relations. For example, the police may not
advertise their services but they do have relations with people at large.
The target audience of advertising is also different both in kind and in number.
Advertising is addressed to external audiences, primarily to consumers of
goods and services. Public relations, on the other hand, presents its
messages to specialised external audiences and internal publics.
While public relations begins very early and then proceeds steadily as a
constant factor as apart of organisation’s existence, advertising is intensive at
the launch.
22. Advertising
• ‘Advertising is the
dissemination of
information concerning
an idea, service or
product to compel
action in accordance
with the interest of the
advertiser.’
----- Frank Jefkins
• ‘Advertising is any paid
form of non-personal
presentation and
promotion of ideas,
goods or services by an
identified sponsor.’
---- American Marketing
Association
23. A GOOD ADVERTISEMENT IS ONE WHICH SELLS THE PRODUCT
WITHOUT DRAWING ATTENTION TO ITSELF.
IN THE MODERN WORLD OF BUSINESS, IT IS USELESS TO BE A
CREATIVE, ORIGINAL THINKER UNLESS YOU CAN ALSO SELL WHAT YOU
CREATE.
