INTRDUCATION TO PUBLIC RELATION (PR)

1. HISTORY AND DIFINATION

The term “Public Relations “was used for the first time in the United States and
the United States Post Office Railway Union and in the first decade of the
twentieth century, this country was created the office of public relations at the
institute.

In 1906, the first private company which the public services offered to its
customers was created. In 1987 Association of Public Relations (IPR) provides a
definition of public relations, which is still used.

In this definition, PR is planned and continuous efforts to establish and

maintain goodwill and understanding between an organization and its target
audience (Skandari, 2004). Words "planning" and "continuous" show that
goodwill and understanding itself does not obtained easily and in fact, must
"create" and "maintain" and also determined that public relations activities are
planned and the purpose of public relations is to create goodwill and
understanding.

In last definition of the IPR, PR is consider method that the organization use to
maintain the credibility, products, services or staff with the aim of obtaining
recognition and support. For public relations are also used other words and
expressions: Public relations is vital artery and permanent and brain and
engine of organization.

Public relations are the art and social science of that link intra-and extra
organization together. Public relations draw purpose, and how programs. Public
relations are a trusted advisor of manager and all personnel; so it is essential
that managers and employees can have cent per cent trust him.
Public relations must see everything and everything also show beautiful. Public
relations can be bridge linking between people and organizations. A public
relations is the management function that establishes and maintains mutually
beneficial relationships between an organization and the public’s on whom its
success or failure depends.

2. Public Relations, Making Culture and Informing

Although in the present era communication isn’t first and most important
element need the human, but it can certainly say that it is one of the most basic
knowledge and most important development factor in modern humans and other
foundation of the present century.

Nowadays is the era of informing and there is significant relationship between the
power of informing governments with their position in the world (Winch,
1985). Actually nowadays there aren’t powerful states with the poor
communication. In such a world government is not possible without the benefit
of public relations.

3. Duties of the Public Relations

Duties of public relations are now classified into three main categories: 1-
informing 2- advertising and encourage 3- seeking cooperation, integration and
optimizing affairs.

Scholars have enumerated two sub duties for public relations that include
advertisements and formalities that these are public relations tool, not duty, and
its purpose and nature. Formalities include: delivery, reverence, acceptance,
cooperation, and settle and hospitality guest of organization (Lerner, 1964).

Advertisement include: one-sided informing about a particular topic or purpose

and include three types 1 - advertisement such as electrical and gas safety
advertising on TV 2- deceptive or maneuver 3- face to face. Emphasizing this
point is important that advertisement is public relations tool, neither the nature nor
purpose.

HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

In the United States, Public Relations dates back to the Revolutionary War. The
strategies and tactics used to swell the ranks of patriots dedicated to the
Revolutionary cause and staging of the Boston Tea Party are examples of early
public relations. President Thomas Jefferson first used the term “public relations”
in 1807. In his “Seventh Address to the Congress,” he replaced the words “state of
thought” with “public relations.”

Unfortunately, the perception of public relations has not always been positive. In
the 1800s, P.T. Barnum became a master publicist by generating article after article
for his traveling circus. His “public be damned” philosophy and the use of
exploitative publicity methods, however; have contributed to criticism of the
profession.

Another significant component to the profession’s development came from the

Creel Committee during World War I. A member of the committee, Edward L.
Bernays, later considered by many to be the father of public relations, was part of a
massive verbal and written communications effort to gain support of the war.
According to Bernays, “this was the first time in our history that information was
used as a weapon of war.”

Public relations is a strategic communication process companies, individuals, and

organizations use to build mutually beneficial relationships with the public. A
public relations specialist drafts a specialized communication plan and uses
media and other direct and indirect mediums to create and maintain a
positive brand image and a strong relationship with the target audience.

The main objective of public relations is to maintain a positive reputation of the

brand and maintain a strategic relationship with the public, prospective
customers, partners, investors, employees and other stakeholders who leads to
a positive image of the brand and makes it seem honest, successful, important, and
relevant.
FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
A public relations is different from advertising. Public relations agencies don’t buy
ads, they don’t write stories for reporters, and they don’t focus on attractive paid
promotions. They rather promote the brand by using editorial content appearing on
magazines, newspapers, news channels, websites, blogs, and TV programs.
Using earned or free media for promotion has its own benefits as information on
these mediums aren’t bought. It has a third party validation and hence isn’t viewed
with skepticism by the public.

The functions of public relations manager and public relations agencies include:
1. Anticipating, analyzing, and interpreting the public opinion and attitudes of the public
towards the brand and drafting strategies which use free or earned media to influence them.
2. Drafting strategies to support brand’s every campaign and new move through editorial
content.
 3. Writing and distributing press releases.
4. Speechwriting.
5. Planning and executing special public outreach and media relations events.
6. Writing content for the web (internal and external websites).
7. Developing a crisis public relations strategy.
8. Handling the social media presence of the brand and responding to public reviews on social
media websites.
9. Counseling the employees of the organization with regard to policies, course of action,
organization’s responsibility and their responsibility.
10. Dealing with government and legislative agencies on behalf of the organization.
11. Dealing with public groups and other organizations with regard to social and other policies
of the organization and legislation of the government.
12. Handling investor relations.

TYPES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

According to the functions of the public relations department/agencies, public
relations can be divided into 7 types. These are:

 Media Relations: Establishing a good relationship with the media

organizations and acting as their content source.
 Investor Relations: Handling investors events, releasing financial reports and
regulatory filings, and handling investors, analysts and media queries and
complaints.
 Government Relations: Representing the brand to the government with
regard to fulfilment of policies like corporate social responsibility, fair
competition, consumer protection, employee protection, etc.
 Community Relations: Handling the social aspect of the brand and
establishing a positive reputation in the social niche like environment
protection, education, etc.
 Internal Relations: Counseling the employees of the organization with regard
to policies, course of action, organization’s responsibility and their
responsibility. Cooperating with them during special product launches and
events.
 Customer Relations: Handling relationships with the target market and lead
consumers. Conducting market research to know more about interests,
 attitudes, and priorities of the customers and crafting strategies to influence the
same using earned media.
 Marketing Communications: Supporting marketing efforts relating to
product launch, special campaigns, brand awareness, image, and positioning.

ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

 Credibility: Public trusts the message coming from a trusted third party more
than the advertised content.
 Reach: A good public relations strategy can attract many news outlets,
exposing the content to a large audience.
 Cost effectiveness: A public relations is a cost effective technique to reach
large audience as compared to paid promotion.
DISADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
 No Direct Control: Unlike paid media, there isn’t a direct control over the
content distributed through the earned media. This is the biggest risk of
investing in public relations.
 Hard To Measure Success: It is really hard to measure and evaluate the
effectiveness of a PR campaign.
 No Guaranteed Results: Publishing of a press release isn’t guaranteed as the
brand doesn’t pay for it. The media outlet publishes it only if it feels that it’ll
attract its target audience.

Importance Of Public Relations

With over 63% of the value of most companies dependent on their public image,
public relations have become a very important topic today for numerous reasons:

Builds Up The Brand Image

The brand image gets a boost when the target customers get to know about it
through a third party media outlet. A good public relations strategy help the brand
builds up its image in a way it wants to.

It’s Opportunistic
Public relations strategies make the brand capitalize on the opportunities. Google
was in the news for donating to Ebola. Facebook promoted LGBTQ rights. Coca-
Cola did a PR stunt against obesity.
These opportunities even attract many influencers to share the brand story to their
followers.
Promote Brand Values
PR is used to send out positive messages which are in line with the brand’s value
and its image. This builds up the brand’s reputation.

Strengthen Community Relations

PR strategies are used to convey that the brand is as much part of the society as the
target audience. This builds up a strong relationship of the brand with the public.

4. The Position of Public Relations in Organizations

Today's world is a world of communication and in every second, millions of

information units are exchanged in the world. Since development of human life
improves, thus increase need to information and communication every day
increased and nowadays having accurate and up to date information for people
is the important and people with more information will be more successful.

Public relations in organizations in term of work quality means assist to

organization management in achieving organizational goals, believe to the
transparency affairs and accountability, respect citizens' rights, identify duties and
responsibilities of government, the right control of people to the work and the right
people in criticize and evaluate programs and practices of the organization and
having specific strategies and programs are divided into three categories: 1-
justifier public relations 2-explainer public relations 3- analyzer public relations.

A. Justifier public relations is organization based and manager –based which

continually tries to explain the views of managers and their organization benefit
and with misrepresentation, concealment, false and misleading and closing real
and concrete ways of disseminating information to outside organization with
large volumes informing and misleading advertisements trying to show better
objectives and activities of the organization.
B. Explainer public relations in its most optimistic form are describes and narrate
public relations that move following events and only deals with to illustrations
and report them. This type of public relations is lack of strategic planning and
executive program and is passive, and without innovation and creativity.

C./ Analyzer public relations is a public relations with program that moves head
of affairs, events and trends and improve to levels of management consultants and
participates in policies. The objective of these public relations is promoting
mutual understanding with audiences and with confidence and strong reasoning
and logic meanwhile safeguarding organization interests protect from the public
interest, governments and other organizations. Analyzer public relations
recognized desires, needs and attitudes of organization audience and will
transfer to managers of organization and by providing technical consultations
to organization policy makers can play significant share in policy formulating and
executive programs of organization (Botan, 2006).

In public organizations have reliable information, accurate and timely,

considering the purpose and structure is an organization's greatest asset and
survival of an organization depends on having a reciprocal relationship
between internal and external of organization and advertising, and up to date and
useful information and appears necessity of the real public relations in public
affairs station.

In today's world that has broken communication boundaries and human seek to
discovery of optimal solutions life and attitude of the society oriented. Scientific
principles lead to explore and focus on the interaction conditions and to involve.

Undoubtedly, an organization, or an agency cannot be considered unrelated to their

island and no need and unrelated from technology and its products (Laver, 1989).
Public relations should be based on thinking oriented, collaboration oriented
and information-oriented in order to effectively contribute to the effectiveness of
the organization and with innovation and modernity, originality and creativity
is continually involved and coincide themselves with developments and responding
regularly to public opinion.

It seems that keep up the lack of talent innate and degrees is one of the weaknesses
of public relations in Iran. Also managers of the public relations should be familiar
communication and management. A lot of public relations managers don’t have
thinking-oriented approach to public relations (Bertrand and Hughes, 2005).
Having the capabilities and innate talent for a manager is the important
characteristics.

Everyone who attended communication studies will not be public relations

specialists; because education passing is not at all indicative of expertise in this
field. Senior managers should have accurate recognition from the scope of public
relations. Public relations are a combination of art and technology to
communicate properly with people. A successful public relations director should
know as well as the country general culture and however, is somewhat familiar
psychological and psychology.

Other characteristics of a good and effective public relations manager include an

expert in matters of culture-social, benefits of the use of force expert advice
from outside the organization, control of activities and mechanism and decisions
of organization and ... (Rezvani Gilkalaei, 2008).

If for public relations considered tasks such as informing, make culture, shaping
public opinion and public awareness, duty of accountability to public opinion
is one of the most important duties of the organization unit so that
accountability is contains and results all efforts made public relations. Public
opinion is greatest invisible power that creates social and cultural flow and these
flows operates stronger than any political.

Therefore, before implementing any policy must be provided field of response to

public opinion (Cazeneuve, 1974). Public relations by promoting accountability in
organizations become effective element in order to clarify social relationships,
attraction of confidence public opinion, truthfulness, honesty, transfer of
information. With remove the barriers between public relations, media and public
and also clearing agencies will be realized interactive communication policy.

Experts believe that despite the importance of public relations and effective role of
managers in this field in different organizations and ministries unfortunately, there
isn’t look professional and program to the Arabian Journal of Business and
Management Review (Nigerian Chapter) (Vol. 1, No. 10, 2013) 50 public relations
and we see that the majority of public relations by addressing to have quick impact
work, not important to the long-term plans and do not perform the necessary
investment.

5. NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY TO PUBLIC

RELATIONS

Today science and art of public relations is as quasi-civil institutions to facilitate

two-way communication between the government and the people and by more
complex the need for social system is achieved the development of new knowledge
and professional consensus more than before. As far as an institution or
organization finds needless from public relations department.

Media and Public Relations Lack of mutual trust between the media (especially
newspapers) with public relations is a historical problem that is overall problem
effects in social - political structure. These relationships have more challenges
especially between public relations and the journalists of the press because
newspapers have more critical to the performance organization and governmental
powers and devices.

The media and public relations have found independent identity and their
professional from long time. Discussion of public relations with media and interact
media with public relations is associated with its own challenges (Culbertson & et
al, 1993). Media usually know public relations as hide and believe that they hide
needed the news media according to the interests and needs of their organization
and public relations also believe that media don’t show news really and against
dissemination of news and information related of media, have expected rates of
material and spiritual in organizations. Lack of trust social and professional &
relationship problem between these institutions directed and making ideas for
making is due to underdevelopment of country. Thus the problem posed will be
resolved by the growth of democracy in society and response of power institutions
and political - social structures (Hirschhorn, 1986).

As growth and development media and the press is possible in the same way.
Public relations and media are two important factors of informing in community
that can together help the free flow of information and organization reputation
and trust of people. Public relations should always be proactive for relations of
academic and constant with media, in order to take more advantage of potentials in
the media and just do not rely on hold meetings of press. To realize it means better
and more use of the media power subject to a reasonable and practical engagement
with media that share of public relations and efforts to make this relationship is
huge.
 Empowerment of Public Relations: Serious consideration to the minds of all
staff in creating amended, and the safe flow regardless of the political desires and
destructive approaches unfortunately it is one of the problems in public relations.

Provide effective advice to the Chief Executive Officer will be realized if director
of public relations have known science of counseling, psychology, education,
sociology, anthropology and ... that this is large gap in many the director of public
relations (Daymon, 2010). Defending position of public relations against
irresponsible units and individuals intervention. Protecting the privacy organization
against the contradiction, the lies, threats and ... while it is realized that the public
relations director himself is innocent of these issues.

Result In public relations, said: "The customer is always right”, it should be

strongly emphasized “informing is public relations functions." But perhaps the
most important questions in the age of the internet is how can to use e-services to
reach the objectives of public relations and more importantly, how can by these
services create relationships with customers or audience by public relations. But
the things that should not forget; Arabian Journal of Business and Management
Review (Nigerian Chapter)

A new type of audience is emerging in relation to electronic media. - Public

relations is increasingly changing and expanding. - Public relations become direct
communication techniques to communication technology.

New techniques will change the relationship between public relations and the
audience and issues will be updated. However, the informing will remain as
continuous responsibility for public relations. By entering to new world which
internet is the main character, public relations find new responsibilities that the
major ones are as follows: Finding information: in this stage information is
prepared and produced.

Knowing information: in this stage information is formulated and set. Informing:

in this stage information is explained and distributed. With the computerization
of work, institutional staff decrease and the role of public relations consultants
developed. Future increases in the number of public relations firms. Public
relations will be specialized and turn to specialized tasks. Dimensions and limits of
authority of public relations increase. Public relations professionals turn to remote
communications. Costs and work of clinical and service will reduced in public
relations and will increased role of informing and advisory in public relations.

Competency Functions of PR

Trusted counsel – Advise and anticipate.

Internal communication –Engage employees.

Media relations – Develop public trust.

Community relations – Establish public support.

External communication – Build public support and trust

Four-Step Process Functions1

Research

Strategize and plan

Implement, execute and communicate

Evaluate
Other Functions

Publicity and special events

Issues management

Crisis communication

DEFINITION REVIEW

Advertising – Information placed in the media by an identified sponsor that pays for time or
space.

Marketing – Management function that identifies human needs and wants, and offers products
and services to satisfy those demands by targeting customers.

Media Relations deals with communicating the organization’s messages to selected reporters and
editors and then, following up to see if the message is reported accurately. Evaluation is an
important and often overlooked part of this process. Public Affairs has to deal with developing
effective involvement in public policy and helping an organization adapt to public expectations.
Also, it is also a term used by military services and some governmental agencies to describe their
public relations activities. Issues Management is identifying and addressing issues of public
concern in which an organization is, or should be, concerned. Industry Relations is dealing with
other firms in the industry of an organization, and with the trade associations related with that
organization. Marketing Communications is a combination of activities designed to sell a
product, service or idea, including advertising, collateral material, publicity, promotion,
packaging, point-of-sale display, trade shows and special events.

An organization of today cannot operate in a vacuum. Many audiences are listening and
watching. When something negative happens, there are groups that will use it to attack the
organization. The best crisis plan is PREVENTIVE, not reactive. Identifying the possible things
that could go wrong that would have a negative impact on the organization is a key step in the
crisis management process. Prioritize them as to likelihood and degree of negative impact. Then
address each by asking “what are we doing now to prevent this from happening?” A Crisis Plan
should include responses to the list of possible problems and who’s responsible, what to say and
what NOT to say during a crisis.
Maintaining a favorable relationship with the communities in which the organization has an
interest is also crucial. Community Relations is continuing, planned and active participation with
and within a community. Before beginning a Public Relations plan, the client must be made
aware of how they stand in the eyes of their publics. The best way to do this is to
run a Communication Audit. Communication Audits are strategic, research-based
processes of evaluating an organization’s communications (and sometimes,
marketing) program by using interviews of key audiences, focus groups, surveys,
evaluations of an organization’s communications vehicles. The end result is a
report that includes the research as well as recommendations on how the
organization can improve its communications.

On top of the different major practices of Public Relations, there are also different areas of
expertise. Corporate PR, Entertainment PR, Government PR, Technology PR,
Finance PR, Health PR and Sports PR are all different areas of the business. Each
of these areas is self-explanatory, but are not limited to only practicing in one area.
For example, if you work for a famous athlete, one would need to exercise Sports
PR and Entertainment PR. Consequently, there are many different areas of Public
Relations in which to apply all the major practice areas. One of these areas is
Media Relations.

Media relations personnel have many responsibilities as public relations

practitioners in the various fields that make up the profession. They are the direct
link between the media and the organization, whether it is a sports team, a
corporation or a non-profit. Media kits, press releases, setting up interviews and
releasing their organizations information are all responsibilities of media relations
personnel. Journalists and media outlets receive the vast majority of their
information about organizations for news stories through the work of media
relations personnel. They are the gatekeepers of information about the organization
they work for. An example of these responsibilities can be explained by exploring
the duties of a sports information director (SID), otherwise known as the media
relations person, for a college athletic department.

In the off-season, the sports information director is responsible for updating the
team roster, preparing the team media guide, which includes player/coach profiles,
player/team statistics, and team history such as titles won, awards, etc. During the
season the SID is responsible for updating player and team statistics after every
game so they are readily available to be dispersed to the media and to the coaching
staff. This information is also prepared in order to be uploaded to the team website
so that the information is easily accessible. The SID is also in charge of making
sure the media have parking passes and media passes reserved so that they have
access to the game events. The sports information director also attends team
practices to set up interviews with coaches and players for the media. The SID also
does this on game days. Game day activities also include making media guides,
statistics, team schedules, lineups, and any other relevant information accessible to
the media. During the game, the SID records the statistics and must be sure to give
the media updated statistics that change during the coarse of the game. The SID
must also issue the final box score to the media at the end of the game. Post game
responsibilities include faxing the final box scores and statistics to all the local
newspapers and television stations. Because the University of Texas is covered
extensively throughout the nation, these statistics and box scores must also be
faxed to ESPN, Sportsticker, and the Associated Press. After the game, the SID is
also in charge of writing the press release and sending it to the Associated Press.
All of this must be done in a timely fashion because of deadlines for journalists.

Meeting deadlines is just one of the guidelines a media relations person must
remember to do when assisting reporters. A media relations person must also
remember to always be available to the media, to be truthful, to treat every reporter
as equal as the next, to be accurate when issuing out information, and to politely
correct mistakes made by journalists. These are all important qualities for a media
relations professional to uphold.

Media relations is an important part of any organization. An organization that has a

strong media relations department has a significant advantage over an organization
without productive media relations personnel. Media relations personnel are the
link to the media, which decides whether to cover a story on an organization or not.
This is why a strong media relations department can be such an asset to an
organization; the media relations department can be the determinant as to whether
their organization’s news gets coverage. The more positive news coverage an
organization receives, the more the public is aware of the organization overall.
Keeping an organization in the eye of the public and being viewed in a positive
light is what makes media relations such a necessity in an era where news is so
easily accessible by the general population.

Ethics in Public Relations

Ethics has various meanings as it is applied to public relations and the individuals
working within that field. In the past, terms such as “cover-up” and “spin” have
given public relations a negative image because they imply that PR work is
somewhat unethical or underhanded. Today, many corporations are covering up
their dealings with others, using deception and half-truths that shake the credibility
of the institution. However, positive qualities such as honesty and sharing news
with the public also have some companies stressing the need for ethical dealings in
the marketplace. Ethics and credibility are slowly re-emerging in the field of public
relations, pressuring an attitude change.

Despite preconceived and stereotypical notions about the practice of public

relations, it is crucial that people in the industry set high ethical standards. In fact,
the public relations worker should be the ethical voice within the corporation. This
position of responsibility requires public relations professionals to advise their
clients in ethical decision making, advising them towards the truth and away from
deception.

Leadership is a quality that should resonate in all active public relations

professionals, especially when implementing ethical practices. Public Relations
Society of America (PRSA) has developed a code of ethics to help its members
develop leadership qualities. The six core values of PRSA suggest ideal behavior
for public relations practitioners. Advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence,
loyalty, and fairness comprise attributes of the Public Relations Society of
America’s ethical code.

An organization’s social responsibility also relates to the code of ethics of an

organization. The social organization is responsible for establishing norms that
control and define the actions and mistakes of its members. Being socially
responsible includes every department of an organization. Examples of social
responsibility categories are: marketing practices, corporate philanthropy,
environmental activities, external relations, employment diversity in retaining and
promoting minorities and women. Today, social responsibility is integrated into
most departments of an organization.

Corporate codes of conduct are another aspect of corporate social responsibility,

ensuring that every person within the company implements ethics. After Enron’s
scandal, many codes of conduct have been implemented, but the companies do not
all share the same motivation for using the codes. Corporate codes of conduct help
improve internal operations, respond to transgressions, increase public confidence,
and stem the tide of outside regulation. The most important form of conduct that all
corporations should follow is to always tell the truth.
The public relations industry is at a turning point that depends on how public
relations practitioners react ethically to situations. Credibility is essential for
ensuring continued value of the public relations profession. Most importantly,
ethical practices are crucial to demonstrate that corporations can be honest. Such
ethical practices will require constant dedication by public relations professionals
to project the image of the public relations field as one of credibility and truth.

Public Relations Firms

Ruder Finn
Mission:
To create impactful visual communications for clients through branding, collateral
and information design. Our mission is to ensure that both the strategy and
messaging are as elegant as the visual execution. Our design staff is as global as
our largest clients, so that we can provide solutions that cross borders and
audiences with ease and grace.

Practices:
Healthcare, Technology, Corporate, Consumer, Arts/Culture, Public Affairs/Global
Issues, and Travel/Tourism.

Porter Novelli
Mission:
Porter Novelli’s agency partners and employees encompass the research,
experience, expertise and fresh thinking that demonstrate the agency’s breadth and
depth of intellectual capital in a variety of fields. Using white papers, research
studies and PN IQ – Insights Quarterly – the agency’s own journal of key learnings
and best practices, Porter Novelli has created vehicles for continuous improvement
in our key practice areas and in disciplines important to our clients.

Practices:
Consumer, Public Affairs, Corporate Affairs, Healthcare and Technology

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

Mission:
Our clients all live in competitive worlds. To compete successfully, they need
access to high quality information, strategic advice and specialist communications
skills. With leading practitioners in all key marketing disciplines, WPP companies
are happy to work as single suppliers or in partnership with each other.
Practices:
Advertising, Media Investment Management, Information, Consulting, Public
Affairs, Branding, Healthcare, and Specialized Communications.

Cohn and Wolfe began in Georgia in 1970. Today the company has several female
leaders. Of the 11 managing directors, nine are women. The leader of Cohn and
Wolfe worldwide is another woman, Donna Imperato. Cohn and Wolfe is best
known for its connection to the Olympics. In 1980, Coke put C&W in charge of all
their Olympic public relations activities. C&W has been involved in every
Olympics since then, with a variety of products. For example, in the 1996 summer
games in hot and stifling Atlanta, C&W worked for York air conditioners to make
their contributions of cool air known at the games. Currently C&W is
headquartered out of London. IN 1984 they were bought by Y&R. Then when
Y&R was bought by WPP in 2000, C&W became part of the WPP family. Locally,
they just acquired Springbock Tech. – Texas’s largest PR firm specializing in
technology PR.

Manning, Selvage and Lee is an international PR firm based out of London. They
have 28 owned offices and 70 affiliates. Their key areas of work are consumer
marketing, corporate communications and finance/ investor relations. Some of
their exciting clients include GMAC Financial Services, Proctor and Gamble and
X-Box. They are also award winners. In 2003 they were voted a Holmes Report
Agency of the Year. In 2004 they won a PRSA Silver Anvil award for the Heart of
Diabetes Campaign.

Edelman is a large firm. They have 1800 employees in 40 offices. This makes
Edelman one of the largest remaining independents. Their mission is to provide
public relations counsel and strategic communications services that enable their
clients to build strong relationships and to influence attitudes and behaviors in a
complex world. Worldwide, they have a broad international network but they
struggle with poor leadership in Europe. In Asia, Edelman has watched steady
growth, up by 20 percent last year.

Edelman’s main practices include corporate, crisis management, financial

relations, entertainment, food, government, marketing, public affairs, sports, travel
and design. To accomplish all this, Edelman is made up of four specialty firms.
Blue is the advertising firm, First and 42 nd is a management consulting firm,
StrategyOne is their research firm and BioScience Communications works with
medical education and publishing.
As part of the Interpublic Group, Golin Harris has a wide reach throughout the
world. Their reach extends to 27000 employees in 100 countries. They have a
variety of key areas of expertise. They work in corporate communications and
utilize CrossMedia which works to produce broadcast PR. They also work with
investors and have a capable Investor Relations department. They also work in the
areas of marketing and branding. As the world of technology expands Golin Harris
continues to be a leader in technology related public relations.

Corporate Public Relations

In the wake of corporate scandals and rocky economic pitfalls large corporations
have taken into special consideration the importance of their organization’s image.
Thus, the growth and development of the PR department has begun to play a
pivotal role in the corporate world. By examining the structure of PR departments
and its role, we hope to grasp a basic knowledge PR in the corporate world.

The majority of PR professionals are employed by the corporate world rather than
in agencies. It’s also helpful to note that many corporations are now referring their
PR departments as Corporate Communications or Public Affairs. Yet, just because
a corporation has its own PR department does not rule out the option of using an
agency, or multiple agencies for that matter, to gain specialization or outside help
for the corporation. It is common for corporations to seek the expertise of an
agency to aid them in crisis management, host a special event or for a fresh
perspective. Another outside However, the PR department within the corporation
has the unique advantage of knowing the inner atmosphere of the company.

Each corporation will vary in the structure of its PR department depending on the
industry and needs of the company. The department can range from one person to
many hundreds within the corporation. For example, Exxon Mobil has a
substantially sized department with international offices and countless staff
members. While there is no one set way to organize a PR department, the most
successful ones are those who have direct access to top-level executives. Direct
interaction with the CEO is important to know exactly what to communicate, what
publics need attention, and any important issues that may affect the company.

One of the primary functions of the PR department include ensuring that relations
with stakeholders such as employees, investors, and the public are in check by
keeping open communication. To ensure good employee relations departments
must ensure that the staff are readily informed with what is happening within the
company. Internal publications, memos, pamphlets or intranet access are often
used as a clear channel to communicate with employees. Often times for investors
and stockholders, the PR department will inform them with company updates via
newsletters or special events.

When it’s time for a new product or service rollout, it’s the PR department that
organizes the press conference, which may include writing speeches for the CEO
and putting together press kits. A press kit is a foundation for what the press needs
to know about why there is a press conference in the first place. It will include bios
of the CEO or other main people involved with the event, pictures, background
information, contact information, a press release, and maybe even a CD-ROM.
One of the most important communications the PR department provides is
organizing the company’s annual report, which includes a financial overview, a
letter from the CEO, salary changes, etc. It basically touches on the ins and outs of
the company. A company, for instance McDonald’s, will often put its annual report
on the internet which is a great tool the PR department uses to give up-to-date
information on the company.

The Public Relations department is also responsible for ensuring the company’s
image by promoting good relations with the community in which the company and
its subsidiaries are located. Philanthropy is important to that image and by
organizing or sponsoring events that provide services to the community, or
nationally, to support things such as education and diversity. In addition, the
opinions of the various publics a company has is very important to know how best
to communicate and formulate the company’s image. Research is vital to doing so
and can be done by the PR department by gathering the information themselves or
going through a research company.

Overall, Corporate Public Relations does everything an agency does, except with a
few more “in-housecleaning” demands. The department has more knowledge of
the internal organization of the company. The only difference may be bias due to
the fact that the PR department is a part of the internal politics of the company.
Nevertheless, Corporate Public Relations is a strong arm in the PR Industry and
will continue to be so.

Non-Profit Organizations

The structure of a non-profit organization is easily simplified. The organization

will base its communication efforts on their mission, objective, and goals. The
mission is the basic purpose of the organization including what it is trying to
accomplish. For example, “The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is to
stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime, and prevent underage
drinking.”-MADD

Objectives simply communicate the general direction the organization is taking,

and goals form the specific actions—such as time, budget,etc.—needed to
accomplish the mission. Goals are specific and measurable so the organization has
the opportunity to evaluate its progress. After determining its goals, publics,
competition, and so forth, the organization can form a marketing strategy. The
organization can then implement and eventually evaluate its communication
efforts.

Three examples of organizations using very different marketing techniques are

MADD, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and Austin Lyric Opera (ALO). MADD
is an organization benefiting society. It is one of the most successful grass roots
campaigns in history.

MADD utilizes its members by sending them as speakers to schools, and

legislation. Hearing a mother’s first hand account at the slow death of her daughter
has an enormous impact of her audience. The Lance Armstrong Foundation does
well with media coverage. Their news coverage and article placements have made
their name well known. They began the rubber wristband craze and use Lance
Armstrong as a celebrity spokesperson.

Austin Lyric Opera deals with several different types of public relations. There is a
community relation with the company’s patrons and for the children and parents
attending the ALO music school. There are also investor relations with season
ticket holders and people who regularly give large donations. This usually includes
large special events and fundraisers throughout the year. ALO also combines
several techniques including PSAs, commercials, brochures, direct mail,
fundraising, and special events. Despite all the different missions of non-profit
organizations, they are all similar in their structures and limited resources. By
using small public relations departments to do several functions, they have been
able to experience a wide range of communication tools.

Public Relations Organizations

Professional PR Organizations
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), chartered in 1947 is the world’s
largest organization for public relations professionals. PRSA’s vision is to unify,
strengthen, and advance the profession of public relations. It has established itself
as the organization, which builds value, demand, and global understanding for
public relations.

PRSA has nearly 20,000 members, in 114 chapters, the world’s largest
organization for public relations professionals. These members represent a variety
of categories such as technology, government, associations, and nonprofit
organizations, to name a few.

According to the PRSA website, “their primary objectives are to advance the
standards of the public relations profession and to provide members with
professional development opportunities through continuing education programs,
information exchange forums, and research projects conducted on the national and
local levels.”

The three core areas of focus are 1) advancing the profession, 2) strengthening the
society, and 3) establishing global leadership.

Membership in PRSA is on an individual, not organizational basis. There are two

categories of membership: member and Associate member. Each category has
specific eligibility requirements. One specific requirement for all members
however is adherence to the PRSA Code of Ethics.

The PRSA Code of Ethics is an important document to the Public Relations

Industry and focuses on 6 specific areas, advocacy, honesty, fairness, expertise,
independence, and loyalty. This code was last updated in October 2000. Two
quotes from the preamble illustrate how strongly the PRSA Board of Directors
feels about the ethical conduct of its members. It begins with “The Code of Ethics
is designed to be a guide for members as they carry our their ethical
responsibilities” and concludes with the following statement “Ethical practice is
the most important obligation of a PRSA member.”

As a member of PRSA, a person has access to many resources for personal and
professional development. The Professional Resource Center provides access to
award-winning public relations campaign profiles, timely information on industry
trends, and helpful campaign development resources. A member is eligible to
secure low group cost insurance for members and their employees. PRSA members
are also eligible for online product discounts with Office Depot, free subscriptions
to Public Relations Tactics and The Strategist, as well as discounts on other
publications through the PRSA store.

One other very important resource for members and non-members is the PRSA
website, which is user friendly and provides a great amount of information. Here
you can find job opportunities, access a calendar for PRSA events, and find out
information about the various awards, including The Silver Anvil Award. There
are also directories and publications listed. These are useful resources to locate
other PRSA members or use as reference materials to keep up with current trends
in the industry.

The Texas Public Relations Association (TPRA) began in 1953 in San Antonio and
has since expanded into a statewide organization that serves PR practitioners all
over Texas. It established a “Code of Ethics” that sets the standard for the Texas
PR industry. The Code focuses on high expectations of honesty, integrity, fairness,
respect, accuracy, truth and many other characteristics. Members are encouraged to
abide by these Codes for the betterment of the public and the PR industry.

There are many benefits in having a membership in TPRA. TPRA holds

conferences and seminars throughout the year to further the education of PR
practitioners. Practitioners gather to discuss emerging trends and issues, successes
and problems, and the new skills needed to survive in this rapidly evolving
industry. Guest speakers are brought in to offer help and advice on how to respond
to the ever changing demands of the typical PR job.

TPRA members also have a chance at winning statewide recognition at the only
Texas PR awards program. The Best of Texas Awards honor the best in specific
public relations activities, and the Silver Spur Awards recognize outstanding public
relations programs. Individuals who contribute to TPRA and the profession can
also receive the Golden Spur, Outstanding PR Practitioner, Rising Star, and New
Member Achievement awards.

TPRA members are given valuable networking tools, such as being listed in the
“Who’s Who in Texas Public Relations” directory and building relationships with
peers across the state. The directory is also a source of information to public
relations agencies and executive research and media firms.

The TPRA website also posts job and internship opportunities for those PR
professionals looking for new experiences or work. The website also features
reference sources, news sources, and professional sites involving the PR industry.

TPRA and its foundation, the Public Relations Foundation of Texas (PRFT),
sponsor student awards programs and provide multiple resources to help further the
education of future PR practitioners.

TPRA has recently been promoting their group membership fees. Now, the Group
Membership Plan allows for registration fees and dues to be reduced when four or
more people from the same employer join. This allows companies to sponsor more
memberships for their employees and for TPRA to continue its growth.

Though once dominated by white men, the field of Public Relations is becoming
more diverse.

PR Publications and Job Opportunities

Public Relations Publications

In the Public Relations arena, there are many different but important publications
that serve to inform professionals, individual clients and businesses. Most of these
are of the “trade publication” genre, containing industry information for differing
publics. For the purposes of this report, the publications will be differentiated by
whether they are produced and sponsored by PRSA or individually.

PRSA distributes two major publications, Public Relations Tactics, the monthly
tabloid, and The Strategist, the quarterly magazine for the leaders in the industry.
There catch phrase is that they continue to provide members with timely sources of
what’s new and what’s news in public relations, and by way of trade publications
they are two of the most successful for the public relations industry. Public
Relations Tactics and The Strategist are generally included in a PRSA membership
for some small additional fee and according to PRSA’s Website; they have the
highest value rankings for all benefits offered to the PRSA membership. Tactics is
an easier-to-read tabloid full of practical how-to articles with information and
practices for professionals to put into action immediately. The Strategist addresses
executive-level public relations practitioners with debates and commentary
concerning PR issues of today and is mailed quarterly.
Independent publications include PRWeek, O’Dwyer’s, PR Watch, Buzz Magazine,
PR Newswire and an online magazine called PR & Marketing. All of these
publications have Websites which offer fairly extensive information regarding their
services freely to the public. With the exception of Buzz Magazine, which is
specifically a career-based magazine for PR professionals looking for job advances
in the field, these magazines all consider themselves a resource for individuals at
all stages of their PR careers and serve the public with supplemental education on
the industry to help increase knowledge and love for the field.
PR Job Opportunities
A simple bachelor’s degree in public relations is no longer enough to acquire a job.
To enter the world of public relations, one must have hands on experience in the
field. To get this experience, the first step in a public relations career is an
internship. An internship is essential for someone wanting to enter the field
through an agency. After an internship, an entry-level position within an agency is
account coordinator. A non-agency entry-level public relations position may be
public relations coordinator or communications coordinator. These positions often
require one to two years of work experience and a bachelor’s degree. The average
pay for such positions is $30K a year. After about two to three years of experience,
one can become an account executive or a public relations specialist. This position
on average pays $38K a year. After this stage in a typical public relations career
path, the next position up is an account manager, a public relations manager, or a
public relations director. These jobs usually require an advanced degree and at
least five years of work experience. The median salary for this stage is $54.5K a
year. Beyond this level, a public relations professional might grow to be an
executive of the corporation (VP Public Relations), or start his or her own public
relations firm. At this point, the salary can be well into the six figures.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2000 and 2010, wage and
salary jobs in the management and public relations services industry are expected
to grow by 42 percent. This figure is nearly triple the 16 percent growth anticipated
for all other industries together, making public relations amid the most rapidly
growing industries. Due to the growth of the public relations field, public relations
practitioners tend to be well paid, although the range of compensation tends to be
broad. Wages depend on such aspects as the individuals’ qualifications and
experience, responsibilities of the position, financial strength of the organization,
and the general state of the economy. Recent college graduates who are members
of the Public Relations Student Society of America and have had some experience
can expect a higher than average salary.
Public relations professionals do not have typical days at work. Every day is
different and filled with a work schedule that is irregular and often interrupted.
Thus, the nine-to-five schedules of other professions do not apply here. A public
relations office is normally under high pressure conditions because everyone is
working hard to meet the tight deadlines. With their busy days, a public relations
practitioner is not tied down to his or her own desk. They are busy doing things
like searching for details for a press release, community functions, briefing their
management, among many other tasks.

To find such a job, a recent college graduate has many choices when it comes to
beginning their job hunt. The Communication Career Services is a good place to
start. Also, if he or she is a member of PRSA, their job bank has excellent
resources. Other notable places to search for a job are the Council of Public
Relations Firms (prfirms.org) and AboutPublicRelations.net. These job services
provide a good way to find a job in the public relations field. But just remember,
when it comes to landing that first real job, experience is everything.

Future of Public Relations

The practice of public relations is continually evolving and re-formatting itself to

include a broad array of functions. Though once viewed with a traditionally print-
oriented emphasis, PR has now shifted to that of a multi-faceted marketing
discipline. The future of PR proves itself to be limitless. As technology advances,
so do the requirements of the public relations practitioner.

The emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web has created a new and
valuable resource for PR professionals. As the nation’s most used resource for
information, the Internet connects and provides communication to millions of
American consumers every day. This provides for a simple and low cost medium
for PR practitioners to convey their desired message to the public. By creating and
implementing a comprehensive online campaign, companies can save time and
money on distribution costs and materials such as paper, yet still successfully get
their message out to their desired publics via the Internet. Advances in technology
have also allowed for specially designed software to be created for the use of PR
departments and agencies. Software like Bacon’s Media Map can be purchased by
PR professionals to provide immediate and updated contact information for
reporters and editorial contacts worldwide. Information about each publication,
such as distribution size and preferred ways of contact, are included.
Along with advanced software, the Internet has also supplied practitioners with a
new insight into public opinion. The emergence of blogs, or online web journals,
enable PR departments to immediately retrieve information on public opinion that
may have otherwise been unknown or inaccessible to them. Many political
websites in particular use online blogs to communicate to and receive immediate
comments from their constituents.

Another topic to consider when examining the future of public relations is

professional billing. Instead of the traditional hourly billing used among most
public relations firms to date, many UK public relations firms are now beginning
to implement a one-time pay scale, due to the recent inflated need for PR. Instead
of billing a client per hour, the client is now presented with a price upfront, and can
separate payments to pay for various functions. For example, a client may be billed
$200 dollars for a press release, $500 for a press conference, or $1,000 for an hour-
long consultation. This system is slowly beginning to emerge in many newly
formed US PR firms, and may soon replace the traditional form of billing.

Along with implementing financial changes, many are now also fighting for the
practice of licensing PR professionals. One famous PR practitioner in particular,
who felt strongly on the issue, was Edward Bernays. His definition of a Public
Relations council was that it is “an applied social scientist who advises a client on
the social attitudes and actions he or she must take in order to appeal to the public
on which it is dependent. The practitioner ascertains, through research, the
adjustment or maladjustment of the client with the public, then advises what
changes in attitude and action are demanded to reach the highest point of
adjustment to meet social goals.” Bernays understood that anyone one could call
themselves a PR professional regardless of the amount of education they had on
the subject. Before he died, Bernays wrote bills to address this issue. Although
none were passed, the controversy over licensing PR professionals still exists.

The realization by many corporations that PR is a necessity in the business world

has created a new role for PR – in the global marketplace. More than ever, PR
professionals will be called upon to support world wide relations and campaigns,
on issues such as prescription drugs, healthcare, and US military initiatives. An
example of this is found in the rapid financial expansion of China and India.
Within a few years, both could possibly be leaders in global health care. China’s
economy for example is growing at an annual rate of 9 percent (the US economy
growth is currently 3 percent). India’s economy is also high with an annual growth
of 6 percent. In these fast growing countries, PR campaigns can be used “to map
out ways to reach audiences with segmented health messages, develop strategies to
communicate with patients and caregivers about disease conditions and benefits of
therapies, and enhance or protect companies’ reputations.” With the rapid speed of
communications, PR departments worldwide will be put in charge of maintaining
both national and global communications in the years to come.

Public relations will continue to evolve as technology and the world at large
continues to evolve. Corporations are currently realizing the importance of public
relations within their business practices, and that importance will only increase as
the field itself continues to incorporate itself into the business arena as a necessary
management tool.

Today, public relations is usually seen as being in the third phase or era of its
professional development. And, while many practitioners still act with the
mindset and values of the two earlier eras, the most successful practitioners
now seem to use the less-self-serving approaches that are characteristic of the
third phase.

Even the writers who bluntly assert that public relations is as old as civilization and
implicit in all human interactions will admit there's a tremendous difference
between the concept of public relations and the profession of public relations or,
phrased another way, there's a big difference between practicing common sense
"public relations" and developing a professional public relations practice. And, no
one disputes that public relations has changed dramatically since it emerged as a
distinct discipline and viable career path in the second half of the 19th century. It's
grown tremendously in size, scope, and significance.

This growth has been particularly dramatic in the last few decades, and it's been
accompanied by a growing recognition of public relations' expanding role and
influence in organizational life of all sorts. In many corporations, government
agencies, and non-profit organizations the public relations function has been
elevated from its traditional role as a support service and made it an integral part of
upper management decision-making.

James Dowling, then-president of Burson-Marsteller, one of the largest world-wide

PR firms, described the changes that have occurred in public relations in the
following way during an interview by a The New York Times reporter in the mid-
1980s.
 In the 1950s organizations asked their public relations
consulting firms, "How should we say this?"

In the socially turbulent 1960s and 1970s, faced with

various confrontations, these same organizations asked
their public relations people, "What should we say?"

Today they ask, "What should we do?"

Public relations has had a three-stage evolution.

The field's earliest manifestations have been called the publicity phase of public
relations. During this stage of development practitioners were primarily concerned
with creating awareness and building recognition for the individual or organization
employing public relations. It was/is closely tied to advertising and promotion, and
getting "the message" out to the widest possible audiences was/is paramount.

As practitioners evolved into the explanatory phase of public relations greater

emphasis was placed on providing more complete information and having the
organization clearly articulate the reasons for its actions and policies so its publics
would understand, sympathize with, and patronize the organization. Simply getting
the organization's message out wasn't enough. Receivers had to understand and
accept the point of view of the sending organization.

Now, in the mutual satisfaction phase of public relations practitioners encourage

organizations and their publics to adapt to one another by making complementary
adjustments or compromises so that both benefit from their relationship.
Practitioners are now as concerned with in-coming messages and information they
can use to counsel management on current public opinion as they are with
developing and delivering outgoing messages.

All three stages are practiced today.

Although each of these phases is characterized by distinctly different strategies and

techniques, the succeeding phases did not totally obliterate or replace the preceding
ones.

Even though most of today's public relations textbooks teach that public relations
focuses on the mutual adaptation of organizations and their publics and promote
the goal of mutual satisfaction of all parties to a relationship, there are practitioners
who operate as if the field were still in an earlier stage of development. There are
some public relations people who operate like flamboyant press agents and tout
their clients. Others come across like Machiavellian persuaders who try to
bamboozle the public with less than reliable information. And, some of these
practitioners are very successful at what they do and make a lot of money doing it.

But, don't think public relations is the only field in which this happens. There are
many fields in which there are individual practitioners who don't follow the
currently accepted standard practices of their professions in ways that discredit the
field and embarrass other practitioners. Some simply use outdated practices, while
others violate contemporary ethical guidelines.

For instance, most American businesses today describe themselves as

"environmentally conscious" and concerned about pollution. Despite this, there are
some businesses that pollute the environment on a daily basis because they haven't
adopted state of the art technology or simply because they don't care. While these
throw-backs may be distasteful to those who encounter them and an
embarrassment to the majority of "clean" companies within their industries, we
realize their behavior isn't the norm and we don't condemn an entire industry for
their shortcomings. Similarly, most businesses describe themselves, and are
accepted by the public, as honest and fiscally responsible. Nonetheless, there are
occasional well-publicized scandals such as Enron. And, while Enron and its
accounting company, Arthur Anderson, have certainly fallen from public favor, we
haven't condemned the entire energy distribution industry or all accountants.

The same should be true of the way we view public relations. The mere fact that
some public relations practitioners still stress publicity and stretch truth the way P.
T. Barnum did isn't a valid reason for condemning the entire profession as
manipulative and exploitative. No profession should be judged by the
shortcomings of a few practitioners.

The phrase ‘public-relations’ has two words namely, ‘public’ and ‘relations’. A
‘public’ is a group of individuals having similar or common interests; an
association of persons having the same interests, problems, circumstances,
expectations and goals.
It is generally such sources that opinions emanate. Public is a varied creature that
comes in many forms and sizes. It has multitude of wants and desires. Public has
its likes and dislikes sometimes even very strong likes and dislikes. In this sense
‘publics’ are customers, employees, suppliers, lenders, shareholders, special
interest groups, government, middlemen and so on.

Thus, public is any group of people who share common interests having common
problems. The word ‘relations’ is the result of mutual understanding derived from
the process of sharing of the common interest. It is human wants that create need to
establish relations with each other. The wants of two individuals affect profoundly
their relationship.

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Therefore, to understand any relationship one must understand the wants of those
who are involved. By integrating these two elements namely ‘public’ and
‘relations’, one gets ‘public- relations’ a profession forming part and parcel of
managerial function.

Let us brows through some standard definitions of Individuals and Institutes and
Association from India and other countries.

The Third Edition of Webster’s New International Dictionary describes PR in

three ways:
“the promotion of rapport and goodwill between a firm of institution and other
persons, special publics as the community at large, through the distribution of
interpretative material development of neighbourly interchange, and the
assessment of publics.”

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“The degree of understanding and goodwill achieved between an individual,

organisation or institutions and the public’s.”

“The art or science of developing reciprocal understanding and goodwill.” “Public

Relations practice is the art of Social Science of analysing trends, predicting their
consequences, counseling organisation leaders, and implementing planned
programs of action which will serve both the organisation and the public interest.”
International Conference of Public Relations Institutions held in Mexico

“Public relations practice is the planned and sustained efforts to establish and
maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its
public.” Institute of Public Relations, India

Thus, PR is a planned effort and hence, managerial function. It speaks of

relationship between an organisation and its publics and focuses its attention on
evaluating public attitudes and opinions about an organisation s policies,
procedures, and actions as they relate to publics.

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It is to do with steps taken to ensure that these policies, procedures and actions are
in the public interest and they are socially responsible. It is the development of
rapport, goodwill, understanding and acceptance through a two way
communication.

The heart of public relations is not to sell product, but to produce a favourable
image of a company and improve it, if necessary. To repeat it is the deliberate,
planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding
between an organisation and its publics.

Components of Public Relations:

Public relations as a bridge of meaning between the organisation and the
public’s first, it has certain elements. These are:
1. Human Relations:
PR is getting along with the people or ‘publics’ both internal and external. No
individual is rational. Each person who works in an organisation has to get along
with others. He is expected to understand and know thoroughly another and
demonstrate interest in his progress as one does his own.

2. Empathy:
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Empathy is the power of understanding feeling of others. For instance feeling sorry
for others is sympathy. Empathy is the primary pre requisite for-a-satisfying
exposure in relationships where a certain degree of depth of understanding is
expected. That is to feel one’s feeling stepping into the boots of another who is
affected.

3. Persuasion:
There are two ways of changing the mind of another or others namely by
persuasion and by force. The persuasion is positive and hence results in positive
outcome and force is negative and, therefore, the outcome will be not encouraging.

If you compel any person to do something instead of persuading, that act can be
depositism as it is against the principles of normal conduct sanctioned by society.
Instead, if one convinces the other to do and is able to win his heart and head it is
highly appreciated, accepted and acted up without opposition.

4. Dialogue:
Dialogue is a conversation with some purpose. Dialogue is a reasonable exchange
of ideas bringing into being a new form of knowledge; the use of dialogue is for
influencing behaviour, selling goods or inspiring ideas.

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Any dialogue involves ‘conciliation; and ‘compromise’ when one speaks to an

unfavourably disposed group or a person, the first effort is to conciliation people or
person and breakdown prejudice.

Under the circumstances, a person who succeeds in bringing a state of urbanity

into a gathering marked by discussion is a Wiseman. People have variety of
reasons for opposing any compromise.

There arises no question of opposition to the proposed compromise when a person

persuading communicates his idea clearly and accurately. Communication is the
greatest art of winning the hearts of people because; it is a bridge of meaning.
The Need for Public Relations:
As we advancing socially and economically, the society is getting sophisticated
and every individual need latest information to live on this digital age. He certainly
would not be able to live will without using the numerous possibilities of
information offered from today through various media. It is a naked truth that in
this fast moving increasingly automated world men and women can no longer exist
in complete isolation.

The pace of technology is so fast that one is becoming more interdependent on

other. Thus, information is the breath of this digital age where outsourcing is the
maximum. There are four factors that speak very high of the real need for public
relations.

There are four fundamental forces that answer the question why PR.
These are:
1. Communication:
Technically, the means of communication have reached the stage of perfection and
sophistication and there is no end for this. Finance, the force behind all activities,
has made possible for majority of people to exchange information.

The level of education and understanding the importance of it by people is fast

increasing which increases exchange of information between the people.

Constitutionally also, education, is not only desirable but essential. It is a different

thing that all 1 billion and odd persons are highly qualified. What is important is
that rate of literacy and level of literacy both are increasing making information to
be exchanged for mutual benefit.
2. New Information Order:
If one thins, whether we are all correctly informed is really very difficult to say.
Good many books, discussions in academic circles, in radio and television, in India
and all over the world, and countless lectures excluding those in “Information
Society” and ‘New Information Order”, as far as one is aware, a correct reply is yet
to be received.

3. Information Load:
Information load is also called message load or quantity. Those people who do not
believe in others will attract our attention to the flood of information to which we
are all exposed today.

The correct answer to this is that this flood is largely without direction and that it is
inaccurate and incomplete. The information must be prepared. The relevant
information must be separated from trivial matter and should be popped up in right
direction.

The inability to appreciate or recognize, superficial knowledge is extremely likely

to result in dislikes, dissatisfaction and outright rejection with all their disastrous
effects, in the realization that ignorance.

What one needs is a fair means of information which eliminates or awakened

suspicious, that builds up better understanding and creates much needed
confidence. This is what is called as PR.

4. Mutually and Understanding:

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By definition, PR where mutuality is founded on interaction between consideration
for public opinion, and the need of the communicator or organisation to inform or
establish contact.

Understanding is created by providing clear insight into, and reporting on all the
essential matters. Confidence is cultivated by bringing the aim of the organisation
into harmony with public interest that wins and maintains goodwill among general
public.

From these points one thing is clear that the purpose of this activity for and with
the public is to act and not to react; to create an atmosphere of mutual confidence
through and active information policy the passive part of which consists in
answering all types of queries; to inform the public and exert influence towards the
inside as a form of corporate and social counter-control to establish direct or
indirect connections with the public in order to fulfil a kind of interpreter’s
function towards the public and to control communicative reaction.

The desired effect can only be attained if the information or message is true,
authentic, verifiable, legal, clear and readily understandable, and is also in
conformity with day-to-day practice of living and experiencing.

5 Components of a Successful Public Relations Strategy

By Cintia Miranda
How does the public view your brand? This is an important question to ask as you build
your public relations strategy. There is more to consider than just how your business will be
portrayed by the media. How you communicate inside and outside of your organization, events
you plan, your involvement in the community, and even how you handle a crisis make up your
public relations strategy.

To help you create this strategy, we have outlined each piece and why it matters to your brand’s
image:

1. Corporate Communications. How your business communicates with other businesses,

both internally and externally, creates its voice. A corporate communications strategy is the
backbone of your overall public relations strategy. It uses your brand’s voice to express
important messages in a way that your audience will understand. For example, internal
emails or press releases announcing important company news are part of your corporate
communications strategy.

2. Media Relations. Media relations is the relationship an organization has with the press.
In order to be successful, you must build a relationship with the correct contact person for
each relevant news outlet to ensure that your business is portrayed well in the media.
Whenever something newsworthy happens at your organization, you can send press
releases to these contacts. Press releases are news sources which make media relations a
symbiotic relationship between the press and businesses. To help you build the best
possible relationship with the press, we’ve compiled some tips for creating a successful
media relations strategy.

3. Community Relations. Your business is a member of your community. Community

relations establishes your business’ presence and the perceptions of others. There are many
ways your business can get involved in the community. At Pulse we’re involved with a
variety of community programs focusing on the economic growth of our area, education,
public health, and the environment. We actively sponsor, donate service, and volunteer our
time.

4. Crisis Management. How you face a crisis or other unexpected situation can make or
break your business. Having a crisis management plan in place allows your business to
operate as normally as possible through a crisis and preserve your image. Internal and
external communications are especially important during these times to keep the situation
under control. Even if your situation can’t be prevented, the very least you can do is be
prepared.

5. Events Management. Your business’ events are a valuable marketing tool, especially
with young people who place a high value on experiences. That being said, planning an
event is an equally exciting and stressful time for your business. You have to consider when
and where the event will be, who will attend, and so much more. Having an events
management strategy can keep all of the details of your event organized so it runs as
smoothly as possible.

Public relations is made up of many working parts that build a positive image of your business in
the eyes of your community. Having a strategy in place can keep these efforts organized and
create the image you want for your business.

Counseling
Providing advice to management concerning policies, relationships, and communications.
Research
Determining the attitudes and behaviors of groups to plan PR strategies. Such research can be
used to generate mutual understanding or influence and persuade publics.
Media Relations
Working with mass media (TV, web sites, newspapers, magazines, etc) by seeking publicity to
their interests in the organization.
Publicity
Disseminating planned messages through selected media to furtherer an organization's interests.
Employee/Member Relations
Responding to concerns, informing, and motivating an organization's employees or members.
Community Relations
Undertaking activities within a community to maintain an environment that benefits both an
organization and the community.
Public Affairs
Developing effective involvement in the Public policy and helping an organization adapt to
public expectations. The term "public affairs" is also used by government agencies to describe
their public relations activities and by many corporations as an umbrella term to describe
multiple public relations activities.
Government Affairs
Relating directly with legislatures and regulatory agencies on behalf of an organization.
Lobbying can be part of a government affairs program.
Financial Relations
Creating and maintaining investor confidence and building good relationships with the financial
community. This aspect of public relations is also known as investor relations or shareholder
relations.
Industry Relations -Relating with other firms in the industry of an organization and with trade
associations.