What is PRs?

PR is essentially a communications function but with

emphasis on the two-way nature of the
communications process.
2) PR is concerned with establishing and maintaining
mutual understanding and goodwill between
organizations and particular groups of people (publics).
 What is PRs? Cont…
• 3) PR serves as an intelligence function, analyzing
and interpreting trends and issues in the
environment that may have potential
consequences for an organization and its
stakeholders.
• 4) PR is concerned with assisting organizations to
both formulate and achieve socially acceptable
goals, thus achieving a balance between
commercial imperatives and socially responsible
behavior.
 PUBLICS IN PRS
• Publics are those groups of people internally and
externally with whom an organization communicates.
PR activities are not directed to the general public.
They are aimed at carefully selected groups of people
who are subdivisions of the great general public.
• These means that much PR activity is aimed at these
different publics in different ways. Each organization
has its own special publics with whom it has to
communicate internally and externally. There are not
just too big publics such as employees and customers
 . Internal Public of Public Relations

• Internal Public of Public Relations includes

Shareholders or Investors, Employees,
Suppliers, Distributors, Retailers/ Dealers and
Other business associations
• Shareholders/owners/investors relations
• Shareholder is the legal owner of the company. He
provides finances to the company either as shareholder or
as a long-term or short-term creditor. They are entitled to
dividend, rights shares, bonus shares, discount coupons
for purchase of companies’ products or concessional
usage of its services and gifts on special occasions like
annual conference, anniversary or celebration.
Shareholders deserve fair treatment, get statutory
information, transfer of shares to them, information on
change of address or non-receipt of dividend.
• Employess Relations
• Employees are the hands and feet of the
company. It is through them that the company
fulfils its objectives. It needs their cooperation
and understanding on a continuous basis in all
its activities including the public relations
activities.
• Suppliers Relations
• Suppliers are the business associates of the
company who provide all types of raw
material for the business activities of the
company. Suppliers have a direct and crucial
role in the functioning and profitability of the
company. They have to supply the right quality
and quantity of materials for the company.
• Distributors/Dealers/Retailers Relations
• “Distributors are the face of the company”.
They are the link between the company and
its dealers. The success of the business of a
company heavily depends on the performance
of the distributors/ dealers, more so in Indian
economy where the knowledge of the
consumer about the company and its product
is relatively poor.
External Public of Public Relations
• External publics are people and organizations
that are clients doing business with a firm or
agency or company.
• External Publics of Public Relations includes
Consumers/Customers, Community, Mass
Media, Government, Financial Institutions,
Action Groups and General Publics
• Consumer/Customer
• Customer is the centre of today’s business
activity. A consumer is a person who
purchases goods and services for personal
use. An External PR needs to educate the
audience pertaining the product or about the
organisation and then get the suggestions of
the audience.
• Community Relations
• Looking after and protecting the interest of the
community is the essence of community relations.
Community represents that public which stays in
the close vicinity of the company, its office, plants
and godown, warehouse etc. Therefore it
becomes a social and moral obligation of the
industry to compensate community for these
losses by making its humble contribution
• Media Relations
• Mass media gives mass exposure to
company’s activity. It includes Print Media and
Electronic Media. With the improvement in
transportation system, technology and
increase in the literacy rate, newspapers,
magazines, story books, comics, weekly
newspapers, Radio, TV, and Internet are
becoming more and more popular.
• Government Relations
• In a country like India, all major institutions for
control of trade, business and industry are
with the government. The purpose of the
relationship with government seems to be
disappearing because of vested interest of
Individual or corporate.
• Relationship with Financial Institutions
• “Finance is the life blood of business”.
Financial institutions have very important role
in all commercial transactions of the company,
commencement of business, its expansion and
growth and even in retardation.
• Relations with Action Group
• Action Group is a group of people that work
together to try to achieve changes relating to
a particular situation or in order to help a
particular group of people.
 REASONS FOR DEFINING PUBLICS
• 1.identify all groups of people relative to a PR
programme
• 2. To establish priorities within the scope of
the budget and resources
• 3. To select media and techniques
• 4. To prepare the message in acceptable and
effective forms
 RESULTS OF NOT DEFINING PUBLICS
• Effort funds will be scattered indiscriminately in the
attempt to reach too many publics
• ii) The same message will be issued irrespective of
its suitability to different groups of people.
• iii) Work who not be times to make the most cost-
effective use a working hours materials and
equipment
• iv) Objectives will not be achieved v) Management
or client who be dissatisfied with the results of the
PR/PRO consultant will lose his/her job/contract
 RACE IN PRs
• RACE is an effective process to follow when
developing a strategic PR plan if you want to
have a strong and mutually beneficial
relationship with your publics. The R.A.C.E
process encompasses the following 4 phases:
Research, Action and planning,
Communication and relationship building and
Evaluation.
 Research

• Both formal and informal research with internal

and external stakeholders is required to define the
problem or opportunity.
• You should be able to answer the “Who?” “What?”
and “Why?” for your organization’s situation. A
good starting point in gathering research is noting
what other organizations have done in the past
given similar circumstances. How can you ensure
your findings are reliable? Make sure you are
gathering your information methodically.
 Action and Planning

• This step is essentially strategizing and creating the

plan. Dr. Hongmei Shen, PR author and researcher,
recommends using S.M.A.R.T. objectives to set goals
for a program based on research and analysis. Shen
recommends having a:
• Specific (purpose)
• Measurable (outcomes)
• Attainable (objective)
• Realistic (goal)
• Time (available and necessary)
 Communication and Relationship Building

• Relying on that two-way symmetrical

communication, build mutually beneficial
relationships with your publics. Full disclosure,
honesty, and transparency are vital to building
consumer trust. It’s not enough to just send
messages anymore, there should be an
ongoing conversation. Maintaining focus on
social responsibility should be a high priority
in creating positive relationships.
 Evaluation
• The evaluation phase should focus on your
campaign results, be aligned with your
primary objectives, and guide you in preparing
any additional steps for the future. It should
be an ongoing process that is measured
against your previously set goals to analyze
overall effectiveness. Need a good way to
prove growth?