PUBLIC RELATIONS



Public Relations

Public Relations

“If I had one last marketing dollar left, I would spend it on Public relations” (Bill Gates)”

Introduction

This paper highlights the importance of public relations for today's organizations which have come to realize that public relations is much more a stronger tool to attract clients as against mere advertising.

Defining Public Relations

Public relations inspires much debate between public relations communicators and those suspicious of the field. Because of the weighty responsibilities of the public relations function within an organization and its ability to wield influence, public relations ethics is a vibrant topic that should be discussed, researched, and refined.

Aims of Public Relations

Public relations practitioners use advertising when they want complete control over a message—including when and where the message will appear. In contrast to publicity and many other public relations techniques, audiences often are skeptical about advertising because they attribute its purpose to persuading rather than informing. As a result, people often avoid, resist, or discount advertising messages.

Public relations has tremendous power because it involves shaping public opinion by deciding what information is important or pertinent and performing the role of liaison between the organization and its publics. The power of public relations is often debated, but its effects on attitudes and behavior are demonstrable at many levels. Therefore, public relations practitioners have the responsibility to convey honest and accurate information, because what they communicate has far-reaching ramifications. Public relations pursuits such as public affairs and lobbying, issues management, political communication, corporate communication, military communication, investor relations, and activist communication all shape the society in which we live. The power to influence society means that public relations holds enormous responsibility to be ethical. Add to this the ability to shift financial markets and alter supply and demand, and it becomes clear that public relations is a formidable force in society.

Public Relations Advertising

Public relations advertising differs from traditional product or service advertising by its focus on promoting an organization's image or advocating a position on a particular topic. However, fully separating product/service promotion from organizational goals is often difficult. Many product advertising campaigns, for example, seek to enhance the organization's reputation while also selling products. Similarly, some public relations firms provide product advertising and related promotional services as part of an integrated marketing communications program for clients.

Organizational Role

Systems theory explains that the public relations practitioner is a boundary spanner, holding roles both inside the organization and in publics outside the organization, and thus acting as a communication facilitator. To understand the publics outside an organization, the public relations practitioner must maintain effective and open communication with them, sometimes joining their groups and meetings to understand their viewpoints.

The practitioner acts as a representative or advocate of the organization's position while meeting with publics, and while meeting with management in the organization the same practitioner acts as an advocate or representative of the publics' opinions. Having this dual membership is often referred to as holding “divided loyalties,” particularly by those suspicious of public ...