DIPLOMA IN MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION

PREPARED BY : MS GOMALA SUKUMARAN

DMC 115PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC

RELATIONS

STAMFORD COLLEGE

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson students will be able to :

define and describe the meaning of public relations

familiarize with PR fields define and describe Marston’s R-A-C-E understand the functions of PRDistinguish the differences between PR

and marketing know PR skills

INTRODUCTION

•Public relations is practiced in organizations that range from giant, multinational telecommunications companies to small human service agencies.

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Public relations is a leadership and management function that helps achieve organizational objectives, define philosophy and facilitate organizational change.

• Public relations practitioners communicate with all relevant internal and external publics to develop positive relationship and create consistency between organizational goals and societal expectations.

• Public relations practitioners develop, execute and evaluate organizational programs to promote the exchange of influence and understanding among a organizations constituent and publics

(Lattimore et al ., 2012)

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS

‘the management of communication between an organization and its publics’

(Grunig & Hunt, Managing public relations,1984)

‘using communication to adapt relationships between organizations and their publics’

(Carl H. Botan “International public relations: Critique and reformulation” in Public Relations Review, Vol. 18, No. 2, 1992: 149-152)

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public relations is a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of▫Understanding▫Communications▫Acceptance

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS

•Co-operation between an organization and its publics. Whereby it involves▫The management of problems or issues▫Helps management to keep informed on

and responsive to public opinion.▫Defines and emphasizes the responsibility

of management to serve the public interest.▫Helps management keep abreast of and

effectively utilize change.

PR FIELDS• Research• Counseling/advising• Government affairs• Investor relations• Development or fund raising• Multicultural affairs• Issues management• Media relations• Public affairs• Community relations• Employee relations• Publicity• Marketing communication• Promotion

Marston’s R-A-C-E

•Research•Action/Objectives/Program Planning

•Communication Tactics/Implementing Plan

•Evaluation

4-Step Process of Public Relations Step 1. Research

What -- Three key elements:

1. Client or organization2. Problem or potential problem and

opportunities to do public relations3. Audiences or publics

How – Informal and Formal Research Methods

Step 2. Objectives / Program Planning

Develop a Strategy that involves:

1. Identifying goals and objectives

2. Identifying target audience(s) or public(s)

3. Creating a theme for the program/campaign

Step 3. Develop & Implement Communication Tactics

Develop and Implement

1. Tactics for communicating 2. Time line for the program/campaign

3. Budget

Step 4. Evaluation During & After Campaign / Program

Identify research methods to be used to evaluate the success of the program/campaign during & after.

Determine a way to measure whether the campaign achieved its objectives.

The Functions of Public Relations

•Writing▫The fundamental public relations skill, with

written vehicles from news releases to speeches and from brochures to advertisements.

•Media relations▫Dealing with the press.

•Planning▫Special events, media events, management

functions.

The Functions of Public Relations

•Counseling▫In dealing with management and its

interactions with key publics.•Researching

▫Of attitudes and opinions that influence behavior and beliefs.

•Publicity▫The marketing related functions

The Functions of Public Relations•Marketing communications

▫Other marketing related functions such as creating brochures, sales literature, meeting displays and promotions.

•Community relations▫Putting forth the organization’s messages

and image within the community.•Consumer relations

▫Interfacing with consumers through written and verbal communications

The Functions of Public Relations•Employee relations

▫Communicating with all the all-important internal publics of the organization, those managers and employees who work for the firm.

•Government affairs▫Dealing with legislators, regulators and local,

state and federal officials – all of those who have governmental interface with the organization

• Investor relations▫For public companies, communicating with

stockholders and those who advise them.

The Functions of Public Relations

•Special public relations▫Dealing with those publics uniquely critical to

particular organizations.•Public affairs and issues

▫Dealing with public policy and its impact on the organization and identifying and addressing issues of consequences that affect the firm

•Social media interface▫Creating what often is the organization’s

principle interface with the public: its Website, as well as creating links with social media options.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING

•Marketing focuses primarily on only one public consumers

•PR focused on relationships with all publics essential to an organization's success

• PR and Marketing are “separate and equal, but related functions”, and must work together toward organizational goals.

PR SKILLS

•Good people skills▫A pleasing and amiable personality and the

ability to get along with people and network effectively are vital to making it in this field.

▫Clients can be difficult and demanding. ▫Learning how to win friends and influence

people is what a large part of the job is about.

▫People who choose public relations as a career should have an outgoing personality, self-confidence and be team players.

PR SKILLS

•Strong communication abilities▫A lot of public relations is centered on what you say and how well you say it. Being able to communicate effectively verbally and a flair for writing are essential.

PR SKILLS

•ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS▫You have to be good at organizing meetings,

presentations, press conferences and events like openings and product launches.

▫Time management and multitasking are skills you need as you will be faced with multiple pressures and tight deadlines.

▫Overtime is common and work schedules are irregular. You cannot be a clock watcher and may have to work late into the night or on weekends.

PR SKILLS

•Relevant formal education▫ A degree or diploma in public relations,

journalism, mass media, communications, corporate communications or even advertising or marketing are useful.

▫An internship with a firm will also prepare you for what to expect and also help you find out whether you are cut out for this job.

PR SKILLS

•Versatility▫ A PR job involves many things –

interacting with clients, organizing events, dealing with the media, writing and editing press releases and managing a website.

▫ You should have the versatility to tackle these varied roles.

PR SKILLS

•Creativity and sales skills▫You may be required to visualize an effective campaign.

▫This needs creativity and imagination.

▫You also need to have the knack of how to sell your idea.

PR SKILLS•Resilience

▫Last but not the least you will have to have the ability to bounce back from failure.

▫''You have to be confident and thick-skinned working in PR. You're responsible for a client's reputation and if a campaign goes wrong, sometimes for reasons out of your control, you have to be able to speak to the client and take criticism from the media.''