Public relations

Definition

„Public relations is the management function that identifies, establishes, and maintains
mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the various publics on whom
its success or failure depends.” (Cutlip, Center and Broom)

Public relations is a profession dedicated to the effective use of communication. And yet this
definition is far too simple as public relations is so much more than communicating on behalf
of corporations, institutions and other organisations. According to Grunig and Hunt, public
relations is about ‘the management of communication between an organisation and its publics.
Expands on this definition: ‘public relations is the management function that establishes and
maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organisation and the publics on whom
its success or failure depends. Describes the profession as the ‘management function’ that
maintains ‘mutual lines of communication’ between an organisation and its publics, and
which uses ‘research and ethical communication as its principal tools’. As these definitions
highlight, public relations is a diverse profession that seeks to ensure that organisations
manage their relationships with a variety of stakeholders and broader public. In order to
manage the public image and stakeholder relationships of companies and organisations,
public relations practitioners employ a variety of communication tactics, including media
releases, social media accounts, media events, backgrounders, fact sheets, flyers, pamphlets,
annual reports, newsletters, and other materials. Senior practitioners are responsible for
planning the details of ‘what, how and why their organisations communicate with strategic
publics. As leaders of a communications team, senior practitioners are often part of an
organisation dominant management coalition. These senior practitioners are responsible for
protecting the company’s public reputation by identifying issues, and by using effective
communication to align the interests of organisations with those of the significant publics in
their operating environment.

The role of PR

Public Relations has many roles within a business, but the most important may be that it
serves as an outlet and tool for shaping an image, whether it be for a company or an
individual. The most important thing to remember about public relations is that it is not
advertising. Though PR may have a similar outcome or influence on the company as
advertising, PR is less biased and self-serving. It is information based, stating facts like a new
product release, a recall has been put into effect, or that a new CEO has been brought into the
company. There are many benefits that an effective public relations plan can bring to
a company:

1. Grow Your Brand

2. Heighten Demand of Your Product or Service
3. Expand Your Customer Pool
4. Establish Trust for the Company and its Products
5. Form a Position of Leadership for the Company
6. Change the Way Your Product is Perceived
7. Generate Awareness for Your Products or Services
8. Improve Employee Moral and Draw Top Quality Talent to Your Company
9. Enhance the Perceived Value of Your Company
10. Make Socially Responsible a Key Characteristic of Your Company

History

The idea of public relations takes us back thousands years ago, when the first merchants were
trying to persuade thier customers or , in general, when people persuaded people do do
someting or not to do somenthing. Even in ancient Greece, when the first democracy was
born, the pillars holding the first debates and negotiations stand on the concept of public
relations. The discipline the Sophists developed and thaught called rhetoric, Aristotel later
explained as the art of communication that can be used to manipulate and persuade. Some of
these ideas we can still find in practise even nowadays.

Another example can be the church practices in medieval Europe. Preaching, painting,
scripture, songs, rituals, events and public announcements were used to influence and
dominate public opinion in a great way. In the 17th century the word „propaganda“ was used
for the firts time by the representatives of Roman catholic church. Propaganda refers to
a communication designed to influence the public opinion. This concept was later used by
state and the military in many afairs throughout the history. French revolution, Napoleon wars
or colonization of the new world.
 However, public relations (PR) as a formal term was introduced much later, at the turn of
18th century. In the late 1800s in western America, PR has a form of so called „press agents“.
The idea behind press agents was for companies to cut costs connected with advertising and
promotion by hiring someone to spread news and controversal information that would catch
the attention of journalists. This gained the companies free publicity. Press agents disappeared
when the public actually learned to recognize information supplied to the news. That hurt the
image of involved companies and , therefore, they decided to be more open with the public.

The transformation of PR from this manipulative and influencal practice to a Public

Information Age dates to 1906, when a man named Ivy Lee, author of „The declaration of
Principles“. This publication promoted openness and trustworthyness. Ivy Lee started his
career as a journalist and press agent. However, later, when he founded his own firm, he
decided to shift his focus from influencial news that companies would pay him for to
promote, to a new and Professional standard of journalism – accurate information.

Lee also introduced several important communication tactics that supported his commitment
to fair and transparent dealings. The first was the idea of a ‘press release’ ‘handout’ that
detailed the client’s message and provided factual information for journalists in a manner that
was transparent, accountable and useful (with the media release now being one of the most
common tactics in the PR toolkit). His second innovation was the idea of openness and
disclosure during a crisis. For instance, following a major rail accident that resulted in the
deaths of 50 passengers, Lee convinced managers to provide information about the accident
before rumour and speculation took hold of the news cycle. He also invited journalists to the
scene and actively assisted with their enquires, rather than seeking to stonewall their
investigations. This approach to crisis management was seen as more socially legitimate than
previous attempts by companies to bury information and keep journalists at a distance. It also
helped companies minimise damage to their public image by highlighting individual failures
within a broader system that, despite facing a current crisis or issue, continued to have
benefits for society (such as providing employment, services, tax revenue, etc.) (Coombs,
2006). While Lee died relatively young at the age of 57, his principled tactics had widespread
appeal and a lasting impact on media relations and crisis communication—two important
subspecialisations within the broader field of public relations (Harrison, 2011).

After the war public relations firms began to emerge in Sydney. In 1947 there were two
‘public relations counsellors’ listed in the telephone directory. One was George Fitzpatrick,
who described himself as a ‘practitioner in public persuasion, propaganda, publicity. The
second was, Asher Joel, who had previously worked as a propagandist for the Royal
Australian Navy during the war. In the years after the Second World War, Joel and Fitzpatrick
became the founding figures of Australian public relations, proving that the wartime
communication tactics of MacArthur’s military PR team could be used for commercial
objectives. Within a few years, the industry began to grow. In late 1949 early adopters of the
new communication profession established the Australian Institute of Public Relations, whose
name was changed in 1960 to the Public Relations Institute of Australia Mitchell Hobbs and
Alana Mann Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics 7 (PRIA) (Harrison, 2011: 66). By the
early 1960s there were an estimated 500 practitioners employed in the new profession across
the country . Today there are approximately 14,600 Australian practitioners of public
relations.

The modern public relations profession is not without its controversies. At times certain
companies have been accused of using public relations tactics that manipulate and bury the
truth, rather than informing or persuading through the effective use of evidence and honest
argumentation. While it is possible that public relations might be used for dubious ends, most
PR practitioners and their campaigns are ethical, useful and socially responsible. As is
discussed in the next section of this chapter, many of the most widely used PR campaigns
employ informative tactics that seek to align the commercial interest of a company with the
social and environmental interests of the broader community. Indeed, the dominant PR
theories, backed by the research evidence, suggest that the most effective public relations
teams are those that employ symmetrical methods of communication. That is, effective PR
teams use two-way communication between a company and its publics, rather than
asymmetric communication.
Conclusion

To sum up, after discussing all features and benefits of public relations, we believe that
communication is the key to succes in bussines. Connecting with the right audience helps
enormously to build a strong and well-known brand. Today, the most important segment of
PR is the communication through media, specially social media. This channel connects us all
and is easz to reach form any place in the world.

PR agencies are designed to help educate companies about use of PR and all its benefits and
to help reach succes in form of better relationship with public, strong connection with targeted
customers and therefore higher profits and successful.

To gain a loyal customer who will consider a brand a lovemark is not easy for any company.
Beside the features of the product, all other factors connected with PR play an important role.
Companies should be focusing on communicating key messages via right channels and
listening to needs of their customers. This way they are able to build trust, which is the core
goal of all PR efforts.

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