Public Relations
Definitions, Nature & Functions
Public Relations
Social Interaction in Civilized Society
begins with PR
Information
Persuasion
Reconciliation
Co-operation
Think About These……..
Chanakya’s Social Messaging
Ashoka Public Campaign
Akbar’s Policy to reconcile the majority
Hindu
Public Relations
Public sentiment is everything. With public
sentiment, nothing can fail; without it,
nothing can succeed.
An organization’s reputation, profitability,
and even its continued existence can
depend upon the degree to which its
“targeted” publics support its goals and
policies
Public Relations
Public relations involves the complete
analysis and understanding of all the
factors that influence people’s attitudes
toward an organization
Public Relations
• A management function within an
organization
• A facilitator of change in an organization
and community
• An instrument of communication between
an organization and the community
• An influence for creating consistency
between the programs of an employer and
the community
A dual management and communications
function, providing a transformative
influence on organizational decision
making and public opinion through two-
way communication and relationship
building
Some Definitions
Webster's dictionary
– those functions of a corporation, organization,
etc. concerned with attempting to create
favorable public opinion for itself
(‘telling- our- story’ or Persuasive Publicity)
CIPR
– The planned and sustained effort to establish
and maintain goodwill and mutual
understanding between an organization and
its publics.
publics
Defining the Concept in Practice
Denny Griswold’s definition
• PR is a management function which
evaluates public attitudes, identifies the
policies and procedures of an individual or
an organization with the public interest,
and plans and execute a program of action
to earn public understanding and
acceptance.
Management Function
PRSA
“Public relations helps an organization
and its publics adapt mutually to each
other.”
Public relations is a management function that
influences organizational objectives and
philosophy and facilitates organizational change.
The Means:
Public relations practitioners communicate with all
relevant internal and external publics (people groups) to
develop positive relationships and to create consistency
between organizational goals and societal expectations.
The Purpose:
Pubic relations practitioners develop, execute, and
evaluate organizational programs that promote the
exchange of influence and understanding among an
organization’s constituent parts and publics.
Key elements of PR definitions
• Deliberate-intentional
– designed to influence, gain understanding,
provide information, and obtain feedback
(reaction from those affected by an activity)
• Planned-organized
– Solutions to problems are discovered and
logistics are thought out, with the activity
taking place during a period of time
Key elements of PR definitions
• Performance-based on actual policies and
performance
– No amount of PR will generate good will and
support if the organization is unresponsive to
its publics’ concerns
• Public interest-PR activities should be
mutually beneficial to the organization and
its publics
– Aligning self-interest with the public interest
Key elements of PR definitions
• Two-way communication-PR is more than
just one-way dissemination of
informational materials
– Equally important to solicit feedback
• Management function-PR is most effective
when an integral part of top management
decision-making
– Involves counseling and problem solving at
high levels
Some Confusions with Concept
• PR Vs Marketing
• PR Vs Publicity
• PR Vs Advertising
• PR Vs Press- Agentry
• PR Vs Spin
• PR Vs Lobbying
• PR Vs Issues Management
PR Vs Marketing
• Marketing is the management function that
identifies human needs and wants, provides
products to satisfy those needs and wants.
Very Limited (Product/ Customer)
What about:
Company Image
Suppliers
Work force
Community at large
PR Vs Marketing
PR rooted in relationship building rather
than brand building
PR as an integral part of the
communication rather than marketing mix
The emphasis of marketing is on selling,
while PR is about informing, educating and
creating understanding
PR Vs Publicity
• Information from an outside source used
by the news media based on its news
value is publicity
PR evolved from Publicity
Most visible part
PR much wider activities
Total communication of an organization
PR Vs Advertising
• Advertising is paid, nonpersonal
communication through various media by
an identified sponsor.
PR Vs Press- Agentry
• Creating news events of a transient
nature, often as a sensational or attention-
catching nature.
Based on agenda setting theory
Publicity is the major strategy
PR Vs Spin
Spin close to deception
Work by hiding or obscuring facts
Selective and misleading information
Block the genuine communication
PR Vs Lobbying
The attempt to influence the voting behavior
of legislators on behalf of specific interests
or causes.
Manipulation
Money and Power
PR Vs Issues Management
An attempt to establish, change, or maintain
relationship with publics concerned with or
affected by particular issues.
(issues management is the part of PR)
Publics
PR with Specialized Public
Employers Help avert communication gap, boost
morale, sense of pride
Media Publicity, Public opinion,
Govt. (local, state and Central) Helps avert restrictive regulations,
project as responsible citizen
Dealers, Distributors Building up sales, cordial relations,
Financers/ Shareholders Maintaining financial support, attracting
investment
Suppliers Speedy supply of better quality raw
materials
Consumers Evaluating consumers, buying habits,
aid to marketing
Community Image of organization, attracting
talented qualified staff
Tools of PR
• Publicity Media
• Oral Communication
• Printed Literature
• Advertising
• Exhibitions
• Open Days
• Special Events
Publicity Media
• Press
• Television
• Radio
• Films
• Video
• New Media
Oral Communication
• Meetings
• Speeches
Printed Literature
• House Journal
• Annual Report
• Brochures
• Leaflet
Others
• Exhibitions
• Open Days
• Special Events
Publics
Press Relations
• The Role of press relations is to achieve
maximum publication or broadcasting of
PR information in order to create
knowledge and understanding
- Jefkins (1988)
Choice of Media
• Needs of the Organization
• Objective of the Massage
• Audience
• Budget
Principles of
Good Press Relations
• Establish a reputation for reliability
• Supply a good copy
• Cooperation in providing materials
• Provide verification facilities
• Build personal relations
The Press
• Newspapers
• Magazine
Understanding the Press
• Editorial Policy
• Frequency of Publication
• Copy Date
• Printing Process
• Circulation Area
• Readership Profile
• Distribution Method
What is News?
• Not necessarily current event, but also:
new products, company results………..
• News is not necessarily recent, but....
should not have been publish before
News
• News must be factual
Not all facts are news
• Recent occurrence of a event
The full text of a news story need not concern a
recent occurrence
A past event and event that have not yet happened
may be news
• What is news for one community/ person may
not be news for another community/ person
News
• What is news today may not be news
tomorrow
• What is news for one medium may not be
news for another medium
• Two factors are necessary- Interest and
Importance; They are not synonymous.
News
• Hard News: significance for relatively large
number of readers/listeners/ viewers
News of government, politics, foreign affairs, economics,
courts, and the like
• Soft News: relatively less important but often
attracts more audiences
Human interest stories of crime, lust, comedy, etc.
Appeal more to emotions than to intellect
• Often a story combines the element of ‘hard’ and
‘soft’ news- ‘big’ news
News Triangle
News Value
• Immediacy/ timeliness
• Proximity
• Consequence
• Prominence
• Unusualness
• Conflict
• Emotions/ instincts
• Progress
Angle
Writing News
Most factual news stories are written in the
order of decreasing importance or in the
inverted pyramid form
Inverted Pyramid
The news-test:
• Is story worth printing?
• Will the picture improve the page?
• Why should journalist attend the press
conference?
• REMEMBER: Bad press release is bad
PR!
Key Principles
• The media are looking for news.
public relation is a large and valid source
• Ensure that your news is really news; don’t waste
the media’s time
• News releases can carry public relations messages
• Follow the journalist standard: topic, style and
format
• Cultivate personal and positive relation with media
• If you help the media do their jobs, they may help
you do yours
