CHAPTER FIVE

PUBLIC
RELATIONS
The Public RELATIONS
Universally accepted definition of Edward Burneys
 “It is a planned & sustained effort to establish and

maintain mutual understanding between an organization

& its publics.”
 ”However, Quentin Bell, another PR consultant thought the

word persuasion would be better than mutual

understanding.
Objectives of PR
There are many objectives that may be achieved through expert
public relations activity.
Objectives that may be sought include:
 Prestige or favorable image and its benefits.
 Promotion of product and sales, idea and rewards.
 Goodwill of Employees, stock/shareholders & customers/consumers
 Prevent and solve Labor problem.
 Overcoming misconceptions and prejudices against the

Company/group/organization.
 Formulation and guidance for making policies.
Keys to Success in Public Relations
1. Management must understand and cooperate with PR
activity.
2. Public relations counselor / manager must be of sound
Character.
Duties of PR Department
PR department has multifarious duties to perform so these
are generally enumerated as below:
a) Writing and distributing news releases, photographs &
feature articles to the press, compiling press lists.
b) Organizing press conferences, receptions and facility visits.
c) Maintaining a media information service.
d) Arranging press, radio and television interviews for
management.
e) Briefing photographers and maintaining a picture library
f) Editing and producing staff magazines or newspapers and
organizing other forms of internal communication e.g.
videotapes, slide presentations, wall newspapers, etc.
g) Editing and producing external journals aimed at distributors,
users, customers, etc.
h) Writing and producing print material such as educational
literature, company histories, annual reports, induction
literature for new staff, educational posters for schools, etc.
i) Commissioning audio - visuals such as synchronized slide
presentations and videotapes together with their
distribution, cataloguing, showing and maintenance.
The Publics
The publics of Public relations can be various yet these can
basically be divided in to two major categories such as:
I) Internal publics
II) External publics
A generalized list is given below:
 The Community
 Potential Employees
 Employees
 Suppliers of services and materials
 Investors --- the money market
 Distributors
 Consumers and users
 Opinion leaders
Media Relations
A) Print Media:
 Press: National & Regional newspapers, magazines,

directories, year books & annual reports etc...

 Printed Material: Educational, informative, prestige,

promotional, balance sheets etc..

 Direct Mail: Personal letters, direct correspondence, mailing

information etc.
 House Journals: Company newsletters both internal and

external
B) Electronic Media:
1. Radio -- National, Local, International etc.
2. Television – National, Regional, Tele text etc.
C) Other Media:
 Exhibitions: Special PR exhibitions, Trade & Public shows,

trade fairs local and overseas.

 Airships: Gas filled air balloon ships for promotional

purposes.
 Electronic Bill Boards: New concept & replacements for

conventional bill boards.

 Mobile Vehicles: New type of scrolling computer aided

advertisements.
Media for Internal Publics (Co Newsletter)
Objectives
1. The value of understanding, teamwork and commitment
by employees in achieving bottom line results.
2. The need to build a strong management-employee
communication network for more than job related also key
business & public issues.
Media for External Publics
 Newspapers.
 Magazines.
 Radio.
 Television.

 
SPECIAL USES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Crisis Management:
 There is hardly any company or organization which does not

pass through some kind of crisis in its life.

 It is imperative that a crisis management program should

be in place to effectively counter such a situation, like

having a permanent crisis management team, who should
take cognizance of crisis both likely and unlikely.
 Desk top Publishing: The printed house journal, the world’s

oldest form of organized PR for now more than 170 years.

 The print has the permanence and portability which can be

retained and read almost anywhere at any time and by a wide

readership. Desk top publishing has made this very simple
and effective.
Corporate Identity:
 The creation of corporate identity scheme is often a PR responsibility,

because it applies to all aspects of an organization and is significant

part of total communication.
Parliamentary Liaison:
 It covers relations between organizations, perhaps using specialist

consultants with the government, houses of the parliament.

 PR helps to create a favorable lobby on various counts and for

different reasons and objectives.

Basically it is of two kinds;
Firstly, keeping politicians and civil servants aware of an
organization’s interests,
Secondly; keeping organizations aware of parliamentary activities and
procedures.
Financial PR.
 Financial PR has become very important growth area, calling for

special knowledge.
Countering Crisis with Strategy.
7 C’s of PR are effective means of strategy to counter crisis
1. Credibility: Communication starts with Belief, built by the
institution on performance.
2. Context: A communication program must confirm not
contradict the message .
3. Content: Message should have meaning for recipients.
4. Clarity: Message must be put in simple words.
5. Continuity & consistency: communication is an unending
process, requires repetition to achieve results.
6. Channels: All established channels of communication
should be used.
7. Capability of the audience: Take into consideration the
habits, reading ability, and prior knowledge.
Public Relations For (NPO) - Non Profit Organizations.
Aims Of PR In N.P.O’s.
 To gain acceptance of an organization’s mission.
 To develop channels of communication with those an

organization serves.
 To create & maintain a favorable climate for fund raising.
 To inform & motivate key organizational constituents such

as employees, voluntary workers,& others.

 THE END OF CHAPTER FIVE
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!