CHAPTER FIVE:

1. PUBLIC RELATIONS

5.1 Introduction
Almost all large organizations either have a public relations department or outsource their public
relations needs to a company. Public relations are seen as a vital part of maintaining the
organization’s image and of communicating its message to its customers, investors and the
general public. A positive perception of a company or non-profit can increase its sales and
improve its bottom line. The functions and key tasks of a public relations specialist can be
varied.1 Public relations strategists will work with top executives in the organization to craft an
overview of how the company wants to be perceived, and how it is going to project a positive
image. This can involve focusing in on exactly the right message, and then deciding on the broad
outlines of a campaign to disseminate that message.

5.2. Public relations

Building good relations with the company's various publics by obtaining favorable publicity,
building up a good 'corporate image', and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stones
and events. Major PR tools include press relations, product publicity, corporate communications,
lobbying and counseling.

5.2.1 Important Public Relations Tools

There are a number of PR tools. One essential tool is news. PR professionals find or create
favorable news about the company and its products or people. Sometimes news stories occur
naturally. At other times, the PR person can suggest events or activities that would create news.
Speeches also create product and company publicity. Increasingly, company executives must
field questions from the media or give talks at trade associations or sales meetings. These events
can either build or hurt the company's image.
Another common PR tool is special events, ranging from news conferences, press tours, grand
openings and firework displays to laser shows, hot-air balloon releases, multimedia presentations
and star-studded spectaculars designed to reach and interest target publics.
Public relations people also prepare written materials to reach and influence their target markets.
These materials include annual reports, brochures, articles and company newsletters and
magazines.
Audiovisual materials, such as films, slide-and-sound programmes and video and audio cassettes,
are being used increasingly as communication tools.
Corporate-identity materials also help create a corporate identity that the public immediately
recognizes. Logos, stationery, brochures, signs, business forms, business cards, buildings,

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uniforms and even company cars and trucks make effective marketing tools when they are
attractive, distinctive and memorable.
Companies might improve public goodwill by contributing money and time to public service
activities: campaigns to raise funds for worthy causes – for example, to fight illiteracy, support
the work of a charity, or assist the aged and handicapped - help to raise public recognition.
Sponsorship is any vehicle through which corporations gain public relations exposure. In Europe,
the sponsorship industry is growing, with many firms committing huge sums of money around
the world to the sponsorship of sport and the arts because it makes good sense as a marketing
tool. A company's Web site can also be a good public relations vehicle. Consumers and members
of other publics can visit the site for information and entertainment.
In considering when and how to use product public relations, management should set PR
objectives; choose the PR messages and vehicles; implement the PR plan; and evaluate the
results.
Setting Public Relations Objectives
The first task is to set objectives for public relations. These are usually defined in relation to the
types of news story to be communicated, the communication objectives to be achieved (for
instance, awareness creation, knowledge dissemination, generation of specific publicity for target
groups) and the specific target audiences.

5.2.2 Choosing Public Relations Messages and Vehicles

The organization next selects its major public relations message themes and the PR tools it will
use. Message themes should be guided by the organization's overall marketing and
communications strategic. PR is an important part of the organizations overall integrated
marketing communications programme, so the public relations messages should be carefully
integrated with the organization's advertising, personal selling, direct marketing and other
communications.
In some cases the choice of PR messages and tools will be clear-cut. In others, the organization
will have to create the news rather than find it. The company could sponsor newsworthy events.
Ideas might include hosting major conventions, inviting well-known celebrities and holding
press conferences. Creating events is especially important in publicizing fund-raising drives for
non-profit organizations. Fund-raisers have developed a large set of special events such as art
exhibits, auctions, benefit evenings, book sales, contests, dances, dinners, fairs, fashion shows,
Marathons and walkathons. No sooner is one type of event created - like walkathons - than
competitors create new versions, such as readathons, bikeathons and swimathons.
Implementing the Public Relations Plan: Implementing public relations requires care. Take, for
example, the placing" of stories in the media. A great story is easy to place, but, unfortunately,
most stories are not earth shattering and would not get past busy editors. Thus one of the main
assets of public relations people is their personal relationships with media editors. In fact, PR
professionals are often former journalists who know many media editors and know what they

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want. They view media editors as amarket to be satisfied so that editors will continue to use their
stories.

1.2.3. Evaluating Public Relations Results

Public relations results are difficult to measure because PR is used with other promotion tools
and its impact is often indirect. If PR is used before other tools come into play, its contribution is
easier to evaluate. The easiest measure of publicity effectiveness is the number of exposure in the
media.
Public relations people give the client a "clippings book' sho showing all the media that carried
news about the product and a summary. The summary would also give an indication of the cost
of the time and space had they been purchased at current advertising rates.
This exposure measure is not very satisfying, however. It does not tell how many people actually
read or beard the message, or what they thought afterwards. In addition, because of the media
overlap in readership and viewership, it does not give information on the net audience reached.
Selecting Advertising Media
The advertiser must next decide upon the media to carry the message. The main steps in media
selection are:
1) deciding on reach, frequency and impact;
2) choosing among chief media types;
3) selecting specific media vehicles; and
4) deciding on media timing. Deciding on reach, frequency and impact: To select media, the
advertiser must decide what reach and frequency are needed to achieve advertising
objectives.
Reach is a measure of the percentage of people in the target market who are exposed to the ad
campaign during a given period of time.
The number of times the average person in the target market is exposed to an advertising
message during a given period.
Specific media –within each general media type, such as specific magazines, television shows or
radio.
Frequency: is a measure of how many times the average person in the target market is exposed to
the message. For example, the advertiser might want an average exposure frequency of three.
The advertiser must also decide on the desired media impact- that is the qualitative value of a
message exposure through a given medium. For example, for products that need to he
demonstrated, messages on television may have more impact thanmessages on radio because
television uses sight and sound. The same message ina national newspaper may he more
believable than in a local daily.

5.2.4. Choosing Among Chief Media Types:

The media planner has to know the reach, frequency and impact of each of the major media types

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  How do advertisers select appropriate media from the range of media
available? Media planners consider many factors when making their media
choices.
The media habits of target consumers will affect media choice: for example, radio and television
are the best media for reaching teenagers. So will the nature of the product: fashions, for
example, are best advertised in color magazines and Nikon cameras are best demonstrated on
television. Different types of may require different media: for instance, a message announcing a
big sale tomorrow will require radio or newspapers; a message with a lot of technical data might
require magazines or direct mailings or an online ad and Web site.
Cost is also an important consideration in media choice: whereas television is very expensive,
newspaper advertising costs much less. The media planner looks at both the total cost of using a
medium and the cost per thousand exposures - that is, the cost of reaching 1,000 people using the
medium. Media impact and cost must be re-examined regularly.
For a long time, television and magazines dominated in the media mixes of national advertisers,
with other media often neglected. Recently, however, the costs and clutter of these media have
gone up, audiences have dropped and marketers are adopting strategies aimed at narrower
segments.
"'Advertisers are also turning increasingly to alternative media, ranging from cable TV and
outdoor advertising to parking meters, taxis and even shopping trolleys.

5.2.4.1 Selecting Specific Media Vehicles:

The media planner must now choose the best media vehicles - that is, specific media within each
general media type. In most cases, there are an incredible number of choices. For radio and
television, and in any one country, there are numerous stations and channels to choose from,
together with hundreds, even thousands, of programme vehicles - the particular programmes or
shows where the commercial should be broadcast, Prime-time programmes are the favourites;
the costs, however, tend to escalate with the popularity of the programme.
Each country has its own high- or general-circulation magazines which reach general audience
groups. There is also an array of special-interest publications that enable advertisers to reach
special groups of audience (for instance, business magazines to reach business executives).
The planner selects the media that will do the best join in terms of reaching the target customer
group - that is, in terms of their selectivity towards the target.
Then he or she must evaluate each magazine on factors such as credibility, status,
reproductionquality, editorial focus and advertising submission deadlines.
The media planner considers the cost of producing ads for different media. Whereas newspaper
ads may cost very little to produce, flashy television ads may cost millions. Media costs vary
across different countries, so care must be taken not to generalize the figures. Thus the media
planner must balance media cost measures against several impact factors. First, the planner
should balance costs against the media vehicle's audience quality. For a mobile telephone ad,
business magazines would have a high-exposure value; magazines aimed at new parents or

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woodwork enthusisisists would have a low-exposure value. Second, the media planner should
consider audience attention. Third, the planner should assess the vehicle's editorial quality.

Deciding on Media Timing: Another decision that must be made concerns timing: how to
schedule the advertising over the course of a year. Suppose sales of a product peak in December
and drop in March. The firm can vary its advertising to follow the seasonal pattern, to oppose the
seasonal pattern, or to be the same all year. Most firms do some seasonal advertising.
The international media comprise an extensive mix:
• Newspapers. Faster and more efficient circulation is possible with new technologies, such as
satellite printing, which allows advertising copy to be sent by satellite to the printers. In general
there have been enormous developments in local and global press, and more newspapers have
gone global to reach specific audiences.
• Magazines. There are some national and international journals which carry ads that target
regional, international or global customers (e.g. Fortune,News/week, Time, The Economist).
• Cinema. This is a relatively popular medium for reaching younger viewers, such as teenagers.
In developing and less developed nations, cinema remains important.
• Television. There are few country markets where television is not available or where
advertising is not carried via that medium. Satellite and cable opportunities have expanded
enormously and accelerated the use of TV for international advertising. A few stations - notably,
CNN, NBC Super Channel and Eurosport - are well-recognized international media channels.
• Outdoor advertising and transport advertising. This medium is used throughout the world. In
the western developed markets, advertisers are expanding their repertoire of outside media (e.g.
park benches, trucks, taxis, bus stop shelters). This medium is used as an alternative in cases
where the product category cannot be advertised on TV, as in the case of tobacco and alcoholic
products. In some countries, such as India and the People's Republic of China, outdoor
advertising has become more important.
• Interactive communication media. Interactive systems, such as videotext!
• Radio: As a medium for international advertising, radio is constrained by availability in the
sense that most commercial radio is regional.
• Place-based media. This is a worldwide development and advertisers are increasingly
deploying the medium to reach audiences wherever they happen to be - at work, the fitness
centre, the supermarket, airports and in the airplane. The programming and advertising can be
produced internationally.
• Trade fairs and exhibitions. These can be costly, but are useful media for international
communications.
• Sponsorship. Sponsorship of sports or art events, like the Olympic (lames and the soccer World
Cup, offers vast audience reach.
• Other media. Point-of-sale materials are not easy to reproduce internationally. Invariably, they
have to be adapted to local conditions, specifically the language, regulations and distribution
outlets.

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Direct mail is used in many countries, but it is primarily a local technique. As postal services
van' from country to country, including within the EU, the medium has yet to be applied
internationally. Nonetheless, credit card companies that have an international customer database
can exploit this medium for worldwide communications. Online media such as the Internet are
gaining recognition and organizations are increasingly investing in this channel given its
potential to reach a global audience
There have been important trends in media development worldwide. Most notable arc
developments in TV and telecommunications. A second force is deregulation, which results in
the proliferation of commercial TV and satellite broadcasting. In deregulated central Europe and
in Asia, as state control over media relaxes, opportunities open up for advertising. Another
development in the 1990s is the emergence of megabrands as a result of merger activities. Such
megabrands can concentrate media buying, which in turn influences media development.
Table 5.1 Advantages and limitations of media forms
Advantages and limitations of media forms
MEDIUM ADVANTAGES LIMITATIONS
Newspapers Flexibility; timeliness; local market Short life; poor reproduction
coverage; broad acceptance; high quality; small pass-along
believability. audience.
Television (combines sight, sound and motion; high absolute cost; high
appealing to the senses; high attention; high clutter; fleeting exposure; less
reach. audience selectivity.
Radio Mass use; high geographic and Audio presentation only, lower
demographic selectivity; low cost. attention than TV; fleeting
exposure.
Magazines High geographic and demographic Long ad purchase lead time;
selectivity; credibility and prestige; high- some
quality reproduction; long life; good pass- waste circulation; no guarantee
along readership. of position.
Outdoor Flexibility; high repeat exposure; low cost; No audience selectivity;
low competition. creative limitations.
.
Publicity: Activities to promote a company or its products by planting news about it in media not
paid for by the sponsor.
Many companies fail to evaluate their sales promotion programmes, while others evaluate them
only superficially. Manufacturers can use one of many evaluation methods. The most common
method is to compare sales before, during and after a promotion.
It concerns with building good relations with the company's various publics by obtaining
favorable publicity, building up a good 'corporate image' and handling or heading off
unfavorable rumors, stories and events. The old name for marketing public relations was
publicity, which was seen simply as activities to promote a company or its products by planting

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news about it in media not paid for by the sponsor. Public relations (PR) is a much broader
concept that includes publicity as well as many other activities.
Public relations departments use many different tools;
 Press relations or press agency. Creating and placing newsworthy information in the
news media to attract attention to a person, product or service.
 Product publicity. Publicizing specific products.
 Public affairs. Building and maintaining local, national and international relations.
 Lobbying. Building and maintaining relations with legislators and government officials
 Investor relations. Maintaining relationships with .shareholders and others in the
financial community.
 Development. Public relations with dooms or members of non-profit organizations to
gain financial or volunteer support.
Public relations are used to promote products, people, places, ideas, activities, organizations and
even nations. Trade associations have used public relations to rebuild interest in declining
commodities such as eggs, apples, milk and potatoes. Even nations have used public relations to
attract more tourists, foreign investment and international support.
Public relations can have a strong impact on public awareness at a much Lower cost than
advertising. The company does not pay for the space or time in the media. Rather, it pays for a
staff to develop and circulate information and to manage events. If the company develops an
interesting story, it could be picked up by several different media, having the same effect as
advertising that would cost a lot more money. And it would have more credibility than
advertising. Despite its potential strengths, public relations, like sales promotions, is often
described as a marketing stepchild because of its limited and scattered use. The public relations
department is usually located at corporate headquarters. Its staff is so busy dealing with various
publics - stockholders, employees, legislators, city officials - those public relations programmes
to support product marketing objectives may be ignored. Moreover, marketing managers and
public relations practitioners do not always talk the same language. Many public relations
practitioners see their job as simply communicating. In contrast, marketing managers tend to be
much more interested in how advertising and public relations affect sales and profits.
This situation is changing, however. Many companies now want their public relations
departments to manage all their activities with a view to marketing the company and improving
the bottom line. Some companies are setting up special units to support corporate and product
promotion and image making directly.
Many companies hire marketing public relations firms to handle their PR programmes or to
assist the company public relations team. Major corporations and multinational firmsare also
placing greater emphasis on analyzing and measuring the effectiveness of their PR activities to
provide a basis for forward planning of communication strategies.
Public relations or PR offers several unique qualities; it is all those activities that the
organization does to communicate with target audiences which are not directly paid for.
 PR is very believable: news stories, features and events seem more real and
convincing to readers than ads do.
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  Public relations can reach many prospects who avoid salespeople and
advertisements, since the message gets to the buyers as 'news' rather than as a
sales-directed communication.
 And, like advertising, PR can dramatize a company or product. The Body Shop
is one of the few international companies that have used public relations as a
more effective alternative to mass TV advertising-Marketers tend to
underagepublic relations or to use it as an afterthought. Yet a well-thought-out
public relations campaign used with other promotion-mix elements can be very
effective and economical

5.3 . Presenting Public Relations Presentations

In a public relations presentation, the speaker is specifically providing information to promote a

positive public image for the person or organization the speaker is representing. People who
work for professional associations, blood banks, utility companies, government agencies,
universities, religious organizations, or charitable institutions, as well as those employed by
commercial enterprises, are often called on to speak to an audience about what their organization
does or about a special project the organization has taken on.
Public relations (PR) speeches are designed to inform the public and improve relations with them
—either to present general impressions of the organization, or, because a particular program or
situation has raised some questions or concerns, to emphasize the positive features of the
organization. So although the purpose of many public relations presentations is to present
information, there is often a persuasive edge to public relations messages. The speaker may be
trying to enhance or maintain a positive, polished public image.
Here are some suggestions for developing PR presentations:
 Often a PR speech should simply describe the virtues and positive aspects of the policy or
program the speaker is promoting. Note how the company, organization, or policy has
significant benefits for the listener.
 If a specific problem or issue has prompted the speech, the speaker should identify the
concerns. Then he or she should go on to explain how the company or organization can
meet the need, solve the problem, or why there really is no problem.
 PR speeches should anticipate criticism and objections, especially if the primary purpose
of the speech is to change opinions or address a controversial issue. The speaker should
acknowledge the listeners’ points of view and then counter potential problems or
objections. Explain how the company or organization has carefully worked through
potential pitfalls and drawbacks and demonstrate how what may look like a problem can
easily be addressed.

5.4 Social Media

Online communities, forums, blogs, tweets, cloud computing, and avatar-activated environments
are some of the continually developing means of social media being harnessed by the business

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world. The Internet is increasingly promoting tools and platforms for people to interact. From
bulletin boards that resemble the Free Net posts of years past, to interactive environments like
Second Life, people are increasingly representing and interpreting themselves online. Humans
seek interaction, and this has led to new ways to market, advertise, and interact; however,
caution is warranted when engaging in social media online.
When you use these media, remember a few simple cautions:
1. Not everything is at it appears. The individuals on the forum may not all be who they represent
themselves to be.
2. The words you write and the images you send, regardless of how much you trust the recipient,
may become public and can remain online forever.
3. Always consider what you access and what you post, and how it represents you and your
employer, even if you think others cannot know where you work or who you are.
4. Be aware that Internet service providers (ISPs) are required by law to archive information
concerning the use and traffic of information that can become available under subpoena.
Forums: are often theme-based Web sites that gather a community of individuals dedicated to a
common interest.
Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn allow people to link to, and interact with, others
who work in their industry or related ones. More general social media sites include MySpace and
Face book, which also present threaded discussions and dynamic interfaces with groups that may
or may not be limited to those that user intends.
Interactive writing platforms such as blogs, wikis, and cloud computing involve having common
documents stored on the Internet which can be accessed from multiple sites at once, further
facilitating the interaction.
Blogs are Web pages with periodic posts that may or may not feature feedback responses from
readers.
Wikis are collaborations on Web content that are created and edited by users.
Cloud computing involves secure access of files from anywhere as information is stored
remotely.
Somewhere between a social networking site, where people gather virtually to interact, and a
computer game lies the genre of avatar-activated virtual worlds such as Second Life. In these
environments, users can meet others and make friends, participate in activities, and create and
trade virtual property and services.
Business and industry organizations may also incorporate posts and threaded discussions, but
often under a password-protected design on a company’s intranet or other limited-access
platform. Employees may use their business-provided computer equipment to access sites that
are not business related (if not specifically blocked), but all information associated with a each
business’s computer is subject to inspection, archival, and supervision.