Definitions - Public Relations

INTRODUCTION TO Dr Juhi P Pathak
PUBLIC RELATIONS
The notes are based on secondary sources for educational purposes.
DEFINITION
One of the earliest definitions of PR was coined by Edward Bernays.
According to him, "Public Relations is a management function which tabulates
public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures and interest of an organization
followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and
acceptance. “
According to two American PR professionals Scott M. Cutlips and Allen H.
Center, "PR is a planned effort to influence opinion through good character
and responsible performance based upon mutual satisfactory two-way
communication".
MEANING
Public relations is the art and science of managing communication between an
organization and its key public constituents to build, manage, and sustain its
positive image.
Public relations is the process of aligning the perceptions of targeted audiences
(or publics) with the current realities and reasonable prospects of another
entity.
Public relations is about building public relationships.
Public relations involve:
1. Evaluation of public attitudes and opinions.

2. Formulation and implementation of an organization's procedures
and policy regarding communication with its publics.
3. Coordination of communications programs.
4. Developing rapport and good-will through a two way
communication process.
5. Fostering a positive relationship between an organization and its
public constituents.
EXAMPLES:
•Corporations use marketing public relations (MPR) to convey information about the
products they manufacture or services they provide to potential customers to
support their direct sales efforts. Typically, they support sales in the short and long
term, establishing and burnishing the corporation's branding for a strong, ongoing
market.
•Corporations also use public-relations as a vehicle to reach legislators and other
politicians, seeking favorable tax, regulatory, and other treatment, and they may
use public relations to portray themselves as enlightened employers, in support of
human-resources recruiting programs.
•Non-profit organizations, including schools and universities, hospitals, and human
and social service agencies, use public relations in support of awareness programs,
fund-raising programs, staff recruiting, and to increase patronage of their services.
•Politicians use public relations to attract votes and raise money, and, when
successful at the ballot box, to promote and defend their service in office, with an
eye to the next election or, at career’s end, to their legacy.
CHARACTERISTICS
•Deliberate, planned, sustained effort and function of management.
•It deals with an evaluation of the attitudes and opinions of the public on
various policies, procedures, and movements of the organization.
•It works to ensure that all the efforts of the organization are in the public
interest and are socially responsible.
•Seeks to establish and sustain a mutually beneficial relationship.

•Development of goodwill and rapport of the firm.
•It encompasses the ethical conduct of the firm, which is targeted to achieve a
good and positive public image.
•The aim of public relations is to develop and maintain harmonious relations

between the firm and the general public.
•It should not be confused with propaganda because the latter is meant to
attract followers and keep them in line
•It is an extension of publicity. Publicity concerns with getting favourable
response from mass media about a company, its products, and its activities
while public relations concerns with creating and maintaining constructive
relations with various publics over a time.
•Public relations include building and maintaining long-term and positive

relations with a large set of interested publics. It involves a number of
interactions, such as contacting, inviting, informing, clarifying, responding,
interpreting, dealing, transacting, and so forth.
•Public relations is a continuous process. It starts with inception of business

unit and lasts as long as it exists. Once the company has established a good
image and reputation, such image and positive attitudes may extinguish if they
are not monitored or maintained.
•In relation to modern management practices, the public relations has become
profession. It enjoys professional status. All the characteristics of profession
such as specialized knowledge, need of formal education, ethical codes,
service motive, continuous development, etc., are also prevalent in public
relations.
•It is, no doubt, an art. To make publics think positively about the company,
one must know how to deal with them. The officer – designated as public
relations officer (PRO) – must have skills, special qualities, and knowledge to
interact successfully with different groups of society to build the long-term
constructive relations. He needs special qualities to be the successful PRO.
FUNCTIONS OF PR
1. Media Relations:
•Preparing position papers on issues of importance to the organization

•Handling publicity
•Issuing news of activities to external audiences
•Establishing and maintaining contacts with the mass media
•Handling responses to inquiries from the mass media
•Coordinating media conferences and tours
•Tracking and evaluating media coverage
2. Guest Relations:
•Guest reception activities

•Preparing visit agenda and other visit related matters
•Conducting university tours
•Preparing brochures, tour guides, tapes, videos, maps and other guest-related
communications materials
•Preparing gift items for the visitors
3. Publications:
•Preparing and publishing materials for public including dealers, agents, advisory
bodies and employees
•Helping out other departments to promote and publish event announcements and other
event related advertisement materials
4. Marketing Publicity:
•Announcing new products or services and enhancements in products and services,

though editorial channels of mass media
•Developing and executing promotional materials
•Participating in exhibits and marketing events
5. Others:
Developing a good working climate for organisation

•Providing PR Services to other departments (photographic services, providing gift
items, and etc.)
•Organizing events
•Providing public information
•Managing sponsorship
•Building and managing relationships with other companies
IMPORTANCE OF PR
Advertising has become an essential marketing activity in the modern era of large-scale
production and serves competition in the market. It performs the following functions:
1.Promotion of Sales
2.Introduction of New Product
3.Creation of Good Public Image
4.Mass Production
5.Research
6.Education of People
7.Support to Press
Promotion of Sales
It promotes the sale of goods and services by informing and persuading the people to
buy them. A good advertising campaign helps in winning new customers both in the
national as wet as in the international markets.
Introduction of New Product
It helps the introduction of new products in the market. A business enterprise can
introduce itself and its product to the public through advertising. A new enterprise
can’t make an impact on prospective customers without the help of advertising.
Advertising enables quick publicity in the market.
Creation of Good Public Image
It builds up the reputation of the advertiser. Advertising enables a business firm to
communicate its achievements in an effort to satisfy the customers’ needs. This
increases the goodwill and reputation of the firm which is necessary to fight against
the competition in the market.
Mass Production
Advertising facilitates large-scale production. Advertising encourages the production
of goods on a large scale because the business firm knows that it will be able to sell
on a large scale with the help of advertising. Mass production reduces the cost of
production per unit by the economical use of various factors of production.
Research
Advertising stimulates research and development activities. Advertising has become a
competitive marketing activity. Every firm tries to differentiate its product from the
substitutes available in the market through advertising.
This compels every business firm to do more and more research to find new products
and their new uses. If a firm does not engage in research and development activities, it
will be out of the market in the near future.
Education of People
Advertising educates people about new products and their uses. Advertising message
about the utility of a product enables people to widen their knowledge. It is
advertising which has helped people in adopting new ways of life and giving up old
habits.
It has contributed a lot towards the betterment of the standard of living of the society.
Support to Press
Advertising provides an important source of revenue for publishers and magazines. It
enables them to increase the circulation of their publication by selling them at lower
rates. People are also benefited because they get publications at cheaper rates.
Advertising is also a source of revenue for TV networks.
For instance, Doordarshan and ZeeTV insert ads before, in between, and after various
programs and earn millions of rupees through ads. Such income could be used for
increasing the quality of programs and extending coverage.
ROLE OF PR
Refer PDF uploaded in the Folder for Module 3
THANK YOU!

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INTRODUCTION TO Dr Juhi P Pathak

1. Evaluation of public attitudes and opinions.

•Seeks to establish and sustain a mutually beneficial relationship.

•The aim of public relations is to develop and maintain harmonious relations

•Public relations include building and maintaining long-term and positive

•Public relations is a continuous process. It starts with inception of business

•Preparing position papers on issues of importance to the organization

•Guest reception activities

•Announcing new products or services and enhancements in products and services,

Developing a good working climate for organisation

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