LECTURE 1. WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS?

Content: Course description Global Scope A Variety of Definitions Public Relations as a Process The Components of Public Relations How Public Relations Differs from Journalism How Public Relations Differs from Advertising How Public Relations Differs from Marketing Toward an Integrated Perspective

Public Relations focuses on understanding and developing the relationship between an individual or, more often, an organization, and the public or publics with which that organization must effectively co-exist. This course is designed to provide a brief and specific introduction to public relations blending theory and practice offering an in-depth understanding of public relations as a strategic, problem-solving process involving the application of key principles. The assertive approach used is supported with vigorous examples bringing excitement to the field of public relations. The course covers essential principles and concepts of public relations, talks about public relations as a field and possible carrier opportunities while also providing a historical perspective regarding the development of public relations practice and principles, a description of the public relations process of research, planning, communication, and evaluation. It is also important to look at the issues of ethics and public relations law, reaching different audiences and publics, new technologies and tools used in public relations, analysis of public relations campaigns. Public Relations remains a commonly used term, however, in many ways of business and government terms such as Corporate Communication and Public Affairs are perhaps more frequently used. We have elected to adhere to the more traditional term for the sake of simplicity and effective communication.

On successful completion of this course students should be able to: Define and describe public relations; Describe the foundations of public relations practice and its development to the present day;

Describe the core theories underpinning contemporary public relations practice; Integrate those theories into the analysis of a public relations case study; Identify and differentiate the internal and external publics associated with an organization;

Identify the methods and approaches most commonly used by public relations practitioners in designing and planning public relations initiatives;

Develop an understanding of how to develop a simple public relations campaign proposal.

The course consists of 16 lectures (32 hours), 9 seminars (18 hours) and 9 KSR controlled student assignments (18 hours). At the end the students are to take an exam in an oral form. Requirements: Attendance Participation in seminars Assignments Exam

Materials to use: Lectures Reports Reader

Additional Reference Materials

Reference materials are materials that, if assessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience and expertise.

Global Scope Nowadays, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the field already employs well over 200,000 nationwide and predicts a 39.8 percent increase in employment through 2014 for public relations specialists, contrasted with a 0 to 9 percent increase in journalism jobs. CNNMoney.com lists public relations specialist as one of the top 50 professions for job opportunity and potential salary, coming in at 20th on the list. The 10-year job growth projection is a very healthy 22.61 percent. Its difficult to estimate worldwide figures, but the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management (www.globalpr.org), with 40 associations representing some 100,000 members, estimates that some 3 million people worldwide practice public relations as their main professional activity. Conservatively, about one-twelfth (360,000) probably belong to some professional organization. Public relations is also a well-established academic subject that is taught throughout the world. In the United States, almost 200 universities have sequences or majors in public relations, and about 100 European universities offer studies in the subject. Many Asian universities, particularly those in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, also offer major programs. China claims that more than 500,000 students are studying aspects of public relations in colleges and training institutions. In terms of economics, the public relations field is most extensively developed in the United States, where organizations spend almost $4 billion annually on public relations, according to estimates by Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a specialty banker in the communications industry. Public relations in the United States is expected to become a $5.2 billion dollar industry by 2009. Figures for the rest of the world are somewhat sketchy. European companies spend about $3 billion a year on public relations. These expenditures continue to increase because of the

expansion of the European Union (EU) and the developing market economies of Russia and the now independent nations of the former Soviet Union. Major growth is also occurring in Asia for several reasons. China is emerging as the new frontier. Since opening its economy to market capitalism, Chinas economy is increasing at the rate of 10 percent annually. The public relations industry is sharing in this growth. The China International Public Relations Association (CIPRA) reports there are not 20,000 practitioners in the country. The Economist reports that the public relations market in China will be $1.8 billion by 2010, second only to Japan in the region. Other nations, such as Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and even India, are rapidly expanding their free-market economies as well, which creates a fertile environment for increased public relations activity. Latin America and Africa also present growth opportunities. Even the writers who bluntly assert that public relations is as old as civilization and implicit in all human interactions will admit theres a tremendous difference between the concept of public relations and the profession of public relations or, phrased another way, theres a big difference between practicing common sense public relations and developing a professional public relations practice. And, no one disputes that public relations has changed dramatically since it emerged as a distinct discipline and viable career path in the second half of the 19 th century. Its grown tremendously in size, scope, and significance. This growth has been particularly dramatic in the last few decades, and its been accompanied by a growing recognition of public relations expanding role and influence in organizational life of all sorts. In many corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations the public relations function has been elevated from its traditional role as a support service and made it an integral part of upper management decision-making. James Dowling, then-president of Burson-Marsteller, one of the largest world-wide PR firms, described the changes that have occurred in public relations in the following way during an interview by a The New York Times reporter in the mid-1980s: In the 1950s organizations asked their public relations consulting firms, How should we say this? In the socially turbulent 1960s and 1970s, faced with various confrontations, these same organizations asked their public relations people, What should we say? Today they ask, What should we do?

PR JOKE: A mathematician, an accountant and a public relations officer all applied for the same job with a large company. The interviewer called in the mathematician first and asked, What does two plus two equal? The mathematician replied, Four. The interviewer asked, Four, exactly? The mathematician looked at the interviewer incredulously and said, Yes, of course: four, exactly. Then the interviewer called in the accountant and asked the same question, What does two plus two equal? The accountant said, On average, four give or take 10 percent; but on average, four. Then the interviewer called in the public relations officer and again posed the same question, What does two plus two equal? The public relations officer got up, locked the door, closed the shade, sat down next to the interviewer and whispered, Well, what do you want it to equal? A Variety of Definitions So what is public relations? There is no definite answer. The modern practice of public relations first came under serious study in the early 1900s, and educators and practitioners have struggled ever since with its definition. At the beginning of the 21 st century, defining public relations remains an issue. Even people who practice public relations on a daily basis have yet to arrive at a single definition to describe what they do. There isnt even any consensus on what to call the profession. Because of the supposedly negative connotations carried by the term public relations, many organizations opt to use euphemisms such as public affairs, public information, corporate communications, or community outreach to describe the function. Burson-Marsteller, one of the worlds largest public relations agencies, describes itself in its web site as a global perception management firm. The preferred and most popular name has changed over the course of time and has varied from place to place and industry to industry.

In the late nineteenth century, when public relations was first emerging as a profession, the most commonly used terms to describe the activity were publicity and promotion. Although a few companies created internal units they called public relations departments -- Westinghouse became one of the first and biggest to do so in 1889 most large companies continued to use terms such as publicity department, press office and literary bureau rather than public relations. Public relations became the preferred name in the 1920s. Preferences began changing fairly quickly and steadily after the First World War. In part, it was due to the publics increasing awareness of the field that was fueled by the aggressive and high-file promotional tactics of practitioners who called themselves public relations counselors. More and more American organizations began hiring public relations people and, with exception of government agencies which had special reasons for not using it, most of them adopted the term public relations to describe their attempts to enhance their relationships with their customers and other constituents. By the mid-twentieth century, the vast majority of large American corporations had internal units that were responsible for public relations activities, and almost all of them used the term public relations in their units names, whether they were departments, divisions, or offices. A few companies still used terms like publicity department, promotions department, or press office, but not very many. From the 1940s through the first half of the 1970s, public relations had very little competition as the preferred name for this growing field of activity. By the end of the 1980s scholars and trade journals alike reported that there was more confusion about what to call public relations than there had been at any time in the past. The only thing that was universally agreed upon was that the popularity of the term public relations was fading. According to ODwyers Directory of Corporate Communication which periodically surveys the Fortune 500 companies, public relations remains the single most widely-used designation among the largest American businesses. But that survey also reported, The number of companies that identify their internal unit for communicating with their constituents as public relations has dropped off dramatically in the last decade. While almost three-fourths of them once used the term public relations, now only about one-fourth of the Fortune 500 companies have a department, division, or unit called public relations. Some have combined their former public relations departments with other communication specialties and have given them multifunctional names such as marketing public relations or advertising and public relations. But, even when such dual-name units are included

in the count, less than one-third of the Fortune 500 companies now have a unit with the term public relations anywhere in its title. Corporate communication and just plain communication are the most popular new names for these functions. Each is found as a department or division name in about 20 percent of the Fortune 500 companies and their popularity seems to increase annually. Given that, ODwyer speculated that either could soon surpass public relations in popularity. The next most-widely used term, one found in about 10 percent of Fortune 500 companies, is public affairs. Although public affairs continues to grow in popularity, the satisfaction with this name has not been universal. Next in the Fortune 500 list of preferred names, and essentially tied in popularity, are corporate relations and marketing communication. The list concludes with a scattering of units with names such as customer relations, consumer affairs, public information, community relations, community affairs, and promotions. By 1999 public relations appeared to have been supplanted. According to the findings of the Best Practices in Corporate Communication study conducted by the Washington-based Public Affairs Group communication in 1999 was the single, most-widely used name for public relations units, and public relations has slipped to the second place. More than half of the companies surveyed call their public relations unit either communication or corporate communication, and almost 68 percent include the word communication in some form or another in their units name. Marketing communication is much more popular among small and mid-sized businesses than among the giants of the Fortune 500. And, although its popularity varies somewhat from region to region in the United States, it remains very popular in hospitals and throughout the health care industry. Promotions has long been and continues to be the most common unit name in broadcasting. It also seems to be gaining popularity in the publishing industry and among other mass media and media-related businesses. Another widely used term in these fields is special events. Public information, once solely used by government agencies, seems to be gaining popularity among universities. A few, but not very many, businesses have also adopted it.

Community relations seems to be gaining as the preferred term among an increasing number of non-profit organizations, especially those with human services missions. Other nonprofits, including some political action committees, prefer the term constituent relations. Will public relations ultimately become something else? That remains to be seen. Todays popular terms could disappear just as other naming fads have done, or one of them could take root and become the new identifier of the field. Or, some totally unexpected name could yet emerge. Some people think the name of the field is very important. Others are less concerned about the name thats applied to the field. They believe what public relations practitioners do is far more important than what they are called. They seemingly agree with Shakespeares observation: Whats in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet. In late 1997 when Edelman was being inducted into the Arthur Page Society Hall of Fame for public relations practitioners, he decried the infrequent use of the words public relations in titles and in the names of the top firms. At that time he pointed out that only 2 of the top 10 and only 6 of the top 50 public relations firms actually had the term public relations as part of their company name. How, he asked, can we reinforce, defend, advance and project the importance and major role of public relations if the leadership does not carry the term public relations on its business card, its letterhead and in any public references? I am convinced our mission is to perform in such a way that we bring honor and respect to the term public relations rather than discarding it. And, what shall future generations call the people who perform these functions? Some organizations already call their public relations staff members constituent advocates. Apple Computer, a company once widely known for its quirky job titles, called the head of its public relations unit THE CHIEF STORY TELLER, and Chris Holten-Hempel, the co-founder of SparkPR, a Silicon Valley public relations firm that specializes in working with high-tech startup companies, has the title CHIEF DETONATOR on the office door and the business card. People often define public relations by some of its most visible techniques and tactics, such as coverage in a newspaper, a television interview with an organizations spokesperson, or the appearance of a celebrity at a special event. Knowing what professionals do every day can provide an important grounding about public relations, but does not suffice as a definition. Many people fail to understand that public relations is a process involving numerous subtle and far-reaching aspects beyond media coverage. It includes research, analysis, policy

formulation, communication, feedback from numerous publics. Its practitioners operate on two distinct levels as advisers to their clients or to an organizations top management and as technicians who produce and disseminate messages in multiple media channels. Thus: Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and patience. 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. This approach represents the current belief that public relations is more than persuasion. Public relations should foster open, two-way communication and mutual understanding with the principle that an organization changes its attitudes and behaviors in the process. Change and accommodation occur for the organization not just the target audience. Public relations is the strategic management of competition and conflict for the benefit of ones own organization when possible also for the mutual benefit of the organization and its stakeholders or publics. this definition places the public relations professional first and foremost as advocate for the employer or client, but acknowledges the importance of mutual benefit when circumstances allow. Pioneer public relations educator Rex Harlow once found there are about 500 definitions of public relations of varying lengths and quality. He also came up with his own 87-word definition, which stressed public relations role as a management function that helps establish and maintain lines of communication, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its public. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the worlds largest organization for public relations practitioners. It has defined the profession in the following manner: Public Relations helps our complex, pluralistic society to reach decisions and function more effectively by contributing to mutual understanding among groups and institutions. It serves to bring the public and public policies into harmony. As a management function, public relations encompasses the following: Anticipating, analyzing, and interpreting public opinion, attitudes, and issues which might impact, for good or ill, the operations and plans of the organization.

Counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action, and communications, taking into account their public ramifications and the organizations social or citizenship responsibilities.

Researching, conducting, and evaluating on a continuing basis, programs of action and communication to achieve informed public understanding necessary to the success of an organizations aims. These may include marketing, financial, fund-raising, employee, community or government relations, and other programs.

Planning and implementing the organizations efforts to influence or change public policy.

Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting, and training staff, developing facilities in short, managing the resources needed to perform all of the above.

Examples of the knowledge that may be required in the professional practice of public relations include communication arts, psychology, social psychology, sociology, political science, economics, and the principles of management and ethics. Technical knowledge and skills are required for opinion research, public issues analysis, media relations, direct mail, institutional advertising, publications, film/video productions, special events, speeches, and presentations. Thus, it is more important to remember the key words that are used in most definitions

that frame todays modern public relations. The key words are: Deliberate. Public relations activity is intentional. It is designed to influence, gain understanding, provide information, and obtain feedback (reaction from those affected by the activity). Planned. Public relations activity is organized. Solutions to problems are discovered and logistics are thought out, with the activity taking place over a period of time. It is systematic, requiring research and analysis. Performance. Effective public relations is based on actual policies and performance. No amount of public relations will generate good will and support if an organization is unresponsive to community concerns.

Public relations is socially responsible. A practitioners responsibilities extend beyond organizational goals. Practitioners and the people they represent are expected to play a constructive role in society. Public interest. Public relations activity should be mutually beneficial to the organization and the public; it is the alignment of the organizations self-interests with the publics concerns and interests. Two-way communication. Public relations is more than one-way dissemination of informational materials. It is equally important to solicit feedback. Strategic management of competition and conflict . Public relations is most effective when it is an integral part of decision making by top management. Public relations involves counseling and problem solving at high levels, not just the dissemination of information after a decision has been made by other leaders. Managing competition and conflict in the interests of the organization, but with integrity and high standards, brings a new vigor and increased relevance to public relations. All these elements are part of an interactive process that comprise public relations activity. Common goals of public relations efforts include:

Motivate new behavior Modify negative behavior Reinforce existing positive behavior

As an area of specialization, public relations draws many of its basic beliefs from the behavioral sciences. For example:

The rule of rewards, a principle from psychology, states that people will only do those things for which they feel recognized and rewarded. The rule of participation, also based on psychological research, tells us people will only support programs, initiatives, or ideas they believe they had a voice in creating. The rule of abuse, an idea with roots in sociology, states that people who believe they have been mistreated by a person or organization must have their feelings acknowledged before they will listen to what the party in question is trying to say. The rule of cheerleading, a principle from anthropology, tells the public relations professional that every successful organization has a smaller group within it that must urge the others to succeed.

Public Relations as a Process Public Relations is a process that is, a series of actions, changes, or functions that bring about a result. One popular way to describe the process, and to remember its components, is to use the RACE acronym, first articulated by John Marston in his book The Nature of Public Relations. Essentially, RACE means that public relations activity consists of four key elements: 1. Research What is the problem or situation? 2. Action (program planning) What is going to be done about it? 3. Communication (execution) How will the public be told? 4. Evaluation Was the audience reached and what was the effect? 1. Research is the discovery phase of a problem-solving process: practitioners use of formal and informal methods of information gathering to learn about an organization, the challenges and opportunities it faces, and the publics important to its success. 2. Planning is the strategy phase of the problem-solving process, in which practitioners use the information gathered during research. From that information, they develop effective and efficient strategies to meet the needs of their clients or organizations. 3. Communication is the execution phase of the public relations process. This is where practitioners direct messages to specific publics in support of specified goals. 4. Evaluation is the measurement of how effectively and efficiently a public relations effort met the organizations goals. However, the traditional chain suggests a linear approach oversimplifying a dynamic process. Another approach is to think of the process as a never-ending cycle in which six components are links in a chain: Research and analysis Policy formation Programming Communication Feedback

Program assessment and adjustment Models of Public Relations Public relations practitioners usually four models (the research of Professors Todd Hunt and James Grunig): 1. In the press agentry/publicity model, the focus of public relations efforts is on getting favorable coverage, or publicity, from the media. In this model accuracy and truth are not seen as essential. A 1989 study showed that this was the most widely practiced model of public relations. The same study showed that it ranked third in order of preference among practitioners. 2. In the public information model, the focus is on the dissemination of objective and accurate information. People following this model serve as journalists in residence, acting in much the same manner as new reporters. This was the second most practiced model of public relations. It ranked last, however, in order of preference among practitioners. 3. The two-way asymmetrical model is a more sophisticated approach in which research is used in an effort to influence important publics toward a particular point of view. This is a selfish method, one that does not lend itself to conflict resolution. The 1989 study showed that this was the least practiced of the four models. It ranked first, however, in order of preference among practitioners. 4. The two-way symmetrical model is the best model. It focuses on two-way communication as a means of conflict resolution and for the promotion of mutual understanding between an organization and its important publics. However, the 1989 study showed that this was only the third most practiced model of public relations. It ranked second in order of preference. How Public Relations Differs from Journalism Writing is a common activity of both public relations professionals and journalists. Both also do their jobs in many of the same ways: they interview people, gather and synthesize large amounts of information, write in a journalistic style, and are trained to produce good copy on deadline. In fact, many reporters eventually change careers and become public relations practitioners.

This has led many people, including journalists, to the incorrect conclusion that little difference exists between public relations and journalism. However, journalism can be seen as an autonomous social system that fulfils a unique function in society: to provide subject matter for the public discussion through its observation of society from the perspective of a professional. PR, however, is part of other social systems like business (or, more specifically, companies), politics, or culture and plays a specific role with these larger systems. Good investigative journalists work to inform the public about the activities of the rich and powerful. They uncover secrets known only to a few, and share those secrets with the rest of us. Public relations, on the other hand, works to control and limit the publics access to information about the rich and powerful. PR has its own techniques of investigation techniques which range from opinion polling to covert surveillance of citizen activists. Rather than studying the few for the benefit of the many, these techniques study the many for the benefit of the few. For many, public relations is simply being a journalist-in-residence for a nonmedia organization. However, despite sharing techniques, the two fields are fundamentally different in scope, objectives, audiences, and channels. Scope: Public relations, as stated earlier, has many components, ranging from counseling to issues management and special events. Journalistic writing and media relations, although important, are only two of these elements. In addition, effective practice of public relations requires strategic thinking, problem-solving capability, and other management skills carried out for the employer. Objectives: Journalists gather and select information for the primary purpose of providing the public with news and information. Professors David Dozier and William Ehling state that in journalism, communication activities are an end in themselves. Public relations personnel also gather facts and information for the purpose of informing the public, but their objective is different. Communication activity is simply a means to the end managing competition and conflict in the best interests of ones employer. In other words, the objective is not only to inform but also to change peoples attitudes and behaviors in order to further an organizations goals and objectives. Whereas journalists are objective observers, public relations personnel are advocates. Harold Burson, chairman of Burson-Marsteller, makes the point:

To be effective and credible, public relations messages must be based on facts. Nevertheless, we are advocates, and we need to remember that. We are advocates of a particular point of view our clients or our employers point of view. And while we recognize that serving the public interest best serves our clients interest, we are not journalists. That is not our job. Sometimes this advocacy is turned toward ones own management as the public relations professional argues for accommodation of the needs or interests of a key public. Audiences: Journalists write primarily for a mass audience readers, listeners, or viewers of the medium for which they work. By definition, mass audiences are not well defined, and a journalist on a daily newspaper, for example, writes for the general public. A public relations professional, in contrast, carefully segments audiences into various demographic and psychological characteristics. Such research allows messages to be tailored to audience needs, concerns, and interests for maximum effect. Channels: Most journalists, by nature of their employment, reach audiences through one channel the medium that publishes or broadcasts their work. Public relations professionals use a variety of channels to reach their target audiences. The channels they employ may combine mass media outlets newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. Or they may include direct mail, pamphlets, posters, letters, trade journals, special events, and messages on the Internet. How Public Relations Differs from Advertising Just as many people mistakenly equate publicity with public relations, there is also some confusion about the distinction between publicity (one area of public relations) and advertising. Although publicity and advertising both utilize mass media for dissemination of messages, the format and context are different. Publicity information about an event, an individual or group, or a product appears as a news item or feature story in the mass media. Material is prepared by public relations personnel and submitted to news departments for consideration. Reporters and editors, in their crucial role as gatekeepers, determine whether the material will be used or simply thrown away. Advertising, in contrast, involves paid space and broadcast time. For example, organizations and individuals contract with the advertising department of a mass media outlet for

a full-page ad or a 60-second commercial. An organization writes the advertisement, decides the type and graphics, and controls where and when the advertisement will run. In other words, advertising is simply renting space in a medium with a considerable control over the final message. The lions share of revenue for all mass media comes from the sale of advertising space. Other differences between public relations activities and advertising include: Advertising works almost exclusively through mass media outlets; public relations relies on a number of communication tools brochures, slide presentations, special events, speeches, news releases, feature stories, and so forth. Advertising is addressed to external audiences primarily consumers of goods and services; public relations presents its message to specialized external audiences (stockholders, vendors, community leaders, environmental groups, and so on) and internal audiences (employees). Advertising is readily identified as a specialized communication function; public relations is broader in scope, dealing with the policies and performance of the entire organization, from the morale of employees to the way telephone operators respond to calls. Advertising is often used as a communication tool in public relations, and public relations activity often supports advertising campaigns. Advertisings function is primarily to sell goods and services; the public relations function is to create an environment in which an organization can thrive in complex, competitive environments. The latter calls for dealing with economic, social, and political factors that can affect the organization. The major disadvantage of advertising, of course, is the cost. Because of this, companies are increasingly using a tool of public relations product publicity that is more cost-effective and often more credible because the message appears in a news context. One national (the US) study, for example, found that almost 70 percent of consumers place more weight on media coverage than advertising when determining their trust of companies and buying a product or service. How Public Relations Differs from Marketing PR JOKE: If you ever want to infuriate a public relations professional, suggest that public relations is part of marketing!

The recent trend is to emphasize the similarities between marketing and public relations and to have them become increasingly intertwined in the workplace. But, until 30 years ago, public relations and marketing were usually considered totally separate subjects. Both marketing and public relations went through such dramatic growth and evolution during the first half of the twentieth century that at least one business historian has referred to this period as their teen-age years. They both experienced surprising growth spurts and, as they gained increasing influence in the business world, they experimented with new strategies and frequently flexed their muscles as they adjusted to what they were becoming and tried to project a positive and confident self-image. As marketing and public relations expanded their spheres of activities and as they became more aggressive in communicating with more and more and ever-larger publics, they often ended up talking to the same publics, and they sometimes used the same techniques to do it. But, even when their actions appeared to be similar to outsiders such as the consuming publics, the practitioners themselves knew that their two disciplines were conceptually very different. Public relations is distinct from marketing in several ways, although their boundaries often overlap. The functions overlap, for example, because both deal with an organizations relationships and employ similar communication tools to reach the public. Both have the ultimate purpose of ensuring an organizations success and economic survival. Public relations and marketing, however, approach this task from somewhat different perspectives or worldviews. Public relations is the management process whose goal is to attain and maintain accord and positive behaviors among social groupings on which an organization depends in order to achieve its mission. Its fundamental responsibility is to build and maintain a hospitable environment for an organization. Marketing is the management process whose goal is to attract and satisfy customers (or clients) on a long-term basis in order to achieve an organizations economic objectives. Its fundamental responsibility is to build and maintain markets for an organizations products or services. Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals (American Marketing Association).

Public relations is a strategic management function that adds value to an organization by helping it to manage its reputation (Chartered Institute of Public Relations). In other words, public relations is concerned with building relationships and generating goodwill for the organization; marketing is concerned with customers and selling products and services. Public relations does support sales, but additionally deals with a broad array of publics beyond customers. The marketing function should communicate with the markets for an organizations goods and services. Public relations should be concerned with all the publics of the organization. The major purpose of marketing is to make money for the organization by increasing the slope of the demand curve. The major purpose of public relations is to save money for the organization by building relationships with publics that constrain or enhance the ability of the organization to meet its mission. Excellent public relations avoids persuasion; its ideal purpose is to create mutual understanding and cooperation through two-way dialogue. PR is all about relationships, mainly building them. We could be talking about a relationship between a chief executive and his employees. Or a relationship between two existing businesses. Maybe its an organizations relationship to its investors. Marketing, by definition, is persuasive in intent and purpose to sell products and services, it is concerned with the market driven by consumers needs and wants. When public relations is used to support directly an organizations marketing objectives, it is called marketing communications. In its market-support function, public relations is used to achieve a number of objectives. The most important of these are to raise awareness, to inform and educate, to gain understanding, to build trust, to make friends, to give people reasons to buy and finally to create a climate of consumer acceptance. Consequently, it is possible to make the following conclusions: 1. Marketing focuses on consumers, as does consumer relations, or customer relations, which is part of public relations. Traditional consumer relations tactics, such as product-oriented new releases, can work hand in hand with marketing tactics such as direct mail and in-store displays. 2. Other areas of public relations, such as government relations and employee relations, can affect the success of marketing programs and vice versa. Some of the biggest headaches in public relations, in fact, come from mishandled marketing programs that damage important relationships.

3. Marketing in the 21st century is undergoing dramatic changes. Far from just persuading customers to buy products now, new marketing strategies seek to build long-term, productive relationships with consumers. That sounds a lot like public relations. 4. In fact, the two professions are clearly complementary a strongly positive reputation makes the marketers job easier, while marketing activity affects a companys reputation. PR JOKE: Professor was explaining marketing concepts: You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, I am very rich. Marry me. Thats direct marketing. You are at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says, He is very rich. Marry him. Thats advertising. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, Hi, I am very rich. Marry me. Thats telemarketing. You are at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her a ride, and then say, By the way, I am very rich. Will you marry me? Thats Public Relations. You are at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says, You are very rich Thats brand recognition. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, I am rich. Marry me. She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. Thats customer feedback.

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, I am very rich. Marry me. And she introduces you to her husband. Thats demand and supply gap. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say, I am very rich. Marry me. She turns her face towards you she is your wife. Thats competition eating into your market share. Those organizations that have the most effective communications are those that dont get hung up on whats marketing and whats public relations. Integrated Marketing Communications In our new reality, many organizations are decreasing their reliance on mass marketing. Instead, they are embracing consumer-focused marketing which uses a variety of media to build relationships with individual consumers. In the past decade, one of the most popular forms of consumer-focused marketing has been integrated marketing communication (IMC). 1. IMC practitioners focus on individual consumers. Products are developed to fill consumers specific needs, and sales messages are created to target specific consumers self-interests. (Because IMC targets consumers, not all of public relations is part of IMC. Public relations targets other publics as well: government officials, employees, and stockholders, to name a few). 2. IMC practitioners use databases to target individual customers rather than mass audiences. These databases contain a wealth of information on individual consumers wants, needs, and preferences. 3. IMC practitioners send a well-focused message to each consumer through a variety of approaches: advertising, public relations, direct mail, and all other forms of marketing communications, including packaging and pricing. 4. IMC practitioners use consumer-preferred media to send their marketing messages. 5. IMC practitioners favor interactive media, constantly seeking information from consumers. The three main pillars of IMC are public relations, advertising and marketing. They follow the same process: research, planning, communication, evaluation. But unlike

marketing, public relations focuses on many publics, not just consumers. And unlike advertising, public relations doesnt control its messages by purchasing specific placements for them. Summary: Advertising is the use of controlled media (media in which one pays for the privilege of dictating message content, placement, and frequency) in an attempt to influence the actions of targeted publics. Marketing is the process of researching, creating, refining, and promoting a product or service and distributing that product or service to targeted consumers. Marketing promotion disciplines include sales promotion (such as coupons), personal selling, direct marketing. Public relations is the values-driven management of relationships between an organization and the publics that can affect its success. Toward an Integrated Perspective Although well-defined differences exist among the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations, there is an increasing realization that an organizations goals and objectives can be best accomplished through an integrated approach, not just through marketing but through all communication functions. Integration of communication tools is now widely adopted for accomplishing the organizations objectives. Strategic communication requires grit and determination, but more accurately GRRIT, to successfully integrate advertising, marketing and public relations. Strategic communication strives to use all available tools in the communication toolbox to solve problems. Global/multicultural Research-based Relationship-focused Internet/media-oriented Toolbox-driven tactics

Several factors have fueled the trend toward integration. First is the downsizing and reengineering of organizations. Many of them have consolidated departments and have also reduced staff dedicated to various communication disciplines. As a result, one department, with fewer employees, is expected to do a greater variety of communication tasks. Second, organizational marketing and communication departments are making do with tighter budgets. To avoid the high cost of advertising, many organizations look for alternative ways to deliver messages. These may include building buzz by word of mouth, targeting influentials, Web marketing, media relations and product publicity, and event sponsorship. Third is the growing realization that advertising, with its high costs, isnt the silver bullet it used to be. Part of the problem is the increasing litter of advertising (one estimates that the American consumer is exposed to 237 ads a day or about 86,000 annually) and its general lack of credibility among consumers. PR creates the brand, advertising defends the brand. Fourth, it is now widely recognized that the marketing of products and services can be affected by public and social policy issues. The impact of such factors, not traditionally considered by marketing managers, has led many professionals to believe that organizations should do a better job of integrating public relations and public affairs into their overall marketing considerations. In developing strategy, you have multiple stakeholders. PR people understand the richness of the audience that have an interest in the company; advertising just focuses on customers. Strategy is the development of options to accomplish an objective. PR people can develop these as they have the multiplicity of audiences and channels to use to reach them. The concept of integration reflects the increasing sophistication of organizations to use a variety of strategies and tactics to convey a consistent message in many different forms. Experts in the various disciplines (advertising, public relations, direct promotion, marketing) now work as a team from the very beginning of a project. The role of public relations in the marketing mix is essentially defined by competition in the marketplace competition between brands, competition for market share, and even competition for the loyalty of consumers.