DEFINING PUBLIC RELATIONS

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DEFINING PUBLIC RELATIONS
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Markers of Public Relations Growth

• United States growth
• 200,000 U.S. public relations professionals
• Employment growth increasing faster than average
  through the year 2010
• The amount of respect and public relations
  spending are correlated among Fortune 500
  companies

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Markers continued

• Education growth
• 250 colleges and universities in the U.S. and
• overseas have public relations programs

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Markers continued

• Government growth
• U.S. government large employer of public
  relations practitioners
• Includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and the U.S.
  Information Agency

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Markers continued

• Professional Associations Growth
• Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has
  20,000 members in 117 chapters
• The International Association of Business
  Communicators (IABC) has 13,500 members in more
  than 58 countries.

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Markers continued

• International Association growth
• International Public Relations Association (IPRA)
  with membership in Latin America, Africa, Europe,
  and China

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Public relations roots provide the foundation

• a democratic society where people have freedom
  to debate and make decisionsin the community,
  the marketplace, the home, the workplace, and the
  voting booth. Private and public organizations
  depend on good relations with groups and
  individuals whose opinions, decisions and actions
  affect their vitality and survival.

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What is Public Relations?

• Defining the field

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Public relations is a planned process to
influence public opinion, through sound character
and proper performance, based on mutually
satisfactory two-way communication.
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Defining the Field

• Many definitions
• 1975 commissioned study found 472 definitions
  reduced to an 88-word definition.
• 1980 Task force offered two definitions

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Public Relations definition by PRSA Task Force

• Public relations helps an organization and its
  publics adapt mutually to each other. Public
  relations is an organizations efforts to win the
  cooperation of groups of people.

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Marstons Four Step Modelencompasses the process

• Research
• Action
• Communication
• Evaluation

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R-A-C-E

• ResearchActionCommunication-Evaluation

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Two Elements that Guide the Process

• Management
• Action

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Sharpes Five Principles

• Honest communication
• Openness and consistency
• Fairness of actions
• Two-way communication
• Research and Evaluation

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Public Relations professionalsserve as
interpreters for the organization.

• Call out

• Let me show you the way

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Interpretation for management

• Philosophies, policies, programs, practices
• Convey attitudes
• Communicate truthfully and correctly

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Interpretation to management

• Management has a need to know
• What the public thinks about the organization and
  its practices

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What recent events have occurred in which
organizations were not interpreting public views?
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Publics

• Internal
• External
• Interdependence
• Networks
• Systems

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Publics

• Key groups
• Classification system based on
• Issue, organization, viewpoint, time,
• Interest, location, values, lifestyle,
  relationship

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Who makes up the publics at your college or
university?

• Clue Break it down

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Why are publics important to organizations?

• Clue To know them is to please them.

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Public relations, marketing and
advertising.arent they all the same?
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• Marketing and advertising promotes a product or
  service
• Public relations promotes the entire organization.

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Functions of Public Relations

• Writing
• Media relations
• Planning
• Counseling
• Researching
• Publicity
• Marketing Communications

• Community relations
• Consumer relations
• Employee relations
• Government affairs
• Investor relations
• Special public relations
• Public affairs issues management
• Web site development and interface

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Spin versus Public Relations

• Differences
• Issues
• Implications

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How do you answer when someone says public
relations equals spin doctors?

• Clue

Ethics
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Competent Practitioners

• Do you have the right stuff?
• Academic background
• Technical skills
• Personal characteristics