Public Relations (PR)

Public relations, also re offered to in its abbreviated form PR, is a promotional tool that, like advertising, uses media and events to achieve a range of business objectives. These include:

• ·         To sell
• ·         To inform
• ·         To attract
• ·         To promote
• ·         To brand
• ·         To create, reinforce or change an image or public opinion. Although PR may have similar objectives to advertising, it works in a different way. The main difference is that, whilst advertising relies on communication through paid-for media space, PR is based on the use of editorial space and broadcast time that is not paid for directly like advertising. For example, when a business launches a new product it may send a press release about the product and a photograph to the newspapers and news programmes on the radio and television. The news media want to use the information provided by the business to report on the new product. The business hopes that it will generate awareness of the new product in a way that it is not obviously advertising and ultimately that consumers will buy the new product. The use of press release is just one of the tools that PR experts can use to create awareness without it appearing to be explicit advertising. PR techniques can be used for all kinds of promotion and publicity and include press and customer receptions, open days and publicity generating events.in addition to creating awareness, public relations can be used to change the image and perception of the product. Like advertising and other promotional tools, PR must be planned to be effective. Different PR techniques can be used, depending on the aims and objectives of the business. Most PR plans will have a primary aim, but may also have secondary aims

Advantages

Disadvantages

·         In addition, if it is a TV advertisement, it can reach an even greater audience and they will see the information which introduces your business on TV. ·         The second advantage of PR is a great appealing power and responses. The information, which the highly public mass communication picks up from a lot of information, becomes at a premium for the readers and audiences at that point. Therefore it is the greatest characteristic of PR to bring an effect which creates needs by shaking up the targeted consumers' minds, who receive the information. ·         The third advantage of PR is inexpensiveness of the cost. The cost to carry out the PR activity always occurs, but you can control the expense if you compare it to the other ways of advertising.

·         At first, PR is a very difficult discipline to understand conduct successfully. A strategy supported by the professional knowledge of the media will be needed if you want to get into the media where you can get high responses to your promotions. ·         Secondly, it is hard to predict the responses of the audience. However, the responses of the PR last around 3 days to 1 week at most. So then a business plan will be necessary that utilizes the media exposure well without getting influenced by the needs which temporally went up. ·         It draws the end users who have bad quality and you haven't had before into your business as your business is introduced in the media. Therefore the claims that your business never had before might take place or it often happens that the problem of the product is picked up on. The PR may end up with a result that gives the opposite effect, unless the management which involves the assessment of risks is done.

The different forms this type of promotion could take. The below image is of the different types of PR there is. For example news, social media, online marketing and so on.
In public relations it is important to identify:

• ·         Goals
• ·         Objectives
• ·         Strategies
• ·         Tactics

Another approach to public relations is to follow the R.O.P.E. process, there are four steps:

• ·         Research
• ·         Objectives
• ·         Programming
• ·         Evaluation

In the RESEARCH step of the process, identifying and learning about the client, problems and public's are essential.

The second step is the OBJECTIVES that must be made clear in order for a program to solve the problem.

The third step in the process is to implement a PROGRAM to accomplish the objectives.

The final step is the EVALUATION, which is mandatory to find out if the program worked and if the goals were reached.

Each step in the R.O.P.E. process may be altered depending on the publics, employees, customers, media, community and the shareholders.