Understanding Public Relations and its Organization

1. Public Relations

2. How Public Relations is Organized • All organizations are different. General Motors has 200 people working in PR, while smaller organizations may have only one person doing the work 3 Primary Types • External • Internal • Media Relations

3. External Public Relations • Communication with groups and people outside the organization, including customers and community leaders • They can arrange promotional activities like exhibits, trade shows, conferences, and tours • Lobby government agencies and legislators on behalf of the organization.

4. Internal Public Relations • Involves developing good relations with employees, managers, unions, and others “inside” the organization • May create newsletters, magazines, and brochures

5. Media Relations • Communication with large groups of people typically occurs through using the media • Responds to news inquiries, arranges news conferences and issues press releases

6. Public Relations Agencies • Some organizations have their own PR staff --- some go to a public relations agency • Some agencies are full service, while some focus on a particular aspect of PR – political campaigns, coach business executives for news interviews, coordinate trade shows

7. Public Relations Services • Lobbying • Political Communication • Image Consulting • Financial Public Relations • Fund-Raising • Contingency Planning • Events Coordination

8. Public Relations Services • Political Communication – Services include campaign management, survey research, publicity, media relations, and image consulting • Image Consulting – Often groom corporate spokespersons to meet with reporters and go on talk shows

9. Public Relations Services • Contingency Planning – Design programs to address problems that can be expected to occur. Used for situations requiring quick, appropriate responses under pressure, such as handling a plane crash • Polling – Conduct surveys to gauge public opinion