Public relations enhances and protects reputations by ensuring the activities of the company are communicated to and understood by wider publics, so that each group's good opinions reinforces the other in an unbroken circle of APPROVAL. In doing this, public relations create confidence in a company's management and its products, which builds credibility. This becomes more important when new products are introduced bearing a brand name normally associated with dissimilar products.
There is, therefore, a wide spectrum of company life where public relations may operate and make a commercial contribution to the company's success. There is a growing relevance of these to the activities of our large public quoted companies. For example:
- Issue management: All relevant situations are analyzed and advice given on how to handle them. At its best, this is a planned approach, designed not only to maximize potential benefits to the company, but also to minimize possible damage.
This approach means the company is not on the defensive and, thus, at a disadvantage. It will, instead, control in the offensive from an agreed position. The totally unexpected, however, happens, but an issue management system will react quickly and with finesse.
- Communication frameworks: Creating the form, content and tone of the messages to relevant publics, and the method of selling them to ensure maximum impact.
- Engineering consent: A public relations approach should engineer a receptive climate of opinion, a paving of the way, for company activities and their positive and enthusiastic acceptance by trade and consumer.
- Social audits: Work in commerce and finance brings public relations executives into contact with a wide range of social groups. "This provides a heightened consciousness of attitudinal and social change. Part of the public relations function is to feed this information back to the company. Public relations must view proposed company activities against the tenets of 'public opinion'.
- Added value: A cost effective aspect of public relations is to give 'Added Value' to all the other marketing and sales programs. This can be as simple as good press publicity coverage for a trade event or a sales incentive scheme.
- Marketing support: The strategies and tactics of the public relations service are always sharply focused and aligned to the marketing objectives when brand public relations work is done. But the inter relation of this to the first five public relations functions is sometimes overlooked by marketing departments in their desire to measure brand sales achievement directly to brand public relations tactical results.
Image making
Everything has an image. It may be good, bad, or indifferent.
Every client talks about the image of his product, company or services. Ask him to write down a few words what he thinks his present image is, and what he wants his image to be, and he will most likely fail to do it. So you must help him with these definitions.
Market research is the first place you go to help solve this initial problem. You may need to conduct special research among consumers, the client's own employees, the trade whom he serves, and among the media. When you have gathered together as much information as possible you set about defining your client's image.
Since image is what people think, feel, or believe, your client and you could be in for a surprise one that may be more shocking than pleasing. As images are hard to shake and difficult to change, you have a proper public relations job on your hands.
No matter whether or not you have an assignment which specifically calls for image work, you are always doing image work on behalf of your client. For example, you may be asked to give your opinion on how a promotional scheme might affect the image of his product and company. It sounds easy but it is hard work, especially when trying not to crush creativity or step on the toes of hardworking marketing and advertising departments.
