Question

MKT/438: Public Relations Select a company, business, or non-profit organization and provide an example about how public relations (PR) principles apply.    Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper in which you examine the following:

• The multiple definitions of Public Relations.
• The connection between PR and the promotional aspect of the marketing mix (advertising, publicity, public relations)?
• How are they similar and how are they different?
• How might PR be more important during a crisis situation for an organization?

Answer 1

• Public relations one of the tools of promotion means the activities that focus on enhancing the image of the company in the eyes of the public. Different people and organisations have given multiple definitions of public relation like-
• PR is a set of activities aimed at increasing a vendor’s positive exposure with its involving markets.
• Public relations helps a company and its publics adapt mutually to each other. Public Relations broadly applies to companies as a collective group and not just a business including the variety of different stakeholders. -PRSA
• Public relations is communicating and conveying your organization’s messages at the right time and in the right place to the right audience.
• Traditional PR is a way of cultivating the media and celebrities, who’ve the reach and credibility, to tell the stories about the company . However, in the new media world, where digital conversations among peers can capture a higher Google ranking is included in public relation

As per the marketing the fourth P is called promotion mix which is increasing the sales and making more awareness about your product in the eyes of the public and this can be achieved with four components including sales promotion, advertising, public relation , publicity. The aim of all the promotional tools whether it is advertising, publicity or public relations is to enhance the product/service value in the market so that the customers are attracted towards it. The stronger the promotional tool of a company the easy it becomes to capture the market. All the tools are based on market research and analysis.

These tools being the part of promotion mix are used for different purposes and have differences.. Advertising covers a large area where people are informed about the product and features. The company has a greater role in controlling the message. it is expensive but less flexible. Publicity however has more role of media involved to create the hype of the product/service or company. It is convincing the editors to make a story. But the biggest disadvantage of publicity is the lack of control over the specific content, the timing, and the amount of coverage which can harm the reputation of the company. So public relations plays a major role where the media connections are strengthened so that the negative information in media is suppressed before it reaches the public. Advertising is a paid form where as public relation is unpaid form and is based on how the customer views the product and the company and that builds the trust and customer loyalty. Public Relations have a greater impact as compared to publicity and advertising. Also the impact of public relations is stronger and for much longer duration as compared to advertising.

The first and foremost step that the pr department should do is to address the public with relation to crisis. The company should accept the mistake in case of any fault and if not then address with complete honesty in order to gain back the trust of people. PR should maintain stronger relations with media and corporates so that rumours are not spread and the situation can be effectively handled. Next the company should create enough evidences in order to prove themselves right or should make the necessary corrections and then come up with that infront of public. So public relations becomes essential during crisis and the image of the public if tarnished will be difficult to gain and therefore the support of government officials, celebrities, press, corporates, sponsorship, charity and social causes through PR will help the organization to survive the crisis.