Important Public Relations Tools

There are a number of PR tools. One essential tool is news. PR professionals find or create favourable news about the company and its products or people. Sometimes news stories occur naturally. At other times, the PR person can suggest events or activities that would create news.

Speeches also create product and company publicity. Increasingly, company executives must field questions from the media or give talks at trade associations or sales meetings. These events can either build or hurt the company's image.

Another common PR too! is special events, ranging from news conferences, press tours, grand openings and firework displays to laser shows, hot-air balloon releases, multimedia presentations and star-studded spectaculars designed to reach and interest target publics. Richard Branson, the chief executive of Virgin Group, offers a good example of ;i practitioner who has perfected the art of deploying both speeches and special events for self- and corporate promotion.

Public relations people also prepare written materials to reach and influence their target markets. These materials include annual reports, brochures, articles and company newsletters and magazines.

Audiovisual materials, such as films, slide-and-sound programmes and video and audio cassettes, are being used increasingly as communication tools.

Corporate-identity materials aiso help create a corporate identity that the public immediately recognizes. Logos, stationery, brochures, signs, business forms, business cards, buildings, uniforms and even company cars and trucks make effective marketing tools when they are attractive, distinctive and memorable.

Companies might improve public goodwill by contributing money and time to public service activities: campaigns to raise funds for worthy causes - for example, to fight illiteracy, support the work of a charity, or assist the aged and handicapped - help to raise public recognition.

Sponsorship is any vehicle through which corporations gain public relations exposure. In Europe, the sponsorship industry is growing, with many firms committing huge sums of money around the world to the sponsorship of sport and the arts because it makes good sense as a marketing tool (see Marketing Highlight 19.4).

A company's Web site can also be a good public relations vehicle. Consumers and members of other publics can visit the site for information and entertainment.

Main Public Relations Decisions

In considering when and how to use product public relations, management should set PR objectives; choose the PR messages and vehicles; implement the PR plan; and evaluate the results.

Setting Public Relations Objectives

The first task is to set objectives for public relations. These are usually defined in relation to the types of news story to be communicated, the communication objectives to be achieved (for instance, awareness creation, knowledge dissemination, generation of specific publicity for target groups) and the specific target audiences.

Continue reading here: Choosing Public Relations Messages and Vehicles

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