The History Of Public Relations Worldwide Media Essay

The History Of reality transaction Worldwide Media Essay frequent transaction have come a long commission all around the world (Lee Johnson, 2005). The term commonplace dealings was first of all used by Dorman Eaton in 1882 (Smith, 2010), when he addressed Yale Law school graduates on the The earthly concern Relations of the legal profession. He used the term to refer to an organisations role in serving the state-supported welf atomic number 18. But actually, macrocosm relations go back even further. It is imagined that it has existed in the Antiquity. The Greeks called it semantikos meaning semantics which they defined as how to make people believe things and do things. A nonher example of existence relations is in the Ancient Rome when Julius Caesar wrote the first campaign biography, to convince the Roman he would make the outperform head of state.Certainly during the early of the twentieth century humankind relations became to a greater extent significant. In fact, in 1903 Ivy Lee distinguished himself as the first public relations counselor. Wikipedia states that he is among the founding fathers of public relations. He was a counselor to governments and railroads. One of his famous clients was D.Rockefeller (Smith, 2010). Lee believed that public relations should be intimatelyTelling the truthProviding accurate factThe public relations director must have access to top counseling and must be commensurate to influence decisionsA nonher founding father that marked the history of Public relations is Edward Bernays, student and nephew of Sigmund Freud ( Wikipedia).In 1918, he advised the President of Czechoslovakia to announce Independence on a Monday rather than on a Sunday, to bewitch maximum pep up coverage. In 1923, Bernays published Crystallizing Public Opinion, (Smith, 2010) in which he established several(prenominal) public relations principles. He said that public relations had these functions includeTo interpret the client to the pub lic, which means promoting the clientTo interpret the public to the client, which means operational the familiarity in much(prenominal) a way as to gain the approval of the publicHe besides advised public relations professionals to sample out group leaders and other key communicators ( ruling leaders), who would be able to pass along sup determines to other members of the public.Other Bernays concepts werePublic relations is a public serviceIt should promote natural ideas and progressPublic relations should build a public conscienceSome other public relation pioneers ar Elmer Davis, who was a former journalist during World War 2. He coordinated public data from the military and overly mobilized public support for the war sudor in order to decrease the enemys moral.Pendleton Dudhey was also a pioneer of public relations consultant. In 1909, he opened an agency. He emphasized a circulate of the public information model of public relations (Smith, 2010)Later in 1957, Anne W illian Wheaton became the associate fight d accept secretary to American President Dwight Eisenhower. Her ap billment called attention on the growing role of women in public relations (Smith, 2010).Definition of Public RelationsPublic relations is defined as macrocosm aspect of talks that involves promoting a desirable image for a person or group seeking public attention in the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. It also states that the purpose of Public relations is to generate good word, be cautious rough what to print or to broad bewilder, to forestall bad news and analyse the situation, minimize the aggrieve and permit the media with information in moments of crisis. The Barrons Marketing Dictionarys definition goes further by adding that ap finesse from seeking understanding, Public relations also seek acceptance from the public and is about building a sympathetic relationship with the latter, and that it is more concerned about issues rather than products or run. The Mark eting Dictionary also states that employees, investors, voters ar not to be forgotten when building relationships. Grunig and Hunt support these statements by saying that PR is the management of communication between an organization and the public. Rubel (2007), further elaborates that some of the PR activities argon to speak at conferences, to jalopy with the media, to defend the record of an organization, to overhaul to the employees, and to engage in affable media. Phillips and Young (2009), agree with the fact that the engagement in social media forms part of Public relations since they say that communication tools like personal computers, mobile phones, video game consoles can be used for interactive communication and can thus be used for Interactive Public Relations. In contrast to these statements, the World Assembly of Public Relations Associations perceives PR as an art and a social-science which analyse trends, forecast their consequences, provide organizational lead ers with advice, and implement planned chopines of action which volition be beneficial to the organization and the public.Objectives of Public relationsAs per the statement in the Reference of Business, to bring forth, sustain and defend the image and reputation of a attach to, are some of the principal(prenominal) objectives of Public relations. It also claims that a companys reputation does have an effect on the consumers buying behaviour and consequently affects the sales and revenue. Other goals which it puts forward are, to generate relationships with the employees, the stockholders and investors, the media and the community. Furthermore, there is the aspect of providing the publics with information about a company or its new legislations, or even educating them about the uses of a product. These points are elaborated in knowthis.com where it is said that PR tools such as newsletters, entanglementsites and so on can be used to educate the audiences about products and servi ces and that the objective of Public relations can also be to reinforce a brand by building positive relationships with the publics and enhance the image of the company, because this can prove to be helpful especially in moments of crises. Moreover, it supports the idea that Public relations can help increase sales by stating that a good news release can stimulate demand, thus increase sales.Advantages of Public relationsWhen it comes to the advantages of Public relations, it can be noticed that credibility is a recurrent word. In an article on Drypen, it is said that one of the advantages of Public relations is that it nurtures credibility, unlike advertising. Which implies that the publics are apt to believe in a news release published in the newspaper or in a magazine notwithstanding, on the other hand, will be quite sceptical about the advertisement of a product in the newspaper or in a magazine. On top of that, PR messages are viewed as news providing detailed information abou t a product and are more possible to attract the audiences attention. It is also mentioned that Public relations cost much less than advertising and can be more effective, in the consciousness that, it can be used to reach small market segments, especially for companies with financial problems. Another advantage is that it helps an organization establish a good image which can be of great help to the latter in case of crisis. Knowthis.com further adds that it may happen that other media pick up an article about a company and contri just nowes in spreading the news to protestent locations.Disadvantages of Public relationsOne of the disadvantages stated on TutorsOnNet.com is that there may be distortion of information, in the sense that, the company may be deceived with the end result due to the fact that some information written in the draft have been modified in order to suit the news story and other features in the newspaper. Another disadvantage is that, there is the possibil ity of the public not being sidelineed in the news release because of some other, more serious news such as war, disasters, crime and so on. On knowthis.com, it is also mentioned that, PR campaigns may not necessarily bring high return on promotional expense, especially if the news media does not consider it important or worth running a story brought forth by a company. Moreover, the fact that the impact of traditional news outlets is decreasing, professionals in the Public relations field are compelled to look for new means to attain the target markets.Advantages of In-House Public relationsIn a research on the Public relations industry, it is said that, some advantages of in-house PR are that it operates on a full- clip basis. Thus the PR officer and other staffs in the PR department are able to dedicate much time working on a PR campaign unlike agencies which have to deal with different clients. Another advantage is that the PR officer can be quickly informed about changes or an y other information regarding Public relations since the latter is an integral part of the organization. Moreover, there is the aspect of foster for money, in the sense that, the PRO can easily have access to research materials, videos, photographic library of the company, which can be used when working on the house journal or even when dealing with the media, thus working economically. PR department initially cost a lot as compared with consultancy fees, but in the long term, it is greater value for money.Disadvantages of In-House Public relationsAs stated in the study on the Public relations industry, one of the main disadvantages of in-house PR is the lack of impartiality, training and experience. In an article on issuesinimc.wikispaces.com, it is said that, when it comes to in-house PR, there is the risk of the PR manager bringing some cistrons of bias in favour of the company. It also adds that it is difficult for managers to train employees from different branches if ever a company has many branches, thus resulting in lack of training. According to Jefkins (1993), PR managers being considered as dexterouss in their field, consequently possess a limited public relations experience, that is, they do not have much knowledge of the world-wide public relations formulas.Advantages of Public relations ConsultancyOn careerride.com, it is said that, one of the advantages of PR consultancy is that it cost less. In addition to that, PR consultancy organizations have a wider experience of the general public relations practices and on top of that, they are more familiar with the media and have good media relations, issuesinimc.wikispaces.com. The article on the Public relations industry also includes the fact that external PR consultancy being an independent organization, will not bring elements of bias.Disadvantages of Public relations ConsultancyThe disadvantage which is stated on careerride.com is that PR agencies deal with several different clients and not o nly one client and is therefore not available full time. They may also find it difficult to heading with the companys internal culture. In the Public relations industry study, the disadvantage which is stated is the lack of relationship intimacy and that they have to be loyal to different companies at the same time. The article on issueinimc.wikispaces.com, also include the issue of remoteness of the agency from the company.Definition of Litigation PRLitigation public relationsis the management of the announcement processduring the course of any legal dispute so as to influence the outcome or its impact on the clients overallreputation (Haggerty, 2003).Background studyPetitioners and prosecutors have extensively used mass media to get their part of the story out to the public, but the formal practice of litigation PR, a sub-specialty of crisis communication, first appeared in the early 1980s. Since then, the need for litigation PR has grown immensely as media exposure of court case s and the law has increased. Most parties to a suit of clothes have important interests that expand beyond legal concerns. Negative publicity about a litigant can cause damage to an individuals reputation that a courtroom win years later may not salvage. Thus, parties to cases, whether civil or criminal, cannot disregard the impact of negative publicity on public opinion (Reber, Gower, Robinson, 2006).Basic Concepts of Litigation Public Relations-The First Concept-Litigation PRis to influence the outcome of the court case by encouraging early or favorable position or by pressuring the tribunal into bringing lesser or no chargers (Haggerty, 2003).The Second Concept-Litigation PRis to protect the clients reputation before and during the trail. In this regard, litigation PR is similar to reputation management. Reputation management is about managing public opinion of an organization or individual. It is about attitude toward the individual and not knowledge itself. An indispensable aspect of reputation management is influencing attitude about the individual and corporation, which can encourage positive foundation to the benefit of the organization (Haywood, 2002).Litigation PR and Media reportageLitigation PR on the part of defendants is needed, especially in high-profile cases because the media have unnatural bias in favor of plaintiffs and prosecutors. When allegations are made public, the media tend to cast the lawsuit in terms of victim versus villain. News stories regularly lead with the plaintiff or prosecutors allegations. If the defendants responses are included at all, they appear well into the story. Thus, the defendant is forced on the defensive from the outset. In such situation, working with the media to render more balanced, accurate, and less sensational coverage of a lawsuit is necessary element in defending high profile defendants (Hantler, Schwartz, Goldberg, 2004, p.8).Fitzpatricks Six Objectives of Litigation Public Relations1. Countera cting negative publicity.2. Making a clients viewpoint known.3. Ensuring balanced media coverage.4. Helping the media and the public understand complex legal issues.5. Defusing a hostile environment.6. Helping resolve the conflict (Fitzpatrick, 1996).To achieve those objectives, the first step is to establish reliability with the media as an information source. The next step is to manage the flow of information to the media so that the right message gets out. The third step is to develop a message that supports the clients position and get that message out to the media and the public (Fitzpatrick, 1996, Haggerty, 2003, Reber, Gower, Robinson, 2006).Differences between Litigation PR and Other PR PracticesLitigation PR is highly dependent on the media. Although the practice of PR involves far more than just mediated communication, litigation PR remains dependent on the media. It is because of the medias increased attention to lawsuits that litigation PR has perplex a necessity for m any high profile clients (Gibson, 1998).Because typical public relations campaign strategies and tactics may not be appropriate and may even be harmful at certain times during a lawsuit, the legal tactic must take procedure (Schweitzer, 2003).Litigation PR is more regulated than regular public relations because of the potential to prejudice the legal process (Gibson, 1998).Litigation PR is directed with the emphasis of one-way, irregular communication. Because the law is adversarial in nature, creating a win-lose situation, the goal of litigation PR is to strengthen the legal strategy and theory of the case to make sure a win and to diminish damage to the organizations credibility and reputation (Reber, Gower, Robinson, 2006).Public Relations (PR) StrategiesPublic Relations involve an array of programs visualiseed to maintain or augment a companys image and the products and services it offers. Successful implementation of an effective public relations strategy can be a vital eleme nt to a marketing plan (Berry and Wilson, 2000).In public relations practice, strategy typically refers to the overall concept, approach, or general plan for the program designed to achieve a goal (Cutlip, 2006). A public relations (PR) strategy may play a key role in an organizations promotional strategy. A planned approach to leveraging public relations opportunities can be just as important as advertising and sales promotions (Berry and Wilson, 2000).According to Lages and Simkin (2003), plans give focus and direction to every strategy. Smith (2008) highlighted the point that careful planning leads to programs that are proactive and preventative, rather than to activities that are merely reactive and remedial. So, in order to ensure the success of Strategic Public Relations Planning, Cutlip et al (2003) proposed the four-step problem solving process.PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESSFour-step Process Strategic Planning Steps and Program Outline___________________________ ___________________________________________________ defining the Problem 1. The Problem, Concern, or OpportunityWhats happening now?2. Situation Analysis (Internal and External)What positive and negative forces are operating?Who is involved and/or affected?How are they involved and/or affected?______________________________________________________________________________Planning and Programming 3. Program GoalWhat is the desired solution?4. Target PublicsWho-internal and external-must the program respond to, reach, and affect?5. ObjectivesWhat must be achieved with each public to accomplish the program goal?______________________________________________________________________________Taking Action and Communicating 6. Action StrategiesWhat changes must be made to achieve the outcomes stated in the objectives?7. Communication StrategiesWhat message content must be communicated to achieve the outcomes stated in the objectives?What media best deliver that content to the target publics? 8. Program Implementation PlansWho will be responsible for implementing each of the action and communication tactics?What is the sequence of events and the schedule?How much will the program cost?______________________________________________________________________________Evaluating the Program 9. Evaluation PlansHow will the outcomes specified in the program goal and objectives be measured?10. Feedback and Program AdjustmentHow will the results of the evaluations be reported to program managers and used to make program changes?Major Public Relations ToolsAccording to Kotler and Armstrong (2007), there exist various tools that can be used in the practice of public relations. One of the study tools is news whereby PR professionals find or create favourable news about the company and its products or people. They argued that news stories can sometimes occur naturally, and at times the PR person can suggest events or activities that would create news. They mentioned that Speeches can also create product and company publicity and that increasingly, companies are tolerant talks and speeches at trade associations or meetings for building companys image.Another common PR tool is special events which ranges from news conferences, press tours, grand openings, star-studded spectaculars, or educational programs designed to reach and interest target publics (Kotler and Armstrong, 2007). Also, public relations people 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 programs, DVDs, and online videos are being used increasingly as communication tools. Corporate identity materials can also help create corporate identity that the public immediately recognizes. Logos, stationery, brochures, signs, business forms, business cards, buildings, uniforms, and company cars and trucks all become marketing tools when they are attractive, distinctive, and memorable (Kotler and Armstrong, 2007).Trends in Public RelationsInteractive public relations use internet technologies and tools such as search engine, Web 2.0 social bookmarking, new media relations and social media marketing to put up firms circulate information without relying only on conventional publications and communicate directly with the public, existing and potential customers. It is sometimes called social PR which comprises of a combination of search-optimizing press releases, creating social media releases through tools like Pitch Engine and blogger outreach to promote company news and announcements. Even though press releases were distributed online for more than a decade, its only in the last few years that tools and techniques for combining PR with social media have really emerged, and they continue to evolve. It incorporates all forms of communication and is not solely limited to online press releases and bloggers, but i nstead uses every element of building relationships while maintaining the significance of the spoken word.Social MediaIt is mostly talked trend in the public relations industry. PR professionals are communications specializers, and blogs, forums, online video and social networking offer the ability to communicate more affordably and efficiently than ever before. Social media channels give PR expert the possibility to gain access to consumer opinions and behavior.Online Press Releases NewsroomsPress release purpose is changing and it is written with keyword-rich content and distributed with the only aim of better optimizing sites for search engines. The format and functionality of press releases and online newsrooms are evolving to integrate social bookmarking, video, blogs, podcasts and RSS feeds.Social BookmarkingSocial bookmarking is a method for Internet users to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. Basically the file is not overlap but they a re bookmarked to refer later on. Social bookmarking sites such as Digg, Del.icio.us and Reddit have changed the way PR consume and share news.Search Engine optimizationSearch engine optimisation has aim to guide and improve website rankings on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, or MSN Search. In order to optimise web pages, different methods can be used such as using keywords in the HTML coding, Meta and Title tags, and also Alt tags on images. Good design and easy navigation in the website also helps to optimise it for search engines. However it could be argued that there are some flaws with SEO. There is always the chance of acquire too much business. A company with a highly successful website may find that business is moving faster than they can cope. With something such as pay per click advertising, it would be easy to turn off or remove the advertisements, but it wouldnt be as simple to remove a total website in order to slow down sales.Social networkingSocial networks are websites that enable individuals to interact with one another via the internet. It allows its users to use this platform to gain interest from web users on a professional or social basis. These websites allow people to not only get to know one another but to also share Photos, music, view TV clips, messages and blogs. In this way Social networks are used by companies in order to promote their brands or products to the public or for general use and as a way of making friends. Examples of social networking platforms are Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, etc. These are all online tools companies can use to get more in touch with their customers, create a more personified brand image, and share information about the firm.Sending press releases. Though tied to PR for the past few decades, this is also used in marketing. Press releases are great ways to alert people of new things happening, and great ways to pitch the media.Having a blog. If companies would rather not pitch the m edia and communicate with their customers through this and social networking, blogs can be a great outlet for information sharing.Hosting forums, chats, chatrooms, etc. This is a means to provide a way for customers to contact you with complaints, concerns, questions, etc. Customers will talk about you anyways, and with the availability of places for them to do so, they have no reason not to.Being more personable. This can be hard to fake, so it takes actual effort, time, and energy. The company needs to utilize the tools above and actually be available and accessible. button above and beyond expectations. This is something used in customer service, but in PR, you can do the same thing. Customers are used to companies doing the minimum to satisfy their needs, but satisfying and creating loyal customers are very different tasks.RSS FeedsRSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works-such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video-in a standardized format. They are very efficient tool to monitor regularly updated online content, such as blogs, news headlines, forum posts and podcasts. RSS feeds give PR specialist the ability to consume and filter massive amounts of information and news from mainstream and social media sites. Its reader checks the users subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user larboard to monitor and read the feeds. RSS allows users to avoid manually inspecting all of the websites they are interested in, and instead subscribe to websites such that all new content is pushed onto their browsers when it becomes available.PR 2.0PR 2.0 makes use of a combination of social media tools that are available to communications expert to attain and better communicate directly with consumer audiences and influencers. Social Media is a way that allows audiences to drive the communication in their communities. PR expert are starting t o incorporate PR 2.0 into their strategy and planning as an effective way to communicate directly to Web 2.0 audiences so as to raise awareness and increase brand awareness. Nowadays these tools are available to reach the audiences who want to control their own communication to know about different brands. Web 2.0 technology combined with an audiences desire to build and share content has transformed the PR industry.PR Podcasts, Vidcasts and WebcastsPodcasts, vidcasts and webcasts are three effective tools available to PR professional whose job is to get the company news to the targeted audiences.Podcasting involves recording to a digital file that can be distributed over the net using syndication feeds for playback on a computer, MP3 player or iPod.Vidcasting is a video-on-demand video clip delivered to computers and can be downloaded and watched at the viewers convenience.Webcasts differ from podcasts and vidcasts in that they can either be live or recorded. Webcasting can be tho ught of as broadcasting via the Internet.