Public relations is something a lot of companies claim to do effectively but that few understand completely. It’s not just clever gimmicks or sending out press releases. Effective PR is characterized by a coherent strategy that has defined goals and measurable results. An effective public relations agency for UK businesses understands this and works hard to make the business environment work for them.

PR is not just an effort to persuade the public of the value of a company’s products or services. The most effective public relations firms are able to not only engage the public, but to improve the perception of the company in the eyes of its own employees. When the efforts of the public relations firm are successful, the company itself becomes more successful. The sales force is deployed into an environment where the name they represent carries with it a positive image, a huge asset to those trying to close the deal with new clients or pique the interest of prospective ones.

Some public relations agencies work outside the firm and some work within the firm. The best public relations agencies are willing to do both. Among public relations agencies in the UK, the flexibility to make such arrangements work tends to indicate that the firm is staffed by flexible, open-minded people who are willing to accommodate their client’s needs in a way that improves their overall success.

When working with a public relations agency, that agency should be more than willing to provide concrete evidence as to the effectiveness of their efforts. This is a basic component of any other service provider and public relations firms have a reasonable expectation to be held to the same standards of accountability. Good public relations firms keep detailed records of the measurable results of their work and are enthusiastic about sharing it with their clients. Businesses around the world expect this from any public relations agency. UK businesses have the right to expect the same.

Public relations has a great deal of useful applications aside from the obvious marketing of a product or service or client relations. A good public relations firm can keep a business in the public eye and control the nature of that image by emphasizing the positive aspects of the corporation. They don’t “fool” the public into believing something that is untrue. A good public relations agency simply makes sure the company’s products, services, people and relations with their community are presented in an interesting way that tends to lead to a positive impression of the company.

Choosing a public relations agency for UK businesses can present myriad options. Look for agencies that are serious about their client’s successes and who are willing to work within the most beneficial framework for the company toward a defined set of goals. Take a look at their client list and see how those companies fare in the public eye. The agency you hire should be staffed by people who are passionate about their work.

Advertising   Paid for by a business to be submitted and published

Advertorial   Similar to advertising but it looks like a piece of editorial

Bills    The day’s headlines on the board (or bill board) outside a newsagents   

Brief (or nib or even fudge) Small item of news, one paragraph only, in a newspaper

By-line    Carried on a story, to identify who wrote it

Brand    Your company’s name and its identity – more than just its logo

CIPR    Chartered Insitute of Public Relations

Copy    The words that make up a piece of writing

Corporate communications The company’s messages (such as press releases) to the outside world

Crisis Management  Coping when the proverbial hits the fan (a bad news story perhaps)

Damage limitation  Same as crisis management

Deadline   Final time by which a story has to be written   

Doorstepping   Coloquial term for reporters hanging around someone’s doorstep to get their story

Edit    Altering copy to improve, and often shorten, it

Editor    The person in charge of overall content of the editorial side

Editorial   Stories, features, letters, sport – anything not paid for   

Ezine    Electronically generated and distributed newsletter

Feature    Longer than a news story, more in depth, not necessarily topical

Features editor   The person in charge of the features pages

Freelance   Someone who works for him or herself and sells stories or gets commissions

Integrated campaign  Using a variety of media i.e. TV, radio, press, online, outdoor and direct mail

Journalist   Can be a reporter, news editor, sub-editor or editor

News Editor   The person in charge of the news content

News hook or angle  Most interesting part of you story, which will grab the reader’s attention

Newsletter   Updates sent out by businesses – good way of keeping in touch with clients

Optimised press release  Press release that is both optimised for search engine results and released online

PR    Public relations

PRO    Public relations officer

Press pack (or media pack) Pre-packaged set of information or promotional materials to be distributed to the media

Press officer   Person usually working in a company’s PR or communications department

Press release   Short piece of copy submitted for publications

Proofread   Read through carefully, to check spelling, punctuation and grammar

Proposal   Idea for a PR campaign

Reader offer   Offer or competition for newspapers/magazine readers – good way of promoting a product

Reporter   Writes the news

Sell-in    Term given to attempts to interest a publication in carrying a story or feature

Splash    The front page lead

WILL NIGERIAN PUBLIC RELATIONS INCREASINGLY GET A SEAT AT THE TOP IN CORPORATE NIGERIA?

Every now and then I think of public relations, I ask myself with utmost dismay if indeed practitioners of the profession in Nigeria will increasingly get a seat at the top management – the height of any organization – in years to come.

It is no more news that the public relations profession dates back from the 15th century. And that its activities are widely used and well appreciated in countries like the USA and UK to mention just two.

What is however news is that the Nigerian government is never really aware if public relations practitioners do exist in the country, not to talk of patronizing them! It is disheartening also to hear corporate executives talk down on public relations people. You hear such comments like “What exactly are public relations functions in an organization?” or “How does a public relations job fit into our corporate goal of maximizing profit?” This cold disposition shows an inadequate orientation on the objects, scope and roles of public relations in industry.

In a recent study of the US bureau of labour statistics, about 700,000 jobs were held by advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers in 2002. It was observed that sales managers held almost half of the jobs (343,000); while marketing managers held more than one-fourth (203,000). Advertising and promotions managers held 85,000; and public relations managers held only 69,000 of the total jobs.

The result of the study above is a crystal clear indication of the low recognition corporate executives the world over place on this highly priced profession.

From my point of view, I believe this misunderstanding and skepticism of public relations role can be attributed to the fact that many of the traditional corporate executives had a management background which placed little or no emphasis on public relations or reputations management. Many CEOs are ignorant of what a public relations function is, and what it is not.

A look at the educational curriculum for social and management sciences department of many higher institutions in Nigeria shows dearth of requisite courses in Public Relations. A typical example is the department of Business Administration of Olabisi Onabanjo University, BUS 407 (Promotional Management 1) is the only course one would notice a Public Relations mention. And, you need to know the worst of it all: It is an elective! (I guess for students who specialize in Marketing.)

This perhaps is the reason heads of both marketing and public relations department dispute over the right to plan and present communication strategies.

The public relations practitioner is faced also with a similar problem. As a result of his narrow exposure to management principles and techniques, he lacks managerial and administrative skills that modern CEOs look out for. Public Relations courses are often housed in a journalism, mass communications or communications department which makes it difficult. (But, that is not to say it can’t be found in a business school.)

As Chief Bob Ogbuagu, an expert in public relations sums it up: Broaden the base of the training of public relations people so that they’ll do a bit of accounts, do a bit of everything because when you become a manager, really your profession is not strictly what you do.

The pressure is on public relations people to acquire sound managerial skills. Though effective writing is absolutely a critical skill; judgment may be the most important single qualification needed in their field; the capacity to think analytically under pressure; confidence, sensitivity, organizing and planning ability may be the hallmark of a public relations training; nevertheless, management skills are invaluable for successful climbing the public relations ladder.

For a career in Public Relations, a university or polytechnic degree or diploma respectively is essential, and a basic grounding in the liberal arts is strongly recommended. The practitioner need give it a thought also on earning a degree (probably a master’s) in Management, Administration or Business, and attending short training courses or certification programmes related to his field and specialization in order to remain relevant in this highly competitive job market.

Further more, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) should fight for more Public Relations courses to be taught in the social and management departments of institutions of higher learning and ensure only professionals teach those courses.

Conclusively, every true public relations practitioner has a role to play in this revolution. All hands must be on desk to ensure her rightful place in the society. Public relations professionals are role models. Once, the simple operation of publicity today has emerged as an important management function. Gone are the days when public relations executives are pegged at the manager level. The public relations head should hold strategic positions like vice president, assistant general manager, deputy managing director, or even managing director/CEO status.

It is high time practitioners equipped themselves with the required training and skills in order not to be relegated to incidental activities in corporate hierarchy.



Ayokunle Bankole is the CEO of Loud Media Company, Lagos, Nigeria. We are a publicity and promotions firm that specializes in making individuals, groups and corporate bodies known within and outside their borders!

Tel. +2348055981421 E-mail: loudmediacompany@gmail.com

The Cambridge Dictionary definition of Public Relations defines PR as being “the activity of keeping good relationships between an organisation and the people outside it.” 

Public Relations is a concept that has been around for decades.  Often associated with politics, PR has been used to convey messages from companies and political parties to the public. 

First recorded in the 18th century, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire sought to raise the profile of her friend Charles James Fox, through media relations, lobbying and celebrity campaigning. The First World War witnessed the first real onslaught of PR with early professionals using the print media to convey messages and propaganda supporting the War and spreading the word. 

Nowadays Public Relations can mean many things but the writing of Press Releases and features which convey a story to target audiences is still the foundation of Public Relations.  However, PR also includes the following:

    * Building relationships with the media, creating a solid foundation with key journalists making them more receptive to potential stories

    * Organising and Implementing events to promote new products for the company and successfully publicising these events

    * Organising and writing award entries

    * Writing industry reports

    * Crisis management – preparing a strategy in case of a negative story

    * On-line Public Relations involves conveying your messages through blogs and social networking sights and the world wide web

Public Relations covers a variety of aspects which can be implemented together as part of a wider campaign, or can be used individually to promote certain aspects of a company. 

The value of Public Relations is in the subliminal way the message is conveyed.  When we see an advertising campaign we know the company is behind it and this makes us cynical as to the authenticity of the claims being made. However Public Relations aims to communicate the same information but with words that seem as though they have been created by an impartial advisor. 

PR covers many aspects of marketing, which is a broad term in itself.  As a guide, if as a company you have something you want to promote, whether this be new products or services, or if you want to raise awareness of your company – a successful Public Relations campaign will push these messages across a variety of media outlets reaching more people. Holding more weight than a direct advertising campaign and arguably more cost effective as it covers so many different areas of the marketing mix, PR is something that every company and organisation should consider! 

Public Relations, or PR, is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its public. The critical function of PR managers involves protecting the organization’s image and managing its identity. Public Relations utilizes publicity and other non-paid forms of promotion and information that can generate a positive attitude or opinion toward the organization. The primary focus is on communication, and to be successful, businesses must fully understand the Public Relations Essentials.

The recent economic downturn and the slow revival have put PR under considerable scrutiny. The expensive, over-the-top hype method is no longer effective and too much “in-your-face” marketing can bring businesses crashing down. Organizations now want the PR machinery to function and sustain within lower budgets, but with the quality same as ever and competing with a more intelligent audience.

Public Relations Essentials include answering these questions:

What is your intended objective? Who are your target audience? What are their current attitudes, opinions, and interests? What messages would impact their attitudes, opinions, and interests that your objective is achieved?

You should know your target audience right from the inception of the project. And after you determine the scope of your message on the target audience, you must determine how to most effectively influence or impact your target audience. The more you know about the target audience, the more impact you can have as the end result. These Public Relations Essentials are elements of a communication plan which, if properly understood, will generate a positive impact on your organization and its goals.

The economic bloom that India experienced last decade saw the birth of numerous business which were introduced for the first time in the Indian Sub-continent. Many companies opened up for the first time. Eateries like McDonalds, Dominos which were highly successful in the west opened up their markets in India, but needed to spread their name to the common folks. The concept of wireless communication was also introduced for the first time. But they all needed one thing, consumers. How were they going to spread awareness of their businesses? How would they reach out to the mass and class alike? It was here that Public Relations played an important role. Holding press releases, media meets and hosting events to promote the same saw the entire coverage being spread out to every corner in the country, either through newspapers or television channels. By spreading news about your business and keeping the people updates is the core activity of Public Relation Agencies.

Effective Brand Building holds the key to success for any major businesses. Say you launch a product and through various promotional tactics it succeeds to serve it’s purpose. What happens after that is your business name or product name automatically gains significance in your market and thereafter you spend less for promotions for following product launches. Attending and speaking at conferences and regular interaction with the press and media are certain activities that are undertaken by the Public Relation Agencies. Currently the entire concept and infrastructure that used to be associated with Public Relation Agencies has undergone a complete transformation. Previously companies had a division that dwelt with Public Relations, but as of now the demand for PR has increased to such an extent that it exists independently. Whether it is corporate or IT, entertainment or media, every other money making mogul will have a PR organization solely for the reason to increase their stakes and that could only be possible by reaching out to the maximum amount of person or public on a whole. All in all you could say ‘Brand Effectiveness’ largely depends on the sort of PR working for them. Today you have Big time celebrities who are going all the way to hire PR agencies to market them to the masses. Right from cinestars, to sports icons, to politicians to party socialites and to even Social workers every one has a PR firm or a personal executive to keep them updated. Undertaking a PR campaign isn’t simple. One has to understand the psyche and activities involved within and around the media with an alert mind. When you try promoting one client you will have to understand that there are million others of the same genre that exists some of whom you must have promoted yourselves, so how do you promote this one differently. Turning potential users into guaranteed consumers should be primary objective, and that is something that PR agencies handle extremely well.

Most independent PR practitioners and, even leaders of larger, established agencies, will tell you with a fair degree of certainty that we’re in the midst of an economic slowdown. While that affects most every business, it presents an even-greater challenge for PR professionals.

As anyone who went through the dot-com boom and its the subsequent bust will tell you, PR is especially vulnerable to wild expansions and contractions. Companies often spend money wildly when times are good and cut back substantially when times get tough. While it’s understandable in some ways that a company would rather cut its PR agency budgets in tough times, it’s often a short-sighted approach.

One of the things that often goes unsaid regarding PR is it offers a superior value proposition not seen with many other forms of marketing. For starters, unlike advertising, PR generally doesn’t require expensive creative budgets to produce its final product. Likewise, there’s no budget needed to buy space since, in most cases, the media secured by public relations is free. There are certain “pay to play” opportunities, especially when it comes to special sections in trade publications, but they’re relatively rare and often don’t present a value opportunity.

One of the reasons that PR doesn’t get the respect it deserves in many ways is because of how it’s sold, as I’ve pointed out on several occasions. In a downturn, one of the best ways to sell PR is to point out that it’s one of the few marketing expenditures that can actually generate more in added revenues than the cost of a campaign. Obviously, this isn’t certain to happen with every client, but even in the case where direct sales don’t rise immediately, there’s often a direct correlation between the fruits of a PR campaign and sales inquiries. I repeatedly tell clients that delivering bona fide opportunities is the best that can realistically be expected of a campaign. Once those come in, it’s up to a client’s sales staff to close the deal.

Just as PR firms do well to emphasize their value proposition to current and prospective clients, they would also do well to include their clients’ value metrics in their PR programs. So, for example, if you’re trying to better position a technology company that primarily serves businesses, when at all possible, point out how the tech company’s products or services have either saved their clients money or increased efficiency, which over the long run does the same thing.

We also often forget that in a down economy, much of the attention is drawn by the large organizations, because they often will have more immediate struggles than small or mid-sized businesses – at least in terms of layoffs and revenue/profit reductions. While small businesses often suffer too, they are also often responsible for the few bright growth spots. This fact gives them a unique opportunity to capitalize on their position and makes them perfectly positioned to benefit from a well-planned and executed public relations program. Even in sectors that are often host to a broad array of problems during a downturn, such as financial services, they will be companies that thrive, including debt-consolidation providers and small, regional banks with lower cost structures, among others.

One of the reasons that PR is more cyclical than many other industries is we drive hard for the low-hanging fruit during the boom times. Most people would probably now admit it wasn’t smart to stack client rosters with dot-com businesses that had questionable business models during the 2000-2001 boom, but they did it anyway – largely because the money was good and the euphoria was contagious. A better strategy is one that emphasizes smart growth, where an agency or consultant is not trying to be all things to all people, but rather a premier service provider within sectors where it has a solid reputation. Obviously, this doesn’t apply to the multinational firms that are part of the ad conglomerates or the few very large independent firms, but most people who work in PR don’t find themselves employed at one of those firms and won’t benefit from the fact that they may experience a relative calm, or at least a less severe downturn, during tough economic times.

I don’t pretend to be an economist, although I do benefit from an understanding of financial issues that comes with covering them for nine years as a journalist. My personal feeling is that we’re in for a bit of tough-and-tumble when it comes to the economy through at least the middle of 2009. Given the fact that the “easy money” isn’t likely to be flowing through PR firm coffers anytime soon, it’s imperative that industry leaders focus on our value proposition and deliver it successfully. In a perfect world, the industry will end up with a client roster that’s better suited to withstand downturns.

The Difference between Public Relations and Marketing

By Darrell L. Browning

Many people confuse public relations and marketing, yet they are two very distinct things. Marketing connects products or services to a particular group or audience. This allows tailored approaches and makes it easier to measure results.

Public Relations are about building and maintaining relationships–truthful, honest connections between your organization’s internal and external stakeholders. Public relations should help set the tone of your company. Public Relations, like marketing, should be managed communication. At BrowningLaFrankie, we describe Public Relations as the art of identifying, establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with the media, the community, your customers, employees and others.

Ironically, Public Relations suffer from its own public relations image.

Although public relations professionals are often seen as simple party planners, Public Relations can–and should–play a central role in any organization. Public Relations should not simply be viewed as a tool to promote good things about the company–bad things happen too. The key is honesty.

Your company’s image should stem from reality. From that, develop powerful messages that resonate with all audiences. In today’s information age, organizations need to recognize Public Relations should be on the leadership team–not simply relegated to plan a ribbon cutting, write a press release or respond to a crisis when they haven’t been in the Boardroom.

Public relations professionals should also serve as opinion leaders when it comes to corporate communication–helping identify, create and direct strategic messages. Ideally, public relations professionals serve as a liaison between your company and those with a stake in your organization.

Tragically, many companies take an axe to Public Relations staff when budget problems arise. Big mistake. Studies have repeatedly shown that successful companies prepare to emerge from economic downturns—and Public Relations are an integral part of that process.  We recommend enhanced communication between company leaders and public relations personnel who will–you’ll see– earn the support of the leadership team.

For more information see http://www.browninglafrankie.com.

©BrowningLaFrankie 2009