1. CMM 423 CHAPTER 1 - THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS.ppt

Public Relations

1. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Catholic University of Eastern
Africa: Gaba Campus, Eldoret
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
Department of Marketing & Management
CMM 423 –PUBLIC RELATIONS
Chapter 1: What is Public Relations?

2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
In this Chapter, we shall learn…
1.Scope and definition (s) of PR
2.Marrying Theory and Practice
3.The PR process.
4.The Role of Values in PR.
5.Values-driven PR.

3. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1
What is Public Relations?

4. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Defining Public Relations
https://prowly.com/magazine/what-is-public-relations-definition/

5. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Defining Public Relations
•Public Relations-definition
–"Public relationsis a strategic communication
process that builds mutually beneficial
relationships between organizations and their
publics"(The Public Relations Society of America,
2016)
–Public relationscan also be defined as the
of managing communication between an
organization and its publics.
–Essentially,public relationsspecialists manage an
organization'spublicimage and reputation
Public Relations is a complex and hybrid subject;
It draws on theories and practices from many different
fields, such as Marketing,management, media,
communication and psychology.

6. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Meaning and Importance
of Public Relations
Public relations is a distinctive management function
which helps
establish and maintain mutual lines of communication,
understanding, acceptance and co-operation between an
organisation and its publics; involves the management of
problems or issues;
Helps management to keep informed on and
responsive to public opinion;
Defines and emphasises the responsibility of
management to serve the public interest;
Helps management keep abreast of and effectively
utilise change, serving as an early warning system
to help anticipate trends; uses research and
ethical communication techniques as its principal
tools.

7. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
The Meaning of Public
Relations
Public Relations is the plannedand sustained
effort to establish and maintaingoodwill and
understanding between an organisation and its
publics.
Extending the definition:
Public Relations practice is the discipline concerned with
the reputation of organisations (or products, services or
individuals) with the aim of earning understanding and
support.
Public relations fosters mutually beneficial relationships
Because of the supposedly negative connotations carried by the
term public relations, many organizations opt to use euphemisms
such as public affairs, public information, corporate
communication, orcommunity outreach to describe the function

8. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
The Meaning of Public
Relations
Marketing tool for internal and external
communications for
organizations.
Raises visibility, interest and goodwill
Maintains mutual understanding between actors
Analyze trends, consequences
In general, management of relationships between
organizations and
their stakeholders.
Shapes attitudes and opinions of stakeholders
In recent years, some have referred to public relations
as reputationmanagement, perception management,
or image management.

9. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Public Relations is a
Management Function
Public relations is the management function that
establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships
between an organization and the publics on whom its
success or failure depends.
The relationship between an organization and the publics
important to its success must be a top concern of the
organization’s leadership.
Public Relations is a distinctive management function which
helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication,
under-standing, acceptance and cooperation between an
organization and its publics.
Public Relations is the management of problems or issues
Keeps management informed on public opinion
Defines and emphasises responsibility of management to
serve public interest
Helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilise

10. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Public Relations: Summary of
Definitions

11. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Public Relations: Summary
The Five Essential Elements in
the Definition of Public Relations.

12. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Public Relations -Importance
•Public Relations is about the firm’s image.

13. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
More about Public Relations

14. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Public Relations
Similarities between Diplomacy and Public
Relations

15. Another approach to understanding public relations is to
describe what people do.
The tables in the next 3 slides provide a rough guide to the
main activities in public relations.
These activities are organised either by the kind of audiences
they engage with or by the content of the activity.
Often, these categories/activities overlap, e.g. a company
intranet newsletter involves writing, new technology and
internal communications.
Public relations workers are either employee of
organisations as part of its in-house PR departments or by
consultancies.
Consultancies are retained by organisations or individuals to
undertake public relations work.
Some people also work on their own as freelance PR
practitioners.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Types of Public Relations

16. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Types of Public Relations
A rough guide to the main activities in public relations
PUBLIC RELATIONS
ACTIVITY
EXPLANATION EXAMPLES
1.Internal
communications
Communicating with employees In-house newsletter, suggestion
boxes
2.Corporate PR Communicating on behalf of the whole
whole organisation, not goods or
services
Annual reports, conferences, visual
visual identity, ethical statements,
statements, images
3.Media relations Communicating with journalists,
specialists, editors from local, national,
national, international and trade media,
media, including newspapers,
magazines, radio, TV and web-based
based communication
Press releases, photocalls, video
video news releases, off-the-record
record briefings, press events
4.Business to business Communicating with other
organisations, e.g. suppliers,
retailers
Exhibitions, trade events,
newsletters

17. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Types of Public Relations
A rough guide to the main activities in public relations
5.Public affairs Communicating with opinion
formers, e.g. local/national
politicians, monitoring political
environment
Presentations, briefings,
private meetings, public
speeches
6.Community relations/
corporate social responsibility
Communicating with local
community, elected representatives,
representatives, head teachers, etc.
Exhibitions, presentations,
letters, meetings, sports activities
activities and other sponsorships
7.Investor relations Communicating with financial
organisations/individuals
Newsletters, briefings, events
8.Strategic communication ID and analysis of situations,
problems and solutions to
further organisational goals
Researching, planning and
executing a campaign to
improve ethical reputation of
organisation

18. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Types of Public Relations
9.Issues
management
Monitoring political, social,
economic and technological
environment
Considering effect of Kenya’s
economy and political vents
on the country’s
businesses and organisations
10.Crisis
management
Communicating clear messages
in fast-changing situation or
emergency
Dealing with media after major
road crash on behalf of police,
hospital or County Government
11.Copywriting Writing for different audiences
to high standards of literacy
Press releases, newsletters, web
pages, annual reports
12.Publications
management
Overseeing print/media
processes, often using new
technology.
Leaflets, internal magazines,
websites
13.Events
management,
exhibitions
Organisation of complex
events, exhibitions
Annual conference, press
launch, trade shows
A rough guide to the main activities in public
relations

19. PR draws on expertise and experience from many fields;
It overlaps with other disciplines;
It tends to integrate rather than exclude
The most commonly applicable fields are marketingand
advertising
Marketing:most commonly confused with PR;
To marketers and academicians, public relations is one of
the four Ps –product, place, price and promotion–which
make up a successful marketing campaign; public relations
can play an essential role in creating successful products.
The use of public relations to promote goods and services is
sometimes called marketing public relations (MPR).
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Types of Public Relations
Distinctions

20. MPR can support sales by creating awareness of the
product –
Especially new technological developments, where
consumers need to understand what a new, unknown
product is before they can distinguish between brands of
that product.
While the marketing department may create special
offers and sales promotions, the publicity (public
relations)people will be seeking media coverage
and arranging launch events.
Together, they can create worldwide successes.
Recent developments in marketing, such as
relationship marketing and cause-related marketing,
are similar to elements of public relations
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Types of Public Relations
Distinctions

21. Advertising
The distinction between advertising and PR is clear:
Advertising involves paying a medium (TV, radio, newspaper or
magazine, for example) for airtime or column inches in which to
put across a promotional message.
The content of an ad is always controlled by the advertiser, unlike
the content of editorial pages or programmes, which are controlled
by journalists.
Public relations practitioners try to persuade journalists to cover
their products and services on the grounds of newsworthiness.
An ad doesn’t have to satisfy any news value –it just has to be
legal and paid for.
PR does not aim to increase sales, but to increase
understanding.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Types of Public Relations
Distinctions

22. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Corporate Advertising
An extension of the PR function
Promotes the organization
Does not promote a specific product or
service
Image
enhancement
Assuming a
position on an
issue or cause
Seeks
involvement

23. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Objectives of Corporate
Advertising
Create a positive
image for the firm
Smooth labor
relations
Communicate
the
organization’s
viewpoint
Boost employee
morale
Establish
diversified
company identity
Help newly
deregulated
industries
Objectives

24. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Types of Corporate
Advertising
Financial Support
Image Advertising
Event Sponsorship
Advocacy Advertising
Cause-related
Advertising
Recruitment
General Image Ads
Positioning Ads
Sponsorship
General Image Ads

25. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Marrying Theory
and
Practice of Public Relations
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2

26. The Public Relations profession grew dramatically
following the Second World War.
Since then, attempts have been made to describe
the practice of public relations through the
creation of theories or models.
These are meant to describe the complex roles PR
practitioners play within organizations.
As the profession continued to evolve, many
challenges faced the practitioners, becoming more
complex
This led to efforts to describe public relations
practice.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Theory of Public Relations

27. The Goal
To achieve effective relations with various
audiences to managethe organization’s image
and reputation.
Publics may be external ( customers, news media,
investment community, general public, government)
or internal(investors or employees).
Public relations is a growing industry, employing
more than 150,000 people world-wide;
As of 2021, the industry was valued at $97 billion globally.
Expected to reach $129 billion by 2025.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
The Practice of Public Relations

28. Developed by James Grunig & Todd Hunt (1984).
The most widely citedPR modelin academic
circles.
Not one, but rather four models in sequenceDr. Gilbert arap Bor
Four Models of Public Relations

29. James E. Grunig and Todd Hunt identified four
models of public relations:
1.PR Model 1: Press Agentry (Publicity) Model.
PURPOSE:Propaganda
TYPE OF COMMUNICATION: One -way Communication
COMMUNICATION MODEL: Provider Receiver
The organisation uses media manipulation to shape the
narrative deceptively.
2.PR Model 2: Public Information Model.
PURPOSE:Spread of information.
TYPE OF COMMUNICATION: One -way communication.
COMMUNICATION MODEL: Provider Receiver
The organisation is practicing one-way communication to disseminate
information with little or nofeedbackfrom recipients.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Four Models of Public Relations

30. 3.PR Model 3: Two-Way Asymmetrical Model.
PURPOSE: Scientific persuasion.
TYPE OF COMMUNICATION : Two-way Communication
COMMUNICATION MODEL : Provider Receiver
The organisation engages in two-way communication to
persuade and influence audience to behave as the
organization desires.
Does not use research to find out how publics feel about the
organization.
4.PR Model 4: Two-Way Symmetrical Model.
PURPOSE: Mutual understanding
TYPE OF COMMUNICATION : Two-way Communication
COMMUNICATION MODEL : Community
Community
The organisation uses Two-way communication to negotiate
with publics, resolve conflict, and promote mutual
understanding and respect between the organization and its
publics.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Four Models of Public Relations

31. These models progress from an elementary
method of public relations to a more
sophisticated practice.
Grunig & Hunt’s 4 Models theory was
challenged in 1997 by 4 researchers led by
Prof. Glen Cameron who proposed the
“Contingency Theory of Accommodation”.
They proposed that the practice of public relations
rests somewhere within a continuum from pure
accommodation (where one builds trust and
maintains important relationships) to pure advocacy
(where one argues on behalf of a particular cause
or position).
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Contingency Theory of
Accommodation

32. The theory of contingency ispremised on the different
possibilities for organizational communication at any
point within the advocacy-accommodation continuum.
This view of communication approach based on a
continuum differs from the view proposed by the more
traditional Four models of public relations
communication.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Contingency Theory of
Accommodation

33. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Contingency Theory of
Accommodation

34. THE CONTINUUM
1.Competing
2.Litigation PR
3.Arguing
4.Competition
5.Contending
6.Compromising
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Contingency Theory of
Accommodation
THE CONTINUUM
7.Avoiding
8.Cooperation
9.Collaboration
10.Compromise
11.Capitulation
12.Apology and
Hesitation

35. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Contingency Theory of
Accommodation

36. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3
The Public Relations Process

37. PUBLIC RELATIONS
PROCESS
Public Relations Process:
The act that outlines the steps to be undertaken
before implementing any program or event to
ensure the success of the program.
A variety of names have been used to describe the four
steps of the public relations process:
1.ROPE -(research, objectives, programming, and
evaluation)
2.RACE(research, action, communication, and
evaluation).
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

38. PUBLIC RELATIONS
PROCESS
Public relations practitioners use a 4-step problem-
solving process:
1.Defining the Problem or Opportunity
2.Planning and Programming
3.Taking action and Communicating
4.Evaluating the program
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

39. PUBLIC RELATIONS
PROCESS
1.Defining the Problem or Opportunity:
The first step involves probing and monitoring knowledge,
opinions, attitudes and behaviors of those concerned with and
affected by the acts and policies of the organization.
The organization’s function.
It provides the foundation for all the steps in the problem-
solving process by determining “what is happening now?”
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

40. PUBLIC RELATIONS
PROCESS
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Research is the controlled, objective and
systematic gathering of information for the purpose
of describing and understanding.
The first step of the PR process
PR practitioner must know the actual problem before launching
any PR program.
Research helps PR practitioners to pinpoint actual problem
through information gathering.

41. PUBLIC RELATIONS
PROCESS
2.Planning and Programming:
Information gathered in the first step is used to make
decisions about program publics, objectives, action and
communication strategies, tactics and goals.
Involves factoring the findings in the first step into policies
and programmes of the organization.
“Based on what we have learned about the situation, what should we
change and do or change?”
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

42. PUBLIC RELATIONS
PROCESS
3.Taking Action and Communicating:
The first step involves probing and monitoring knowledge,
opinions, attitudes and behaviors of those concerned with and
affected by the acts and policies of the organization.
The organization’s function.
It provides the foundation for all the steps in the problem-solving
process by determining “what is happening now?”
4.Evaluating the Programme:
The final step in the process involves assessing the preparation,
implementation and results of the programme.
Adjustments are made while the programme is being
implemented based on evaluation feedback on what is working
or not working.
Programmes are continued or stopped after learning “how we
are doing or how we did”.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

43. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4
The Role of Values in
Public Relations

44. Values are defined as the fundamental beliefs and
standards that drive behavior and decision-making.
They are the filters through which we see the world
and the world sees us.
Everyone has values.
Organizations have values.
Actions communicate values.
Even thoughtless actions taken with little regard for
one’s beliefs and standards communicate a value.
The public relations professional uses the values
ofloyalty,commitment, and obedienceto enhance
the organization and its position in society.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
THE ROLE OF VALUES IN
PUBLIC RELATIONS

45. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
LEARNING OBJECTIVE 5
Values-Driven Public
Relations

46. Values-driven public relations incorporates a dynamic
version of the four-phase process of research, planning,
communication, and evaluation into the framework defined
by an organization’s core values.
This model reflects practitioners operating in a changing
environment.
It acknowledges that practitioners must operate within the realm
of personal, professional, social, and moral values.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Values-Driven Public
Relations

47. Values-Driven PR offers an alternate definition of public
relations:
“Public relations is the values-driven management of
relationships between an organization and the publics that
can affect its success”.
Values-driven public relations is the process of
uncovering where an organization wishes to go, as well
the principlesit will observe in getting there.
The process begins with the consideration of values
during the research phase—the organization’s and its
various publics -important to its success.
Those values, in turn, are incorporated into planning and
communications.
Values-driven public relations also means being
accountable for adherence to those values when we
evaluate our actions.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Values-Driven Public Relations

48. “Enterprises must focus not only on
claiming or codifying a set of beliefs and
operating principles, but on being
consistently true to them in all their
behavior and relationships,”
“Otherwise, they will be seen as unreliable and
untrustworthy.”
EXAMPLES OF VALUES:
Loyalty, commitment, obedience.
Transparency, integrity.
Excellence in all we do.
High standards of ethics and integrity.
Caring and responsible corporate citizenship.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Values-Driven Public Relations

49. “Some facts about today’s professionals”:
1.PR practitioners are no longer gatekeepers between their
companies and the media; They are activists seeking to
engage, enlighten, and energize an organization’s many
stakeholders.
2.PR professionals advocate not just for their organizations but
also for their organization’s constituents and stakeholders,
which adds the important role of presenting the stakeholders’
interests and views to management.
3.PR practitioners also serve as strategic content developers
and storytellers, helping their organizations formulate key
messages that are resonant with the corporate culture and
nature of the organization.
4.PR practitioners help an organization build mutual trust by
encouraging transparency and integrity throughout the
organization.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Values-Driven Public Relations

50. “Some facts about today’s professionals”:
5.PR practitioners are counselors who actively advise and
guide organizations in honestly communicating and
behaving in the best interests of society and constituents
such as customers, employees, shareholders, and the
communities in which they operate.
6.PR professionals are enablers and connectors, helping
organizations stay grounded, stay human, and stay sensitive
to the needs and desires of their communities.
In essence, the role of today’s public relations practitioner is
being the conscience of the organization.
Being ever vigilant to ensuring that the organization is “doing the
right thing.”
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
Values-Driven Public Relations