Description
Public relations(PR)
PUBLIC RELATION
“Public Relations is defined as helping an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” Public relations is a planned and sustained activity to help an institution create a social climate favorable for its growth. It is based on the fundamental belief that the survival of any enterprise, public or private depends today on the sensitive response to changes in public opinion. The International Public Relations Association defines public relations as “Public relations is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organisation leaders and implementing planned programmes of action which will serve both the organization’s and the public interest.” Public relation is a two way process. On the one hand it seeks to interpret an organization to society while on the other it keeps the organization informed about the expectation of the society. Fundamentally public relation is a means by which an organization improves its operating environment. ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Public relations people have the role of being always in the middle – pivoted between their clients/employers and their publics. They must be attuned to the thinking and needs of the organizations they serve or they cannot serve well. They must be attuned to the dynamics and needs of the publics so they can interpret publics to the clients, as well as interpret the clients to the publics. ORGANIZATIONAL ROLE & FUNCTIONS: 10 BASIC PRINCIPLES We can describe the function and role of public relations practice by stating ten basic principles: 1. Public relations deal with reality, not false fronts. Conscientiously planned programs that put the public interest in the forefront are the basis of sound public relations policy.(PR deals with facts, not fiction.) Public relations is a service-oriented profession in which public interest, not personal reward, should be the primary consideration. (PR is a public not personal, service.) Since the public relations practitioner must go to the public to seek support for programs and policies, public interest is the central criterion by which he or she should select these programs and policies. (PR practitioners must have the guts to say no to a client or to refuse a deceptive program.) Because the public relations practitioner reaches many publics through mass media, which are the public channels of communication, the integrity of these channels must be preserved. (PR practitioners should never lie to the news media, either outright or by implication.) 1
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Because PR practitioners are in the middle between an organization and its publics, they must be effective communicators – conveying information back and forth until understanding is reached. To expedite two-way communication and to be responsible communicators, public relations practitioners must use scientific public opinion research extensively. (PR cannot afford to be a guessing game.) To understand what their publics are saying and to reach them effectively, public relations practitioners must employ the social sciences – psychology, sociology, social psychology, public opinion, communications study and semantics. (Intuition is not enough.) Because a lot of people do PR research, the PR person must adapt the work of other related disciplines, including learning theory and other psychology theories, sociology, political science, economics and history. (The PR field requires multidisciplinary applications.) Public relations practitioners are obligated to explain problems to the public before these problems become crisis. (PR practitioners should alert and advise, so people won’t be taken by surprise.) A public relations practitioner should be measured by only one standard: ethical performance. (A PR practitioner is only as good as the reputation he or she deserves.)
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WHO NEEDS PUBLIC RELATIONS? The diverse institutions and individuals requiring professional Public Relations go beyond the more traditionally defined corporate world. Who are they? And Who are the “Publics” of Public Relations? Following are the main “publics” of Public Relations: A College or University: A public relations expert needs to defuse those crisis situations where student bodies could be in revolt over demands, where there is a change in educational policy, where something could be wrong with the examination papers or simply when, in interaction with State and Central Governments, grants have to be sought or when a college organizes intercollegiate festivals. Case: public relations for college festivals like Kshitij – Mithibai college, Brouhaha of sidnam college, Drishti of Narsee Monjee college. A Newspaper: Some of the better newspapers have Public Relations Staff quite separate from the advertising department or the marketing people. A Non-Profit Body: From the point of view of the organisation, whether it is Rotary, UNICEF, the Institute of Cerebral Palsy, the Red Cross, or any number of charitable and cultural and social service organizations, a Public Relations cell is an integral part of the institution. It has to interact with a number of bodies for its very existence, for the support 2
of its causes, for mis-understandings that can crop-up as, at every stage it is public money at stake. An Individual: An aspirant to a political post needs it, so does a person standing for presidentship of a chamber of commerce. So does an actor, a producer or a gallery owner, or a nonresident who is seeking to make a mark in the Indian business circle. A Cause: The problems exist – AIDS, drugs, population explosion and other environment concerns, slums, poverty of every sort, child abuse, women’s rights on abortion and property and marriage laws, the handicapped, uneducated – and the champions and doers for these causes are only in thousands, not in millions. If PR agencies unite and pool in their resources they can help in tackling such problems. CORPORATE BODIES: Corporate organizations constitute bulk of recognized Public relations activity involving numerous publics. • Employee Interaction:
The most important “public” of Public Relations activity in a corporation is the employee. He is vital in a more crucial way than people imagine. The employee could be viewed as a decisionmaker, someone who cannot merely be a target for communication but who would also be dictating the direction in which the company moves. Which means that the Public Relations Practitioners cannot be mere purveyors of information, but have to ensure an involvement and participation of and direction from employees. Employee aspirations have soared as a result of which a PR expert has to remember some basic tenets. He has to ensure the least amount of secrecy and holding back of information. He has to cater to many strata of employees, he has to convey the company’s plans, ideas, projects and vision, and also ensuring better communications during a crisis. Effective Public Relations begins at home! Shareholder Interface: A shareholder relation is a key aspect of corporate Public Relations. Shareholders, particularly those who have stayed with a company for many years because they value their investment in it, deserve more than just the statutory annual report, interim report or ‘not well’ shareholders visits to the company which turn out to be a mere picnic. A well-treated shareholder can do a lot for the company’s image in terms of his feedback to his peer group. For, armed with his detailed knowledge of the company’s financial status, twinned with the kind of “treatment” the company the metes out to him in terms of goodies like shareholders meets and gifts and information, he can be a better ambassador of the company than the organisation could ever imagine. Also now there are new investor associations, which are championing the rights of shareholders. This is an issue companies need to be aware of so that their interaction can extend beyond shareholders to these associations. Example: Balrampur Chini The “Stretch” philosophy of Balrampur Chini Mills, is yet another inspiring example of public relations. Stretch is the philosophy of the company, their baseline and also the attitude that 3
reflects everything they do, according to their Managing Director Vivek Saraogi. It is used as the title of their annual reports; it is also a pocket-sized document that is sent out to a few thousand people encapsulating anecdotes that have compiled with great sensitivity. These anecdotes embody the Stretch philosophy, as you would apply it to everything from uncompromising integrity to stretch as a boon, as an education. It has inspired the depressed individual as well as the corporate chief alike. The annual report for they year 2000-01 gives an overview of the sugar industry and the role of Balrampur. In the new scenario of progressive de-regulation, the future of the industry in the international context and then goes into the Measurement of Value, the requirements of Corporate Governance, analytical reports and a focus on Community Development. The 68-page report leaves no stone unturned, giving an invaluable picture without actually doing any pictorial spreads. Consumer Consciousness: Where public relations comes in, when marketing products is concerned, is in revealing the character of the company that is behind a product. It could be summed up as the reassurance factor beyond brand image. Llew von Essen in his Handbook of Public relations quotes, “Public Relations Techniques can be effectively used to put the company’s side of picture across; to explain marketer’s problems, talk about product complexity, review market conditions and pressures, show how good companies are in combating these pressures and above all highlight how the consumer benefits from product improvement, research and keen competition. Dealer Dealings: Most of the companies, especially those with large dealer networks, have no integrated approach to communicate or formulate a corporate personality in the minds of the dealers. However, a handful of companies have through their Public Relations efforts, instituted even such things as financial funds for dealers that have served them well when they have they have required sums of money for, say, a wedding in the family or a crisis arising out of an accident. Media Monitoring: The area, which occupies considerable amounts of time for any Public Relations department is the relationship with the media. To many people, this is probably the only function of a public relations person. To the Chief executive, this is the area, which is likely to create the greatest problems. To the public relations expert, this is what brings in the best opportunities to communicate the product-policy-plan conundrum of the company through well-mustered plans. To the journalist or the television producer, it is sometimes a reactive situation of reviving unsolicited plugs, but also one, which could provide material for analysis, projection of industrial progress and background for potentially explosive stories.
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Government Goodwill: When public relations was in its infancy, the strongest focus, and perhaps the need of the day, was lobbying with the powers that be. Today, the needs of the company to interact with the policy makers, not just through their government liaison departments, but also through their public relations managers who are expected to be able to study the complete picture and present not just a case for license but a total image package.
BENEFITS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
1. Prestige or ‘favourable image’ and its benefits
The familiarialty and reputation of its name are among the greatest assets of any organization – whether it deals directly with the public or not. Everyone is influenced by Reputation because reputation in industry can rarely be one without true accomplishments. 2. Promotion of products and services
Telling people about products and interesting them, in purchasing requires more than advertising efforts. People’s tastes and desires are developed by the unobtrusive influences by them. These unobtrusive, non-selling influences have an immeasurable effect on their desire to buy. Determining the organization’s posture in dealing with its publics Increasing sophistication had modified how organizations have approached their relations with various groups. There are 3 major conceptions of that role: 1) To master the publics; to direct what they think and do, according to the desires of the organization involved 2) To block; to react to developments and problems, to respond to events or the initiatives of others by blunting them 3) To achieve mutual adaptation; to develop relations of mutual benefits all parties involved In the present human climate, achieving mutual adaptation, has become the most widely taken course. Fostering the Goodwill Goodwill of: The employees Communities in which the organization has units Stockholders Suppliers Government Rest of the industry 5
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Dealers Customers Supporters
Helps in building Brands Building Brands becomes easy when proper public relations exist. Brand vitality and brand credibility follow. This can be concluded from a national poll of brand managers. The brand managers have given authentication that public relation is the most effectual way to institute brand credibility. Maximum utility can be derived on every marketing rupee spend. More than half the voters i.e., brand managers regard that, PR are more imperatively judged against advertising, sales promotion and new media. PR paves the path for effective communications discipline though the editorial context cannot be put aside. PR is the best way to gather third party endorsements according to brand managers. The survey clearly states that PR is a valued marketing partner in building brand equity. Probably the return earned on the marketing rupee spent makes the brand managers, give more importance to public relations. Prevention and Solution of Labour Problems Public Relations can assist in stabilizing labor conditions through employee relations activities. The use of public relations as a labour stabilizing aid is preventive as well as curative and it’s most beneficial when it is carried on continuously rather than only when strike clouds appear. Overcoming Misconceptions and Prejudices Prejudices that may exist because misinformation has been spread also threaten the success of business. Analysis of the situation, plans for meeting it, and the dissemination of correct information can clear up these difficulties Ability to attract the Best Personnel No organization’s future is any better than the caliber of future executives it is able to attract. Making a company or organization known and respected is necessary to assure its healthful development. Education of the Public to the use of a product When an entirely new service or product is to be promoted, it is necessary to capture the imagination of the public in order to make the item attain steady sales. When a company brings out a new type of product, public relations must support advertising and the sales staff in capturing the public’s imagination. 6
Education of the Public to appoint a view When an organization seeks to win support for its method of operation, its principles, the system that supports it, or any other viewpoint, its most effective means are the channels of teaching the public that are constant being utilized by Public relations people Dealing with Emergencies This has three phases: 1) Monitoring whatever may cause unexpected difficulties for the organization 2) Preparing for meeting the full range of such emergencies 3) Actual handling of matters when there is an emergency Directing the course of change At its best, public relations is a bridge to change. It is a means to adjust to new attitudes that have been caused by change. It is a means of stimulating attitudes in order to create change. It provides judgment creativity and skills in accommodating changing groups to each other. 3. Altering Misconceptions: In India some PR agencies and independent consultants are doing just that. An example of an advertising management would be when pictures of Pepsi bottles with fungus in them were splashed in newspaper, their agency, Perfect Relations launched an intensive media awareness campaign with the misinformation in the media. How did they do this? They highlighted that 40 percent of Pepsi bottled in India was spurious, established that the bottle reproduced in newspapers was not an original one, and then suggested Government needed to take a firm stand on enforcing laws against spurious manufacturers of consumables. What happened in the end was that many illicit plants were raided and closed down, Pepsi emerged as the aggrieved party and the case was diminished. 4. Issues and Perception Management: The Issues Management departments of companies or of consultancies today have become a part of a total system of anticipative Public Relations. A fair amount of research has to be done by the communications department to be able to track issues that could affect companies in the long run. Public Relations have both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include: 1. Credibility: Because PR communications are not perceived in the same light as advertising – that is, the public does not realize the organization either directly or indirectly paid for them – they tend to have more credibility. The fact that the media are not being compensated for providing the information may lead receivers to consider the news more truthful and credible. For example, an article in newspapers or
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magazines discussing the virtues of aspirin may be perceived very much as more credible than an ad for a particular brand of aspirin. 2. Cost: In both absolute and relative terms, the cost of PR is very low, especially when the possible effects are considered. While a firm can employ PR agencies and spend millions of dollars on PR, for smaller companies, this form of communication may be the most affordable alternative available. Avoidance of Clutter: Because they are typically perceived, as news items, PR messages are not subject to the clutter of ads. A story regarding a new product, introduction of break through is treated as a news item and is likely to receive attention. Lead Generation: Information about the technological innovations, medical break-throughs and the like results almost immediately in a multitude of inquiries. These inquiries may give the firm some quality sales lead. Ability to reach specific groups: Because some products appeal to only small market segments, it is not feasible to engage in advertising and / or promotions to reach them. If the firm does not have the financial capabilities, to engage in promotional expenditures, the best way to communicate to these groups is through PR. Image Building: Effective PR helps to develop positive image for the organization. A strong image is insurance against later mis-fortunes. Perhaps, the major disadvantage of PR is the potential for not completing communication process. While PR messages can break through the clutter of commercials, the receiver may not make the connection to the source. Many firms’ PR efforts are never associated with their sponsors in the public mind. PR may also mis-fire through mis management and a lack of co-ordination with the marketing department. When the marketing and PR department operate independently, there is a danger of inconsistence communication, redundancies in efforts and so on. The key to effective PR is to establish a good program, worthy of public interest and manage it properly. To determine if this program is working, the firm must measure the effectiveness of the PR effort. PR AND SIMILAR ACTIVITIES ? PR AND ADVERTISING: Many people consider public relations and advertising as almost synonymous, probably because there is an element of information and persuasion inherent in both. Public Relations ? PR is winning of public acceptance by acceptable performance without any idea of instant tangible gain. Advertising ? Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by any identified sponsor. Although 8
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? PR does, of course, provide support to marketing activities but it has a wider prospective and is broader in scope and vision. ? PR is a management function. ? Every organization has a public perception and consequently public relations. ? PR presents its messages to specialize external audiences and internal publics. ? PR message is largely a matter of credibility.
some advertisements seek to inform an even educate, there is an immediate, commercial goal behind most. ? Advertising is essentially a tool of marketing along with product, price, packaging and place (distribution). ? Advertising is a marketing function. ? Advertising may or may not be used by an organization. ? Advertising is addressed to external audiences, primarily consumers of goods and services. ? Advertising messages are mostly emotive and strident.
? PR is more proactive than ? Advertising involves directly acting advertising. It involves anticipating, upon the briefs or problems presented diagnosing problems and then by the client. providing solutions ? PR AND MARKETING: There are certain areas like publicity, sponsorship, exhibitions, consumer and dealer relations where both the functions of PR and marketing overlap. They do not always talk the same language though both marketing and PR make use of communication to pursue their goals. What really matters in the long run, however, is not whether a particular set of techniques should be labeled PR or marketing but whether they are effective in achieving the desired corporate goal. From a marketing perspective, PR is part of the promotional element in the marketing mix and aid to consumer relations. It is seen as a component in the total marketing communication and is bracketed with advertising and sales promotion. As a support function for marketing, PR operates primarily as a publicity function. PR ? PR is a marketing of an organization ? PR is equally concerned with internal and external groups. ? The audiences of PR include employees, shareholders, neighbors and many others. ? Good PR can pave the way for Marketing ? Marketing is the selling of a tangible service or product through promotion, pricing and distribution. ? Marketing is external in its orientation. ? Customers are the key audiences for marketing. ? Similarly, a successful marketing 9
marketing effort. It is concerned with creating a favorable climate for marketing. It can help maintain good relations with dealers organize product publicity and disseminate information to trade and industry.
campaign and satisfied consumers make good relations with the others easier to develop and maintain.
PR is both a compliment and a corrective to the marketing approach. As a compliment, it provides and techniques with support marketing efforts. The techniques of communication used in PR and available to marketing and can be used in support of product and sales promotion. Introduction of new products and publicity campaigns to put fresh life into the sales of established products are important marketing functions. In these areas, PR can work closely with marketing Indeed, PR and marketing can support and reinforce each other with synergistic force, if planned and coordinated in a total communication strategy.
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PR AND PUBLICITY: Publicity is often confused as an identical activity to PR probably because it is the most visible aspect of PR. Tangible evidence of PR efforts can be seen thorough publicity. A publicist works on only one area of PR-dissemination of information for the media. Publicity consists of obtaining free space or time for news about the organization. Spreading of information in this way can effectively improve PR program. But it is quite possible to have wide, even favorable publicity and still not achieve good public relations. Publicity can sometimes be unfavorable or even controversial. Frequently, its over abundance may cause bad reaction instead of good. Publicity can be measured by the length of space or time obtained in mass media and it is possible to maintain a record through press clipping. But publicity is, in effect, one-way communication. PR, on the other hand, strives to initiate dialogue and feedback. It is a more complex and comprehensive discipline. Unlike advertising the main cost of PR is time. If an advertising campaign is undertaken too early, it will fail to overcome the barriers of prejudice, apathy and ignorance. To create acceptance, interest and impart knowledge, PR should come earlier. While PR begins very early and then proceeds steadily as a constant factor as a part of an organization’s existence, advertising is intensive at the launch and then tapers off in proportion to the product sensibility. PR and Propaganda: Public Relations ? PR is responsible for presenting factual information without comment. Propaganda ? Propaganda seeks to build a favorable public opinion through onesided presentation of facts. The selective and slanted presentation is 10
? The receiver of the information has the freedom to take his own decision. ? The fundamental purpose of PR is to establish mutual understanding. It is based on facts and information. ? Objective: Consent TOOLS OF PUBLIC RELATONS
designed to strengthen particular images by emphasizing only the good points of one position and the bad points of another. ? They resort to deliberate disinformation for building the strongest possible case for their views. ? Propaganda is designed to manipulate the beliefs and attitude of the people through colorful half-truths. ? Objective: to build a sectarian movement.
? PRINT MEDIA
Most of the efforts chapters make in public relations are through forms of print media, primarily newspapers. These are usually the most visible outlets on college campuses, especially school newspapers, and in the local community. 1. PRESS RELEASE
The press release is the most common material provided to media outlets. These documents provide a brief, yet thorough, description of an upcoming activity, whether it is rush or a service project. 2. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS These are very short articles (no more than 75 words) that simply provide the facts of the activity (what it is, where it is located, when it will be, who is sponsoring, etc.). 3. PHOTOGRAPHS There are usually two types of photographs in publicity portrait shots, where people pose for the camera and smile, and candids, where the subjects are doing something. 4. CASES HISTORIES/ STUDIES Case studies which show a good image of the company are shared with the media/ investors, community etc. Books on Making of Asoka, Making of Lagaan,, Amitabh Bacchan- A book by Jaya Bachchan 5. EDITORIALS 11
No money, high credibility, however no control over message. ADVERTORIALS Advertisement + Editorial. Control over message, pay lesser than an advertisement. It is a strategic tool, but should not be used too often. J & J is coming out with Branded Cotton. So they are coming out with advertorials on wound handling. 6. INTERVIEWS/FEATURES
Meeting journalists. Here there is lot of room for different interpretations. More often than not, press releases will not be printed verbatim. Even though your media contact will likely rewrite them, possibly including additional quotes or information they research on their own your press releases should be written well enough. However, there are also times that a press release will encourage a reporter to do more, such as conduct a full interview with chapter members or write a feature article on an upcoming project. While doing sponsorships one should try to brand it with the event simultaneously. 8. BROCHURE A booklet published bye the organization which contains the organisation’s background, its ethics, vision, mission, its past, present and future projects, its USP, etc. 9. POSTER AND CALENDAR Any poster or calendar used to achieve a public relations objective. 10. WRITTEN SPEECH The typewritten or printed text of a speech given to achieve a public relations objective. 11. INTERNAL NEWSLETTERS AND PUBLICATIONS e.g. ICICI has their internal Newsletters, in which information about the company, its profits, employees etc. is given.
? EVENT AND PRESS SUPPORT Special events are acts of news development. The ingredients are time, place, people, activities, drama, showmanship; one special event may have many subsidiary events, such as luncheons, banquets, contests, speeches, and many others as part of the build up. ? LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Submitting these articles does not require a media contact. This also gives an opportunity for any member to submit a letter on their chapter for printing in a local or campus newspaper.
? ANALYSTS BRIEF One tells about the company, what the company is doing. It is done to influence the stock buyers, analysts, employees and media.
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? CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS - Press – Om Kotak doing many seminars. It contacts associations and tells them to give numbers of their members so that they can talk to them. The members are contacted through telephones and asked to attend seminar on General Insurance. In the seminar they talk on General Insurance for 20 minutes and then the next 10 minutes they talk about the company products.
Pharma Companies when they do any research say for example, diabetic research, they would launch the product and before or after the launch they would call doctors for a conference to discuss about the research
? PROMOTIONAL ITEMS
Any gift, premium, novelty or physical token used to convey an impression, make a point, establish an image or achieve a public relations objective.
? CORPORATE ADVERTISING If you believe the image of the company is good i.e. that trustworthy, reliable one then you can use that as a PR tool. ? INTERNET This one medium has helped transform the whole business of marketing and public relations. In a way, it gives any organization the ability to promote themselves without having to rely solely on other media outlets. Websites and e-mail are the two most common methods to use the Internet for PR purposes. ? WEBSITE
A chapter website should not only be designed to serve as a resource for members, but it should also present a positive message to nonmembers just "browsing through.". Brief descriptions of chapter history, past projects and activities, and long-standing relationships with other organizations may give an outsider a positive impression of the fraternity. Like the newsletter, information for members shouldn't just inform, it should also encourage involvement and develop enthusiasm.
? E-MAIL
Today, this has become the most common method used for communication between fraternity members. It can also be used to promote a chapter to fellow students and others, but it should be used carefully.
? AUDIO AND VISUAL This division includes any audio or audio/visual presentation or program which serves a public relations objective.
1. AUDIO PRESENTATION 13
Any sound-only program, including telephone hot lines and other recorded messages, radio programs, public service announcements and audio news releases. 2. AUDIO/VISUAL PRESENTATION Any internal or external audio-visual presentation using still illustrations, with or without sound, using one or more projectors. 3. FILM OR VIDEO Any film or video which presents information to an organization's internal audiences. 4. VIDEO NEWS RELEASE Any film or video prepared and released to the media as a news item, article or feature story on behalf of a sponsoring organization.
? NEWS AND PUBLICITY
News is something that interests many people today. From the point of view of THE TIMES OF INDIA, that means the national readers of THE TIMES OF INDIA and the metropolis readers of THE BOMBAY TIMES, etc. From the point of view of THE INDIAN EXPRESS, it means all the people interested in hardcore content and no masala. “Every medium has a news standard of its own, and that is the criterion the publicist goes by in attempting to address publicity to the public through that medium.” Ways To Make News ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Tie in with the news events of the day Tie in with another publicity person Form and announce the names of a committee Hold an election Announce an appointment Issue a summary of facts Make a statement on a subject of interest Bring a celebrity from elsewhere
? SPECIAL EVENTS
Special events are acts or news development. The ingredients are time, place, people, activities, drama, and showmanship. One special event may have many subsidiary events, such as
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luncheons, banquets, contests, speeches, and many others, as part of the build-up. The special event is the coup de maitre of publicity, propaganda, and public relations.
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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF A PR AGENCY On the basis of size PR agencies can be classified into: ? Big Agencies ? Medium sized Agencies ? Small Agencies In big agencies the scope for growth is large, whereas in small agencies responsibility may be very high but there is little scope for growth. When the number of clients of a small agency increases it needs to hire new people, and gradually becomes a medium sized organization. Grey Worldwide (India) Pvt. Ltd., has three branch offices situated at Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
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a t io n HD ee al h d i s 1
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e a d g lo r e s H e a d
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T e a m
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Each of these teams follows the following hierarchy.
G D A A A S e n i o r A c c c e i r e c c c o c o n c o u u e t u n n r a C n t t l l i e t S M D u a M n a t n S c e n t a a e g e r i n g
r v i c t o r o r
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An Account Director maybe heading 2-3 supervisors depending on the number of total accounts GCI is handling. MAJOR CLIENTS OF GCI OM KOTAK MAHINDRA RUF AND TUF 16
CRY BRITANNIA PUBLIC RELATIONS PROCESS Establishing an public relations program on behalf of a business or industry, or a professional group, involves a series of steps that, although subject to some variation in differing situations, generally will include
Public relations activity has seven steps
Analysis of the situation Definition of problem areas Identification of pertinent publics Establishment of specific objectives Planning of program Implementation of program Periodic evaluations of progress
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ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION:
Analysis of the situation calls for broad study of all aspects of the business that affect the publics. The starting point will be the people in the business or industry (particularly those who are active in the company, such as board members, appropriate committee chairman and members, and so on) who appear to have awareness of the public relations situation. The public relations person will begin by interviewing such people; from them he or she will go to people outside the business but in a position to observe it more closely than the average layman (these may include editors of trade publications, officials of chambers of commerce and better business bureaus, government officials concerned with the regulations of the business or profession – if there are any – and others). Finally, this basic study may approach the general public for additional views. This may be done through an opinion or attitude research study, of market research, conducted by a recognized research firm. Sometimes, this may be done on a more informal basis where the budget will not permit formal research. Such an approach to the general public will be designed to provide a profile of the business as it appears in the public mind.
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DEFINITION OF PROBLEM AREAS:
This will follow naturally from the interviews and research activities. Comparisons among the views of the public, of people in the business, and of those who are close observers of the business may reveal some interesting parallels as well as differences and may indicate some 17
cause and effect relationships. It should be noted, also, that ignorance and misconception will not always or necessarily be found in the public mind. Industry people more often then not will be found to have some misconceptions about the public’s viewpoint, too. In such an event, correction of industry thinking will be called for. Sound public relations may require changing the attitudes of the client (diplomatically, of course) as much as it involves endeavoring to change the attitudes of certain publics. As a matter of fact, although the public relations person is usually hired to change public attitudes, he or she sometimes performs the most important task in changing the attitude of his client or employer. In today’s climate, the role of public relations practitioner is enlarging. He or she should be capable of observing and analyzing the social, economic, and political trends and helping his or her management or clients become aware of their significance to the institution they represent. Through such expanded awareness, the manager or clients come to view their business or institution in a new and different perspective.
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IDENTIFICATION OF PUBLICS: A public is a group of people bound together by a specialized interest with reference to a focal point. Example: Employees in the steel mill may constitute one of the publics of a steel industry association’s public relations effort; dairy farmers may be a special public of the association representing the milk processing industry; automobile dealers a special public of the association representing automobile manufacturers, and so on. Customers of a particular business always are a primary public; for a professional society, the individual members will also be one. Indeed, the association’s members should not be overlooked in any public relations effort; their understanding and support are necessary.
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ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES:
Once the problem areas are defined, long range objectives should be established. Usually, these will be outlines in terms of the respective publics involved. General objectives should be drawn with perspective in order to serve as guides over the long range. If they are drawn only in respect to immediate, short term problems, they will not serve to provide continuity of direction and they will need constant revision. It would be unwise to draw an overall objective in reference to a specific piece of current legislation that is to be opposed or supported, for once the legislature has adjourned, the objective is meaningless. Instead, a long range objective might describe in general terms the nature of legislation that an industry favours, viz:
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“ To support, in the respective states, legislative efforts that will enable our business to serve the public on a competitive basis in accord with the traditions of a free market economy, and to oppose legislation that would deny this opportunity.” Any association public relations program must be flexible; obviously it should be modified as time and circumstances require. But if it is drawn with sufficient perspective, changing day-to18
day and month-to- month problems will be found to fit within the framework of its general objectives. And, of course, short-range objectives will be developed from time to time. In addition, if sound communications networks have been developed to obtain long-range objectives, these networks will facilitate the solution of passing and temporary problems. But common sense demands a long-range plan with specific objectives against which results may be measured.
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PROGRAM PLANNING:
It involves laying out in detail the various activities and communications that will be employed with reference to the key publics that have been pinpointed in the objectives. Let us assume, for example, a situation in which an association of home appliance manufacturers finds that the industry has lost standing in the public mind because a substantial number of consumers are dissatisfied with the repair and maintenance services. The industry association identifies, as one of its publics, the retail appliance dealers who are responsible for servicing. The objective with respect to this public is to indoctrinate the dealers in the necessity for providing quality repair services and to provide information to them on the methods by which high quality servicing may be established. The program plan will outline the activities to be directed toward gaining the support of the dealers for this mutually benefit purpose. It may, for example, call for the preparation of a “code of good service” and of a manual describing the service functions the dealer is expected to perform. Further, this part of the plan may call specifically for a series of dealer meetings in various communities; for special articles to be prepared for trade publications that are circulated among the dealers; for a special periodical to be published by the association especially for the dealer-audience; for paid advertisements in industry publications, addressed to dealers; for the conduct of special training schools for the service people employed by the dealers; or for any combination of these and other techniques, some of which may lie outside the field of public relations must, inevitably, be based on good performance, and it should be noted that all of these measures would be designed to improve performance in repair and maintenance.
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IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM: Involves carrying out these steps. It calls primarily for hard work by the association’s public relations staff or the external counsel. In association work, however, the implementation of a public relations program frequently requires active participation of people in the profession or industry. Indeed, in respect to many objectives, the only path to success is to enroll the people in the business or profession who are located at many points across the country. No association staff, however large, has sufficient people to perform the grass roots indoctrination task all by itself. Frequently, therefore, means will be devised for recruiting people who are working in the business, but who are not themselves public relations people, to assist in the public relations efforts of the association. For any grass-roots efforts by a national, regional, or even a state association, reliance on local representatives of the business, industry, or profession is essential. This Carrying out the 19
program can involve a wide range of functions, always guided by the long-range plan and association’s policies.
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PERIODIC EVALUATION:
Periodic evaluations of progress are necessary. Such evaluations should be made on a continuing basis, of course, by the professional public relations staff or public relations counsel or by the association. Progress reports should be made regularly also to the membership and to interested committees and boards of the association. Though the contribution of the campaign would be difficult to measure we should try to evaluate it with the help of the following 3 most commonly used measures of PR effectiveness. The return on PR investments can be calculated as follows: Total sales increase Estimated sales increase due to PR Contribution margin on product sales Total direct cost of PR programme Contribution margin added by PR investments Return on PR investments Rs…….. Rs…….. Rs…….. Rs…….. Rs…….. …..%
An activity which fails to add value stands to be eliminated in today’s professional world for several decades PR practitioners did not see any need to demonstrate that the PR adds value. “Any publicity is good publicity” was the questionable catch cry of the PR model practiced. The main method of demonstrating results of PR was collecting and presenting the management with piles of press clippings. The different methods of evaluation are: MEASUREMENT BY KILOGRAM Commonly referred to as measurement by kilogram collecting press clippings focuses on quantitative measurement with little attention paid to the quality of media coverage. Press clippings, tapes or transcripts indicate only that reporting occurred in the media. They do not indicate whether target audiences read, saw or heard the information and if they did whether it influenced their attitudes or behavior.
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POSITIVE/ NEGATIVE ANALYSIS
In attempt to provide qualitative assessment of editorial media coverage PR practitioners accepted that negative publicity was unlikely to achieve objectives and began to categorize media coverage in terms of positive, negative or neutral. This was done based on the belief that positive coverage supported clients or employers objectives while neutral coverage at least raised awareness. However this runs into 2 major challenges: 1. It involves a high degree of subjectivity, 2. Sometimes positive articles may appear in media which do not reach the client’s target audience or which while generally positive may not contain the client’s key messages. Also the articles may be positive but not strategically important and thus do not contribute to achieving a client’s objectives. 20
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MEDIA CONTENT ANALYSIS
Media content analysis is a growing area of public relations research for evaluating publicity and offers a more reliable and relevant method of evaluating the effectiveness of media coverage. While systems vary, most rigorous media content analysis systems measure: 1. Total circulation or audience reached; 2. Target audience or market reach/penetration; 3. The extent to which key messages were communicated; 4. Share of voice compared with competitors or others. In simple terms, communication is about getting your key messages to your target audiences – preferably better than competitors do. That is what PR needs to focus on and what PR research should address. BILLING OF A PR AGENCY It is the bread and butter of an agency. PR agencies are doctors and lawyers, professional who diagnose a problem and dispense their skills and expertise on a time cost basis. They charge by the hour or motnthly retainer ship and sall projects or events are then billed at cost or on a total turn-key basis. Case: At Contact corporate communication they prepare a contract based on the needs of the client. Sometimes if the client is not media savvy then the public relations agency provides media counselling to the client. For this they charge an additional amount to the client. The scope of the billing is generally decided before hand. E.g.: The PR agency may charge for the STD, ISD calls, traveling separately if the PR activities are on a broader base. ROLE OF PR TO ESTABLISH AND DEVELOP CORPORATE IMAGE
? CORPORATE IDENTITY
Every individual, every business or nation has an identity. For most of us, as individuals, it emerges naturally. Just as the way we speak, dress, behave, just as much as what we say and do, consciously or unconsciously, expresses what we stand for and believe in as individuals, in the same manner organisations too express themselves in a variety of ways. It accumulates over a period of time and is a sum total of the company's history, philosophy, ethical values, ownership, people, technology and performance. Ideally the corporate identity reflects the inner truth about the organisation. It is the coordinated and consistent projection of everything an organisation stands for. Corporate identity is not reflected merely by visual elements but nevertheless, it is often readily identified through visual signs and symbols. Because, the visual expression tends to encapsulate with imagery what the company holds to be its essential belief and philosophy. As organisations grow large, complex and increasingly impersonal, most of them feel the need to 21
develop a distinctive identity in order to provide them with a competitive edge in the market place. The desire to seek a new identity may arise out of dissatisfaction with the current identity or even an absence of any consciously created identity. Diversification, entry into a new field, mergers and acquisitions, major technological changes can all be reasons for the creation of a new identity. This desire to be different, to stand out from the crowd, is one of the many vital measure to survive and grow in this fiercely competitive world. The need for developing a strong corporate identity has been further felt owing to the weakening of brand loyalty. A considerably shorter life-cycle of an average product in today's market has forced the companies to reposition themselves. If a company has a definite public perception, it is likely that it will also have a definite market slot. A corporate identity is also a method of expressing a body corporate in human terms. In essence, it communicates the style of management and the spirit of the working culture within the organisation. Successful companies like ITC and Tatas have distinctive identities borne out of long and widely-held beliefs and values. But identities require to be relevant to the new business strategies. Identities, therefore, call for constant review. CORPORATE IMAGE Some people seem to get confused between corporate image and corporate identity. Corporate Identity is a matter of physical recognition while Corporate Image is a matter of mental perception. Corporate identity can contribute to corporate image. A corporate image develops out of a company's corporate identity and, as a result of people's knowledge and experience of the company. The organisation can seek to influence this image, it cannot control it. Vic Markham describes corporate image in these words: "Everything we buy helps us express our personalities; helps us to say to the world around us: 'This is the kind of person I would like you to think I am.' We buy products to assist us in this projection of our personalities. In effect, we see the mirror image of ourselves in the product we buy. Image is a reflection of that personality. Corporate bodies project recognisable personalities and people choose between competing brands very largely because the brand reflects their own personalities. Corporate identity, on the other hand, is how one identifies ourself: on one's advertising, on the packaging, on the van sides so that a symbol or logo can be a part of the corporate identity." To sum up therefore, corporate image is what people think about an organisation and corporate identity is how people identify an organisation. An organisation will have a corporate image whether or not it has made conscious efforts to manage a corporate identity. Since the image is going to be present anyway, it is now universally accepted that organisations should make an effort towards the development of a favourable image through the projection of the chosen corporate identity. Creating the desired corporate image is not just a matter of giving a face-lift to the company's otherwise sagging identity. It is a matter of firm commitment to a corporate life-style and culture in policy and action. The organisation has to address itself to a variety of publics. Quite often, they have mutually conflicting expectations of the organisation and as a result, they may interpret the message from their particular point of interest. The corporate image, therefore, has 22
to be consistent among all its operation and all its audiences. Hence, the management of corporate image has to be a constant and all-encompassing process. CORPORATE COMMUNICATON “Corporate communication is the process that makes the corporate identity visible in concrete terms.” But corporate communication is not an option. It is happening to all companies all the time, sometimes haphazardly and often without real planning. It has also been described as a process that translates corporate identity into corporate image. The role of communication is crucial in the entire process because without communication the values and strategies of an organisation will never be understood properly. Corporate communication includes virtually the entire range of its interaction with the society; from the way telephone calls are answered to the way video films are made. “Corporate communication cannot overnight turn a poor company into a successful one.” It can only ensure that it conveys a consistent and credible message of what the company is, what it does and how it does it by trying to synthesize the messages it transmits. The visual projection in corporate identity is derived from the fact that it not only helps internal cohesion but it plays a large part in showing to the outside world what the company is like and how it can be expected to behave. Indeed a distinctive visual communication programme is one of the most prominent and marketable corporate assets; without it, ready acceptance of even the most superlative product may be difficult. It can provide a focus for a consistent message to all the external publics. Institutional Advertising or Corporate Advertising The main aim is to build a positive image for the firm in the eyes in internal and external public in institutional advertising. It does not attempt to sell anything directly. However, it does a lot of good to the organization as a whole. It forcefully tells how the organisation is a socially responsible institution. It also tells about the nationalistic learning’s of the organization. It shows how its actions are consistent with overall national objectives like environmental protection, employment generation, literacy, loss prevention, health for all etc. It is integrated to public relations function of the organisation. Institutional advertisements may be addressed either to consumers or other groups like government, suppliers, financial institutions etc. Effective institutional advertising evokes a positive response amongst the target group and creates goodwill. Institutional advertising may introduce products indirectly or may introduce the sales people indirectly. Glaxo’s advertising on child health may make doctors favourably inclined to meet its medical representatives. Institutional advertising like product advertising can be in formative, persuasive or reminderoriented. It's objectives is of institutional/corporate advertising are: To make the company known. 23
To make its products/services known. To make its achievements known To make its values known. To make socio-political/economic/moral statements
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doc_708488346.doc
Public relations(PR)
PUBLIC RELATION
“Public Relations is defined as helping an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” Public relations is a planned and sustained activity to help an institution create a social climate favorable for its growth. It is based on the fundamental belief that the survival of any enterprise, public or private depends today on the sensitive response to changes in public opinion. The International Public Relations Association defines public relations as “Public relations is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organisation leaders and implementing planned programmes of action which will serve both the organization’s and the public interest.” Public relation is a two way process. On the one hand it seeks to interpret an organization to society while on the other it keeps the organization informed about the expectation of the society. Fundamentally public relation is a means by which an organization improves its operating environment. ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Public relations people have the role of being always in the middle – pivoted between their clients/employers and their publics. They must be attuned to the thinking and needs of the organizations they serve or they cannot serve well. They must be attuned to the dynamics and needs of the publics so they can interpret publics to the clients, as well as interpret the clients to the publics. ORGANIZATIONAL ROLE & FUNCTIONS: 10 BASIC PRINCIPLES We can describe the function and role of public relations practice by stating ten basic principles: 1. Public relations deal with reality, not false fronts. Conscientiously planned programs that put the public interest in the forefront are the basis of sound public relations policy.(PR deals with facts, not fiction.) Public relations is a service-oriented profession in which public interest, not personal reward, should be the primary consideration. (PR is a public not personal, service.) Since the public relations practitioner must go to the public to seek support for programs and policies, public interest is the central criterion by which he or she should select these programs and policies. (PR practitioners must have the guts to say no to a client or to refuse a deceptive program.) Because the public relations practitioner reaches many publics through mass media, which are the public channels of communication, the integrity of these channels must be preserved. (PR practitioners should never lie to the news media, either outright or by implication.) 1
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Because PR practitioners are in the middle between an organization and its publics, they must be effective communicators – conveying information back and forth until understanding is reached. To expedite two-way communication and to be responsible communicators, public relations practitioners must use scientific public opinion research extensively. (PR cannot afford to be a guessing game.) To understand what their publics are saying and to reach them effectively, public relations practitioners must employ the social sciences – psychology, sociology, social psychology, public opinion, communications study and semantics. (Intuition is not enough.) Because a lot of people do PR research, the PR person must adapt the work of other related disciplines, including learning theory and other psychology theories, sociology, political science, economics and history. (The PR field requires multidisciplinary applications.) Public relations practitioners are obligated to explain problems to the public before these problems become crisis. (PR practitioners should alert and advise, so people won’t be taken by surprise.) A public relations practitioner should be measured by only one standard: ethical performance. (A PR practitioner is only as good as the reputation he or she deserves.)
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WHO NEEDS PUBLIC RELATIONS? The diverse institutions and individuals requiring professional Public Relations go beyond the more traditionally defined corporate world. Who are they? And Who are the “Publics” of Public Relations? Following are the main “publics” of Public Relations: A College or University: A public relations expert needs to defuse those crisis situations where student bodies could be in revolt over demands, where there is a change in educational policy, where something could be wrong with the examination papers or simply when, in interaction with State and Central Governments, grants have to be sought or when a college organizes intercollegiate festivals. Case: public relations for college festivals like Kshitij – Mithibai college, Brouhaha of sidnam college, Drishti of Narsee Monjee college. A Newspaper: Some of the better newspapers have Public Relations Staff quite separate from the advertising department or the marketing people. A Non-Profit Body: From the point of view of the organisation, whether it is Rotary, UNICEF, the Institute of Cerebral Palsy, the Red Cross, or any number of charitable and cultural and social service organizations, a Public Relations cell is an integral part of the institution. It has to interact with a number of bodies for its very existence, for the support 2
of its causes, for mis-understandings that can crop-up as, at every stage it is public money at stake. An Individual: An aspirant to a political post needs it, so does a person standing for presidentship of a chamber of commerce. So does an actor, a producer or a gallery owner, or a nonresident who is seeking to make a mark in the Indian business circle. A Cause: The problems exist – AIDS, drugs, population explosion and other environment concerns, slums, poverty of every sort, child abuse, women’s rights on abortion and property and marriage laws, the handicapped, uneducated – and the champions and doers for these causes are only in thousands, not in millions. If PR agencies unite and pool in their resources they can help in tackling such problems. CORPORATE BODIES: Corporate organizations constitute bulk of recognized Public relations activity involving numerous publics. • Employee Interaction:
The most important “public” of Public Relations activity in a corporation is the employee. He is vital in a more crucial way than people imagine. The employee could be viewed as a decisionmaker, someone who cannot merely be a target for communication but who would also be dictating the direction in which the company moves. Which means that the Public Relations Practitioners cannot be mere purveyors of information, but have to ensure an involvement and participation of and direction from employees. Employee aspirations have soared as a result of which a PR expert has to remember some basic tenets. He has to ensure the least amount of secrecy and holding back of information. He has to cater to many strata of employees, he has to convey the company’s plans, ideas, projects and vision, and also ensuring better communications during a crisis. Effective Public Relations begins at home! Shareholder Interface: A shareholder relation is a key aspect of corporate Public Relations. Shareholders, particularly those who have stayed with a company for many years because they value their investment in it, deserve more than just the statutory annual report, interim report or ‘not well’ shareholders visits to the company which turn out to be a mere picnic. A well-treated shareholder can do a lot for the company’s image in terms of his feedback to his peer group. For, armed with his detailed knowledge of the company’s financial status, twinned with the kind of “treatment” the company the metes out to him in terms of goodies like shareholders meets and gifts and information, he can be a better ambassador of the company than the organisation could ever imagine. Also now there are new investor associations, which are championing the rights of shareholders. This is an issue companies need to be aware of so that their interaction can extend beyond shareholders to these associations. Example: Balrampur Chini The “Stretch” philosophy of Balrampur Chini Mills, is yet another inspiring example of public relations. Stretch is the philosophy of the company, their baseline and also the attitude that 3
reflects everything they do, according to their Managing Director Vivek Saraogi. It is used as the title of their annual reports; it is also a pocket-sized document that is sent out to a few thousand people encapsulating anecdotes that have compiled with great sensitivity. These anecdotes embody the Stretch philosophy, as you would apply it to everything from uncompromising integrity to stretch as a boon, as an education. It has inspired the depressed individual as well as the corporate chief alike. The annual report for they year 2000-01 gives an overview of the sugar industry and the role of Balrampur. In the new scenario of progressive de-regulation, the future of the industry in the international context and then goes into the Measurement of Value, the requirements of Corporate Governance, analytical reports and a focus on Community Development. The 68-page report leaves no stone unturned, giving an invaluable picture without actually doing any pictorial spreads. Consumer Consciousness: Where public relations comes in, when marketing products is concerned, is in revealing the character of the company that is behind a product. It could be summed up as the reassurance factor beyond brand image. Llew von Essen in his Handbook of Public relations quotes, “Public Relations Techniques can be effectively used to put the company’s side of picture across; to explain marketer’s problems, talk about product complexity, review market conditions and pressures, show how good companies are in combating these pressures and above all highlight how the consumer benefits from product improvement, research and keen competition. Dealer Dealings: Most of the companies, especially those with large dealer networks, have no integrated approach to communicate or formulate a corporate personality in the minds of the dealers. However, a handful of companies have through their Public Relations efforts, instituted even such things as financial funds for dealers that have served them well when they have they have required sums of money for, say, a wedding in the family or a crisis arising out of an accident. Media Monitoring: The area, which occupies considerable amounts of time for any Public Relations department is the relationship with the media. To many people, this is probably the only function of a public relations person. To the Chief executive, this is the area, which is likely to create the greatest problems. To the public relations expert, this is what brings in the best opportunities to communicate the product-policy-plan conundrum of the company through well-mustered plans. To the journalist or the television producer, it is sometimes a reactive situation of reviving unsolicited plugs, but also one, which could provide material for analysis, projection of industrial progress and background for potentially explosive stories.
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Government Goodwill: When public relations was in its infancy, the strongest focus, and perhaps the need of the day, was lobbying with the powers that be. Today, the needs of the company to interact with the policy makers, not just through their government liaison departments, but also through their public relations managers who are expected to be able to study the complete picture and present not just a case for license but a total image package.
BENEFITS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
1. Prestige or ‘favourable image’ and its benefits
The familiarialty and reputation of its name are among the greatest assets of any organization – whether it deals directly with the public or not. Everyone is influenced by Reputation because reputation in industry can rarely be one without true accomplishments. 2. Promotion of products and services
Telling people about products and interesting them, in purchasing requires more than advertising efforts. People’s tastes and desires are developed by the unobtrusive influences by them. These unobtrusive, non-selling influences have an immeasurable effect on their desire to buy. Determining the organization’s posture in dealing with its publics Increasing sophistication had modified how organizations have approached their relations with various groups. There are 3 major conceptions of that role: 1) To master the publics; to direct what they think and do, according to the desires of the organization involved 2) To block; to react to developments and problems, to respond to events or the initiatives of others by blunting them 3) To achieve mutual adaptation; to develop relations of mutual benefits all parties involved In the present human climate, achieving mutual adaptation, has become the most widely taken course. Fostering the Goodwill Goodwill of: The employees Communities in which the organization has units Stockholders Suppliers Government Rest of the industry 5
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Dealers Customers Supporters
Helps in building Brands Building Brands becomes easy when proper public relations exist. Brand vitality and brand credibility follow. This can be concluded from a national poll of brand managers. The brand managers have given authentication that public relation is the most effectual way to institute brand credibility. Maximum utility can be derived on every marketing rupee spend. More than half the voters i.e., brand managers regard that, PR are more imperatively judged against advertising, sales promotion and new media. PR paves the path for effective communications discipline though the editorial context cannot be put aside. PR is the best way to gather third party endorsements according to brand managers. The survey clearly states that PR is a valued marketing partner in building brand equity. Probably the return earned on the marketing rupee spent makes the brand managers, give more importance to public relations. Prevention and Solution of Labour Problems Public Relations can assist in stabilizing labor conditions through employee relations activities. The use of public relations as a labour stabilizing aid is preventive as well as curative and it’s most beneficial when it is carried on continuously rather than only when strike clouds appear. Overcoming Misconceptions and Prejudices Prejudices that may exist because misinformation has been spread also threaten the success of business. Analysis of the situation, plans for meeting it, and the dissemination of correct information can clear up these difficulties Ability to attract the Best Personnel No organization’s future is any better than the caliber of future executives it is able to attract. Making a company or organization known and respected is necessary to assure its healthful development. Education of the Public to the use of a product When an entirely new service or product is to be promoted, it is necessary to capture the imagination of the public in order to make the item attain steady sales. When a company brings out a new type of product, public relations must support advertising and the sales staff in capturing the public’s imagination. 6
Education of the Public to appoint a view When an organization seeks to win support for its method of operation, its principles, the system that supports it, or any other viewpoint, its most effective means are the channels of teaching the public that are constant being utilized by Public relations people Dealing with Emergencies This has three phases: 1) Monitoring whatever may cause unexpected difficulties for the organization 2) Preparing for meeting the full range of such emergencies 3) Actual handling of matters when there is an emergency Directing the course of change At its best, public relations is a bridge to change. It is a means to adjust to new attitudes that have been caused by change. It is a means of stimulating attitudes in order to create change. It provides judgment creativity and skills in accommodating changing groups to each other. 3. Altering Misconceptions: In India some PR agencies and independent consultants are doing just that. An example of an advertising management would be when pictures of Pepsi bottles with fungus in them were splashed in newspaper, their agency, Perfect Relations launched an intensive media awareness campaign with the misinformation in the media. How did they do this? They highlighted that 40 percent of Pepsi bottled in India was spurious, established that the bottle reproduced in newspapers was not an original one, and then suggested Government needed to take a firm stand on enforcing laws against spurious manufacturers of consumables. What happened in the end was that many illicit plants were raided and closed down, Pepsi emerged as the aggrieved party and the case was diminished. 4. Issues and Perception Management: The Issues Management departments of companies or of consultancies today have become a part of a total system of anticipative Public Relations. A fair amount of research has to be done by the communications department to be able to track issues that could affect companies in the long run. Public Relations have both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include: 1. Credibility: Because PR communications are not perceived in the same light as advertising – that is, the public does not realize the organization either directly or indirectly paid for them – they tend to have more credibility. The fact that the media are not being compensated for providing the information may lead receivers to consider the news more truthful and credible. For example, an article in newspapers or
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magazines discussing the virtues of aspirin may be perceived very much as more credible than an ad for a particular brand of aspirin. 2. Cost: In both absolute and relative terms, the cost of PR is very low, especially when the possible effects are considered. While a firm can employ PR agencies and spend millions of dollars on PR, for smaller companies, this form of communication may be the most affordable alternative available. Avoidance of Clutter: Because they are typically perceived, as news items, PR messages are not subject to the clutter of ads. A story regarding a new product, introduction of break through is treated as a news item and is likely to receive attention. Lead Generation: Information about the technological innovations, medical break-throughs and the like results almost immediately in a multitude of inquiries. These inquiries may give the firm some quality sales lead. Ability to reach specific groups: Because some products appeal to only small market segments, it is not feasible to engage in advertising and / or promotions to reach them. If the firm does not have the financial capabilities, to engage in promotional expenditures, the best way to communicate to these groups is through PR. Image Building: Effective PR helps to develop positive image for the organization. A strong image is insurance against later mis-fortunes. Perhaps, the major disadvantage of PR is the potential for not completing communication process. While PR messages can break through the clutter of commercials, the receiver may not make the connection to the source. Many firms’ PR efforts are never associated with their sponsors in the public mind. PR may also mis-fire through mis management and a lack of co-ordination with the marketing department. When the marketing and PR department operate independently, there is a danger of inconsistence communication, redundancies in efforts and so on. The key to effective PR is to establish a good program, worthy of public interest and manage it properly. To determine if this program is working, the firm must measure the effectiveness of the PR effort. PR AND SIMILAR ACTIVITIES ? PR AND ADVERTISING: Many people consider public relations and advertising as almost synonymous, probably because there is an element of information and persuasion inherent in both. Public Relations ? PR is winning of public acceptance by acceptable performance without any idea of instant tangible gain. Advertising ? Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by any identified sponsor. Although 8
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? PR does, of course, provide support to marketing activities but it has a wider prospective and is broader in scope and vision. ? PR is a management function. ? Every organization has a public perception and consequently public relations. ? PR presents its messages to specialize external audiences and internal publics. ? PR message is largely a matter of credibility.
some advertisements seek to inform an even educate, there is an immediate, commercial goal behind most. ? Advertising is essentially a tool of marketing along with product, price, packaging and place (distribution). ? Advertising is a marketing function. ? Advertising may or may not be used by an organization. ? Advertising is addressed to external audiences, primarily consumers of goods and services. ? Advertising messages are mostly emotive and strident.
? PR is more proactive than ? Advertising involves directly acting advertising. It involves anticipating, upon the briefs or problems presented diagnosing problems and then by the client. providing solutions ? PR AND MARKETING: There are certain areas like publicity, sponsorship, exhibitions, consumer and dealer relations where both the functions of PR and marketing overlap. They do not always talk the same language though both marketing and PR make use of communication to pursue their goals. What really matters in the long run, however, is not whether a particular set of techniques should be labeled PR or marketing but whether they are effective in achieving the desired corporate goal. From a marketing perspective, PR is part of the promotional element in the marketing mix and aid to consumer relations. It is seen as a component in the total marketing communication and is bracketed with advertising and sales promotion. As a support function for marketing, PR operates primarily as a publicity function. PR ? PR is a marketing of an organization ? PR is equally concerned with internal and external groups. ? The audiences of PR include employees, shareholders, neighbors and many others. ? Good PR can pave the way for Marketing ? Marketing is the selling of a tangible service or product through promotion, pricing and distribution. ? Marketing is external in its orientation. ? Customers are the key audiences for marketing. ? Similarly, a successful marketing 9
marketing effort. It is concerned with creating a favorable climate for marketing. It can help maintain good relations with dealers organize product publicity and disseminate information to trade and industry.
campaign and satisfied consumers make good relations with the others easier to develop and maintain.
PR is both a compliment and a corrective to the marketing approach. As a compliment, it provides and techniques with support marketing efforts. The techniques of communication used in PR and available to marketing and can be used in support of product and sales promotion. Introduction of new products and publicity campaigns to put fresh life into the sales of established products are important marketing functions. In these areas, PR can work closely with marketing Indeed, PR and marketing can support and reinforce each other with synergistic force, if planned and coordinated in a total communication strategy.
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PR AND PUBLICITY: Publicity is often confused as an identical activity to PR probably because it is the most visible aspect of PR. Tangible evidence of PR efforts can be seen thorough publicity. A publicist works on only one area of PR-dissemination of information for the media. Publicity consists of obtaining free space or time for news about the organization. Spreading of information in this way can effectively improve PR program. But it is quite possible to have wide, even favorable publicity and still not achieve good public relations. Publicity can sometimes be unfavorable or even controversial. Frequently, its over abundance may cause bad reaction instead of good. Publicity can be measured by the length of space or time obtained in mass media and it is possible to maintain a record through press clipping. But publicity is, in effect, one-way communication. PR, on the other hand, strives to initiate dialogue and feedback. It is a more complex and comprehensive discipline. Unlike advertising the main cost of PR is time. If an advertising campaign is undertaken too early, it will fail to overcome the barriers of prejudice, apathy and ignorance. To create acceptance, interest and impart knowledge, PR should come earlier. While PR begins very early and then proceeds steadily as a constant factor as a part of an organization’s existence, advertising is intensive at the launch and then tapers off in proportion to the product sensibility. PR and Propaganda: Public Relations ? PR is responsible for presenting factual information without comment. Propaganda ? Propaganda seeks to build a favorable public opinion through onesided presentation of facts. The selective and slanted presentation is 10
? The receiver of the information has the freedom to take his own decision. ? The fundamental purpose of PR is to establish mutual understanding. It is based on facts and information. ? Objective: Consent TOOLS OF PUBLIC RELATONS
designed to strengthen particular images by emphasizing only the good points of one position and the bad points of another. ? They resort to deliberate disinformation for building the strongest possible case for their views. ? Propaganda is designed to manipulate the beliefs and attitude of the people through colorful half-truths. ? Objective: to build a sectarian movement.
? PRINT MEDIA
Most of the efforts chapters make in public relations are through forms of print media, primarily newspapers. These are usually the most visible outlets on college campuses, especially school newspapers, and in the local community. 1. PRESS RELEASE
The press release is the most common material provided to media outlets. These documents provide a brief, yet thorough, description of an upcoming activity, whether it is rush or a service project. 2. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS These are very short articles (no more than 75 words) that simply provide the facts of the activity (what it is, where it is located, when it will be, who is sponsoring, etc.). 3. PHOTOGRAPHS There are usually two types of photographs in publicity portrait shots, where people pose for the camera and smile, and candids, where the subjects are doing something. 4. CASES HISTORIES/ STUDIES Case studies which show a good image of the company are shared with the media/ investors, community etc. Books on Making of Asoka, Making of Lagaan,, Amitabh Bacchan- A book by Jaya Bachchan 5. EDITORIALS 11
No money, high credibility, however no control over message. ADVERTORIALS Advertisement + Editorial. Control over message, pay lesser than an advertisement. It is a strategic tool, but should not be used too often. J & J is coming out with Branded Cotton. So they are coming out with advertorials on wound handling. 6. INTERVIEWS/FEATURES
Meeting journalists. Here there is lot of room for different interpretations. More often than not, press releases will not be printed verbatim. Even though your media contact will likely rewrite them, possibly including additional quotes or information they research on their own your press releases should be written well enough. However, there are also times that a press release will encourage a reporter to do more, such as conduct a full interview with chapter members or write a feature article on an upcoming project. While doing sponsorships one should try to brand it with the event simultaneously. 8. BROCHURE A booklet published bye the organization which contains the organisation’s background, its ethics, vision, mission, its past, present and future projects, its USP, etc. 9. POSTER AND CALENDAR Any poster or calendar used to achieve a public relations objective. 10. WRITTEN SPEECH The typewritten or printed text of a speech given to achieve a public relations objective. 11. INTERNAL NEWSLETTERS AND PUBLICATIONS e.g. ICICI has their internal Newsletters, in which information about the company, its profits, employees etc. is given.
? EVENT AND PRESS SUPPORT Special events are acts of news development. The ingredients are time, place, people, activities, drama, showmanship; one special event may have many subsidiary events, such as luncheons, banquets, contests, speeches, and many others as part of the build up. ? LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Submitting these articles does not require a media contact. This also gives an opportunity for any member to submit a letter on their chapter for printing in a local or campus newspaper.
? ANALYSTS BRIEF One tells about the company, what the company is doing. It is done to influence the stock buyers, analysts, employees and media.
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? CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS - Press – Om Kotak doing many seminars. It contacts associations and tells them to give numbers of their members so that they can talk to them. The members are contacted through telephones and asked to attend seminar on General Insurance. In the seminar they talk on General Insurance for 20 minutes and then the next 10 minutes they talk about the company products.
Pharma Companies when they do any research say for example, diabetic research, they would launch the product and before or after the launch they would call doctors for a conference to discuss about the research
? PROMOTIONAL ITEMS
Any gift, premium, novelty or physical token used to convey an impression, make a point, establish an image or achieve a public relations objective.
? CORPORATE ADVERTISING If you believe the image of the company is good i.e. that trustworthy, reliable one then you can use that as a PR tool. ? INTERNET This one medium has helped transform the whole business of marketing and public relations. In a way, it gives any organization the ability to promote themselves without having to rely solely on other media outlets. Websites and e-mail are the two most common methods to use the Internet for PR purposes. ? WEBSITE
A chapter website should not only be designed to serve as a resource for members, but it should also present a positive message to nonmembers just "browsing through.". Brief descriptions of chapter history, past projects and activities, and long-standing relationships with other organizations may give an outsider a positive impression of the fraternity. Like the newsletter, information for members shouldn't just inform, it should also encourage involvement and develop enthusiasm.
Today, this has become the most common method used for communication between fraternity members. It can also be used to promote a chapter to fellow students and others, but it should be used carefully.
? AUDIO AND VISUAL This division includes any audio or audio/visual presentation or program which serves a public relations objective.
1. AUDIO PRESENTATION 13
Any sound-only program, including telephone hot lines and other recorded messages, radio programs, public service announcements and audio news releases. 2. AUDIO/VISUAL PRESENTATION Any internal or external audio-visual presentation using still illustrations, with or without sound, using one or more projectors. 3. FILM OR VIDEO Any film or video which presents information to an organization's internal audiences. 4. VIDEO NEWS RELEASE Any film or video prepared and released to the media as a news item, article or feature story on behalf of a sponsoring organization.
? NEWS AND PUBLICITY
News is something that interests many people today. From the point of view of THE TIMES OF INDIA, that means the national readers of THE TIMES OF INDIA and the metropolis readers of THE BOMBAY TIMES, etc. From the point of view of THE INDIAN EXPRESS, it means all the people interested in hardcore content and no masala. “Every medium has a news standard of its own, and that is the criterion the publicist goes by in attempting to address publicity to the public through that medium.” Ways To Make News ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Tie in with the news events of the day Tie in with another publicity person Form and announce the names of a committee Hold an election Announce an appointment Issue a summary of facts Make a statement on a subject of interest Bring a celebrity from elsewhere
? SPECIAL EVENTS
Special events are acts or news development. The ingredients are time, place, people, activities, drama, and showmanship. One special event may have many subsidiary events, such as
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luncheons, banquets, contests, speeches, and many others, as part of the build-up. The special event is the coup de maitre of publicity, propaganda, and public relations.
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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF A PR AGENCY On the basis of size PR agencies can be classified into: ? Big Agencies ? Medium sized Agencies ? Small Agencies In big agencies the scope for growth is large, whereas in small agencies responsibility may be very high but there is little scope for growth. When the number of clients of a small agency increases it needs to hire new people, and gradually becomes a medium sized organization. Grey Worldwide (India) Pvt. Ltd., has three branch offices situated at Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
N M 2 u m b a i
a t io n HD ee al h d i s 1
a l H
H
e a d g lo r e s H e a d
eB a a d n 2
T e a m
T e a m
T e a m
Each of these teams follows the following hierarchy.
G D A A A S e n i o r A c c c e i r e c c c o c o n c o u u e t u n n r a C n t t l l i e t S M D u a M n a t n S c e n t a a e g e r i n g
r v i c t o r o r
i r e p
r v i s g e
r
c o Ju u n n t i Eo
r x eA c c u c t o i v u e n
TE r x a e i nc eu
et i v e
An Account Director maybe heading 2-3 supervisors depending on the number of total accounts GCI is handling. MAJOR CLIENTS OF GCI OM KOTAK MAHINDRA RUF AND TUF 16
CRY BRITANNIA PUBLIC RELATIONS PROCESS Establishing an public relations program on behalf of a business or industry, or a professional group, involves a series of steps that, although subject to some variation in differing situations, generally will include
Public relations activity has seven steps
Analysis of the situation Definition of problem areas Identification of pertinent publics Establishment of specific objectives Planning of program Implementation of program Periodic evaluations of progress
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ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION:
Analysis of the situation calls for broad study of all aspects of the business that affect the publics. The starting point will be the people in the business or industry (particularly those who are active in the company, such as board members, appropriate committee chairman and members, and so on) who appear to have awareness of the public relations situation. The public relations person will begin by interviewing such people; from them he or she will go to people outside the business but in a position to observe it more closely than the average layman (these may include editors of trade publications, officials of chambers of commerce and better business bureaus, government officials concerned with the regulations of the business or profession – if there are any – and others). Finally, this basic study may approach the general public for additional views. This may be done through an opinion or attitude research study, of market research, conducted by a recognized research firm. Sometimes, this may be done on a more informal basis where the budget will not permit formal research. Such an approach to the general public will be designed to provide a profile of the business as it appears in the public mind.
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DEFINITION OF PROBLEM AREAS:
This will follow naturally from the interviews and research activities. Comparisons among the views of the public, of people in the business, and of those who are close observers of the business may reveal some interesting parallels as well as differences and may indicate some 17
cause and effect relationships. It should be noted, also, that ignorance and misconception will not always or necessarily be found in the public mind. Industry people more often then not will be found to have some misconceptions about the public’s viewpoint, too. In such an event, correction of industry thinking will be called for. Sound public relations may require changing the attitudes of the client (diplomatically, of course) as much as it involves endeavoring to change the attitudes of certain publics. As a matter of fact, although the public relations person is usually hired to change public attitudes, he or she sometimes performs the most important task in changing the attitude of his client or employer. In today’s climate, the role of public relations practitioner is enlarging. He or she should be capable of observing and analyzing the social, economic, and political trends and helping his or her management or clients become aware of their significance to the institution they represent. Through such expanded awareness, the manager or clients come to view their business or institution in a new and different perspective.
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IDENTIFICATION OF PUBLICS: A public is a group of people bound together by a specialized interest with reference to a focal point. Example: Employees in the steel mill may constitute one of the publics of a steel industry association’s public relations effort; dairy farmers may be a special public of the association representing the milk processing industry; automobile dealers a special public of the association representing automobile manufacturers, and so on. Customers of a particular business always are a primary public; for a professional society, the individual members will also be one. Indeed, the association’s members should not be overlooked in any public relations effort; their understanding and support are necessary.
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ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES:
Once the problem areas are defined, long range objectives should be established. Usually, these will be outlines in terms of the respective publics involved. General objectives should be drawn with perspective in order to serve as guides over the long range. If they are drawn only in respect to immediate, short term problems, they will not serve to provide continuity of direction and they will need constant revision. It would be unwise to draw an overall objective in reference to a specific piece of current legislation that is to be opposed or supported, for once the legislature has adjourned, the objective is meaningless. Instead, a long range objective might describe in general terms the nature of legislation that an industry favours, viz:
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“ To support, in the respective states, legislative efforts that will enable our business to serve the public on a competitive basis in accord with the traditions of a free market economy, and to oppose legislation that would deny this opportunity.” Any association public relations program must be flexible; obviously it should be modified as time and circumstances require. But if it is drawn with sufficient perspective, changing day-to18
day and month-to- month problems will be found to fit within the framework of its general objectives. And, of course, short-range objectives will be developed from time to time. In addition, if sound communications networks have been developed to obtain long-range objectives, these networks will facilitate the solution of passing and temporary problems. But common sense demands a long-range plan with specific objectives against which results may be measured.
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PROGRAM PLANNING:
It involves laying out in detail the various activities and communications that will be employed with reference to the key publics that have been pinpointed in the objectives. Let us assume, for example, a situation in which an association of home appliance manufacturers finds that the industry has lost standing in the public mind because a substantial number of consumers are dissatisfied with the repair and maintenance services. The industry association identifies, as one of its publics, the retail appliance dealers who are responsible for servicing. The objective with respect to this public is to indoctrinate the dealers in the necessity for providing quality repair services and to provide information to them on the methods by which high quality servicing may be established. The program plan will outline the activities to be directed toward gaining the support of the dealers for this mutually benefit purpose. It may, for example, call for the preparation of a “code of good service” and of a manual describing the service functions the dealer is expected to perform. Further, this part of the plan may call specifically for a series of dealer meetings in various communities; for special articles to be prepared for trade publications that are circulated among the dealers; for a special periodical to be published by the association especially for the dealer-audience; for paid advertisements in industry publications, addressed to dealers; for the conduct of special training schools for the service people employed by the dealers; or for any combination of these and other techniques, some of which may lie outside the field of public relations must, inevitably, be based on good performance, and it should be noted that all of these measures would be designed to improve performance in repair and maintenance.
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IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM: Involves carrying out these steps. It calls primarily for hard work by the association’s public relations staff or the external counsel. In association work, however, the implementation of a public relations program frequently requires active participation of people in the profession or industry. Indeed, in respect to many objectives, the only path to success is to enroll the people in the business or profession who are located at many points across the country. No association staff, however large, has sufficient people to perform the grass roots indoctrination task all by itself. Frequently, therefore, means will be devised for recruiting people who are working in the business, but who are not themselves public relations people, to assist in the public relations efforts of the association. For any grass-roots efforts by a national, regional, or even a state association, reliance on local representatives of the business, industry, or profession is essential. This Carrying out the 19
program can involve a wide range of functions, always guided by the long-range plan and association’s policies.
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PERIODIC EVALUATION:
Periodic evaluations of progress are necessary. Such evaluations should be made on a continuing basis, of course, by the professional public relations staff or public relations counsel or by the association. Progress reports should be made regularly also to the membership and to interested committees and boards of the association. Though the contribution of the campaign would be difficult to measure we should try to evaluate it with the help of the following 3 most commonly used measures of PR effectiveness. The return on PR investments can be calculated as follows: Total sales increase Estimated sales increase due to PR Contribution margin on product sales Total direct cost of PR programme Contribution margin added by PR investments Return on PR investments Rs…….. Rs…….. Rs…….. Rs…….. Rs…….. …..%
An activity which fails to add value stands to be eliminated in today’s professional world for several decades PR practitioners did not see any need to demonstrate that the PR adds value. “Any publicity is good publicity” was the questionable catch cry of the PR model practiced. The main method of demonstrating results of PR was collecting and presenting the management with piles of press clippings. The different methods of evaluation are: MEASUREMENT BY KILOGRAM Commonly referred to as measurement by kilogram collecting press clippings focuses on quantitative measurement with little attention paid to the quality of media coverage. Press clippings, tapes or transcripts indicate only that reporting occurred in the media. They do not indicate whether target audiences read, saw or heard the information and if they did whether it influenced their attitudes or behavior.
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POSITIVE/ NEGATIVE ANALYSIS
In attempt to provide qualitative assessment of editorial media coverage PR practitioners accepted that negative publicity was unlikely to achieve objectives and began to categorize media coverage in terms of positive, negative or neutral. This was done based on the belief that positive coverage supported clients or employers objectives while neutral coverage at least raised awareness. However this runs into 2 major challenges: 1. It involves a high degree of subjectivity, 2. Sometimes positive articles may appear in media which do not reach the client’s target audience or which while generally positive may not contain the client’s key messages. Also the articles may be positive but not strategically important and thus do not contribute to achieving a client’s objectives. 20
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MEDIA CONTENT ANALYSIS
Media content analysis is a growing area of public relations research for evaluating publicity and offers a more reliable and relevant method of evaluating the effectiveness of media coverage. While systems vary, most rigorous media content analysis systems measure: 1. Total circulation or audience reached; 2. Target audience or market reach/penetration; 3. The extent to which key messages were communicated; 4. Share of voice compared with competitors or others. In simple terms, communication is about getting your key messages to your target audiences – preferably better than competitors do. That is what PR needs to focus on and what PR research should address. BILLING OF A PR AGENCY It is the bread and butter of an agency. PR agencies are doctors and lawyers, professional who diagnose a problem and dispense their skills and expertise on a time cost basis. They charge by the hour or motnthly retainer ship and sall projects or events are then billed at cost or on a total turn-key basis. Case: At Contact corporate communication they prepare a contract based on the needs of the client. Sometimes if the client is not media savvy then the public relations agency provides media counselling to the client. For this they charge an additional amount to the client. The scope of the billing is generally decided before hand. E.g.: The PR agency may charge for the STD, ISD calls, traveling separately if the PR activities are on a broader base. ROLE OF PR TO ESTABLISH AND DEVELOP CORPORATE IMAGE
? CORPORATE IDENTITY
Every individual, every business or nation has an identity. For most of us, as individuals, it emerges naturally. Just as the way we speak, dress, behave, just as much as what we say and do, consciously or unconsciously, expresses what we stand for and believe in as individuals, in the same manner organisations too express themselves in a variety of ways. It accumulates over a period of time and is a sum total of the company's history, philosophy, ethical values, ownership, people, technology and performance. Ideally the corporate identity reflects the inner truth about the organisation. It is the coordinated and consistent projection of everything an organisation stands for. Corporate identity is not reflected merely by visual elements but nevertheless, it is often readily identified through visual signs and symbols. Because, the visual expression tends to encapsulate with imagery what the company holds to be its essential belief and philosophy. As organisations grow large, complex and increasingly impersonal, most of them feel the need to 21
develop a distinctive identity in order to provide them with a competitive edge in the market place. The desire to seek a new identity may arise out of dissatisfaction with the current identity or even an absence of any consciously created identity. Diversification, entry into a new field, mergers and acquisitions, major technological changes can all be reasons for the creation of a new identity. This desire to be different, to stand out from the crowd, is one of the many vital measure to survive and grow in this fiercely competitive world. The need for developing a strong corporate identity has been further felt owing to the weakening of brand loyalty. A considerably shorter life-cycle of an average product in today's market has forced the companies to reposition themselves. If a company has a definite public perception, it is likely that it will also have a definite market slot. A corporate identity is also a method of expressing a body corporate in human terms. In essence, it communicates the style of management and the spirit of the working culture within the organisation. Successful companies like ITC and Tatas have distinctive identities borne out of long and widely-held beliefs and values. But identities require to be relevant to the new business strategies. Identities, therefore, call for constant review. CORPORATE IMAGE Some people seem to get confused between corporate image and corporate identity. Corporate Identity is a matter of physical recognition while Corporate Image is a matter of mental perception. Corporate identity can contribute to corporate image. A corporate image develops out of a company's corporate identity and, as a result of people's knowledge and experience of the company. The organisation can seek to influence this image, it cannot control it. Vic Markham describes corporate image in these words: "Everything we buy helps us express our personalities; helps us to say to the world around us: 'This is the kind of person I would like you to think I am.' We buy products to assist us in this projection of our personalities. In effect, we see the mirror image of ourselves in the product we buy. Image is a reflection of that personality. Corporate bodies project recognisable personalities and people choose between competing brands very largely because the brand reflects their own personalities. Corporate identity, on the other hand, is how one identifies ourself: on one's advertising, on the packaging, on the van sides so that a symbol or logo can be a part of the corporate identity." To sum up therefore, corporate image is what people think about an organisation and corporate identity is how people identify an organisation. An organisation will have a corporate image whether or not it has made conscious efforts to manage a corporate identity. Since the image is going to be present anyway, it is now universally accepted that organisations should make an effort towards the development of a favourable image through the projection of the chosen corporate identity. Creating the desired corporate image is not just a matter of giving a face-lift to the company's otherwise sagging identity. It is a matter of firm commitment to a corporate life-style and culture in policy and action. The organisation has to address itself to a variety of publics. Quite often, they have mutually conflicting expectations of the organisation and as a result, they may interpret the message from their particular point of interest. The corporate image, therefore, has 22
to be consistent among all its operation and all its audiences. Hence, the management of corporate image has to be a constant and all-encompassing process. CORPORATE COMMUNICATON “Corporate communication is the process that makes the corporate identity visible in concrete terms.” But corporate communication is not an option. It is happening to all companies all the time, sometimes haphazardly and often without real planning. It has also been described as a process that translates corporate identity into corporate image. The role of communication is crucial in the entire process because without communication the values and strategies of an organisation will never be understood properly. Corporate communication includes virtually the entire range of its interaction with the society; from the way telephone calls are answered to the way video films are made. “Corporate communication cannot overnight turn a poor company into a successful one.” It can only ensure that it conveys a consistent and credible message of what the company is, what it does and how it does it by trying to synthesize the messages it transmits. The visual projection in corporate identity is derived from the fact that it not only helps internal cohesion but it plays a large part in showing to the outside world what the company is like and how it can be expected to behave. Indeed a distinctive visual communication programme is one of the most prominent and marketable corporate assets; without it, ready acceptance of even the most superlative product may be difficult. It can provide a focus for a consistent message to all the external publics. Institutional Advertising or Corporate Advertising The main aim is to build a positive image for the firm in the eyes in internal and external public in institutional advertising. It does not attempt to sell anything directly. However, it does a lot of good to the organization as a whole. It forcefully tells how the organisation is a socially responsible institution. It also tells about the nationalistic learning’s of the organization. It shows how its actions are consistent with overall national objectives like environmental protection, employment generation, literacy, loss prevention, health for all etc. It is integrated to public relations function of the organisation. Institutional advertisements may be addressed either to consumers or other groups like government, suppliers, financial institutions etc. Effective institutional advertising evokes a positive response amongst the target group and creates goodwill. Institutional advertising may introduce products indirectly or may introduce the sales people indirectly. Glaxo’s advertising on child health may make doctors favourably inclined to meet its medical representatives. Institutional advertising like product advertising can be in formative, persuasive or reminderoriented. It's objectives is of institutional/corporate advertising are: To make the company known. 23
To make its products/services known. To make its achievements known To make its values known. To make socio-political/economic/moral statements
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