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Public Relations is closely related to advertising, but its main focus is promoting and gaining public acceptance for a company’s products or services, as opposed to selling them. The goal of advertising is the generation of sales, while the goal of public relations is the generation of goodwill. Large organisations have budgets to hire Public Relations specialists, while smaller businesses might elect to handle their PR activities themselves. Whichever the approach, the essential attributes are the same. Effective PR campaigns require knowledge based on analysis and understanding. It is this that will positively influence public attitudes towards the organisation, large or small.
While a specific Public Relations project or campaign may be undertaken proactively or reactively to manage an image crisis, the first basic step, in either case, involves analysis and research to identify all relevant factors. The organisation should use its knowledge of the target audiences and its own established policies to develop specific programmes that will achieve the desired objectives. PR is considered to be an effective way to present information about the company or brand as news. Marketing objectives should lead to a comprehensive PR campaign that is crafted to foster these goals.
“Vision without action is only dreaming, action without vision is only passing time, but vision with action can change the world.” Nelson Mandela
An effective PR campaign can be defined as one that uses the minimum amount of effort to achieve the maximum amount of impact. To attain this, clever planning is required. This planning needs to take into consideration the external factors, the ability to reach the end goal and the resources to be used. All of these components should be addressed in the early stages of campaign planning, as they will heavily influence its success. An effective PR plan should support the company’s brand image, establish the set objectives and frame the message.
Key elements to be considered while preparing the plan:
PR campaigns are a significant part of marketing strategy. They require detailed planning and thorough management. Step-by-step actions should be taken to achieve a campaign’s set objectives. Building an effective Public Relations campaign starts with truthful messaging that ends with a lasting impact on your audience.