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Introduction to Business 2e

12.9 Public Relations Helps Build Goodwill

Introduction to Business 2e12.9 Public Relations Helps Build Goodwill

12.9 Public Relations Helps Build Goodwill

  1. How does public relations fit into the promotional mix?

Like sales promotion, public relations can be a vital part of the promotional mix. Public relations is any communication or activity designed to win goodwill or prestige for a company or person. This could include publicity, information about a company or product that appears in the news media and is not directly paid for by the company. Publicity can be good or bad. Reports of financial scandal in a nonprofit organization is an example of negative publicity. Public relations includes many other activities, such as lobbying, event planning, managing social media presence, acting as representative speaker for the organization, managing internal communication, and coordinating crisis management for communications.

Naturally, firms’ public relations departments try to create as much good publicity as possible. They furnish company speakers for business and civic clubs, write speeches for corporate officers, and encourage employees to take active roles in such civic groups as the United Way and the Chamber of Commerce. One of the tools of the public relations department is the press release, a formal announcement of some newsworthy event connected with the company, such as the start of a new program, the introduction of a new product, or the opening of a new plant. Public relations departments may perform any or all of the functions described in Table 12.3.

The Functions of a Public Relations Department
Public Relations Function Description
Press relations Placing positive, newsworthy information in the news media to attract attention to a product, a service, or a person associated with the firm or institution
Product publicity Publicizing specific products or services
Corporate communications Creating internal and external messages to promote a positive image of the firm or institution
Public affairs Building and maintaining national or local community relations
Lobbying Influencing legislators and government officials to promote or defeat legislation and regulation
Employee and investor relations Maintaining positive relationships with employees, shareholders, and others in the financial community
Crisis management Responding to unfavorable publicity or a negative event
Table 12.3

Much of sales promotion and publicity is about creating buzz. Buzz marketing (or viral marketing) is elevated word-of-mouth marketing. Word-of-mouth can be a snowball process where information is quickly disseminated through various channels. And this has become even more the case with social media. This can apply to both positive and negative messages. Often the marketer does not have a good deal of control over the buzz. When it works well, marketers feel they get more from viral marketing than other forms of promotion.

Concept Check

  1. How does public relations differ from advertising?
  2. Describe several types of publicity.
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