Comments on: The”P” in PR

By: Walter

Walter — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:07:24 +0000

A great post and one which illustrates a fundamental tenet of PR which tends to get lost. Paying attention to one’s stakeholders and communicating to them on a regular basis is just as important – if not more so – than pitching a big story to the media. Another important role which is oft neglected is that of internal communications. After all, employees of an organisation are the best brand ambassadors that one can find.

By: Karen Pierce Gonzalez

Karen Pierce Gonzalez — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 01:05:36 +0000

Very well said! I appreciated your perspective. Too often we (specialists and clients alike) forget that media is one of the vehicles (not the end itself) that can be utilized to frame or re-frame a message for public consumption. Important, yes, but certainly media is not all there is to PR.
However, while keeping the “public” in public relations alive and as comprehensive as possible, it is important for public relations professionals to view the media as they do other “publics”, especially if they want to be successful. As a journalist, I came into contact with many pr specialists who actually gave their clients a bad name because they were soooooo pushy and demanding.
I think the bottom line here is that PR is about “good, clear communications” with all of the targeted audiences. And that takes resourcefulness, creativity, and insight.

By: Jeremy Pepper

Jeremy Pepper — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:21:52 +0000

Thanks for the kind words on my writing and blog. I try to add value to the conversations out there, so thanks for noticing.

The fun stuff of the old posts is that I see my POV had not changed that much!

By: Public Relations - it’s all in the name « Heather Yaxley - Greenbanana views of public relations and more

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:06:06 +0000

[...] 12 2007 Good to read justification of “publics” in the Priscilla’s World post The”P” in PR. As she states, our function is not simply press relations – or media relations if we wish to [...]

By: Heather Yaxley

Heather Yaxley — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:55:38 +0000

Thanks for this great justification of publics (and the link to my own thoughts). I’d just like to say that publics should go further than simply identifying stakeholder groups, which is what the PRCA definition tends to list. As such these are largely seen from the perspective of the organisation – but what is really interesting is the concept of publics in relation to an issue or problem. As such, those people can be clearly seen as active rather than passive (even if this is only to the extent of processing or seeking information). Once we recognise that we need to build and maintain relations (the R word) with such publics, then we can truly move beyond thinking just of static media coverage into resolving problems that present threats or opportunities to those with whom we work.