2. According to Indian Institute of
Public Relations, ”Public relations
practice is the planned and sustained
effort to establish and maintain
goodwill and mutual understanding
between an organization and its
public”.
3. According to Public Relations Society
of America(PRSA), “Public Relations(PR)
help an organization and its publics relate
to each other to the benefit of both”.
4. The characteristics of Public Relations are:
Relatively Low Cost: The major advantages of public relations
is that it tends to be much cheaper, in terms of cost per person
reached, than any other type of promotion.
Can be Targeted: Public relations activities can be targeted to
a small specialized audience if the right media vehicle is used.
5. Credibility: The results of PR activity often have a high degree
of credibility, compared with other promotional source such as
advertising. This is because the audience may regard such a
message as coming from an apparently impartial and non-
commercial source.
Relatively Uncontrollable: A company can exercise little direct
control over how its public relations activity is subsequently
handled and interpreted. If successful, a press release may be
printed in full, although there can be no control over where or
when it is printed.
Saturation of Effort: The fact that many organizations
complete for finite amount of media attention puts on public
relations effort to be better than that of companies.
6. Building Product Awareness: When introducing a new
product or re-launching an existing product, marketers can use
a PR elements that generates consumer attention and
awareness through media placement and special events.
Creating Interest: Whether a PR placement is a short
product article or included with other products in “round-up”
articles, stories in the media can help to entice a targeted
audience to try the product.
7. Providing Information: PR can be used to provide customers
with ,more in depth information about products and services. Through
articles, collateral materials, newsletters, and websites, PR delivers
information to customers that can help them to gain understanding of
the product.
Stimulating Demand: A positive article in a newspaper, on a T.V.
news show or mentioned on the Internet, often results in a
discernable increase in product sales.
Reinforcing the Brand: In many companies the public relations
function is also involved with brand reinforcement by maintaining
positive relationship with key audiences, and thereby aiding in
building a strong image. Today it is ever more important for
companies and brands to build a good image. A strong image helps
the company to build its business and it can help the company in
times of crises as well.