‘Public relations’ is an often misused term. As a rule of thumb it is the practice of managing communication between an organisation and its audiences. As opposed to marketing activities such as direct mail, web development, e-newletters, advertising and telemarketing, PR activities focus on media relations, stakeholder relations, networking functions, social media, VIP events, and tradeshows.
 

Public relations practitioners carry out two roles; as a technician and also as a problem solver. Technicians provide services such as research and copywriting newsletters, preparing media releases and devising electronic direct mail pieces. PR problem solvers define and cultivate how a brand or a company is perceived by the market. Using mediums such as e-newsletters the practitioner realigns the perception of the brand with the company’s desired values.

 

PR is a multi-faceted discipline and each activity in the armoury has a number of associated activities. For example, if you were thinking about issuing a media release, the first step is to decide what information you have that would be worthy of media attention. This could be news of a new product or service, award recognition by an industry body, or the announcement of a new employee or joint venture. The PR specialist will research the intended audience, existing perception of the brand, and any current public relations initiatives. At this stage a media list will be developed that includes all the relevant audiences that the organisation wants to reach with this piece of information. Next the media release is drafted and working together with you, changes and edits are made until the release is finalised. Once everyone has signed off on the release and it has been thoroughly edited and proof-read, it is distributed to the list of contacts. 

A key feature of working with a PR specialist is the process of following up the release to determine who is interested in it or who needs more information. Clipping relevant media mentions (online, print and broadcast) and reporting back to you with an analysis and the value of published pieces of work can demonstrate how successful the campaign was for their business.

 

Here at Zadro Communications, public relations are a major part of our every day. We have devised a transparent and effective process to ensure that our clients maintain the best possible relationships with their audiences.