Different types of PR Public Relations in practice

Corporate PR • An industrial polluter wants to convince us that its is doing something for the benefit of the environment • Building the organization’s positive image in the public’s mind • Countering bad PR initiated by its rivals, etc

Government PR • A Government department wants citizens to make better use of its services • Garnering positive public support for the new budget • Or any other new policy that affects the common man

NGO PR • A health organization wants to break down the stigma attached to mental illness; • Garnering positive public support for its causes • NGOs have varied roles and in each capacity they need public support to carry forward their causes

The Public Relations Industry • The public relations practitioner today goes by many names – PR Counselors, account executives, information officers, publicity directors, etc. • They are nearly everywhere – in the private sector in business, in industry, social welfare organizations, labor unions etc. • PR organizations take many forms

The Independent PR Counselor or Agency • Operates much like an advertising agency or a law firm • It takes on clients and represents them by conducting public relation activities on their behalf • The client maybe an individual or a large company • The client wants an experienced firm with special services

Public relations departments of businesses or industries • These departments act as part of the overall management team • Attempt to interpret the firm to the public • And internal constituents • Provide channels of feedback from the public to the management • Expected to contribute to the firm’s profits by helping it achieve its overall business goals

PR Departments of nonprofit/educational institutions • Usually involve a range of internal and external activities from publications to fund drives

Government & public sector public relations • In government, the terms public information and public affairs are most often used to describe activity that communicates the purposes and work of an agency to the general public or to the users of the agency’s services • For example, welfare recipients need to know about the policies of the state welfare department and taxpayers need to know how their money is being spent.

Political consultants and other PR specialists • There are many types of PR practitioners, from political consultants who work exclusively on election campaigns to information specialists who are experts in both communications and a field such as health, transportation, or insurance.

Communication Policy Consultants • Is the consultant who formulates plans and suggests courses of action to public and private institutions that want to develop a policy on the use of information resources. They may want to affect the policies of the Congress or the Government Communications commission or to develop an early warning system to asses and trace the impact of a particular issue or program on their corporation

• This new area of PR has expanded considerably in the 1980 s. Indeed, to cover some of the implications of this field, Business Week established an information management section

Communication specialists in technical areas • There are television consulting firms that work with corporate clients to help company officials better understand work with television; there is special training for company presidents who will be spokespersons, and a placement service that gets them on the air in various cities.

• Technical specialists also include graphics practitioners who provide full service publication assistance, producing materials that send clear messages and fit into an organization’s overall PR plan