Defining Public Relations
There is no universally accepted definition of what public relations is or what those working in the field do. However, you should know that PR always includes a practitioner, a client, and at least one target audience. It requires research, objectives, campaign strategies (action and communication), tactics, and evaluation.
The Importance of Research
PR campaigns based solely on guess-work are destined to fail. Any good public relations practitioner begins a campaign with thorough research, answering questions like: What does the client want? What resources are available? What are the demographics and attitudes of the target audience? Are there any legal or cultural restrictions to keep in mind? Regardless of what research methods are chosen, any competent practitioner should be able to guarantee that the research is both reliable and valid.
Crafting Effective Strategies
In a campaign strategy, one has to know where their audience is and how to reach out to them. The choice of messaging and media should be based on a model that predicts audience reaction. Action strategy helps the practitioner advise their client, while communication strategy informs the choice of images, themes, or information to be directed at the audience.
Implementing Tactical Decisions
Tactics are the nuts and bolts of a PR campaign. Tactical decisions include the selection of advertising, mediated publicity, or direct publicity. The format of communication, the language of a release, and the specific contents of special events are all components of a campaign.
The Importance of Evaluation
Evaluation is the single most important part of it all. Based on research, evaluation guides the process of campaign modification and provides a valid measure of campaign success or failure. To be useful, the evaluation must reliably and validly measure whether the campaign actually met its stated objective.
Cultural Sensitivity in PR
When judging whether their research, objectives, strategies, tactics, and evaluation are adequate, practitioners must consider not only their culture, but also the cultures of their clients and the audience, being aware of their customs and norms while also trying to prevent any possible slights of prejudice.
Ahmed Malik is Account Executive at Cicero & Bernay Public Relations, an independent PR agency headquartered in Dubai offering new-age public relations consultancy to the UAE and across the MENA region. | www.cbpr.me