Public Relations for Marketing - Essay Example

Estanyol defines public relations as a distinctive managerial function responsible for maintaining and establishing cooperation, understanding, and acceptance between the public and the organization under consideration. Estanyol (2012) further goes on to denote that this understanding, cooperation and acceptance is established through creation of a mutual communication line between the organization and all the stakeholders of the company. Wilcox and Cameron (2012) goes on to denote that public relations involves managing the various issues and problems of the organization, helps the organization to be informed of the public opinion towards its products and services. Public relations are also responsible for defining and emphasizing on the responsibility of the management of an organization to serve the interests of its customers. Wilcox and Cameron (2012) further goes on to denote that public relations acts as an early warning system, for purposes of anticipating future trends in regard to the behavior of customers and that of an organizations employees. On this basis, through research, an organization will be able to develop policies that will help it mitigate on any negative trend that might affect the company. Based on this understanding of public relations, this paper takes a stand that public relations is a promotional element of marketing. The concept of public relations can be traced to the two world wars, whereby the Germans, the British, and the United States used propaganda for the purpose of rallying domestic support during the world wars, and demonizing their enemies (Mckie and Willis, 2012). After the world wars, there was the emergence of complex commercial publicity activities by private organizations, in their bid to look for the market of their products, and be market leaders in the various services that these organizations produce and offer (Giannini, 2010). This concept of Public Relations therefore began with companies operating in United States, and they later spread to the subsidiaries of these companies in Europe. The periods of the 1950s is considered as the professional development era of Public Relations. This is because the principles of Public Relations were developed by academic institutions and professional bodies. During this period of time, the main channels and tools of public relations were press releases, PR magazines, television networks, and radio stations. During the period of 2000s, companies began using the internet and the social media as an avenue of communicating the various issues of their concern (Giannini, 2010). This was made possible because of the emergence of new technologies, in information science. It is important to understand that investing in PR is important for the organization because it will help it to achieve its objectives in an effective manner. Public Relations does not involve the creation of a positive image for a company whose products are of low quality, and comprises of a bad team (Giannini, 2010). This is because it is difficult for a company to sustain a false image for a longer period of time. On this basis, PR plays a role in motivating and attracting the public towards purchasing the products or services of the organization under consideration. A company that manages to effectively utilize its PR strategy will play a great role building a positive brand name for the organization. This will most definitely result into an increase into the market share of the organization under consideration. It is also important to understand that when an organization is facing a crisis, an effective PR can help it to remove any misunderstandings that the public might have had on the organization. On this basis, the following are the functions of public relations (Giannini, 2010), Establishing an association between the public and the company. Creating goodwill for the company’s products and services. Aligns the policy of the organization, with the interest of the public, and develops a mechanism of executing the policy under consideration. Huertas (2008) denotes that public relations and marketing are interrelated, and each needs one another. According to the perspective of these scholars, marketing involves initiating a set of procedures and activities aimed at supporting the sales of an organizations services and products. It is therefore important to understand that marketing is responsible for attracting customers to the scarce resources that an organization has, and produces. This is through getting the attention of customers. Marketing involves carrying out a research, initiating a purchase and post-purchase strategies, for purposes of ensuring that the customers under consideration will be loyal to the company (Lieber, 2008). It is important to denote that the traditional methods of carrying out a market research included the use of the television, the radio and the print media. This has therefore helped in the evolution of Public Relation, and this is because companies normally use these channels for purposes of communicating various issues that affect the company (Huertas, 2008). This is Public Relations. On this basis, business organizations normally integrate the concepts of public relations into the overall communications and marketing plan. On this basis, Public Relations is responsible for developing the message of an organization, and dispersing the message to the relevant stakeholders of the business organization. These stakeholders include prospective investors, employees, suppliers, the media, and most important the target customers of the organization. In as much as there is a wide acceptance that Public Relations is responsible for supplementing the marketing practices of an organization, Huertas (2008) further denotes that the aims and objectives of Public Relations are different from the aims and objectives of marketing. In the perspective of Huertas (2008), the main aim and objective of marketing is to create and supply a service or product that will satisfy the various needs of an organizations target market. On this basis, the four major elements of marketing are, price, product, place and promotion, normally abbreviated as the 4Ps of marketing. Price involves the amount of money an organization charges for the use of its products, while product involves the research and the development of the service or product under consideration by the company (Lieber, 2008). Promotion involves the various methods that an organization uses to create an awareness of its products. Under promotion is where public relations fall in. This is because one of the major aims of public relations is to create an awareness of the organizations activities and issues that face it. Place on the other refers to the physical locations that an organization uses to distribute its products/ services (Ristino, 1989). This scholar further goes on to denote that PR is responsible for creating a relationship with all the stakeholders of an organization. It does not only target customers, but it also targets investors, employees, government officials, the public, and the media. On this basis, PR is responsible for the creation of the overall image of the company, and it is a concept that is bigger than marketing. Huertas (2008) further goes on to denote that marketing cannot be successful without an effective PR strategy. There are three major methods that an organization can use in developing an effective PR strategy. This methods are, audience targeting, social media marketing, and messaging (Moss, Powell and DeSanto, 2010). Audience targeting is develop from the principles contained in the stakeholder’s theory of public relations. This theory identifies the various stakeholders of an organization, and the roles they play in ensuring that the organization under consideration fulfills all its objectives. It is important to understand that one of the major techniques employed by an organization in PR is to identify an audience that the information targets (Huertas, 2008). This will help an organization to build and develop relevant information, and thereafter target the information under consideration to the appropriate audience. Take for example, when Apples is introducing a new t5echnological gadget into the market. The company might call for a press briefing, for purposes of explaining how the gadget works, and how the gadget will help in solving the various needs of customers (Moss, Powell and DeSanto, 2010). At this point, the target audience is the wider population who are able to access the television and the media networks. On this note, they are the potential customers of the organization. This can also be part of marketing, because Apples will introduce a new product into the market, and on this not, the PR strategy under consideration is aimed at making its potential customers to know of the existence of this product (Huertas, 2008). It is important to understand that in other times, the interests of an audience are always different. On this basis, an organization will be forced to create different messages for purposes of satisfying the various interests under consideration. On this basis, the stakeholder’s theory helps an organization to identify the various stakeholders of the organization, and the interests that they have towards the organization. Theaker (2012) denote that audiences that an organization targets are the stakeholders, he is also is quick to point that all the stakeholders of an organization are not audiences. On this basis, Theaker (2012) implies that an organization does not have to build a PR message to every stakeholder of the organization. The message has to target stakeholders who play a vital role to the organizations ability to fulfill its objectives and aims. Theaker (2012) gives an example of a charity organization that hires a public relations firm in order to develop an advertising firm aimed at raising money to help in funding research for a cure of a particular disease. From this example, the scholar denotes that the charity organization and the sick people with the disease are the organizations stakeholders; however, the audience is any person willing to donate money to the organization. On this basis, a PR message will be developed for purposes of communicating this information to the audience under consideration (Theaker, 2012). Messaging is also another PR method/ strategy that an organization can use. Messaging is a process that aims at creating constant information around a company, a person, or a product. The major aim of this strategy is to protect the audience of a message from receiving contradictory messages which may create a doubt on the quality of the organization products, services, and its employees (Theaker, 2012). It is important to denote that organizations normally have a mission statement, which is consistent throughout the year. This information is shared across the different channels of distributing information. For instance, one of the constant messages that Apples normally communicates while advertising its products is that the company aims at creating computer products that are of high technological value and user friendly (Theaker, 2012). On the other hand, the consistent message that Microsoft communicates to its audiences is that it aims at creating a technology that is accessible to all people, irrespective of age, gender, or race. Nike also has a constant message that it normally communicates to its audiences, and this message is that the aims of the company is to bring innovation and inspiration to every athlete. It is important to denote that in as much as this is a PR strategy, the company also aims at marketing its products, through the use of these messages (Moss, Powell and DeSanto, 2010). Stakeholders of an organization will always judge the products of the company based on this messaging system, and therefore help in creating a brand image for the company (Lieber, 2008). This will in turn create a positive image for the company, leading to an increase in the market share of the organization under consideration. Take for instance Apples, with its consistent messaging structure, that is creating a technology that is easy to use and of value. Due to this message, employees of an organization are highly motivated, and innovative for purposes of developing this kind of technology. This has made Apples to be a leading information technological organization in the world. Social media marketing is a channel upon which an organization can use to communicate its PR information to the target audience. This involves the use of internet tools such as web 2.0, blogging, face book, twitter, search engines, etc (Huertas, 2008). It is important to understand that the evolution of interactive PR makes it possible for organizations and companies to disseminate information without relying on mainstream media. This strategy helps the organization to communicate directly with customers, and it target audience. It is an efficient method of communication, since it is interactive in nature, and the organization has the capability of knowing the various needs of customers through the feedback that they provide (Moss, Powell and DeSanto, 2010). It is important to understand that social media hasn’t replaced the traditional methods of communication, which involved the use of the print media, radios, and televisions. The organization will only use the social media to supplement these channels of communications. Companies such as Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have used the social media as a marketing and PR strategy (Huertas, 2008). In conclusion, Public Relations play an important role in the marketing of an organizations product. The five major roles of public relation can also qualify as aspects of marketing. These roles include publicity, dissemination of information, promotion of the organizations products, raising awareness to certain issues, solving difficult issues that the organization faces. Under publicity, an organization will aim at communicating the various activities to its stakeholders on a constant basis. For example, under marketing, the audience of a company will be customers. An organization might aim at providing information on a constant basis that touches on the quality of its products. This was one of the strategies employed by Steve Jobs, when he was at the helm of Apples. Publicity goes hand in hand with dissemination of information, which is always one of the major objectives of public relations. Customers usually prefer to make choices based on the information they have concerning a product. This information might emanate from the company, or even the media itself. Without having a proper procedure of disseminating information, chances are high that the organization might fail to make sales. Public relations also aim at promoting the products of the organization, and this is by communicating the quality of these products, and identifying the various needs of customers and developing their products to satisfy those needs. This is an aspect of marketing, and on this basis, it is prudent to denote that public relations plays a significant role in the marketing of an organizations products. Bibliography: Estanyol, E. (2012). Marketing, public relations, and how Web 2.0 is changing their relationship: A qualitative assessment of PR consultancies operating in Spain. Public Relations Review, 38(5), 831-837. Giannini, G. T. (2010). Marketing public relations: a marketers approach to public relations and social media. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Huertas, A. (2008). 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