PUBLIC RELATIONS PROCESS Public Relations Process is the act that outlines the various steps to be undertaken before

implementing any program or events to ensure the success of a program, while public interests (internal and external) are not affected (Newsom and Turk, 2004)

Public Relations (P.R) This is a management activity that attempts to shape the attitudes and opinions held by an organisations stakeholders. P.R is an important tool which can be used to reach specific audiences in a way that the paid media can not. P.R engines work by spreading information and improving the levels of knowledge that people held about particular issues pertaining to the organisation in question thereby advancing its self in the eyes of those it sees as influential to is companys activities. Stakeholders usually targeted by P.R are employees, shareholders, suppliers, financial groups, media, community , government and local authorities. Public Relations methods and techniques (P.R) PR employees various communication activities namely: Publicity Refers to relationships between an organisations Public Relations/Communications Manager and the editor /journalist associated with both the press and broadcast media. Press Releases - A written report concerning a change in the organisation which is sent to various media houses for inclusion in an item of news. Statements usually highlight developments like promotions, new products, awards, prizes, new contracts and customers. Statements made are usually short in style and attractive so as to grab attention. Press Conferences - Usually used by organisations or individuals when a major event has occurred e.g. crises like the collapse of Northern Rock Bank, mergers, appeals, political announcements etc. Press kits or information packs are usually handed out at these events. Interviews - Usually done with the organisations representatives, with the aim of conveying news/events. Corporate articles, speeches/letters to editors and photographs or captions are usually used. Events Organisations usually have limited control here. 3 major types of events exist namely: Product Events - are aimed at increasing sales e.g. celebrity book signing, opening of new stores etc aimed at creating awareness and interest in products being provided. Corporate Events These events are aimed at developing corporate bodies and usually generate a lot of local media coverage. These events facilitate awareness, goodwill and interest e.g. open days and factory/warehouse visits. Community Events These help and contribute to local communities. They facilitate sponsorship of local causes e.g. disability play grounds/centres, childrens playgrounds etc and they contribute to the local community by being good employers and goodwill and awareness in the community.
THE FOUR STEP PUBLIC RELATION PROCESS

Step 1) Defining the problem or opportunity

Actions/activities Research Research is the systematic collection and interpretation to increase understanding or Research also can be defined as the controlled, objective, and systematic gathering of information for the purpose of describing and understanding (Newsom and Turk, 2004). Research Methods i) Formal Research Method (Quantitative research) E.g. telephone polls, mail surveys, mall intercept study, face to face interview study, share cost or omnibus studies, panel studies. ii) Informal Research Method (Qualitative research) E.g. library research, on-line databases, content analysis, interviewing, focus group interview. The importance of Public Relations Research - Vital to get an accurate message across at the right place to the right audience at the right time. Increase fragmentation of audiences into groups that have specific interest and concern. to improve top management relationship with the external public research helps PR practitioners come out with accurate information In order to carry out PR projects, possession of facts is very important Research helps in proper planning with a starting point. PR practitioners able to gather all the relevant data or information for organizations records. Research helps long term planning to improve current situation as well as for the future Research prevents us from wasting money, time, and effort in implementing any program that are not properly planned.

Categories of Public Relations Research environmental monitoring program PR Audits Communication audits Social audits Evaluations research Gate keeping research

Overall, research is undertaken to find answers to these questions : a) What are the specific complaints, problems and issue? b) How many complaints, problem and issue received or involved? c) How serious are these complaints, problem and issue? 2) Planning and programming Planning is the purpose of making something to happen or prevent it. The Importance of Planning 1. to estimate the working hours and costs involved 2. to set targets for PR overall operations 3. to select priorities which will control the number and timing of different operations in the program 4. to decide the feasibility of carrying out the declared objectives

How Planning and Programming can be carried out? - define the problem - identify objectives - identify audience or public - media selection - budget - schedule - evaluation 3) Communication and taking action Communication is most visible part of public relations function. The goals of communication are: a) to inform b) to persuade c) to motivate d) achieve mutual understanding Communication is the science and practice of transmitting information to disseminate or exchange information, signals or messages in any way. The channels can be public (mass media) or private (face to face) by which messages travel through media (Newsom and Turk, 2004) Action is the process of doing or acting on something. Channel of communication is the mean by which messages are disseminate from one individual to another. It can be divided into two categories: a) electronic media b) printed media Process of Communication There are five basic element:

a) sender/source (encoder) b) message c) channel d) receiver (decoder) e) Feedback (when there is a 2 way comm.) Barriers To Effective Communication a) filtering manipulation of information b) selective perception c) emotions d) language e) differences in perception f) difference in semantics g) difference in status h) differences in organizations climate i) business jargon j) differences in preconceived judgment or opinion 4) Evaluation Evaluation is the process which involves assessing the preparation, implementation and results of a public relations program (Newsom and Turk, 2004). - Adjustment can also be made during implementation and base on evaluation feedback whether to continue or stop the program (Newsom and Turk, 2004). Prerequisite for Evaluation a) PR personnel and management should agree on the criteria to be evaluated in order to attain the objectives b) Do not wait until the end of the program to determine how it will be evaluated Purpose of Evaluation/Importance - determine whether accomplishment of organizations goal has modified or changed the overall objective - the systematic way to do assessment of program and its result - determine problem in progress and improved - better job done in future and proper planning on similar program Methods of Assessment - publicity - opinion - unobtrusive indicators - interviews/questionnaires - news monitoring