he History of Public Relations. Please respond to the following: Ivy Ledbetter L

Question

he History of Public Relations. Please respond to the following: Ivy Ledbetter Lee believed public relations should focus on providing honest and accurate information to the public. Using the company or celebrity you researched for the third e-Activity, list and explain in detail at least two factors that contributed to why you think the company or celebrity was successful or unsuccessful in following Lee’s formula. Public relations came of age due to five general factors in our society. Choose one of these factors (listed below) and explain in detail how it contributed to the development of public relations as we know it today. The growth of large institutions Heightened public awareness and media sophistication Increasing incidence of societal change, conflict, and confrontation Growing power of globalization Dominance of the Internet and growth of social media

Explanation / Answer

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. Also, I have not answered the first half of the question (from - the history of PR ...to - in following Lee’s formula). The first part of the question is clearly about a previous answer from your “e-activity”. Since you haven’t mentioned the individual or company you had picked, I cannot answer that part. I have provided a response to the second part of the question.

(Answer) Public relations used to be a way in which a company or a celebrated individual would formally connect with a general audience or shareholders. This communication was mainly an arsenal to be used at the time of a disaster. If an airline had a small mishap while landing, it would be PR that came to the rescue. The company would use PR to communicate strategically to the consumers. This formal communication would be well planned. PR would help draft apologies, organise press releases and even help implement solutions that would please customers. The case was similar with celebrities who were caught up in scandals and had a public image to maintain.

Although, with enhanced media reporting and better public awareness, PR teams would always have to be on their toes. This had turned PR from a disaster management tool into a public image maintenance tool. After such changes in dynamics, PR came of age with the “Five P’s of Marketing”

These five P’s were product, price, promotion, and place. Furthermore, ‘promotion’ consisted of the fifth element which was the “integrated marketing communication.” Integrated Marketing Communication consisted of - mass media, direct promotion, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations.

Public Relations became an integral part of the functioning of an organisation when it became a part of the marketing mix itself.

PR as part of IMC: When one considers marketing in the most basic terms, it would immediately entail buying and selling. Products, services, public images etc can easily be packaged and sold to a consumer market that is willing to purchase. Therefore, the communication that would help with marketing is usually promotion, sales promotion, personal sales and even the medium used for communication eg. TV, newspaper, social media etc.

All of these elements of marketing communication need to be continuously sharpened, calibrated and even filtered through Public Relations. We live in a time where PR is, and always be a constant battle. An organisation or entity constantly needs to bear a good image. PR is basically a company or person being constantly tutored in how to conduct themselves to the consumer. Since image sells, PR has become a pivotal part of the proper functioning of an organisation.

(Ref: PR Comes of Age by David Robinson, University of California)

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