THINKing

What Is PR?

Too many people say PR when they mean media relations. PR is much more than this and those of us in the profession need to ensure that we are educating others about it.

First, let’s review the media aspect of PR. In subsequent posts, we’ll take a look at other PR tactics:

MEDIA RELATIONS – Developing, managing and maintaining relationships with communications media. This is done primarily to gain publicity for an organization, or to respond to the media’s interest in an organization.

• Strengths are relatively low cost, can be highly targeted, credibility of neutral third party endorsement, builds image, breaks through clutter, can generate leads.
• Weaknesses are loss of control over the message’s tone, content or placement.

Media relations tactics include:

• Media Briefings – meetings with editors and writers of a single news outlet as a means to deliver background information or an attempt to influence editorial opinion
• News Conferences – planned events designed to bring in editors and writers from multiple media for an all-at-once session. These should be conducted only for issues of major importance
• Publicity – disseminating planned messages through selected media without payment to further an organization’s interests
• Letters to the Editor – correspondence designed to be reprinted on the editorial page of a magazine or newspaper

Other Posts Of Interest

• Links for 5/29/2007
• Advertising Is Dead. Long Live PR
• What’s The Frequency?
• Creativity 2010 – Week #22
• Creativity 2012 – Week #12