About Public Relations – Who Said What? Part - 2

Dear Readers,

In my last blog titled “About Public Relations – Who Said What?”  I had shared 16 statements (definitions) of renowned PR Practitioners, PR Educators and PR Organisations to make you understand what Public Relations is all about? I’m sure that those who have read my blog are now very much clear about the term Public Relations. I had also mentioned that many people correlate the terms publicity, press agentry, propaganda, lobbying, liaisoning, networking, and advertising with public relations. So through this blog I have tried to define the above mentioned seven terms for the benefit and knowledge of my readers.

PUBLICITY

Publicity is a component of public relations and is the short-term tactics that organizations use to gain awareness. Publicity results from information being made known. It is a particular manner of information projection through various media of mass communication about an individual, issue, product or an event to generate favorable response. Publicity can be based on wrong information and can be negative also. Public Relations is used to mend the damage caused by negative publicity, at the same time positive publicity can be used by public relations to highlight the achievements. Publicity may or may not involve any expenditure and is entirely non-personal stimulation of demand for a product or service.

PREES AGENTRY

Press agentry means the publicity produced by a press agents work or skill, especially in making a person or thing seem more desirable, admirable, or successful. It is a one way communication often in an exaggerated from where the receiver has no input. Press agentry work to attract public notice than to build public understanding and is closely associated with publicity in the entertainment world. Press agentry is the practice of attracting the attention of the press through technique that manufactures news and includes any technique that manufactures news e.g. publicity stunts, faux surveys, fake committees, constructed events and other tactics practitioners continue to use. It will make up facts for short-term advantage. Press agentry relies on spin and interprets facts to fit one’s view and to get media coverage.

PROPAGANDA

Propaganda is the control of opinion by significant symbols or to speak more concretely and less accurately by stories, rumours, reports, pictures, and other forms of social communication. Propaganda means the making of deliberately one-sided statements to a mass audience.  Propaganda is the consistent, enduring effort to create or shape events to influence the relations of the public to an enterprise, idea or group. Propaganda is also the means of gaining support for an opinion, faith or belief. It may be designed to damage or do harm to the reputation of a person or a cause or to convert people to a particular cause without caring for the finer points of advertising or publicity. Propaganda is liable to invite suspicion or at least disagreement. Propaganda is mostly one-sided communication. Propaganda classified as one of the characteristic of press agentry model. The term of propaganda in press agentry model, refer to PR practitioner exaggerate and build more hype than facts in order to get publicity for their client.  They will not care the public feedback and just want the public behave as they want.

LOBBYING

Lobbying is a major component of government relations functions of the typical large corporate known as “corporate affairs”. In Govt. Relations activity Public Relations and Liaison services also play major roles but LOBBYING has a strictly different meaning.  The essence of lobbying is that it has to be discreet and low profile. It is one of the chosen methods to influence legislative, bureaucracy  and decision-making processes in favour of the Corporate own interests. The target groups for lobbying are therefore influential politicians, bureaucrats, legislators and other power centres.  A lobbyist, therefore, has to be a person of extra-ordinary caliber and high connections.  Lobbyists have to play undercover, in total secrecy.  The crucial decision to go for lobbying and its stages of influence are exclusive information.  Lobbying can be very helpful in explaining potential consequences of any legislative or bureaucratic function to a legislator or the government. Lobbyist can play an important role by suggesting an alternative constructive proposal designed to achieve a purpose which is considered to be in the interest of public at large.

ADVERTISING

Advertising is a form of controlled and assured commercial communication activity intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action upon a particular idea,  product, or service, or institution through mass media.  Advertising presents the most persuasive possible selling message to the right prospects for the product or services at the lowest possible cost. Advertising is limited to informing, selling and buying tasks such as promoting goods and services, buying supplies or recruiting staff etc. 

NETWORKING

Networking is about making connections and building long lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. Networking is also about establishing and nurturing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with the people we meet. The definition of networking is interacting with other people to exchange information and develop contacts, especially to further one's career. Networking is an activity that can be acted upon with great or little success. Outcome of a successful networking is a long lasting connection and its primary goal. To be a successful networker, we don't need to join any professional association or attend every networking event that comes our way. In fact, if we take our eyes off our smart phones when we're out in public, we'll see that ample networking opportunities are all around us every day.

Liaisoning

Liaison means communication between two or more groups, or co-operation or working together and the term “liaisoning” facilitates a close working relationship between people or organizations.  When someone says that he/she is in to liaisoning, it would mean that the person is either an agent or representative of an organisation.  Mostly, persons involved in liaisoning work of an organisation deals with Central / State Govt., PSUs and Statutory Bodies because of their good networking skills and ability to build deep connections. Persons providing independent liaisoning services have great links everywhere.

And 

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public Relations consists of all forms of planned communication, outwards and inwards, between an organisation and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific objectives concerning a two-way of mutual understanding based on truth, knowledge and full information. Public Relations also is an attempt by information and persuasion to engineer public support for an activity, cause, movement or institution. Public Relations is always positive because its role is to enhance public opinion.

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