tutor2u ™ GCSE Business Studies Revision Presentations 2004 Public Relations

tutor2u ™ GCSE Business Studies What is Public Relations A form of communication between a business and its customers Not paid for (compare with advertising – which has to be paid for) Does not aim to directly generate sales Aims to build “goodwill” – e.g. people think positively about a business and its products/services Lots of different ways to do it Often referred to just as “PR”

tutor2u ™ GCSE Business Studies Objectives of Public Relations Achieve favourable publicity about business at low cost Build image and reputation of business and its products, particularly amongst customers Communicate effectively with customers

tutor2u ™ GCSE Business Studies Comparison with Advertising No direct charge made for PR However, business will need to pay for its own PR department or external PR consultant PR is arguably more powerful  Message communicated through PR is often more believable than paid for advertising  Involves getting other people or organisations to say positive things about a business (e.g. magazine articles, product reviews) However  No guarantee that PR will reach its target audience (newspapers may fail to print story) whereas advertising must be printed since space in newspaper is paid for

tutor2u ™ GCSE Business Studies Examples of Public Relations Consumer marketing support  Product literature  Consumer and trade press releases  Special events (e.g. product launches, publicity stunts) Business communication  Business identity – e.g. logos. Brochures  Trade exhibitions and conferences Financial and public communication  Media relations  Lobbying politicians  Annual report and accounts  Company / business website