Public Relations

Of the four promotional mix options available to marketers public relations (PR) is probably the least understood and, consequently, often receives the least amount of attention.  Many marketers see public relations as only handling rudimentary communication activities, such as issuing press releases and responding to questions from the news media. 

But in reality, in a time when customers are inundated with thousands of promotional messages everyday, public relations offers powerful methods for cutting through the clutter.

In this part our highly detailed Principles of Marketing Tutorials we see how public relations is growing in importance as a marketing tool and is now a critical component in helping marketers reach their objectives.  We will see that PR uses a variety of methods to enhance the relationship between organizations and its target audience.  And we will show that when handled correctly PR can allow a marketer’s message to rise above other promotional methods.