A Presentation By-NIKITA MAHIPAL

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EVOLVING TRENDS IN PR

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS?

EVOLUTION OF PR

THE FIRST PR

The earliest of PR dates back to the time of ancient civilizations, where public influence was used to abolish slavery in England.

From this evolved public relations to early 1900s during World Wars, during which countries like UK, US and Germany used ‘Propaganda’ as publicity efforts to obtain domestic support.

Gradually, public relations became more organized and sophisticated as more talent entered the field.

In India, PR officially began in the 1990s.

PROPAGANDA

TRADITIONAL PR

Traditionally, there was no PR and mostly media relations until 1990s. The common tools of media relations included the following:

Press releases- The typically traditional PR tool which is used to spread news or brand message to a set of journalists

Pitching to reporters- A certain group of journalists from various publications or channels would be contacted to pitch stories for clients

Typically, a PR practitioner’s role was

limited to contacting the journalists and getting them to feature clients in their publications through press releases and interviews. An instance of the usage of traditional PR tools can be seen in the next example.

BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY

Thousands of people died and lakhs were injured in the gas leak at Union Carbide plant in December 1984.

As an immediate crisis management measure, the company issued press releases and held press conferences as a forgiveness strategy.

Press tours were conducted and key people were interviewed to express their concerns for the damage done.

Internal audiences of UCIL were kept informed about the updates through employee news bulletins, publications, messages, videos, newsletters, etc.

SHIFT FROM TRADITIONAL PR

As more professionals started joining the professional field of public relations, it became more organized and structured.

Trade associations, PR magazines and international PR agencies made foray into the country and academic principles for the same were established.

Events became an important part of PR as it helped receive publicity for products.

Crisis communication and public affairs picked up pace as companies realized the difference they made in consumers’ perceptions.

PR became more of strategic counseling as it helped in making major corporate decisions.

SOFT DRINKS PESTICIDES CASE- 2003

Sales of Coca Cola and Pepsi had declined after studies showed high pesticide content in these.

In its defence, Pepsi claimed higher levels of pesticides in milk; whereas Coke invited the public to their plants to see how the beverage was made.

Coca Cola has, ever since, actively tapped into the online communities, including its website, where all product information and lab reports are uploaded.

MODERN PR

Thanks to technology boom, the focus of PR has shifted from traditional tools to modern tools, especially digital and social platforms.

Content and research have become the center of all PR efforts.

The scope of media relations has extended to internal, government, community, investor and stakeholder relations.

Employer branding, crowd sourcing, sensationalization, etc. are becoming a part of PR activities now.

Online reputation management is a key activity in PR so that bad news can be monitored in time before it turns ugly.

CADBURY #SONGSFORSISTERS

On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Cadbury started the #SongForSisters on three social media platforms- Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Participants had to write a message for their sisters, which would be turned into songs and sung by famous artistes.

It reinforced the brand’s message of celebrating human relationships and festivity.