Public relations has become a topic that everyone talks about everywhere in the world today. It has become an indispensable part of any field. Public relations are essential for the good and long-term survival of anything or anyone.
Public relations (PR) is what an organisation, a company, or a person uses to maintain the goodwill, reputation, or public image of themselves or their organisation. It is about building, engaging, and influencing relationships with stakeholders, customers, and the public.
Public relations can help an organisation or company by anticipating public opinion on new plans and operations, anticipating attitudes and problems, analysing and interpreting. Any organisation, company, or a person uses a variety of tactics to build a good relationship and good will with external parties.
PR is a field that is widely used in developed countries not only as a subject but also as a profession. It has become a new subject in developing countries too. Through this public relation, a wide contribution is made for the development of inter-relationships. It is not limited to one field and has spread to all fields.
Building goodwill
“Public relations is about building goodwill.” It means having a good attitude towards a person, an organisation, or any product. A person must constantly manage the goods, services and institutions to live a social life in his home or society. Thus, a person, institution, product or a service constantly maintains relations with the public. This matter will be fulfilled by goodwill and communication management strategies.
Programs used to create, maintain and promote public image are known as “public relations”. PR involves humanity and the achievement of organisational goals and objectives based on human relationships. The specialty here is to design and manage a communication mechanism to integrate people with organisations based on human qualities such as truthfulness, trustworthiness, honesty, love, and kindness.
The public relations profession has expanded rapidly in America. By the 1920s, the field of public relations had grown. Andrew Jackson has shown the importance of political public relations for the first time. Early public relations officers started their careers as journalists. The book Crystalising Public Opinion by Edward L. Bernice in 1923 led to the development of the field of public relations. In the 20th century, Bernice’s book, Public Relations, discussed more about public relations.
During World War I, the American Government used propaganda and public relations to shape public opinion. A committee headed by George Creel was set up for the purpose. Bernice also started a university graduate course in public relations. Technological advancements after 1970 helped improve public relations.
In 1955, the International Public Relations Institute (IPRA) was founded, the European Federation of Public Relations (EFPR) and Federation of Asian Public Relations Organizations (FAPRO) in the Philippines, and the Pan-Pacific Public Relations Federation (PPPRF) in Thailand were established, and such institutions were subsequently reorganised. Nowadays, public relations has become a chartered profession, a discipline. Every recognised organisation and a person, such as celebrities, use public relations and the public relations agencies.
The industrial revolution and the change in colonial regimes led to the expansion of public relations. The social system has changed, and goodwill and support became a strong social need.
Public relations is a practical and a contemporary subject in the field of communication and media. It helps to transmit human beings’ common agreements and conventions and to create well-being in human society.
Public relations was practised in tribal societies. It often took the form of one-way communication. But the uniqueness of public relations is that it leads to the resolution of problems by creating two-way information and mutual understanding.
Special groups were appointed in the past to present views to the people and to obtain legal opinions in cases where it was necessary to know their views. They were called talking chiefs. They were the oldest group to do the task of public relations. The need for another group arose in relation to that.
Such a group can also be seen in the ancient Egyptian civilisation. In the dynasty of Pharaohs, there was a group called “Sarib” who performed the task of public relations to carry the king’s ideas to the public and the public’s ideas to the king. They were a group of priests skilled in the art of writing, and respected by the ruling class and the public. Their tasks include copying the king’s decrees, giving legal administration advice to the king, taking ideas and attitudes to the public and taking the ideas of the public to the king.
No public relations can be expected without communication. There is a hidden motivation in public relations, even if it is not overt.
PR in Sri Lanka
Although public relations seems to be a new term in the West, its functions and practices existed in traditional societies. Its history related to Sri Lanka goes back to the King’s era. Realising that ruling a country is a very difficult task, kings used to visit the people in disguise at night to know for sure how their governing tasks were being performed and whether the people were happy.
Kings had many queens to maintain good public relations with many villages.
The foreigners who ruled the country in the later period also appointed government officials to know the opinion of the people about their government. According to the Solebury Commission of 1948, a Department of State News was established to develop the relationship between the government and the public.
Ancient villagers understood that good public relations was necessary for the success of traditional societies. They have met their needs by using various public relations methods. These types of public relations methods have been used at weddings, funerals and puberty festivals. These public relations methods vary according to race, region, and country.
Current state
When public relations is explained subjectively, it appears that it is a promotional tactic. Then, it belongs to marketing. One function of marketing is promotion. It is necessary to maintain a high level of customer relationships in the marketing of goods and services and need to aware about customer satisfaction.
If the public has a positive feeling towards a business, it will lead to the development of the business. Various public relations tactics are used to create and maintain such a pleasant feeling among the public. The need for public relations was the same in traditional societies as at present. But there is a difference in the types of public relations methods and strategies used. The reason for the difference is that the public relations methods used for each need are different. But in the end, the goal is the same.
Various types of public relations tactics can be seen all over the world. Some of them can are media relations, advertorials, new media, newsletters, business events, brochures and catalogs, speaking engagements, sponsorships or partnerships and employee relations. By using these tactics, an institute or organisation can build its public image and goodwill.
Public relations develop and fluctuate between the organisation and its external stakeholders, as well as between the organisation and its employees.