Public relations is a specialist management discipline that is concerned with all aspects of an organisation’s reputation and relationships. The term “public relations” includes sub-disciplines such as employee communications, investor relations, community relations, media relations, event management, issues and crisis management, and customer relations.
While there are many specialist areas within public relations, PR practitioners all have one thing in common: they help organisations to achieve their goals by influencing the attitudes, awareness or behaviour of stakeholders. The tools and tactics that PR people employ to do this are extensive and constantly growing. A typical organisation’s PR program may include: media relations, digital communications, direct mail, events, sponsorships, advertising, newsletters, brochures and annual reports, to name just a few.