The Point of PR

Suzanne Smith works at company XYZ in New York City. She works in their public relations department as director of public relations. Monday she entered her office, took the elevator to the 50th floor, entered her luxurious office and logged onto her computer. She began with email one and hoped to reach email 50 before lunch. She opened her first e-mail, which was from Doctors Without Borders. She chose to make a charitable donation to assist with relief efforts surrounding the devastating earthquake in Haiti. She then goes to her next e-mail. This one is from Blue Mountain Media, a graphic design company she hired to work on XYZ's annual report. Next she called Jovan Smith, head of human resources, to make sure he sent out the monthly internal newsletter, Insider's Look. She then edited the press release her communications coordinator drafted regarding customer service initiatives. Suzanne loves her job.

I was asked in my capstone class, Public Relations Management and Problem Solving, to compare and contrast consumer relations, investor relations, media relations, employee relations and community relations--all of which are essential practices of professionals, like Suzanne, in the public relations field. After analyzing, I found and concluded that all of these areas are very different, but share the similar goal of satisfying a chosen public. Public Relations is about reaching and connecting to publics important for the sustainability and growth of your company.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member, Josie Fox.