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Management of
Public Relations I
Introduction to Public Relations
School of Communication Studies
James Madison University
Dr. Michael Smilowitz
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What to expect?
• A discussion of the advantages and
disadvantages of managing public relations
“in-house.”
• A description of Seitel’s model for the
management of public relations activities.
• A discussion of the advantages and
disadvantages of managing public relations
through the use of an external agency.
• An explanation of typical fee structures used
by external agencies.
• An identification of the types of objectives
and their role in the pr management process.
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Organizations provide for their public
relation activities by:
• Hiring an external agency.
• Maintaining an internal department
– Sometimes called public relations
departments, but nearly twice as often
departments of communications, or
departments of integrated communication.
• Some combination of external agency
work and internal department work.
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Advantages of internal departments
• Part of the management team.
• First hand knowledge of the
organization.
• More economical when public relation
activities are extensive.
• Continuous availability of staff
practitioners.
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Disadvantages of internal departments
• Limits on level of influence
– Dependent on top management’s biases.
– Can vary from simple journalistic function
to problem solving activities.
• Turf battles and frictions
– Legal department concerned about current
or potential litigation.
– Human resources often wants to control flow
of information to employees.
– Advertising and marketing in competition
for communication budget.
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Disadvantages of internal
departments
• Ready availability leads to confused
roles
– Stand-ins for top management’s speaking
commitments.
– Catch all for tasks no one else wants.
• Loss of objectivity.
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Public Relations is typically a staff function
Based on classical organizational theory, the
line vs. staff distinction has important
implications for internal pr practitioners.
• Line structures are the authority channels
of the organization that are responsible for
accomplishing the organization’s primary
purposes.
• Staff structures provide support to the line
structure to assist the line in performing its
functions.
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Public Relations is typically
a staff function.
Staff managers/executives cannot
order line managers/executives to
follow any particular course of
action. Staffs recommendations
may be implemented only on the
authority of a line officer.
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Planning for Public Relations
Seitel’s model:
Environment
Business Objectives
Public Relations Objectives
Public Relations
Programs
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Planning for Public Relations
Seitel’s model:
An opportunity or problem is noted in
the constantly changing environment of
the organization. For example, the pr
Environment
department of a manufacturer of
geriatric vitamins finds that the number
Business Objectives
of retirees purchasing home computers
has significantly increased.
Public Relations Objectives
Public Relations
Programs
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Planning for Public Relations
Seitel’s model:
Environment
Business Objectives
Public is
Relations Objectives
The change in the environment
considered for its relationship to the
Public Relations
company’s goals and objectives. For
Programs
example, the manufacturer of the
vitamins is committed to increasing its
market share of retirees by 20%.
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The public relations department considers
its current goals and objectives. For
example, the pr department has determined
to begin a web presence for the company,
Seitel’s model:
and to increase the market’s perception of
the manufacturer as a good source of
information for geriatric care.
Environment
Planning for Public Relations
Business Objectives
Public Relations Objectives
Public Relations
Programs
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pr department
initiates
a plan to create a
PlanningThe
for
Public
Relations
web site at which retirees can assess their
vitamin needs. To ensure that the web site is
accessed, the pr department prepares press
Seitel’s model:
releases describing its web site for
distribution to computer magazines and
magazines targeted at retirees; requests
Environment
advertising to include the web site address
in all
its advertisements; plans a nutritional
Business
Objectives
awareness contest for the web site.
Public Relations Objectives
Public Relations
Programs