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• Develop and project the corporate personality
Public relations has been described as rhe projecrion of the personality of the organisation; this echoes some of the philosophies that drive marketing.
Used properly, public relations can help to define and then to project the personality of the organisation to its key audiences. The corporate personality is what the organisation is all about; it reflects its beliefs, values and aspirations. In the well-planned organisation, senior executives will want to define and control this personality and ensure that all aspects (particularly communications) are consistent with this. They will not want the corporate reputation to be shaped by chance or distorted by third parties working to a different agenda. For this reason, public relations is often allocated the primary responsibility for building, projecting and protecting the corporate reputation.
Even if a major part of the public relations activity is in support of the marketing function, it will still have responsibilities to the chairman or chief executive for communications with other publics outside marketing. Because of this central management role in the relationships between the organisation and its publics, 'management of reputation' has become the most useful, popular definition of public relations.
Consistency in what the company does and what it says is critically important if this personality is to be strongly established: As in personal relations, we expect those we trust to behave in a consistent way. If they do not, this causes us to be concerned, uncertain and possibly wary, even hostile.
We might doubt whether a company that cannot handle telephone calls in a brisk, efficient, yet friendly way can really manage any of the other relationships we might wish to have with it - whether as investors, employees, neighbours or customers. We may be impressed by the cleanliness and good design of a Shell petrol station, the warmth and friendliness of the staff and the obvious investment in customer services and training - but if that company cannot manage the disposal of its disused oil production facilities - or, worse, cannot intelligently inform us as interested members of the public what its policies are in these areas, we certainly become confused and hostile.
If Cunard see its customers on the cruise of a lifetime who complain about travelling on a floating building site, beset by noise and mess, as 'whingers', it is no surprise that the management runs the organisation into financial difficulties .
• Marketing plans can be ruined by unrelated public issues
The best possible marketing programme can be completely undone by public