Overview of Public Relations

Public relations pl.n

What is public relations and what is our mission?

A search of textbooks and articles on the topic of public relations reveals a variety of definitions.  We believe these three definitions best reflect the role of public relations.  Unfortunately, many people mistakenly think of public relations as just “being really good with people,” or see it narrowly as publicity and media relations – one set of techniques that we employ.  Publicity does hold a central position in public relations because it is so visible and can be critical.  The media serve as “gatekeepers,” controlling the information that flows to our external publics.  Public relations practitioners, however, are communicators, and much time is spent planning communication strategies, and then developing, writing, fine-tuning and implementing those various outreach efforts.  The goal is “One Clear Voice” – a consistency in the messages that are delivered to all of our stakeholders.

Public relations is often confused with marketing, but it is, in fact, quite different from marketing.  While public relations professionals plan communication with publics, marketing professionals plan programs to communicate with markets.  Marketing tries to communicate with relatively passive and supportive markets.  Public relations must communicate with active and sometimes hostile publics.  But public relations practitioners don’t just react to publics.  Through advance planning and issues management, public relations tries to build good relations with its various audiences and anticipate and prepare for issues before problems occur or support is needed.  Advertising is a marketing technique that may be used to support public relations objectives.  But advertising is a “purchased” message – something that a company or organization says about itself.  Public relations efforts try to positively impact what others say about Rollins.

At Rollins College, the mission of the Office of Public Relations & Communications (OPRC) is to facilitate communication, both internally and externally, in a reliable, ethical and resourceful manner.  As a steward of the College’s reputation, we strive to promote the ideals and purpose of the institution, both accurately and professionally.