(a). What is Public Relations?
(b) State and explain any five methods a firm can use to promote its public relations.
Explanation
(a) Public Relations activities; are those activities, devices and strategies which the firm adopts in order to endear itself to the customers, win public acceptance and acquire some goodwill. It is defined by the British Institute of Public Relations as " a planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and the public".
(b) Five methods which a firm can use to promote its Public Relations are:
(i) Trade fairs
(ii) Exhibitions
(iii) Features Articles
(iv) Gift and free samples
(v) Sponsored programmes
(vi) Seminars I conferences
(i) Trade fairs: Through trade fairs, producers and distributors of goods and services display their products to members of the public. All firms use the opportunity to build a good public image and to become popular. Some reputable trade fairs have been held in Kano, Lagos and Kaduna.
(ii) Exhibitions: An exhibition is a public organised display of goods by firms in the same industry or firms from different industry aimed at promoting trade.
(iii) Feature articles: These consist of literature and publications about a firm's products and activities.
(iv) Gifts I free samples: Public relation activities can take the form of gifts distributed to members of the public. The gifts can include biro, pens etc.
(v) Sponsored programmes: A company can sponsor programmes to boost its image.
(vi) Seminars I Conferences: Seminars can be organised to boost the image of a company.