What’s the process for using Public Relations?

As I said in my first article for this resource, Public Relations is about your reputation and your relationships with your publics – those people you wish to have a positive relationship with.

So, if you want to proactively manage those relationships, how does the process of public relations work?

Since adopting the Stockholm Accords and ‘Barcelona Principles’ in 2010, public relations professionals following best practice first seek to capture from the current or potential client a list of the Business and Communication Objectives they want to be achieved with the help of the public relations activities.

Fact-finding

There is no single best practice process for doing this, but mine is based on the one taught by my professional body, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), with additions based on the knowledge I gained on my OUBS MBA. For me, that process starts with an informal meeting with the client to discuss the following:

Their 5-year Business and Communication Objectives of any Public Relations activities – how they want to be seen and understood in five years’ time and what they want to have measurably achieved
Their short-term (up to one year) Business and Communication Objectives - milestones to be achieved – for the suggested activities
Who their target Audiences/Publics are – the people they want to reach and positively influence
What their Key Messages for them to receive are
What Stories they tell about their business – things like its foundation and greatest successes
Their Business Strategy – what mix of Price, Niche and Differentiation they’re using
Their sources of Competitive Advantage, how easily replicable they are and how they’ll regain advantage if they’re copied
Their USPs – Unique Selling Points – what makes them stand out from their competitors
Their SWOT - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats
Their PESTLE factors and how they stand with each of them in the coming 12 months
Their Brand’s Values - what their brand/organisation stands for and what its Purpose is beyond profit
What Marketing they’re doing or have planned – so the Public Relations can mesh with it
Any known media story opportunities and when they will occur, if fixed to a date
Any known challenges e.g. hostile groups lobbying against their proposals
What their current key Media Channels are
What Membership organisations they’re part of – which could be used as Shared Media
What professional-quality photo and video resources they have which could be used free by media
Any budget constraints

What happens next

I then take the information gained, do some research into the company or organisation and then put together a draft PR Brief document, which I send to the person I met.

They’re asked to review it, edit it as required and add anything else they feel necessary before returning it to me.

PR Proposal

Once the PR Brief has been agreed, I use that to research:

The current reputation of the organisation and previous media stories about them – known as the Audit phase
The best ways of achieving the Business and Communication Objectives listed using the many tools of public relations
How best to reach and engage the audiences being targeted
How to tell the organisation’s stories in the most engaging way
How best to communicate its USPs, Values and Purpose, if it’s ‘purposeful’
How Public Relations can help it maximise the benefit from its Strengths and Opportunities and reduce its Threats and Weaknesses
Which media opportunities to focus on for maximum ROI and reach to target audiences and which to communicate instead via Owned channels such as their website and email
The profiles and reach of the known media channels and others the target audiences engage with, comparing them for ROI
The Shared media opportunities offered by the organisation’s membership organisations i.e. Chamber magazines, blogs, emails and social media
The quality of the photo and video assets – to assess if they’re sufficient for professional media use, or will have to be replaced or supplemented by new ones supplied by me

Once I’ve completed that research I put together a free costed proposal setting out:

Executive Summary
Situation Analysis
Brand Assets
Business & Communication Objectives agreed
Key Audiences & Messages
Public Relations Strategy
Communication Tactics to be used
Timescale
Measurement & Evaluation Plan
Budget

I then send that to the potential client for them to read and reply with which of the suggested activities they want to proceed and any changes they’d like to make.

PR Schedule

Once that’s agreed, I put together a PR Schedule – listing all the agreed activities, when they will take place, what needs to done for each and by when.

I then start the Implementation Phase with things such as preparing and having approved a news release template, including the ‘boilerplate’ – giving background information on the organisation and key contacts - as well as contacting the agreed media and membership organisations to be used – to establish a relationship with them, if I don’t already have one.

Implementation

From there, the list of activities is broken down into each project and every action required for it is listed and noted in my systems against the date it needs to be carried out. From there, I work sequentially through the list, actioning each item.

At appropriate points I use the metrics agreed for each Objective to measure and evaluate the success of the activity carried out in achieving the goals set e.g. using Google Analytics to see how many new users were driven to the client’s website by a social post and report back on what’s been achieved to the client, either at the end of an activity, periodically during its period of activity or monthly, whichever is most appropriate. I also invoice the client monthly for work done.

Review

Finally, at least annually the results achieved, PR Brief and Plan are reviewed with the client to update them to any changes necessary to meet their Business and Communication Objectives.

As you can see, this process is detailed, considered and is focused on achieving verifiable results linked to the organisation’s long and short-term Objectives. Which is part of the argument for best practice Public Relations being a strategic discipline if done this way.

Far from the commonly-held image of Public Relations being just sending out news releases to the media.

Alan S. Morrison gained his Master of Business Administration (MBA) postgraduate degree from the Open University Business School in 2003 and is one of the case studies for it.

At that time he was working as a senior Sub-Editor in a Scottish newspaper, following 15 years as a Reporter, Chief Reporter and News Editor.

In 2012, Alan launched his own communications company, ASM Media & PR, after entering Public Relations via agencies and credits the knowledge and skills he gained on his OU MBA as being instrumental in helping him career-change successfully.

His award-winning clients include a rugby charity with a Royal patron, Scotland’s largest independent lift company and a vintage lifestyle brand whose products are seen in scores of Hollywood movies and global TV shows.

The marketing campaign Alan created and helped execute for St Andrews Business Club was a Finalist in the 2019 Fife Business Awards.

Alan’s LinkedIn profile is here. Go here to find out more about his work.

April 2025

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