What is PR?

Public relations is all about reputation. It's the result of what you do, what you say, and what others say about you. It is used to gain trust and understanding between an organisation and its various publics - whether that's employees, customers, investors, the local community - or all of those stakeholder groups. Public relations professionals use many different techniques as part of their PR campaigns. From media relations and lobbying, to speaking at conferences, to online viral campaigns, to sponsorship - and more. PR isn't always about short-term campaigns, such as product launches. It can encompass longer-term strategic aims, such as brand building and working with local communities.

How does it differ from advertising? With PR, a company does not pay the newspapers and TV channels for the media exposure it secures. It's this third-party endorsement that gives PR its power and credibility. How does PR benefit a company? Public relations can play a critical role in achieving a competitive advantage by, for example, opening new markets, attracting high-calibre employees, giving more access to funding and investors, creating a high value for products and services, and protecting businesses in times of crisis. All organisations, whether local or international, big or small, benefit from public relations.

Are you looking for a job in PR? Take a look at our PR jobs page.

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Fee Income
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  • This field should only be completed by the individual with responsibility for your company's PRCA membership.
  • NB - Once you check the box to the left of this field and click update this figure is fixed for the entire year.
  • Fee income is defined as fees or income arising from time spent on carrying out public relations consultancy work plus any mark up and any handling charges or profits made on disbursement or expenses.
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Holders of public office
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Subsidiary companies
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  • These companies are entitled to the same benefits as other PRCA members, they must abide by the PRCA Professional Charter and Codes of Conduct and their fee income must be included in the fee income field above.
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Current clients
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The clients listed in this section are those which retain a consultancy on a continuing basis to deal with their public relations either in a specialised area or as a whole. One asterisk (*) against a client's name indicates that the consultancy has been retained by that client for three years; two asterisks (**) indicate that it has been retained for at least five years. Clients served on an ad-hoc basis are listed separately.

Adhoc clients
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Clients for whom you have undertaken work in the last twelve months on a project rather than a retained basis

Conflict of interest clients
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NB This will not appear as a separate list in the yearbook.