NGO Marketing
Chapter One
Strategic Communications: How to create a Successful Public Relations & Marketing Plan
What is Public Relations?
Edward Bernays, one of the early pioneers of Public Relations defined it as the art and science of managing communication between an organization and its key public constituents to build, manage, and sustain its positive image . Companies and organizations across the globe employ Public Relations campaigns and strategies to help improve their image, sell their products, encourage people to empathize with their cause and create relationships with the general public at large. In short, Public Relations is about building public relationships and managing reputation.
What is marketing?
Traditional marketing as defined by the American Marketing Association is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing and promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy the individual and organizational objectives.
Together, Public Relations and Marketing can be the key to an organizations success. A successful Public Relations and Marketing Plan (or a Communications plan which consists of both Public Relations and Marketing) is key to ensuring that your NGO succeeds in promoting itself as well as establishing its campaigns and achieving its missions and goals. Communication is often omitted from business plans as it is seen as secondary to the core strategy of an organization This is because many business people do not understand what communications is and see it as a ‘tag on’ or an afterthought. It is rare to find a Public Relations Director on the board of large businesses.. It is crucial that a communications strategy is written into the business plan. It is a key part of any business, whether a profit making multinational or an NGO working at the grassroots level.
