Strategy is a concept that relies on various definitions to capture interrelationships between various components that make up a strategy. Henry Mintzberg (1987) outlines five definitions of strategy including strategy as a plan, pattern, position, perspective, and ploy. As a plan, strategy is concerned with setting up guidelines to establish direction for an organization. As a pattern, strategy consists of various actions carried out with consistency by firms. Strategy as a position looks at how organizations interact with the external environment, and how they place themselves in the competitive environment. Mintzberg also defines strategy as a perspective. This view explains strategy as the behavior and actions of the organization’s collectivity, which are aimed at achieving a common mission.
Public relations is a management function that identifies, establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and publics that have an influence on the success of the organization. In public relations, strategy is important in determining the role of PR in an organization, as well as in outlining the techniques and activities to be used in achieving an organization’s public relations objectives. Public relations contributes to the fundamental systems of an organization, and is therefore a core function in the organization’s overall strategy.
Organizations’ overall strategies control and limit public relations campaigns and strategies as they establish certain goals and bounds that guide the work of PR practitioners. Public relations strategies are subordinate to this higher level strategy, which involves policy level decision making on the goals, alignments, and relationships of the company with stakeholders and other forces in the environment.
Working in the context of the organization’s overall strategy, public relations practitioners must also develop separate campaign strategies that will enable them deliver public relations benefits to the organization. This includes planning activities that will result in the output objectives of the public relations office. Many PR practitioners are charged with developing a plan of action that guides the public relations efforts of an organization. The planning aspect of PR involves outlining the goals and objectives of all public relations activities by the firm, as well as the means through which these goals will be achieved. The plan will include methods to be used to reach the target groups, and a budget for all undertakings. A public relation plan also outlines methods for evaluating and monitoring the success of all public relations activities
A public relations plan leads to a set of actions that are carried out by the organization. These actions take on a pattern due to their consistency. For example, a pharmaceutical company that manufactures eye drops might conduct free eye check ups in impoverished neighborhoods. To ensure consistency, the company can make this...