Public relations as a form of promotion: Case studies of global companies in crisis situations

Abstract

The need to influence public opinion as well as the need to achieve a certain type of communication with the public is as old as human society. Marketing and advertising rulers of ancient Greece and Rome who tried in various ways to gain the support of their citizens are the forerunners of today's public relations experts. Public Relations (PR) could be defined as the management of communications and relations in order to build the company's reputation and mutual understanding between the company and its public. The basic function of public relations is to maintain two-way communication with the environment. It is considered that two-way communication with users is the best method for their motivation, because "conversation" with them contributes to users continuing to express their opinions, since it creates the impression that someone hears what they are saying. A crisis for a certain company is a circumstance in which it is no longer possible to act normally. It endanger the company's ability to function, makes it harder to achieve goals, and affects the very survival of the organization. Even a minor crisis, which at first glance seems to have no dramatic proportions, its negative impact on the organization's image can become so great that it threatens its long-term survival. Unexpectedly poor publicity is associated with the crisis and therefore public relations (PR) is a managerial function, which takes care of establishing and maintaining communication between the organization and the public. The success or failure of the company depends on the management, the management manages the identity and image,and the reputation of the organization, which is also its most valuable asset. In crisis situations, it is important to attract and interest neutral audiences and various target groups, internal and external public, for the activities of the organization, and this can be achieved with a correct relationship with the media. This paper will try to explain the correlation between management and crises that occur in organizations, and how best to deal with them.

Keywords

• crisis situations
• management
• public relations
• media relations