Public Relation Strategies That Work

Public relations strategies deal with the image a business has with the public in general. For example, Wal-Mart for a number of years presented itself as a store that sold goods only made in America. Today, walk into a Wal-Mart in the southwestern United States and you will see a significant representation of products from Mexico as trade increases between the two countries. And, because the Hispanic population is projected to have the largest growth over the next few years, Wal-Mart public relations strategies probably should not revive the "Buy American" slogans because it could be seen as excluding the rise in immigration and product importation.

So here are some public relations strategies businesses use to influence consumer opinion hopefully in a positive way:

Public Relations Strategies 1: Change public image after a negative event

Bad news travels quickly. Take the recent problem where it was discovered that China had been exporting toys with high levels of lead paint. This has affected Mattel Toys as these products are produced in China. The public relations strategies that China uses are to make news reports that they will immediately stop using lead paint in toys and appoint overseeing committees to do quality control inspections. And the public relations strategies include getting the press out very quickly-especially over the internet.

Another good example of public relations strategies to change public image are the strategies implemented by tobacco companies like Philip Morris (www.philipmorrisusa.com). When you go to their website today, you will see articles on talking to your kids about not smoking and smokeless tobacco innovations. But they still make cigarettes-especially to international markets). However in the U.S., they have had to implement public relations strategies to calm the pubic outrage over health problems created by the manufacture of cigarettes.

Public Relations Strategies 2: Do charitable deeds

You'll see this in the pool of public relations strategies more than any other probably. People like to identify themselves with charitable causes. It gives them a sense of fulfillment. And when a business markets itself on the charitable side, it always makes a difference. You'll see grocery stores donate a certain percentage of proceeds to a school if you use their value card. You will see companies donate to find solutions to global warming problems if you buy their products. You'll see fun runs and marathons sponsored by a company with the proceeds going to build a children's hospital in the area. These are the public relations strategies that can get very creative but are designed to give the consumer an opinion that the particular company is not just in it for itself.

Public Relations Strategies 3: Influence Specific Target Groups

Some public relations strategies are targeted for a specific group to build a better understanding between seller and consumer. A good example of this was the Bank of America taking steps to make it easier for immigrants to get credit cards by not requiring a social security number or credit history. This strategy had both negative and positive publicity for the Bank of America but you can see how they were focusing on a specific group having problems getting credit because of their immigrant status.