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| Public relations is a process used to manage an organization's relationships with its various publics, including employees, customers, stockholders, competitors, and the general populace. The term public relations can describe a concept, a profession, a management function, and a practice. Many PR activities involve media communications. However, unlike product advertising, these communications are not normally sponsored or paid for. Public relations activities include planning and research, reputation management (publicity and press agentry, crisis management, and community involvement), public affairs and lobbying, speechwriting, fundraising and membership drives, publication preparation, and special-events management. The tools used in public relations include news releases and press kits, photos, feature articles, all sorts of printed materials, posters and exhibits, and audiovisual materials. Sponsorship is one of the fastest-growing forms of marketing today. It actually embraces two disciplines: sales promotion and public relations. A sponsorship is a cash or in-kind fee paid to a property (which may be a sports, entertainment, or nonprofit event or organization) in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential of that property. It should not be confused with philanthropy. Sponsorship offers many benefits. It meets with public approval. It has the ability to involve customers, prospects, and other stakeholders. Most events are highly self-selective of their target audience. Sponsorships and events can provide face-to-face access to current and potential customers. They can enhance the company's public image or reinforce its positioning through affiliation with an appropriate event. And they can boost employee morale. However, sponsorships can be very costly, and they are also subject to clutter, which reduces their effectiveness. Types of sponsorships include: sports marketing; entertainment; festivals, fairs, and annual events; causes; the arts; and venue marketing. Sports marketing is by far the largest category, consuming over two-thirds of all sponsorship dollars. Companies may either buy into an existing event or start their own. One problem with sponsorship is evaluating the results. Three methods include measuring changes in awareness, measuring spending equivalencies with advertising, and measuring changes in sales revenue. To help create a favorable reputation in the marketplace, companies use various types of corporate advertising, including public relations advertising, institutional advertising, corporate identity advertising, and recruitment advertising. |