What is Public Relations?

Public Relations is the art and science of building and managing reputation of a brand or organisation or individual through planned communication to various stakeholders that can be measured

Who can get into professional Public Relations?

Any adult with loads of common sense, a flair for storytelling and a passion for excelling can be in Public Relations. People in PR come from various streams including medicine, law, technology, marketing, literature etc. Typically, those graduates or post-graduates who have specialised in media, mass communication opt for a career in Public Relations

What are the job prospects in Public Relations?

Jobs in Public Relations are of two types – In-house in the communications or PR department of a corporate or social organisation or in a consulting firm. A PR firm is similar to a law firm but has the vibe of an advertising company. Salaries start at Rs 3 lakh per annum and every five years close to triple for best-in-class professionals. PR professionals end up as Communications Directors and CEOs at PR firms by the time they are in the 15th to 20th year in the profession.

What does work at a PR firm entail?

Public Relations firms act on behalf of their clients. A client brand is called an account and four layers of professionals work. Entry level professionals are called associates or executives. Mid-level professionals are called managers or supervisors. Senior level professionals are called directors and then the hierarchy narrows into various avatars of Vice Presidents. An entry level professional is expected to monitor media – mainstream and social using various tools. This also includes voraciously reading the daily newspapers for news on the client, the competition and the industry at large. The news is tracked and shared with the client. This is followed by connecting with and interacting with various stakeholders including the media. Another crucial task is creating content which could range from speeches, press releases, white papers, social media posts among others. Dealing with potential and existing crises and planning events is also part of the job.

How is a job in corporate communications different from a job in a PR firm?

A job in corporate communications is like that in a PR firm in some ways. However, there are areas which are generally managed in-house. These include corporate social responsibility and employee engagement. In a PR firm, there is scope to work on multiple clients across diverse areas. In a corporate communications set-up, one has to work for the business that the company is into. Corporate communications is a good option after having worked three to five years in a PR firm.

Ten things you need to know about India’s First Public Relations School – SCoRe:

• SCoRe is the first of its kind school dedicated to education and research in Public Relations where strategic communications and reputation management are at the core.
• It is built, funded and managed by active Public Relations professionals with the support of the Public Relations Consultants Association of India.
• SCoRe trains small batches of graduates to become rock stars in Public Relations by focussing on equipping them with a passion for research, a quest for reading and a zest for writing.
• It has a unique teaching pedagogy where working professionals take most of the classes with a good mix of case studies and real-life examples
• SCoRe ensures that its students get unique experience through the nine months in the classroom including a four-week immersion in the offices of the leading PR firms
• All students get access to PRAXIS – the world’s largest conference of communications professionals at a very minimal cost
• SCoRe guarantees one two-month internship as well as an assured final placement in in one of the Top Public Relations Firms
• The starting annual salaries are more than the total fee paid by a student which ensures affordability as well as an ease in sustaining oneself
• SCoRe students get profiled in the Reputation Today magazine which is instant exposure to hundreds of corporate communications directors and CEOs of PR firms
• A SCoRe student gains mentors for life including placement assistance and career guidance long after they graduate from the programme.

Authored By:

Amith Prabhu, Dean, School of Communications & Reputation

Amith is a native reputation management professional with over twelve years of experience having worked both in leading consultancies and in-house. He holds a Masters in Communications Management. He is the co-founder of PRAXIS, world’s largest PR Summit. Amith was chosen as the Indian PR Professional of the Year in 2014. He writes India’s longest running weekly column on Public Relations.

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