Similarities and Differences between Proactive and Reactive Public Relations - Essay Example

Most of the companies seem to be practicing reactive public relations but in the real sense, proactive public relations is the best practice that is recommended for the sake of portraying goodwill for the organization. 

Proactive public relations is where an organization continues being involved with the public of the company while at the same time finding new opportunities to create goodwill for the company. On the other hand, reactive public relations is when an organization does not take its public seriously and only comes up whenever there is a problem to explain to the public. Such organizations are surprised by this issue and they tend to say that there was misunderstanding. 

The main similarity between proactive and reactive public relations is that they are both meant to create goodwill for the company as they look forward to bringing public acceptance and understanding. As for Riordan Manufacturing, they should not only come up in the light of the public to publicize the company’s public when there is a problem, but this should be a continuous process even when there is no problem. They should not have been concerned with the security threat on their internet as a result of meeting the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley.    There is a big difference between advertising and publicity. Advertising is whereby a company seeks to create demand for their products by informing or communicating to the public about their goods. This is usually done when the message to be conveyed to the public is drafted and controlled and is aired through paid-up media like radio, television, newspapers and magazines, the internet, and even billboards. On the other hand, publicity is meant to manage the perception of the public toward a particular concern or subject. Though it is aired through the media, it is not paid hence the message is not controlled as to when it should be aired. Publicity is a low-cost exercise and it is normally aired between evening news casts. 

The positive aspect of publicity is that a particular concern is addressed to the public to keep them informed of what is happening on the other hand, the negative side of publicity is that there is no control over how the release is to be used and there is a possibility that media may not cover the publicity. A third-party endorsement can be successful in generating publicity when the message communicated is perceived in the intended manner in which it had been planned.

As far as Riordan Manufacturing is concerned, public relations play a big role in creating good will for the company. Public relation is used by the organization to popularize themselves for example in a situation where they give scholarships to students or sponsors community projects. The positive aspect of including a public relations function within departments to ensure goodwill for the company is created at all levels in an organization and the negative aspect is that it might be expensive in a way for small organizations.    Read More