Applying account planning to public relations

This paper seeks to identify some of the trends that are shaping the communications agenda of tomorrow's brand/service/company, and examine how these trends are likely to impact on the way public relations (PR) campaigns are planned and evaluated. The power of PR has been recognised, and PR has earned its place, along with other communications disciplines, at the strategic table. As organisations and their brands/services gauge their susceptibility to good and bad PR, so too do they need to plan and manage the process. PR practitioners need to gain a better understanding of all the facets that touch the reputations of the organisations they serve. To achieve this they must have an intimate knowledge of the customers on whom their reputations depend. This paper sets out a process for achieving this, and a process for measuring the impact and influence of the resulting PR activity. A case study has been woven into the text to illustrate the process at each stage.