Course Summary:

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to corporate communications and public relations: it is for anyone with an interest in corporate communication, or anyone seeking to understand the growing importance of communication for corporations. Corporations increasingly need communication to survive, as they need to entertain relations with a variety of stakeholders to prosper. This includes actors external to the organization - customers, governments and civil society organizations – but also stakeholders within corporations themselves, such as employees, managers and investors.

Corporate communication is characterized by being both a field of academic inquiry and a practice: practitioners engage in corporate communication, whereas academics study it. In turn, this course offers a mix of theory and practice: it discusses theories but also aims to show their practical application.

Course Objectives:

• Analyze and assess the latest PR concepts and strategies in a variety of contexts
• Appraise certain PR techniques and approaches appropriately in order to link them to the working environment
• Demonstrate key PR skills relating to verbal and written communication as well as editorial, layout and production techniques
• Apply the main media skills in PR
• Prepare, present and deliver effective oral messages in public
• Use their PR skills as promotional tools
• Coordinate and contribute to the planning of public relations activities, including the development of clear, measurable communication objectives and project or tactical budgets and selection of strategies, tactics, tools and resources to manage a range of stakeholder relationships and issues and achieve organizational objectives.
• Coordinate, contribute to and adapt the implementation of strategies and tactics and the management of budgets and resources to achieve communication objectives and meet activity guidelines and requirements.
• Write and edit clear, accurate, targeted copy aligned to organizational objectives, appropriate for the chosen channel(s) and to a specified deadline.
• Produce effective, accessible, and timely print, digital and multimedia communications, independently and collaboratively, to manage specific stakeholder relations and/or issues and achieve organizational objectives.

Course Outline

• PR concepts
  • Criteria for successful PR
  • PR tools
  • Definition, roles and situations
  • Qualities for successful PR staff
• PR and communication skills
  • Importance of communication in PR
  • The PR officer as communicator
  • Exchange of messages
  • Models of communication process
  • Overcoming communication barriers
  • Importance of body language in PR activities
  • Definition of effective writing
  • Use of clear language
  • Writing memos, letters
  • Preparing colorful newsletters
  • Designing and preparing attractive brochures
• PR responsibilities
  • Corporate image identity and reputation
  • Benefits of an effective corporate image
  • Internal and external spheres
  • Forming a corporate image on the spheres

• PR and the media
  • Definition of media
  • Types of media
  • Recorded and live interviews
  • Behavior during media interviews
  • PR and the media: the tools
  • Press conferences
  • Preparing press kits
  • Preparing press releases
  • Dealing with the media
  • Building good relations with the media
  • Dealing with the press during times of crisis
• Presentation skills and delivering a speech
  • Key characteristics of dynamic speakers
  • Importance of preparation
  • Selecting a topic and purpose
  • Analyzing the audience
  • Rehearsing the speech
  • Public speaking anxiety
  • Verbal characteristics and eye contact
• The PR promotional role
  • Decision making process of consumers
  • Corporate community involvement
  • Marketing PR (MPR)
  • PR role in marketing
  • Sponsorship and promotions
  • Organizing different exhibitions