Public Relations is often misconstrued to be a subject that deals with personal relationships. It is, in fact, as the phrase implies, the exact opposite. Public Relations deals with the identification by an organisation of its many publics, which are homogenous groups, and the design and implementation of campaigns to maintain these publics in a state of goodwill.

PR, therefore is all about a company’s or an individual’s reputation. It is all about a company’s or an individual’s image.

PR in India has witnessed a significant growth since the early 1990s, when the government opened the economy and multinational corporations began to enter the country. Until then, it was the large semi government companies which employed PR executives, whose main tasks was to cool down tempers and run errands for visiting dignitaries.

Today, however, industry cannot do without the PR managers. Public relations companies have emerged in full force offering strategic advice and integrated communication solutions

India’s public relation (PR) industry is poised to grow to $8 billion (Rs. 4,000 cr.) in 2011 due to increasing competition among companies to build brands resulting in more sales. The PR industry, which has undergone a major paradigm change in the last decade, is also witnessing large-scale attrition levels of up to 40 percent, said the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in a survey conducted over 400 PR professionals.

Corporate houses are opting to rope in PR professionals to increase their sales turn-over as one of finest marketing strategies. The Indian PR industry has about 1,600 agencies with total manpower strength of about 45,000 people. However, this indicates only the agency strength. One should also consider the number of professionals involved in PR from the corporate side of the table.

Apart from healthcare, Education, IT and consumer durables, some areas that have huge potential for PR are public sector corporations, environment and NGOs, corporate responsibility activities, crisis management and, of course, politics.

Since the demand for PR professionals is rising, and so are opportunities, the relationship industries has shown a growth rate of about 25 percent in the last couple of years. It has now risen to 32 percent and the trend will continue in future and even grow for the better.

Public Relations is primarily conducted through communication and the use of the media. Press conferences and other communication devices like events are to be studied by a student of PR. Brand management and sponsorship are other important subjects. In fact, good corporate communication is a must for good PR.

Good communication can be achieved in various ways. ‘Propaganda’, ‘spin’ and ‘spiel’ are various terms used to describe PR communications. Film stars are constantly concerned with their image among the fans as are sports persons and, in fact all celebrities. This is why many PR consultants are referred to as ‘image consultants’ or ‘spin doctors’.

(Pls. refer to prospectus document for details on PR courses.)