6.6 Public and external networks
From a corporate perspective, the purpose of public communication is to promote the organisation's value, image or needs. For this reason, organisations normally commit a substantial amount of resources to the cause. Public communication is sometimes described as 'the process of one communicating with many'.
External public communication can be categorised into three types.
- Advertising and promoting products and services
This field belongs to advertising and marketing specialists who promote the organisation's brand, services and products. It may be physical or virtual.
- Creating a desirable public image for the organisation
Theorists describe image-building as the process of 'creating the identity an organisation wants perceived by its relevant public groups'. Here, public communication is involved with creating a public image. In this public image, a set of positively valued features defines the essential character of a corporation so that groups (internal and external to the organisation) can identify a corporate image.
- Shaping public opinion on issues that are important to the organisation
In the past decade, large corporations have moved beyond traditional image-building to managing social and political issues relevant to various public groups. 'Issues management' is concerned with emerging issues whose definition and contending positions are evolving in the public arena and about which legislation or regulation is likely in a rolling timeframe of 18 to 36 months.
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