Interpretive Approach To Public Relations

Due to the world’s rapid change through advanced technology, public relations practices are becoming more and more of a global activity. Today, it is considered as one of the fastest growing fields of professional employment. As defined by Grunig, J., & Hunt, T. (1984), “public relation/s is the management of communication between an organisation and its publics”.

In other words, public relations practitioners deal with the public which consist of groups of people who share a common interest and through public relations; a positive relationship can be developed and maintained between an organisation and its public. With that in mind, public relations practitioners have to constantly adapt to the needs of the society through which different

(1987) presented five definitions of strategy which are strategy as plan, strategy as pattern, strategy as position, strategy as perspectives and strategy as ploy. Chaffee, E. (1985) on the other hand, identified three clusters of strategy which are linear, adaptive and interpretive. Some of these strategies share similar characteristics.

Strategy as plan is similar to the linear approach, strategy as pattern shares similar aspects to the adaptive approach and strategy as perspective share similar features to the interpretive approach. The significance of strategy is that it allows public relations practitioners to work with a broader organisational environment towards achieving a common goal. This will be illustrated through the Mimi Ullens Foundation’s ad campaign titled, “If Only For A Second”.

The Mimi Ullens Foundation was created in Belgium in December 2004, in the form of a private foundation governed by a Board of Directors acutely aware of the problems of cancer and in particular of its effect on patients. The Directors are wholly convinced of the need to provide aid and comfort to all those who are confronted by this terrible illness, giving priority to those who lack necessary financial resources to fight the disease with dignity and tranquillity. So that all are better able to cope with

This strategy was successful in covering a more dynamic environment as it created hype throughout social media. With that action taken place, it is safe to say that the organisation’s goals will change proactively and reactively with consumer preferences. The Foundation has kept up with the trend of social media or rather the communication process used was up to date as they utilise social media to the very best of their ability. The Mimi Ullens Foundation adapted to the new digital media era giving them a new edge in marketing their