Public Relations practice in Africa has come of age, occupying the core of relationship management between public departments and the general public they cater to. Whether the PR ‘face’ is up to the task is an entirely different issue altogether. Different, pertinent and somewhat worrying, public relations at the heart of Africa’s public sector is still saddled with peculiarities, most of which are neither complimentary nor flattering.

Thought leadership is a strategic approach to business communication which helps organisations positively position and differentiate themselves, in the process creating and enhancing relationships with key stakeholders. It contributes to excellent organisational reputation and the achieving of organisational objectives, including selling products and services.

Excellent public relations is nothing more than the application of common sense, creativity and kindness, with the latter characteristic relevant both to those an organisation is seeking to have a positive relationship with, as well as those people a PR professional interacts with and/or utlislies to help achieve the best possible result.

Many people fail to perceive the seriousness of public relations; how it provides balance to discussions and often contributes insights into complex, multi-layered issues that, otherwise, would not have been generated. This takes place just as much in issues and crisis management, which might be the immediate domain that comes to mind, as it does it reputation building, positioning and differentiation which are, generally speaking, more proactive kinds of strategic communication.

In public relations, values and worldviews are as important and relevant as facts. Together, they combine to form ‘truths’. Yet whose truth is correct? How are we to decide on the most appropriate truth and what happens when it butts heads with another’s – different – truth? Negotiation, collaboration and acceptance of each other’s right to difference will help us practice PR at its most effective level.

Is authenticity a viable notion in public relations? Is it a quality that will serve an organisation well? Or should it only be considered as a by-product of organisational culture and operations, rather than as a driving force? Authenticity is one of those characteristics, like ‘innovation’, which seems to be sought after, viewed as a positive and claimed, yet what is the reality of its application for public relations and marketing purposes?

There are a large number of ways in which the practice of two-way symmetrical communication can be applied to help achieve tangible, money-making business objectives. It may mean that the speed at which money is made is not as quick as initially hoped, it may mean not quite as much money is made and it will definitely involve more ‘process’ being involved to achieve the objective of making money.

Mining and oil & gas companies frequently face ongoing where they can benefit from the application of public relations’ guiding theory, two-way symmetrical communication. Market research; negotiation; and adapting operations and objectives to more closely meet the needs of their stakeholders help organisations achieve optimum business outcomes than those that don’t.

I’ve been driven to distraction of late by yet another cunning, self-hating term that public relations has come up for itself to hide, no doubt, the distaste it feels, and it feels non-PR people similarly feel, for the term ‘public relations’ itself. The term is ‘stakeholder relations’.

In this public relations and marketing case study, the essential challenge addressed involves creating an inbound marketing strategy for an infrastructure company. The strategy integrates the following dimensions: 3rd party credibility, strategic alliances, thought leadership and internet communication.