Public Relations, 4th Edition

4Strategy and planning

Elspeth Tilley

1. Introduction
2. Strategy
3. Developing a strategy
4. Planning
5. Conclusion

In this chapter

Introduction

Developing a strategy and designing a plan are crucial areas of public relations management. The two are utterly interconnected; neither can exist without the other, and both are crucial to successful public relations. Yet they are also different from each other and should not be confused. Strategy is ‘a holistic way of thinking about an enterprise’ (Montgomery & Porter 1991: xii). This involves formulating a guiding framework to help an organisation be successful and resilient, which includes responding to its publics and environment. Planning then in turn involves developing a sequence of tasks to execute, progress ...