Public Relations in Eircom Rebranding for Audiences- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about thePublic Relations in Eircom Rebranding for Audiences. Answer: Public Relation Theories provide a means of communication that helps organizations to bridge the gap between itself and its clients, audiences or customers. This is essential for every organization whether it is a corporate organization or a not for profit organization or an organization involved in the field of public affairs. In the context of public relations it is very important to understand that there are specific communication structures that are built for both internal as well as external building of relationships (Theaker 2017). Broadly speaking there are four types of public relations theory that are implemented to build an effective communication with clients or the audience. In this particular case study we relate the theories of public relations that apply to rebranding of Eircom and the tools that affected the scenario of client base retention after the rebranding. With respect to this case study, it is important to know what public relations campaigning is all about and how it has affected the rebranding of Eircom to Eir, the biggest telecommunication firm in Ireland. Public relations campaigning essentially refer to a series of activities carried out by a firm in order to achieve a marketing goal. In this particular case, Eir received the European PRExcellence Award for undergoing the most expensive rebranding with a campaign that lasted for a period of almost three months (Hynes 2014). This was done to change the focus on its customers and it involved an investment of almost a billion Euros. Extensive media coverage and engagement of the clients using digital modes of communication was used in the campaign. FleishmanHillard Inc., which is one of the biggest marketing and public relations firms and the internal marketing team of Eir took care of the whole process. Next, we take a look at the different theories of public relations and history of public relations in Ireland. The first is the theory of Press Agent or Publicity Model which uses media to gain attention in any which way possible. It can even use manipulated information (Grunig 2013). Such a model is generally not based on proper research and involves a lot of persuasion. The general method used is one way in which information is only conveyed from the source to the audience. Next, is the theory of Public Information Model which uses appropriate information but does not expose information that can create a vulnerable situation for the organization (Culbertson and Chen 2013). It uses a factual or truth-oriented approach to reach to the targeted section of people. This approach also does not use proper or formal research and also uses one way approach. The third theory is that of Two Way Asymmetric Model. This model uses scientific methods of persuasion and is implemented on the already existing client base to retain them and also focuses on gaining back lost client base (Smith 2013). This model is basically used for purposes of marketing and advertising. This being asymmetric is also pretty imbalanced as in this case too this process looks after the benefit of the organization more than the benefit of the clients or the customers. It is one of the processes that aim at increasing the revenue generated and the profit in turn generated by the firm. The last theory is that of the Two Way Symmetric Model. This model is aimed at creating a professional bond between the customers and the organization (Grunig 2017). This model uses communication for benefiting both the clients as well as the firm or the organization. This model is deemed to be the most efficient and the most ethical model as it takes into account the data of both the customers and the firms. The history of Public Relations in Ireland is also important to gain a background of the case study under consideration (Whelan and Savva 2013.). It is seen that before 2013, public relations were functioning primarily in its own direction and was not used as a management function. However, of late public relations is being increasingly used as a management strategy in the corporate sector. This has resulted in improvement of the public relations sector and its incorporation not only in the decision making process of firms but also as an educational subject. According to, Somerville and Kirby (2012) the implication of public relations in the political history of Ireland has also been immense. In fact, it has been the most sought after mode of investment and marketing. All parties use public relation models to reach out both to their rivals as well as the general voting mass. The transformation of Eircom to Eir involved the introduction of 4G for the first time. The company turned out to be bold enough to change from an old telephone service providing firm to a company that constantly evolves with the use of latest innovation of products and technological improvisation. It was not a mere name change but a complete change of identity and functioning. As mentioned above, public relations are increasingly playing a very vital role in the marketing decisions of corporate firms in Ireland so has it in the context of Eir (Cooper 2015). On taking a keen look at the various theories mentioned above, it is seen that the theory which applies the most to this rebranding is the Public Information Model, as it caters to the publicizing of the information and does not take into account the reaction of the customers. It is also in sync with the trend of increased use of public relations for corporate marketing. Going on to analyzing the challenges facing the rebranding and the strategies implemented, it is seen that the firm followed a two step process in the entire campaign, one was that of a pre launch program and the second a launch day program. The pre launch program consisted of attracting coverage about some expected rebrand which would take place but did not cover disclosure of elaborated details related to the rebranding (Herstein 2012). On the launch day however, lavish events involving the staff of Eir was held and as a matter of fact, the Irish Times was used as a medium of reaching out to people by capturing a front page picture with an extended caption. Also, two extensive press releases were held and the theme of the events was differentiated and based on the elements of the new brand. Following this press conferences were held which were further forecasted on all media platforms as well as social platforms. The company in fact segregated the country into regions and used regi on specific marketing skills. However, what is lesser known is the fact that rebranding as a public relations concept is always associated with some inherent challenges. In this case, the major challenges and issues that Eir was facing lied within the process of reconsidering the already existing services, brand identity and marketing strategies in place. The investment like mentioned above had to be done with a lot of risk. Makeover was not the only factor governing such changes, the company had to undergo changes at its very core, ranging from economic decisions, coming up with a new public relations group, changing the logo of the firm and even the website. The deals offered to the customers were changed and the stakeholders engaged had to be persuaded about this decision. Nevertheless Eircoms rebranding into Eir was an absolute success because of the strategic financial and marketing plans it undertook. The basic tools used in public relations marketing and communication are media relations, advertisements, social media platforms, newsletters, brochures, business conferences, speaking events, sponsorships, employee base retention and community relations (Baxter and Sheridan 2012). The rebranding of Eircom to Eir through the campaigning techniques mentioned above as one can see involved of all the tools, especially media relations, social platform advertising and good employee and stakeholders relations. The rebranding led to increased mobility of the firm, strengthened existing client relationships, increased government support and increased popularity of the firm in terms of modernization and progressiveness. The whole process was carried out skillfully and with precision keeping account of all the factors involved, the risks and the results aimed at (McCoy et al.2017). However, to make the campaigning even more robust, the Two Way Symmetric Model should have been implemented as it would lead to better performance of service delivery. This is so because it is the most ethical process and takes account of customer feedback. Also, probably using fewer tools of public relations campaigning instead of using all tools in an extravagant manner would lead to reduced risk and lesser investment. However, on the whole, it is one of the most successful rebranding in Ireland and has become a benchmark for public relations campaigning in the country. It has increased the use of public relations for marketing and management in the corporate sector in Ireland. The success of the campaigning lied in the context of the impact it created, the understanding the audience and clients form and improvement of t he credibility and reputation of Eir as a firm. References: Baxter, D. and Sheridan, T., 2012. 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