First Prize PR Mission

Starting to develop a public relations plan:
Draft a First Prize Glass public relations mission statement

This page is an applied discussion of strategic planning and assumes you are familiar with the hypothetical company -- First Prize Glass -- being discussed. If you have not yet read about its background, use the left-hand link above to do so now.

You should have also read the articles Developing a public relations plan and Planning Starts with Mission Statements before proceeding. They can be accessed with the right-hand link above.

To use this scenario as a self-test, write your own public relations mission statement for First Prize Glass before reading the article and then compare your draft to the possibilities given below. Remember, however, there is no one correct mission statement for any organization. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of ways to express an organization's mission, any or which can be acceptable if the communication team and top management agree that they adequately reflect what needs to be done.

Just as an organization's mission statement summarizes what the organization is, what it does, and what it wants to accomplish, a public relations department's mission statement should reflect what it is, what it does, and what it hopes to accomplish. However, neither a public relations department nor any other operating unit within an organization functions solely for its own ends. These units exist to help their parent organization achieve its goals, and their mission statements should reflect and support the organization's overall mission.

A mission statement can be as short as a slogan, or it can be fleshed out to several pages in length. However, the best public relations department mission statements probably fall somewhere between these extremes. They're long enough to be somewhat specific about what the public relations department does, but they're short enough to actually be read and not just be left in a desk drawer.

The first example below is a typical "short and sweet" mission statement that could be used for First Prize Glass. It's a very short and largely generic statement that's almost a definition of public relations. It could be adapted to almost any organization simply by changing the name, as long as that organization and its public relations staff believed in and practiced third phase public relations that emphasizes mutual adaptation. It would, however, be wholly inappropriate for a public relations unit whose primary activity is publicity in the classic first phase mode.

Mission of the First Prize Glass
Public Relations Department
The public relations department’s primary responsibility is to help First Prize Glass maintain positive, mutually beneficial relationships with all of its associates and publics through open and effective two-way communication.

The second example is a bit more detailed and identifies some of the specific activities and supporting roles that the public relations unit performs. However, it too provides a quick summary of how the public relations staff thinks about public relations and what it's supposed to be.

Mission of the First Prize Glass
Public Relations Department
The public relations department is the company’s primary channel for telling the First Prize Glass story.
Customers, potential customers, vendors, suppliers, and the general public are informed of First Prize Glass products and operations through advertising, packaging, and plant tours, as well as news releases disseminated through the mass media and trade press. Employees and stockholders are informed of internal developments and external conditions that affect First Prize Glass through meetings, announcements and various publications.
The public relations department also monitors what other companies, activist groups, government agencies, customers, and individuals say and do that might affect First Prize Glass and keeps the management team aware of developing concerns and issues it may need to address.

The third example starts with a concise general statement similar to the first example but adds several themes and long-term goals as bullet-points. It is an unusually long departmental mission statement and would not be acceptable in all organizations. But, it could be appropriate for First Prize Glass given the level of detail included in First Prize's overall mission statement. Note that each bullet-point in the public relations mission statement directly corresponds to a bullet-point in the company's mission statement.

Mission of the First Prize Glass
Public Relations Department
The First Prize Glass public relations department strives to maintain positive, mutually beneficial relationships with all of the company's employees, shareholders, associates, and publics through open and effective two-way communication. Toward this end it will ...

foster the image of clear and sparkling crystal as being as precious and sophisticated as diamonds;
present First Prize Glass as the world's foremost maker of fine stemware, crystal awards, and glass sculptures;
emphasize First Prize's long history of producing exceptionally high quality products in all promotional materials from product packaging to news releases;
significantly expand media contacts overseas and develop language and culture appropriate mechanisms for expanding the awareness of First Prize Glass outside the United States;
cooperate with the marketing department to showcase new products as they become available;
develop positive relationships with the investment community – brokers, investors, SEC, and other regulators – which had previously been unnecessary when First Prize was a family-owned company;

reassure family members that their legacy is safe and that First Prize Glass will not turn into a cold-hearted and aloof corporation.

Once an appropriate public relations mission statement has been developed, planning can move ahead into the Audience and goal identification portion of the strategic planning process. Click on the left-most link below to immediately jump to the discussion of how this would apply to First Prize Glass, or click on one of the other links to access other readings.