Learn how effective PR can alter public perceptions

The first sign of how effective and renowned a PR person should be is seen from the eight pages of crisp testimonials, (apart from the back cover blurb) that the book ' Public Relations: A tool for success' written by a veteran PR professional Dr Ajai Kumar Agarwal has received. The names featured in those pages read like a Who's Who of the corporate and financial sectors, which in itself shows how to succeed in the profession by making the world take notice of you and endorse your publication.

Spread over eight chapters and divided into two Sections, the 148-page book (including the Acknowledgements section) which calls itself a 'compendium of ideas and tools to flourish' is replete with visuals providing relief and adding to the layout appeal at the same time. As the foreword by M B Jayaram, another well-known PR expert says: 'I would like to single out for praise the author's effective explanation of difference between Advertising, Marketing, PR and Corporate Communications. These functions tend to be complementary, but it is unfortunate that so much confusion exists about the difference in their approach. The narrations and richness in his articles speak high of his hold on the subject and carefully chosen words'.

On his part, Dr Agarwal confesses in the preface: 'Public Relations was, is, and will be my passion till I'm alive. Many of my friends tell me that I eat PR, drink PR, think PR, dream PR and PR is everything for me. I feel sometimes they are correct. I must admit that my tenure was full of ups and downs but that only gave me a lot of space to practice the best of public relations theories. I feel I was the luckiest person to reach this level which made me to write this book'.

With nearly four decades of experience in the profession, it surely sounds convincing if the book contains sayings like: 'Advertising is what you pay for, publicity is what you pray for'. Hence, the author is right when he says PR is the practice of, not only micro managing but also very carefully and with complete control, disseminating information from an organization or even an individual to the public. And the very basic purpose of the exercise is to positively affect organisation's or the individual's public perception.

Over the years, the profession has morphed into being an important management function, spawning an independent industry which specializes in perception management and image management in its brick-and-mortar and digital forms, giving birth to young professionals who are working alongside corporate honchos. While this is a highpoint for the practitioners, it also helps to understand in a structured manner, all that one can about the profession which this book has endeavoured to present.