Public Relations Overview

PUBLIC RELATIONS OVERVIEW

In the marketing world, we often refer to the 4 P’s of marketing - Product, Price, Promotion and Place. While this model has been expanded in recent years to include 3 additional P’s - Process, Physical Evidence and People - there’s still 1 P that has been left out that perfectly sums up and relates to Public Relations, which is PERCEPTION.

We want to positively influence the perception our target audiences, stakeholder and larger community have about Wavumbuzi. It means that teachers, students, government, parents and the larger society think about Wavumbuzi and smiles, because they value what we do, how we do it and the impact we make in the lives of teachers and students.

Why is PR different from other advertising initiatives?

• PR activities play an important role in identifying and building relationships with influential individuals and groups responsible for shaping the perceptions of people. We understand the influence that parents and/or other society members have on the way students perceive the world. PR activities allow us to share our impact and vision with all members of society who can help and support students to prosper.

• Public Relations opens up new marketing channels to us that we won’t be able to reach if we were to run targeted advertising campaigns. Positioning Wavumbuzi as a news-worthy initiative to build youth entrepreneurship, we’re able to share our impact stories on traditionally expensive media channels such as TV or Radio.

• We’re able to generate goodwill among people with a vested interest in the impact and stories of Wavumbuzi. It’s feel-good stories that make people happy and excited about the future.

• Using well-respected influencers helps to expand our reach and generates new brand awareness and publicity.