• Opinion leaders, and "VIPs" in the community

• Owners, employees, employees' families

• Local media, including TV, radio, print, web and possibly trade magazines

• Local labor market, employment agencies

• Community leaders, city administrators and elected officials, such as city council members or mayors.

• Trade association leadership and members

• Local chambers of commerce and economic development agencies and/or associations

• Vendors, suppliers

• Neighborhood associations

• State regulatory officials, including land use and environmental agencies

• Stockholders, and the investment community including brokers, bankers and lenders

• Competitors

• Activist groups

The tricky part is each communication with these groups often originates from a different part of the organization. In order to ensure brand consistency and to plan strategically, the messages need to be highly coordinated, while at the same time, they should be customized for each public.

Also, monitoring the opinions and attitudes of these groups requires that open relationships be established with the right people at the right time in the process. In order to effectively handle damaging circumstances and the "bad news" that often follows, it is important to have a clear understanding of the opinions and attitudes of the organization’s publics, and experience in reaching out to them in an effective manner.

The list of publics above would be characteristic for a typical medium sized business. The list of publics for a non-profit organization or government agency would be different. Also, the order of importance changes depending on the company's objectives. So, there is no single list.

The company needs to take an inventory of the publics that have the greatest impact on the organization's reputation or brand identity. If you are a leader in your organization, take an inventory of the publics that have the greatest impact on your organization's reputation or brand identity and consider the following actions:

• Identify which publics are important to each of the departments (sales, personnel, etc) and to the organization as a whole.

• Determine which publics are in a position to help or hurt the organization.

• Determine the attitudes that these groups hold toward the organization, including their expectations for the organization.

• Identify efficient ways to monitor and communicate with the groups.

• Establish policies and procedures to ensure that the brand and messages are presented consistently in print, on the Internet or in person-to-person settings.

• Develop a media strategy and communication objectives.

• Determine what the media are saying about the organization, and the industry.

• Develop feedback systems for the organization’s internal publics, such as employees, vendors and suppliers.

Of course, the consumer is important and selling products and services is the bottom line. But a wider view is needed to protect the organization's reputation and its brand. Form a comprehensive communications strategy that incorporates the publics that have the greatest impact on the organization in combination with marketing and advertising strategies.

The Internet. The public relations industry sustained a dramatic impact with the introduction of the Internet. In 1993, ProfNet, a collaboration of public information officers providing journalists with access to expert sources, was launched. Its members included colleges, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and law firms. ProfNet also included an online catalog of 2,000 leading experts across all disciplines. As the use of the Internet continued to grow, the transition to interactive communications required a change in thinking and created new opportunities for building relationships between organizations and their public. The Internet could deliver messages combining various methods of communication: text, audio, graphics, still pictures, animation, and full-motion video. The challenge for the public relations professional was to use this tool to the organization's advantage, allowing for more one-to-one communication while maintaining the credibility and trust essential for the organization's well-being The Internet also drove the increasing globalization of the marketplace. In 1999, the United States held an overwhelming lead in Internet users, with more than 110 million, which was nearly 43 percent of the total 259 million worldwide Internet users. By 2002, the United States was projected to have one-third of worldwide Internet users, declining to 27 percent by the end of 2005. The most notable impact on the public relations industry by the growth of the Internet was in the re-evaluating of the traditional marketplace. Conventional boundaries defining not only economic but geographic roles were being redefined with the increasingly expanding global market. Public relations programs could constantly monitor the Internet in order to identify ways to communicate with targeted audiences through this new medium. Companies using the Internet could take advantage of the oneto-one marketing opportunities presented by the Internet to reach opinion leaders in industry. Extending the organizations' presence to the World Wide Web and commercial online services transcended traditional public relations. These communications efforts could combine the best of traditional PR—strategic consulting, marketing support, media relations, public affairs, crisis management, investor relations, even special events—with the vast reach of the Internet.