Public Relations

More than media relations

Public relations: the planned creation and management of positive and productive relationships between an organisation and its principal publics.

This is what Chelgate Romania delivers.

We believe that corporate relationships are pretty much like other human relationships. You create them, shape them and nurture them in two ways: by communication, and, perhaps more important, by behaviour.

We protect and develop these relationships using a wide range of public relations services and techniques. We offer strategic advice and positioning, to help clients manage complex relationships with key publics coherently. And we offer consulting services on specific projects or initiatives, in particular advising those firms moving into Romania for the first time.

In our work, we operate across all traditional media platforms, including radio and television, and work in trade and mainstream press. We manage events – small and some very large, televised events – for our clients. With a mixed team of experienced and younger executives, we also understand social media – and we know how to match platforms to Romanian audiences. As a largely rural country, social media plays less of a role in Romania than, say, in London or New York, but it remains a vital part of Chelgate’s work in Romania.

How we work

An important part of our work at Chelgate is looking at the impact of corporate actions on key relationships. We may advise on steps to take, and actions to avoid, and working with our clients we devise patterns of corporate behaviour that serve to reinforce and sustain their relationships.

At the same time, of course, we focus on communications. That’s two way communications. You will never be a good communicator if you don’t know how to listen. So, we help our clients listen. We use a wide range of research and feedback techniques to help them monitor the attitudes, needs and aspirations of their key publics. We also recognise that “snap-shot” research has only limited value. The fact that 50% of the public hate you can achieve a very different complexion if you know that last month the figure was 10% or 90%. Attitude is a dynamic process, and we work with that dynamic.

But an organisation has to know how to communicate its message, too, and that is of course a central element in almost any public relations programme. But, although the media offer a powerful and effective conduit for your messages, you need to plan your media relations within the context of a whole host of other communications, on- and offline.

Chelgate brings together experts in corporate communications, marketing, political relations, media relations, issues management and others, to work as a single team to provide a complete and integrated corporate public relations service tailored to the individual needs of each client.

Third voices

When managing acute issues or debates, it is rarely the two disputing parties that sway public opinion. Instead, it is often neutral, respected parties who don’t have an affiliation to either side who really control public opinion. With this in mind, a core part of our services involves engaging third parties to speak in favour of a given side – these are what we call “third voices”. We don’t bribe or buy these voices – we rely on persuasion, so when they speak in favour of a client, they do so because they genuinely believe in their case.

Third voices do not have to be experts in a particular sector. Sometimes, public figures or respected politicians can speak, with authority, on a subject far from their comfort zones. But their influence and judgements can nonetheless be respected, and influential.