Public Relations & Industrial Liaison

Abstract

Since the last two decades, public relations and industrial research have grown considerably in stature and today public relations has assumed a distinct profession by itself. A generation ago, a research scientist was little under in industrial society and one had to prove that scientific work was economically important and would lead to something positive. In one Industrial Research Laboratory, it was told that a public relations man cannot hope to get even a pleasant good morning. However, when this laboratory held a full-dress community open house which was visited by 3000 persons from the city including the faculties and senior officials in society, the effect on the community as a whole of having an opportunity to see an hitherto secret establishment was tremendous. The local newspaper flashed front page coverage with pictures, the mayor issued a statement praising the Director for the valuable research and this in turn resulted in the research department receiving a special praise from the President of the Company for its contribution to the country’s community developments. The most important effect, however, was the reaction of the laboratory staff, the very persons who had to so long protested that they wanted none of the nuisance that goes with public relation activities. The effect was that they saw their own pictures and columns of papers , they reacted just like other normal human being.