• They require little space in printed media and are therefore looked on favorably by editors. A brief's simple, succinct style allows it to adapt to small, unusual, open space in publications and may have a higher chance of publication as opposed to a longer complete article.
• Briefs assist by portraying companies, organizations, or corporations in positive ways, and help establish them as leaders or experts in their industry.
• Briefs allow companies, corporations, or organizations to customize their self-promotion and choose content, as opposed to a news article which would be written by a journalist. Excessively promotional interviews or articles are not favorably looked upon by editors; briefs however, are frequently allowed much more promotional lenience.

Public relations briefs are most frequently used as a starting point companies, corporations, and organizations use when seeking potential public relations agencies or firms. These types of public relations briefs may contain the following information:

• Company background and/or brief history;
• Overview of products and/or services;
• Customers overview: who the company's customers are;
• Clear outline of competitors;
• Marketing environment explanations, including what public relations activities take place, and with which the agency or firm needs to be integrated;
• The company's understanding of key (communication) challenges facing the company;
• Key objectives for the public relations campaign;
• Key activities and types of activities needed;
• Management accountability between agency and client;
• Performance expectation identification, and expectation of agency delivery;
• Contractual issues, such as project-based or retainer-based relationship and how long the initial appointment will be made.

These types of briefs assist with matching companies to potential public relations agencies or firms, and give such firms clear ideas as to the functioning of a company and its public relations. A strong corporate/public relations firm relationship is vital to the success of a corporation's public relations, and a public relations brief provides the succinct information a firm needs in order to prepare strategies and plans.

An example of the form of a public relations brief follows:

1. Introduction. "XXX is looking to appoint a PR agency to create and promote a campaign positioning environmental factors as a key part of day-to-day travel on the roads. The agency will be required to raise awareness of the following issues and encourage the public to engage with them in a meaningful way."
2. Background. "Government Targets", "Current Public Attitudes"
3. Campaign Objectives
4. PR (Public Relations) Objectives
5. PR (Public Relations) Requirements. "The agency will be required to develop and deliver strategy (national and regional) to raise awareness of the following issues and encourage the public to engage with them in a meaningful way."
6. Target Audience
7. Messages. "The agency will be expected to refine, prioritize, and further develop these propositions and messages."
8. Evaluation
9. Requirements for Proposal
10. Budget
11. Timings
12. Contacts

Well formed public relations briefs allow corporations to receive high quality, firmly focused proposals from public relations firms or consultants.

Links:
http://101publicrelations.com/briefs-fillers-quizzes.html?s=prideas&c=briefs_fillers_quizes

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