What – and who – are “publics”?

… the general public? Yes, the general public – people who read newspapers, watch TV, vote in elections.

But in public relations, publics can get very specific. They can be employees of an organization, shareholders, people who live by a company, students, people of specific demographic groups and so on. In fact, today’s global organizations often answer to 20 or more publics.

Sometimes, publics are also referred to as key audiences or stakeholders.