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Capella University — Business

BUS4027: Public Relations

A complete guide to Capella's BUS4027. Students distinguish public relations from marketing and examine stakeholder interactions with customers, shareholders, media, analysts, and senior management.

Undergraduate6 CreditsMarketingCommunications

BUS4027 explores public relations as a strategic management function distinct from — yet complementary to — marketing. Students examine how organizations build and maintain relationships with diverse stakeholder groups including customers, shareholders, the media, financial analysts, and senior management. The course develops students' ability to design and evaluate PR strategies that protect and enhance organizational reputation, manage crises, and communicate effectively with each stakeholder audience.

PR as a strategic management function

Core topics

  • PR vs. marketing: Understanding the conceptual and practical distinction — marketing focuses on target markets and the marketing mix to drive transactions, while PR manages relationships with broader stakeholder audiences to build trust, credibility, and goodwill over time
  • Target audience vs. target market: PR's concept of "target audience" is broader than marketing's "target market" — encompassing any group whose perceptions, decisions, or actions can affect organizational success, including non-customers
  • Customer relations: Managing public-facing communications, handling complaints, brand reputation management, and the use of owned, earned, and paid media to shape customer perceptions
  • Investor/shareholder relations: Communicating with shareholders and the investment community — earnings announcements, annual reports, proxy statements, and managing investor expectations during periods of uncertainty
  • Media relations: Building relationships with journalists and media outlets, crafting press releases and media kits, conducting media briefings, and managing coverage during crises
  • Analyst and senior management communications: Financial analyst briefings, executive communications, internal PR for employee audiences, and the board-level communication responsibilities of corporate PR functions

BUS4027 assignments include PR campaign proposals, stakeholder communication plans, and crisis communication analyses

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Related courses

BUS4033Brand Identity and Marketing Communications BUS4022E-Marketing

Frequently asked questions

How does BUS4027 connect to other marketing courses?

BUS4027 Public Relations sits within Capella's Marketing specialization alongside courses like BUS4022 (E-Marketing), BUS4024 (Customer Behavior), BUS4030 (Marketing Distribution Channel Management), BUS4033 (Brand Identity and Marketing Communications), and BUS4036 (Marketing Research). While those courses address marketing strategy and the customer relationship, BUS4027 broadens the view to include non-customer stakeholders — investors, media, government, communities, and employees — whose perceptions are equally important to long-term organizational success.