The Development of Public Relations Media Involving Community Participation

Abstract

This participatory action research (PAR) aimed to study the participation of Parichart community enterprise at Minburi district, Bangkok in developing public relations media. The research tools used in the study were a focus group discussion, in-depth interview, and observation. The research procedures were divided into 4 steps as follows: 1) studying needs of Parichart community enterprise, 2) analyzing problems about public relations media of Parichart community enterprise, 3) developing public relations media for Parichart community enterprise, and 4) evaluating the developed media.

The findings of this research revealed that Parichart community enterprise did not have any public relations media to publicize the enterprise and to promote the product. They communicated with the target group through personal contact. This resulted in a slow and limited communication that affected the sales volume, product familiarity, and brand recognition. Thus, the printed media that emphasized community participation, and based on needs and budget of the community was developed. In developing the media, the community took part in 3 levels of participation:1) participation by person 2) participation by content 3) participation by process. Result of a satisfaction survey indicated that the samples were satisfied with the developed media at the high level.