promotion - public relations

“The planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics”
What is meant by the term “publics” in the above definition?
A business may have many “publics” with which it needs to maintain good relations and build goodwill. For example, consider the relevant “publics” for a publicly-quoted business engaged in medical research:

• Employees

• Shareholders

• Trade unions

• Members of the “general public”

• Customers (past and present)

• Pressure groups

• The medical profession

• Charities funding medical research

• Professional research bodies and policy-forming organisations

• The media

• Government and politicians