Public Advocacy: All You Need to Know

by Purvi Dalvi Writer

What is Public Advocacy:

Public advocacy is talking about or representing the common interest of the public. It includes defending the rights of underprivileged and those who have experienced injustice.

It focuses on advocating for common people and other vital issues like labourers, migrant workers, women & children, environmental degradation, animal rights among others.

Why is it Required:

1. Increases Brand Value

The value of the brand depends on the perception of the customers and stakeholders. If they trust the company and its management, the brand value will go up without doing anything out of the box. Some companies have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in this regard.

Through public advocacy, the firm has got the opportunity to create a sense of awareness about the social issue and develop a positive perception in the market. If people start trusting the brand, they will start using its product as well. This will create a pool of loyal customers and attract potential consumers.

2. Increase Potential Customer Base

When anyone starts a public advocacy campaign, people from all walk of life participate. If they feel connected to the cause, everyone irrespective of gender, age, caste or religion, associate themselves with the matter of public interest.

For an organisation, this gives them the right set of circumstances to create a pool of potential consumers of the product. The reputation management company can help them realise this goal.

If they feel for the cause, they will feel for the brand. It is more likely then that the people will start believing the product offered by the company, who are running the advocacy campaign.

3. To protect citizens

Several NGOs across the globe implement public advocacy for protecting the human rights of the individuals. There are several issues such as gender discrimination, sexual abuse, that women face at work nowadays. Reputation management firms can involve NGOs in this scenario. Advocacy can bring an end to these discriminations, and that can bring full equality between men and women. Advocacy at the ground level is handled by the Indian courts.

4. Individual advocacy

This means changing the system for an individual and protecting their rights. Both the system and individual join hands to bring an end to the public issues. Here the individual implements a plan to curb the atrocities they face. Many NGOs assist such people as well.

When it comes to the reputation management company, they could be either PR or reputation firm, especially regarding advocacy. They advocate on behalf of the client, where the mentioned factors contribute to their success.