Abstract
This essay aims to highlight the contributions of public relations at the strategic level. J L Thompson (1995) defined strategy as a means to an end, and he writes,” The ends concern the purposes and objectives of the organization. There is a broad strategy for the whole organization and a competitive strategy for each activity.” The significance of strategy is allowing practitioners to set their work in the wider organizational context. The concept of strategy is made clearer by Mintzberg et al (1982) who offer five uses for the word strategy, there are plan, ploy, pattern, position and perspective. On the contrary, these five uses do not operate in isolation, but are intertwined to generate more benefits. Position is important …show more content…
Professor Rumelt (1979) says ‘Strategy is the deployment of one’s resources in a manner which is most likely to defeat the enemy’.
Critical theory contributes to the development of effective public relations strategies because we can learn from the critiques made by the target publics. Also, we can use the critiques as references on how we can improve in the campaign, this makes it more acceptable to the public. This is important to the practice of public relations as it makes it a collaborative process.

Discussion
In the recent Presidential Elections, the use of Rhetoric was strong in the manifesto of President Tan’s campaign, ‘Confidence for the future’. His choice of words trumped his opponents as the language was both simple yet loaded with subtexts. Another use of rhetoric was in the use of his thick black-frame spectacles as his election symbol. The deeper meaning was for Singaporeans to ‘look into the future’. It is interesting how a simple image, which is neutral in its symbolism, can have different meanings towards different segments of society. This election symbol was carried over thousands of campaign materials printed, such as caps and postcards. The description he gave himself was ‘Tried, Tested, True’. Once again, the rhetoric framed the discourse that Dr Tan had gone through trials, and in doing so, is