Assessment of Public Relations Strategies and Organisational Reputation in Nigerian Breweries Plc, Enugu State

Public relations strategies directly shape organisational reputation, and assessing their effectiveness at Nigerian Breweries Plc in Enugu State, South East Nigeria, provides evidence for improving corporate communication practice. This study assessed the public relations strategies of Nigerian Breweries Plc and their impact on organisational reputation among consumers and community stakeholders in Enugu State. Primary data were collected from 180 consumers and 25 community stakeholders through structured questionnaires, with corporate communication officers (n = 10) providing supplementary qualitative information. PR strategies assessed included media relations, community engagement, crisis communication, and responsible drinking campaigns. Reputation was measured using the RepTrak Pulse instrument adapted for the Nigerian context. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were employed. Results showed a significant positive relationship between community engagement activities and reputation scores (r = 0.69, p < 0.001). Media relations effectiveness was rated as good by 71% of consumer respondents. Crisis communication response was rated as satisfactory but lacking in transparency by 44% of stakeholders. Responsible drinking campaigns had moderate awareness (52%) but were credited with positive brand reputation contribution by 66% of aware respondents. The study concludes that Nigerian Breweries' community engagement strategy is the most reputationally beneficial PR dimension in Enugu State and recommends more transparent crisis communication protocols and community partnership programmes with local government councils. Keywords: public relations, organisational reputation, Nigerian Breweries, Enugu State, community engagement