Public relations

This subfonds includes material from Sainsbury's public relations function.

Includes papers such as:
Press releases and other information for the media;
Press cuttings, broadcast transcripts and recordings;
Correspondence and other papers relating to public relations activities;
Product public relations material including papers relating to the launch of new own-brand products;
Home economists reports and other papers;
Material relating to VIP meetings and visits;
Corporate Affairs department weekly press updates;
Photographs relating to public relations activities;
Corporate films

The organization of the public relations function within Sainsbury's has varied over the years. It had been run as a part of the Publicity Department run by Jim Woods. From the 1970s to 1990s the function became managed by a separate department - the Public Relations Department.

The Public Relations Department became responsible for various activities including: relations with the media, arts sponsorship, consumer public relations (to promote products), publications (eg cookery books), internal communications including the JS Journal, the home economics speaker service, property public relations (to support new development plans), local public relations (eg to promote the opening of new stores), visual communications, environmental affairs, educational activities and the Sainsbury's Archives. They were responsible for some of the public relations work relating to Sainsbury's subsidiaries but not all of this (the subsidiaries managed their own consumer and product public relations).

From 1996 a new Group Corporate Relations department took over responsibility for public relations following the appointment of a new Director of Consumer Relations - this department incorporated corporate affairs, internal communications, public affairs and consumer affairs functions.

Much other material from Sainsbury's Public Relations Department can be found elsewhere in the collection. This includes property development public relations (SA/BRA/1/3), staff communications (mainly SA/SC), environmental affairs (see SA/CR/GRE), arts sponsorship (SA/CR/ASP), charitable giving (SA/CR/CH), education (SA/CR/EDU), and archives (SA/HIS). Many of the public relations papers relating to individual branches are included in branch files (SA/BR/22).

Public relations papers relating specifically to subsidiaries and former subsidiaries (such as Homebase and Savacentre) are generally placed with the papers of those subsidiaries see SA/SUB (though many of these papers were created by the Sainsbury group's Public Relations Department rather than by the individual subsidiaries).