Prentice Hall, © 200917-1 Public Relations Part 5: Principles: How to Win the Battle of the Buzz...

17-1Prentice Hall, © 2009

Public Relations

Part 5: Principles: How to Win the Battle of the Buzz

Chapter 17


Questions We’ll AnswerQuestions We’ll Answer

• What is public relations, and what are different types of public relations programs?

• What key decisions do public relations practitioners make when they create plans?

• What are the most common types of public relations tools?

• Why is measuring the results of public relations efforts important, and how should that be done?

CHAPTER KEY POINTS


• Communicating with various public (stakeholders), managing the organization’s image and reputation, and creative positive public attitudes, and generate goodwill toward the organization.

• Public relations takes a longer, broader view of the importance of image and reputation as a corporate competitive asset and addresses more target audiences than advertising.

• Publics/stakeholders—all the groups of people with which an organization interacts—employees, members, local communities, shareholders, customers other institutions.

• Publicity—getting news media coverage.• PR is a managerial function and a tactical function.

What is public relations?What is public relations?

THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS


• What people think; their beliefs based on perceptions or evaluations of events, people, institutions, or products (not necessarily on fact).

• PR strategists want to know:– What publics are important to us now and in the

future?– What do these publics think?

• Opinion leaders—important people who influence the opinions of others—are especially important.

Public OpinionPublic Opinion



• Goodwill is a company’s greatest asset— PR’s job is to create it.

• “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”

• Integrity is not just about having a positive image, it’s a result of a company’s actual behavior.

• Public relations is the conscience of the company, with the objective of creating trust and maintaining the organization’s integrity.

Reputation: Goodwill, Trust, IntegrityReputation: Goodwill, Trust, Integrity



Comparing PR and AdvertisingComparing PR and Advertising


• Media use• Control• Credibility

• Seek to persuade media gatekeepers to carry stories about or “cover” their companies.

• Gatekeepers are writers, editors, producers, talk-show coordinators, and newscasters.

• This aspect of PR is called publicity.




• Media use

• Control

• Credibility

• With news stories, PR people are at the mercy of the media gatekeeper.

• They don’t have to run your story.

• Advertising runs exactly as the client who paid for it has approved.




• Media use

• Control

• Credibility

• Public tends to trust the media more than they do advertisers.

• Consumers assume a story is legitimate if it appears in the media; this is an implied third-party endorsement.




• Media relations

• Employee relations

• Financial relations

• Public affairs

• Fund-raising

• Cause marketing

• Focus on developing media contacts.

• Knowing who in the media might be interested in the organization’s story.

• Relationships must be built on honesty, accuracy, and professionalism.




• Media relations



• Public affairs

• Fund-raising

• Cause marketing

• Programs that communicate information to employees.

• Related program is internal marketing.– Communication

efforts aimed at informing employees about marketing programs.




• Media relations



• Public affairs

• Fund-raising

• Cause marketing

• Communications aimed at financial community.

• Press releases to business magazines, meetings with investors, annual (financial) reports.




• Media relations



• Public affairs

• Fund-raising

• Cause marketing

• Communication with government and with the public on issues related to government and regulation.– Lobbying to get

legislators to support a bill.

– Issue management (monitor and communicate to and with public).




• Media relations



• Public affairs

• Fund-raising

• Cause marketing

• The practice of raising money by collecting donations.

• Used by nonprofits: museums, hospitals, Red Cross, etc. and directed at potential donors.

• Sometimes called development.




• Media relations



• Public affairs

• Fund-raising

• Cause marketing

• Companies associate themselves with a cause, providing assistance and financial support.

• Whirlpool and Habitat for Humanity.


Other Types of PR ProgramsOther Types of PR Programs


• Corporate Reputation Management– Focused on image, reputation, trust

• Crisis Management– Anticipating and planning for disasters from a media

perspective and with stakeholders

• Marketing Public Relations– Plan and deliver programs to drive sales and build

customer satisfaction to communicating to address consumer wants and needs

• Public Communication Campaigns– To change public opinion, discourage harmful behaviors– “Truth” campaign to protest smoking


ResearchResearch

PUBLIC RELATIONS PLANNING

• A communications audit assess the internal and external environment.

• Benchmarking identifies a baseline from a previous audit, or a competitor.

• Gap analysis measures differences in perceptions between publics, or between a public and the organization.

• Three types of publics:– Latent publics are unaware of their connection to an

organization an an associated problem.– Aware publics recognize their connection with a problem

but don’t communicate about it. – Active publics communicate and act on a problem.


SWOT AnalysisSWOT Analysis


• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats• Helps companies understand the nature of the

problem so they can develop appropriate objects and target the right publics to address a problem.

• May cover a variety of issues:– Changes in public opinion– Industry and consumer trends– Economic trends– Government regulations and oversight programs– The effect or corporate strategies on stakeholders


TargetingTargeting


• Research identifies appropriate target audiences.

• CIGNA insurance identified conscientious consumers and directed their “Power of Caring” campaign toward them.

• The campaign featured well-known personalities and charitable causes like Alex’s Lemonade Stand.


Objectives and StrategiesObjectives and Strategies


• PR objectives are to change the public’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to a company brand or organization.

• Typical PR objectives focus on:– Creating credibility

– Delivering information

– Building positive images, trust, and corporate goodwill

• Before changing behavior, a communication program may need to change beliefs, attitudes, and feelings.


The Big IdeaThe Big Idea


• Creative ideas get attention.• A Nevada conservation program used a 50-

year-old tortoise as a mascot to promote desert ecology.

• TBS’s Cartoon Network used electronically lit cartoon characters on buildings and bridges to promote their show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” causing bomb scares in Boston.– Cost TBS $2 million and the network head

resigned


Two Main Categories of PR ToolsTwo Main Categories of PR Tools

PUBLIC RELATIONS TOOLS

• Controlled media– Sponsoring organization pays for media and

controls how and when the message is delivered.

• Uncontrolled media– Sponsoring organization doesn’t pay for media;

the media controls how and when the message is delivered.

– Semicontrolled media include electronic media over which companies maintain some, but not all control (e.g., company Web sites vs. other Web sites, blogs, chat rooms) .


AdvertisingAdvertising


• House ads– Used in a company’s own publication or

programs (self promo).• Public service announcements

– Run free on TV, radio, or print for a charities or civic organizations.

• Corporate advertising– Focused on corporate image or viewpoint– Corporate identity advertising– Advocacy advertising


PublicityPublicity


• News releases– Deliver PR messages to external media; answer five “Ws.”– VNRs contain video footage.

• Pitch letters– Engaging letter about a feature story idea sent to editors

who have to be “sold”; usually a human interest angle.

• Press conferences– An event at which a spokesperson makes a statement to the

media; a media kit may be sent ahead of time.

• Media tours– “Press conference on wheels”; spokesperson makes

speeches and announcements, holds press conferences, and offers interviews.


PublicationsPublications


• Pamphlets• Booklets• Annual reports• Collateral material• Books• Bulletins• Newsletters• Inserts and enclosures• Position papers


DVDs, CDs, Podcasts, Books, and DVDs, CDs, Podcasts, Books, and Online VideoOnline Video


• DVD and podcasts are now major PR tools.• Books can be published simply with

electronic publishing.• Videos are expensive but are ideal for

distributing in-depth information.• YouTube is being used for corporate

messages.


Speakers and PhotosSpeakers and Photos


• Speaker’s bureau– A group of articulate people who will talk

about topics at the public’s request.• PR departments maintain file of photos to

provide to the public.


Displays and ExhibitsDisplays and Exhibits


• Displays include booths, racks and holders for promotional literature, and signage.

• Exhibits are larger than displays and may have moving parts, sound, or video.


Special Events and ToursSpecial Events and Tours


• Events celebrate company milestones:– Open houses– Birthday celebrations– Corporate sponsorship of events

• Tours such as plant tours and trips by delegates and representatives– The “truth” tour reaches 750,000 teens

annually with information about the harmful effects of smoking.


Online CommunicationOnline Communication


• Intranet– Connects people within an organization

• Extranet– Connects people in one business with its business partners

• External communication– Web sites, email contact with reports, press releases

distributed by email, or PR Newswire• Internal communication

– Connects people in separate sites and it’s inexpensive– However, it can be used in court against a company

• Web challenges– Search optimization is a major issue– Anyone can post anything about your company; gossip and

rumors can spread around the world in hours– Companies can monitor what’s being said about them


Effectiveness and PR ExcellenceEffectiveness and PR Excellence


• Evaluation is based on measurable objectives established in planning.

• Difficult to measure the effect on the bottom line.

• Even in PR, the media and messages must work together to meet objectives.

• Practitioners track the impact of a campaign in terms of output (how many mentions) and outcome (change in attitude or behavior).


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mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice HallPublishing as Prentice Hall

Prentice Hall, © 200917-1 Public Relations Part 5: Principles: How to Win the Battle of the Buzz...

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