Re-Shaping Today and Tomorrow
Key Trends in PR Practice and Thinking
Dr. Bill Nichols Senior Lecturer PR/MarCom; Deputy Director, CHCR; Director – Astrophel LLP
BNU School of Business and Management
Kozara, Bosnia – 23-24 May 2013 Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
1. Welcome To The Borderlands
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Join me on the border Academia and Practice
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
They’re Very Different Languages
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Quel est le futur des relations publiques?
公共关系的未来是什么?
Sometimes more like a war…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
But breaking down barriers is the heart of PR… Let’s call it..
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Successful interaction!
Dobrodošli na moju prezentaciju
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Today’s Agenda
• The Borderlands
• Triumph and Expectation
• The Empire of Spin
• Spin Overwhelmed: Forces of Change
• Consequences: Tomorrow in PR – Theory
• Tomorrow: Seven Trends: One Narrative
• Final Thoughts: A New Practitioner
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
2. Triumph and Expectation
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
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It’s A Great Time for PR
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
On The Up…
• Industry growth = 5-10% annually even in recession
• Multi-billion business
£1.7bn consultancy UK (2005)
• Practitioners up X4-5 in 30 years (=48K in the UK)
• University courses globally (31 UK vs. 1 in 1980)
• Diversifying and winning control of social media.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: CEBR (2005); Gregory (2011).
And PR Won That War – 5:1
PR
Traditional Media
Citizen Media
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
There’s Lots On The Menu
• Media relations
• Corporate comms
• Community relations
• CSR
• Issues & crisis management
• IR
• Public affairs
• Internal comms
• Digital PR
• Branding
• Event management
• Comms strategy
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: CEBR (2005); Gregory (2011).
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So Where Now?
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
3. Context: The Empire of Spin (1980-2000s)
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
End of an Era: Triumph of Spin and Control
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
The Spin Game
• Era of ruthless news managers
• ‘Bury bad news’
• Clearly defined news agendas and schedules
• Message, message, message…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Key Words
• Persuasion
• Advocacy
• Control
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
How It Worked: 1980-2004
• Theory of Social Exchange:
• Negotiated relationships
• Everything has a price.
• Relationships 1.0:
• Network power
• Who you know.
• Perceptions Management:
• “Convince key audiences that messages delivered… are true”.
• Expectations control
• Synonym for advocacy and persuasion.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Golomb (1995); Ferrara (1998); Vargo and Maglio (2008); Latane (1981); Leaf (2012:271) .
Driven By Functionalism: All Very Logical
• Dominated teaching
• Focused on process, causes and effects
• This is PR ‘inside-out’ – founded on:
• Systems theory
• Commitment to situational theory
• Ideal of symmetrical communication
• Aspirations of excellence and effectiveness
• Role structure (manager-technician)
• Quantitative research (e.g. evaluation).
Source: L’Etang (2008: C1, 12); Grunig (1984, 2001). Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
All About Measurement and Results
Inputs Outputs Outcomes
* Budget Compliance • Resource Compliance • Timeline • Contacts/Media.
• Exposure • Coverage/Clipping Count • Readership/ ‘000s • AVE (Advertising Value Equivalent) • Advertising Page Rate Multiplier • Message Count/Weighting • Cost Per Message • Proprietary: e.g. Wordsworth.
* Tracking Study • Behaviour/Purchasing • Attitudes • Intentions • Analytic Relationships.
High
High
Low
Low
Accuracy/Value
Cost
Source: Watson and Noble (2007); McNamara (1992)
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This is the road to Barcelona…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
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Just A Moment: We’re Human…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Three Variables: Not One
Personality
Motivation
Change
Perception
Source: Schiffman and Kanuk (2007:90ff) Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
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AND Change… Always Change…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
4. Spin Overwhelmed: Forces of Change
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
1. We Went Digital: The Mechanism
Sweden (1996) Now The #1
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Hard-wiring the potential for co-creation.
2. Connectivity Went Global
3. Social Media Rolled In…
Obama vs. Romney (Election Night - 2012)
• Facebook 32m vs. 12m fans
• Twitter 21m vs. 1.7m followers
• YouTube 260K vs. 29K views.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Co-creation AND Social Influence.
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4. AND our culture is changing rapidly
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
The Waning of Attention
• “It is only lately that the pursuit of distraction has been embraced as the meaning of life”.
John Gray
Philosopher
(2013)
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
The Writing of the Elite
• “Writing today is like Latin on the eve of the Renaissance, the language of a scholarly elite.”
Prof. Elizabeth Daley,
Uni of Southern California
(2013)
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
The Age of The Image
• “While our culture still relies on words, they are increasingly wrapped up with images. And it is images that people remember”
Stephen Apkon
Cultural Historian
(2013)
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
5. Consequences: Tomorrow in PR - Theory
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
• Authenticity vs. Perceptions:
• The degree to which one is true to one's own personality, spirit, or character
• Co-creation vs. simple Relationship Management:
• Value in use rather than in exchange… Therefore…
• Social Influence vs. Social Exchange (SET):
• Physical and virtual impact upon another’s emotions, opinions or behaviours.
Shaping Theory: A New Paradigm
Source: Golomb (1995); Ferrara (1998); Vargo and Maglio (2008); Latane (1981). Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Key Words
• Reputation
• Relationships
• Social Interaction.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
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Reputation and Relationships are two sides of the same coin..
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
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By managing social interactions which create a web of relationships, we sustain and develop reputation.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
People-Centric Communications Wheel
Grounded in Insight
Target Right
Segments
Aim for Behaviour Change
Develop Engaging
Propositions
Manage Complexity
Best ‘Total People
Experience’
Interface and
Collaborate
Open and Accountable
Source: GCN (2010); CHCR (2013).
6. Tomorrow in PR
Seven Trends: One Narrative
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Media Convergence – real world and in the classroom
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
1. Media Convergence: One Focus
Paid
Earned Owned
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols This is the ‘New Secularism’ (Nichols and Davies 2010)
Rolling up social media as a core component…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
2. Convergence Integrates Social Media
Paid •Digital Ads, Banners
•Overlays, Adwords
Promoted •In-stream or
•Social paid promo vehicles
Owned •Created or
•Custom content
Shared •Collaborative platforms
•Vehicles
Earned
•Brand-related conversations
•User-generated content.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Giles Peddy, Hotwire (2012)
Powered by Big Data (when enough people are trained to manage it!)
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
3. Integrated Seamlessly Via Big Data
• Only just begun
• Clearing ‘smoke and mirrors’
• Transforming understanding
• Feeding:
New business measures for PR.
Big Data
Analytics
Insights
Creative Ideas
Multiple Platforms
Business Performance
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Giles Peddy.Hotwire (2012)… .
Creating intelligent real-time customer interactions and relationships…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
• The use of social media requires organisations to not just use these tools, but to have a mindset that embraces immediacy
• Some brands have caught on engage quickly though social media – Eurostar, Gatorade, Dell
• Brands need to be part of the conversation and decision making process – if not, they are forgotten
• Social intelligence creating social capital
• RoI advantage = +3%
4. Powering Real-Time Marketing
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: David Meerman Scott (2013) .
Supporting intelligent real-time community interaction and engagement…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
5. The 3Ts: Community Engagement
Source: Bowen et al (2010); CHCR (2013)
Transactional CE
One-way
Controlled
Compliance-focused.
Transitional CE
Building bridges
Dialogue and consultation/ Town Halls
Cause-focused
Frequent
Transformational CE
Achieving shared value
Relational
Permanent joint-teams
Co-creation/co-ownership.
Direct contact leaves no hiding-place… Applies a high-value to authenticity…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
6. Corporate Character: Reputation’s Gold Standard
• “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Giles Peddy.Hotwire (2012)… .
Which are the building blocks of the most crucial trend of all… the creation of narrative…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
5. Helping Us Create Master-Narratives
• Organisations are good at messaging, identifying stories and weaving messages
• BUT:
• Many forget the master narrative – the red thread that binds these stories and messages together, day in day out
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Peddy/Hotwire (2012)
It’s Human: The Master Storytellers
• The way we’re wired
• Dream, believe, internalise
• Evolve
• Re-define.
7. Tomorrow: The New Practitioner
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
What We Do
• Weave our stories, weave our magic…
Working As Influencers
• Traditional media outreach is subsumed by:
Influencer outreach.
• The world of engagement and new emerging models.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Engaging Live As Brand Journalists
• The creation of videos, blog posts, photos, charts, graphs, essays, ebooks, and other information that deliver value to your marketplace..
BJ
•
• A product pitch
• An advertorial
• An egotistical spewing of gobbledygook-laden, stock-photo enhanced corporate drivel.
Not
• Marketers using the tools of digital publishing and social media to speak directly to consumers.
BJ or Content Marketing
Source: Meerman Scott (2010); Forbes (10 March 2012) Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Leading on Customer Service…
• Customer service
• Empowerment
• Social media management and execution.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
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Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
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It may be a great time… But here comes the scary bit…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
• His time is fading…
• After Leveson in the UK, we will be next in the spotlight..
• How will they seek to regulate the ‘hidden manipulators‘?
• Are we ready?
• Are we professional enough?
We Are The Publishers Now…
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Who Will Win The Next War??
PR
Trad Media
Citizen Media
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
Thank you for listening.
Any questions?
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
8. References
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
References 1
• Apkon, S. (2013), The Age of the Image: Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens. New York NY: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.
• Bowen, F., Newenham-Kahindi, A., and Herremans, A. (2010). When Suits Meet Roots: The Antecedents and Consequences of Community Engagement Strategy, Journal of Business Ethics, 95 297:318.
• CEBR (2005), The Economic Significance of Public Relations. London UK: CIPR.
• Cornelissen, J. (2008). Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory and Practice. 2nd Ed, London UK: Sage.
• Daley, E. (2013). Unpublished Lecture. USC.
• Ferrara, A. (1998), Reflective Authenticity. Rethinking the Project of Modernity. London UK: Routledge.
• Fruchter, G.E., and Sigue, S.P. (2004). Managing relational exchanges, Journal of Service Research, 7 (2), 142:154.
• Golomb, J. (1995), In Search of Authenticity: From Kierkegaard to Camus. London UK: Routledge.
• Gordon, A.E. (2011), Public Relations. Oxford UK: Oxford UP.
• Gottman, J. (1998). Psychology and the study of marital processes. Annual Review of Psychology, Vol.49, pp. 169-197.
• Government Communications Network (2010), Engage Handbook for the Communications Community. London UK: Cabinet Office.
• Gray, J. (2013), The Silence of the Animals: On Progress and Other Modern Myths. London UK: Allen Lane.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
References 2
• Gregory, A. (2011). The State of the Public Relations Profession in the UK, Corporate Communications, 16 (2) 89-104.
• Grunig, J.E. and Hunt, T.E. (1984), Managing Public Relations. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Wilson.
• Grunig, J.E. (2001). Two-Way Symmetrical Public Relations: Past, Present and Future. In: Heath, R. (ed), Handbook of Public Relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Kelley, H.H., and Thibaut, J.W. (1978), Interpersonal Relations: A Theory of Interdependence. New York, NY, John Wiley and Sons.
• Latané, B. (1981). The psychology of social impact, American Psychologist, 36, 343-356.
• Leaf, R. (2012), The Art of Perception. London UK: Atlantic.
• L’Etang, J. (2008), Public Relations: Concepts, Practice and Critique. London UK: Sage Publications.
• McNamara, J. (1992). Evaluation of public relations: the Achilles heel of the PR profession, International Public Relations Review, 15 (24), 17-31.
• Moorman, C, Zaltman, G., and Deshpande, R. (1992). Relationships between providers and users of market research: the dynamics of trust within and between organisations, Journal of Marketing Research, 29, August, 314:328.
• Moss, D and DeSanto, B (2011), Public Relations: A Managerial Perspective. Los Angeles CA: Sage.
• Oliver R.L., (1997), Satisfaction: A Behavioural Perspective on the Consumer. New York, NY, McGraw Hill.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
References 3
• Oliver, R.L. (1999). Whence customer loyalty, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 63, Special Issue, pp. 33-44.
• Schiffman, L. and Kanuk, L. (2007), Consumer Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Spreng, R. and Page, T. A. Jr. (2003). A test of alternative measures of disconfirmation, Decision Sciences, 34, (1) 31:62.
• Tench, R and Yeomans, L. (2009), Exploring Public Relations. 2nd Ed, London UK: Kogan Page.
• Vargo, S.L., and Maglio, P.P. (2008). On value and value co-creation: A service systems and service logic perspective, European Journal of Marketing 26 (3) 145-152.
• Watson, T., and Noble, P. (2007), Evaluating Public Relations: A Best Practice Guide to Public Relations Planning, Research and Evaluation. 2nd Edition, London UK: Kogan Page.
Author: Dr. Bill Nichols
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