UMD COMM 201 Intro to Public Relations Final Exam

Public Relations

A strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships

between organizations and their publics

Publics

A group of people who share the same interest/problem related to organizations

General Publics

Broader (general audience)

The difference between a public and the general public

Publics are a group of people that share the same interest regarding an organization, and the general public is everyone else in the world.

The difference between a public and a stakeholder

Stakeholders include people like employers, suppliers, the media, investors, local

communities, organizations choose stakeholders by their marketing strategies,

recruiting and investment plans; the public's arise on their own choice and choose the organization.

Fitzpatrick's decision-making model

1) Define the specific ethical issue/conflict

2) Identify internal/external factors that may influence the decision

3) Identify key values: Loyalty, transparency, expertise, independence

4) Identify the parties who will be affected by this decision and define the PR person's obligation to each

5) Select ethical principles to guide the decision making process

6) Make a decision and justify it

Press agentry/publicity (Four models of PR)

- One way

- Initiated by an organization with little concern for accuracy and completeness in order to gain the attention of publics.

Public information (Four models of PR)

A one-way communication process that is initiated by an organization  and informs publics with truthful and accurate information

Two-way asymmetrical (Four models of PR)

- Scientific persuasion

- Uses persuasion to influence audiences to behave as the organization desires

- Unbalanced, the organization uses research/feedback in an effort to persuade the public to change attitudes or behaviors.

Two-way symmetrical (Four models of PR)

- Most Ethical

- Negotiate with publics, resolve conflicts, and promote mutual understanding and respect with the organization and its publics/stakeholders

- Is mostly balanced with the organization as likely to change attitudes or behaviors as its publics.

Understand the connections and differences among PR, advertising, marketing, and journalism

PR- A strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics

Advertising- designing, selling a product Paid media space purchased by sponsors to persuade audiences; or the practice of planning and producing this service

Marketing- selling, promoting a product Business of creating, promoting, delivering and selling a product and service

Journalism- Channel for PR advertising and marketing Gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information

Understand measuring advertising value in cost per thousand (CPM)

- A measure of advertising reach that represents the cost of an advertisement relative to the estimated size of the audience.

- The M in CPM is the roman numeral for 1,000

- A three column inch ad in the student newspaper costing $42 to reach a circulation of 14,000 would yield a CPM cost of $42/14=3.00 per thousand readers

Understand measuring advertising value in advertising value equivalency (AVE)

- A calculation of the value of news or editorial coverage based on the cost of the equivalent amount of advertising space or time.

Relationships in PR

Media, employees, customers, volunteers, key influence, investors, board of directors, regulating authorities, government agencies, other businesses

Good organization public relations

Control mutuality, Trust, Satisfaction, Commitment

Formative research

Research conducted at the beginning of the planning progress, or during the implementation of a planform

Summative research

Conducted at the end of a campaign or program to determine the extent that objectives and goals were met

Primary research

Designing research and collecting your own data for communication planning (allows you to tailor research to your own specific purpose)

Secondary research

Collection summary, analysis or application of previous reported research

Formal research

Research designed with clear rules and procedures

Informal research

Research conducted without rules and procedures, which makes the findings difficult to replicate

Research ethics

1) Helps us make informed decisions.

2) Respect for person

3) Beneficence

4) Justice

Define planning in the context of the RPIE cycle

- Consideration of the organizations mission, goals, objectives, strategies and tactics

- considering a # of outcomes beyond awareness.

How is McGuire's hierarchy of effects useful in public relations planning?

1) Turning in, attending, liking, comprehending, learning, agreeing, remembering, acting and proselytizing.

2) Helps planers set goals, identify appropriate objectives and tactics, and be realistic about expected outcomes

Public relations planning includes

mission (highest) + goals + objectives + strategies (logic hidden) + tactics (lowest, most specific, ex: news release, social media posts)

Tactical Decision Making

Daily management and communication tactics implemented without consideration of the strategic objectives, goals and missions of the org.

Strategic Decision Making

Daily management and communication decisions made with mindfulness of the objective, goals, and mission of the organization

Goals

A desired result for PR efforts. More specific and more general

Objectives

Statements that indicates specific outputs or outcomes desired. Specific steps taken to achieve broader goals

Strategy

Underlying logic that holds a plan together and offers a rationale for why it will work

Tactics

Specific actions taken and item produced

Mission statement

A statement of the organization's purpose - why can organizations operate, why they exist, what they stand for

Strategic

A logical plan and rationale explaining why the strategic is possible in achieving the org. Goals and missions

SMART objectives

1) Specific

2) Measurable

3) Achievable

4) Relevant

5) Time-bound

How is SMART used when defining goals?

Its objectives add accountability and enhance professionalism in PR practice

Outputs

- Tasks or work attempted and completed

- IMMEDIATELY OBSERVABLE

Outcomes

- Observable results of public relations work

- IMMEDIATELY OBSERVABLE

Impacts

- Broadest and farthest reaching results of public relations efforts, often stated in terms of societal benefits

- NOT IMMEDIATELY OBSERVABLE

Benchmarking

Process of setting a point for comparison with eventual program results in order to observe change over time (can also be used to make performance comparisons w/ other organizations or industry standards)

How is two-way communication employed in implementation?

Two way communication and relationships are the heart of PR. two way communication is essential in making sure implementation is successful.

Controlled media

- Channels of comm that allow public relations practitioners to write, edit, produce, and distribute messages as they see it

- Controls content, tone, where it is placed/accessed

- EX: internal newsletters, television ads, speeches, podcasts, websites, exhibits

Uncontrolled media

- Channels of communication that are outside of the control of public relations practitioners.

- EX: newspapers, TV and radio news, external websites, blogs and social media, news media interviews

Benefits of control media

- Total control of message content

- Total control of delivery and place

- Precise audience and targeting

Downsides of control media

- Pricey

- Time consuming

- Lacks the urgency of news

Downsides of uncontrolled media

- Coverage cannot be controlled

- Timing can be controlled

- Content cant be controlled

- Potential for errors

Owned media

 Organizations that own channels granting them control the message and its dissemination, as well as the opportunity for feedback or two-way communication (include newsletters, corporate video, brochures, direct mail, voicemail messaging

Paid media

 Content that the organization has paid for to be placed at a

certain time, on a certain platform, and before a certain audience

Shared media

Content specifically designed for user generated circulation. Can be planned tactic or organic tactic

Earned media

Media exposure earned through word of mouth communicating. Publicity (EX: news stories written and published as a result of press release)

Corporate advertising

Paid media designed to promote an organization as a whole rather than sell a particular service, product or product category (sometimes called institutional advertising)

Pay-per-click

Model of media sales in which advertisers, marketers or sponsors pay online publishers or websites owner for each time the sponsored message or advertisement is clicked

Native advertising

Paid advertising that is presented in the form of the media content that surrounds it. includes Advertorials, promoted tweets, sponsored posts.

Media gatekeepers

People or processes that filter information by deciding which content is published, broadcasted, posted, shared or forward. (journalists, social media influencers, every day media consumers)

Digital watermarking

Information embedded into digital audio and video signals that can be used to track when and where the content is delivered

Eye tracking

Process of measuring eye movement to determine where people are focusing; often used in website testing

What are appropriate applications and strengths and weaknesses of clipping/media monitoring services?

- Measure publicity, monitor online conversations and facilitate the sharing of info. Large scale content analysis

- Strengths: sorts media cover-age. Expanded the range of evaluation available

- Weaknesses: can not measure what people think, feel, or do about the coverage

What is tracking visitors to a website valuable? What is the difference between bounce rate and conversion rate?

- Specific goals can be tracked. See how people use your site

- Bounce Rate = the % of visitors who visit a site but then leave the site instead of continuing forward to other goals you may have established

- Conversion rate = the number of goals reached divided by the number of unique visitors to a site

Defamation

Statement that injures a reputation

Slander

Oral comm that is false and injures someone's reputation

Libel

Written or otherwise recorded false comm that injures someone's reputation

What counts for defamation?

- The statement must actually be false and hurt someone's reputation

- The statement must be published or spoken

- False statement has to be factual

- Statement must be made with fault

Public figure

Someone of general fame or notoriety in the community who is subject to less protection in libel cases than a private individual

Actual malice

A falsification that is made purposely acknowledging its falseness and reckless

How does the First Amendment relate to PR?

PR is dependent on free speech

Copyright

Claim to property rights of an original work of authorship including rights to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, license and so on.

Trademarks

Word, name, phrase, symbol or design used to distinguish a product or service from others in the competitive market

Patent

Claims to intellectual property rights of an invention

Plagiarism

Taking credit for someone else's idea

Copyright infringement

Use of protected works without proper permission from the copyright holder

Fair use

Laws that allows for the use of otherwise copyrighted material for educational , criticism, commentary purposes

Hyperlink

A piece of text or an image online that can be clicked on to reach another resource online

Deep links

A hyperlink that bypasses an org homepage and takes users directly to resources deeper in an org website structure

Framing

Clickable material in link that is actual content from the site to which it links

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

A US federal law passed to ensure that the gov make its information accessible for citizens

Sunshine laws

State law that stipulates which documents and records must be open to the public and which meetings and events must be open

Intrusion into Seclusion

- Invasion of privacy

- Trespassing into someone's private space

Public disclosure of private facts

Publishing information that has not previously been released, if that information is personal and not deemed to be of legitimate public interest

Portrayal in a false light

Someone spreading wrong information about a person that reasonably can be considered offensive or objectionable

Why do PR pros struggle with issues & crisis?

- Pressure to respond immediately

- Poor internal communication

- Lack of information

- 64% of PR pros have fast access to news, but have crisis response hurdles

Early/potential (issue stage)

It begins to attract people's attention

Emerging (issue stage)

When people begin to notice and express concerns

Current/crisis (issue stage)

When the organization becomes public and pressure on the org builds (the process of the outbreak)

Dormant

When the organization has no choice but to accept the long-term consequences (aftermath)

Situational crisis comm theory

choosing and applying appropriate response strategies depending on how much responsibility for a crisis is attributed to the org. By key publics

Denial (scapegoating)

Blaming an outside person or organization for a crisis, is not well received by the public.

Diminish

Acknowledge the existing of a crisis, but minimize the organizations responsibility, may also try to reframe the situation

Rebuild

Public acceptance of responsibility

Reinforce

Reminding all the good things your organization has done in the past is one way to reinforce a relationship

Accident crisis

Industrial mishaps, mechanical failures or IT crashes could all be considered accidents.

Victim crisis

When publics see org. As victims they signed minimal responsibility for the crisis to them. (EX: natural disasters, sabotage, terrorism, product tampering, rumors.

Preventable crisis

Cost by mismanagement illegal activity or unethical action. Crisis intensified when then org already has a reputation for breaking rules or history of similar cases

Organizational crisis history

A major threat to an org. Operations or reputations

Media coverage (steal thunder)

- To take someone else's idea using it for one's own advantage

- Attorneys are known to "steal the thunder" when they expose weakness in their own cases and address those weaknesses before their opponents have the opportunity to do so

Benefits of globalization

- Increased scope of operations

- More money in new markets

- Positive social and environmental impact

Risks of globalization

- Unintended consequences

- Miscommunication

- Negative social and environmental impact

Culture

A system of beliefs, values and assumptions about life that guide behavior and are shared by a group of people

Power distance (cultural dimensions)

- High power distance cultures value hierarchy and authority

- Low power distance cultures value equal distribution of power more

Individualism-collectivism (cultural dimensions)

- Individualistic cultures value loyalty to self and immediate family more

- Collectivist cultures value loyalty to larger groups and society more

Uncertainty avoidance (cultural dimensions)

- High uncertainty avoidance cultures are less comfortable with ambiguity

- Low uncertainty avoidance cultures are more at ease with ambiguity

Masculinity-femininity (cultural dimensions)

- Masculine cultures value competition, achievement and material success more

- Feminine cultures value care, collaboration, and modesty more