Section 2

Public Relations:

• Creating & maintaining good will among key publics

• Helps an organization and its publics adapt to each other:

  • Cooperation

  • Positive attitudes

  • Credibility

• More than “publicity”

• Different from advertising

• Reputation = asset

PR is different from Advertising:

• Media coverage:

  • usually not purchased

• Less control:

  • message content & audience

• More credibility:

  • audiences tend to think more objective and credible

• Primary focus:

  • positive attitudes and engage publics

• More audiences:

  • stakeholders

• Corporate image focus

Trends in PR:

• Greater specialization among PR pros:

  • Focus of specialization

  • Industry specialization (High-tech, Finance, Health Care, Link with the Web)

• Globalization:

  • More & more diverse audiences

• Technology:

  • Analytics: Data informed insights

  • Embracing AI tools

• PR goes Online: direct, instantaneous connection

  • On-line Press Kits, interviews, public opinion polls

• Fewer media gatekeepers

  • development of corporate websites

Public Relations Plan:

• Needs to link with Situation Analysis and overall campaign strategies.

• Based on the strategy, select your:

  • PR objectives

  • PR strategies

  • PR tactics

  • Method of PR Evaluation

Types of PR Strategies:

• Change agent strategies

• Involvement strategies

Change agent strategies:

Goal is changing the attitudes that drive behavior

• Communication to/with stakeholders

• Arguments, evidence, appeals, associations

Involvement Strategies:

Use participation to intensify stakeholder involvement

• activities (i.e. voting for favorite makeover)

• causes (i.e. rebuilding houses after disaster)

• decision making (i.e. submitting ideas)

PR and Publics:

• Internal publics:

  • Internal: Employees, distributors, suppliers, shareholders

  • External: Media, govt., prospective shareholders, community

• Primary, secondary and marginal

  • Based on influence

• Proponents, opponents and uncommitted

  • Based on relationship

Types of PR Planning:

• Relationship Management

• Media Relations

• Reputation Management

• Issue Management

• Marketing Public Relations [“Sales Promos”]

• Cause Marketing

• Non Profit PR
  
  

Relationship Management:

Managing relationships with stakeholders

• Government relations

• Employee relations

• Financial relations

• Media relations

  • Know who is who and who would be interested in which story

  • Provide information to media

  • Honesty, accuracy, professionalism

Government Relations: Public Affairs

• Executive and legislature:

  • Federal Government

  • State Government

  • Local Government

• Lobbying:

  • Legislative

  • Corporate/organizational

  • Grass-roots: public

• Political Action Committees

Employee Relations:

Enhances:

• morale

• loyalty

• satisfaction

• workplace culture

• trust

• confidence

Financial Relations:

• Shareholders

  • Annual reports

  • Company mailing

• Financial Markets

  • Business press

  • Financial News channels

• Analysts

  • Annual reports

  • Company visits

  • Presentations

Issues Management:

• Monitor public opinion about issues that are central to the organizations’ interests

  • What publics are important?

  • What do these publics think?

• Issue evolution

  • Potential, emerging issues?

  • Current stage challenges?

  • Obvious possible hurdles?

How Issues Management is done:

• Develop programs to communicate to and with the public about the issues

  • Identify issue trends

    • Pew , Gallup

• Establish company’s position

  • In collaboration with leadership

• Understand issue evolution

  • develop a strategy that fits with the issue evolution

  • Adheres to the stated position

Corporate Reputation Management:

• Takes a long time to build

• Corporate image is fragile

• One slip can create negative public impression

• Day-to-day basis practice

• Earned, not created

Marketing PR:

• Product publicity

• Product placement

• Third-party endorsement

• Use of spokespersons

• Trade show participation

• Cause related marketing

• PR advertising

Nonprofit PR:

PR to affect attitudes and behaviors toward some idea or cause:

• Political marketing

• Social Cause marketing

• Charitable marketing

• Government marketing

• Private Nonprofit marketing

• Association marketing

Cause Marketing

• Adopting a cause and sponsoring its fundraising •

  • E.g., Häagen-Dazs’ Save the Honeybees Initiative •

    • Flavor dedicated to the bees

    • VR experience

    • Supply chain innovations

    • Bee Better Certification ( pollinator habitat)

Mission Marketing:

• Linking a company’s philosophy and values to a cause

• E.g. Ben & Jerry’s Mission:

  • “We believe that ice cream can change the world. We have a progressive, nonpartisan social mission that seeks to meet human needs and eliminate injustices in our local, national, and international communities by integrating these concerns in our day-to-day business activities.”

Crisis Management

The process by which an organization deals with a major unpredictable event that threatens to harm the organization:

• Surprise

• Insufficient information; Short decision time

• Escalating events

• Loss of control

• Increased outside scrutiny

• Panic

How to Manage a Crisis:

DO:

• Speak first and often, rely on confirmed facts

• Be open, concerned; not defensive

• Make your point and repeat it

• Stay calm, be truthful & cooperative

• Involve stakeholders to decision-making

• Clearly state what steps will be taken and how

DONT:

• Speculate

• Fight with media

• Overpromise

• Lie

The Press Release:

• Primary tool used to deliver messages to editors, producers, and reporters

  • Produced by company, used by press

• Understand news value:

  • Timeliness, Proximity, Impact, Human interest

• Tailored to medium, written well, tight and simple

  • Print news release, Video news release

• Success is predicated on quality

  • A short, catchy/interesting/inviting headline.

  • Get to the Point –summarize your subject in the first paragraph.

  • Body – explain why this matter to your audience.

Press Release Format

• Double Spaced • 8.5” by 11”

• Margins should be 1.5”

• Provide name, address, & phone number

• Release date, typically no embargoes

• Slug lines – “more” / “###” at the bottom

• Timing – be sensitive to editorial deadlines

• Length – be sensitive to medium specific constraints

  • i.e. < 500 words, < 15 or 30 seconds

Press Release Style:

• Use journalistic style

• Readability– short paragraphs, lists, bullets, etc

• Tight, simple writing style

• Include quotes: No quotes, no story

• Inverted pyramid

  • start with the take-home message

  • then explain the details

• Include a great headline

• 5 W format

  • Who, What, When, Where, Why, How

• Contact info….so they can contact you

Media Kit

• Structures a successful press conference

• Normally in folder form and electronic- easy access

• Provides important background info

• Given before or at press conference

• Includes:

  • News release

  • Backgrounder

  • Biography

  • Photographs

  • Fact Sheets

  • Q & A sheets

Media Kits make sure:

Information is accurate & answers most fundamental questions

• Multiple angles:

  • Sufficient background information to allow editor to select a story angle

• Confine opinions to credible sources

• Have visually arresting, high-quality graphics

Media Kit Components:

• Backgrounder:

  • Provide additional information to complement the shorter news release

  • Longer and more general

  • A 4 - 5 page backgrounder provides editors with more depth and details

  • Subject matter dictates the form (News release style, descriptive narrative style)

• Biography:

  • Biographical summary of key person/s

  • Can be: straight or narrative

• Fact Sheet:

  • a document that compactly profiles an organization •

  • Company, product lines, top managers, location, sales, leading product and summary of history

• Q&A:

  • either substitutes or complements a fact sheet. It lists the FAQs, and may substitute for a personal interview

• Photographs:

  • In real environments, but eyecatching

  • Focus on product/issue

  • Have an underlying message

Media Contact Sheet:

• National and local journalists

• Specificity

  • In terms of contact information

  • In terms of area of specialty

• Consider respected bloggers & influencers on the topic

• Who do you want to be at your press conference?

• Who do you want to cover your story?