COMM370- 8.1-4

PR campaign

brand-aligned plan that lays out, from start to finish, what a client wants to accomplish creatively and strategically

PR campaign purpose

to solve a problem OR chase a fresh opportunity

PR campaign includes

multiple press releases and pitches, media outreach, multiple planned media posts, video content

repurposable

a plan you can often tailor per client, not a wheel you reinvent every time, what a PR campaign should be

campaigns deliver

stronger brand awareness and equity, stronger relationships among key publics, content and messaging makes people feel something, measurable lift in desired behavior, hits BOTH business anad communication goals

pr campaign steps

• conduct research

• identify purpose and audience

• strategize the plan

• develop content / persuade audiences

• experiment with innovative ideas

• evaluate success

research

before any creative ideas, must do this first, primary methods focus on groups and surveys, secondary sources focus on published articles and monitoring social media and reports

goal of research

evidence-based picture of where the client’s been, what they face, and what gaps you can close

identify purpose and audience

• start with the why (new audience, rebrand)

• accessible to ALL audiences

• key questions: what’s our message? who received it? how do we reach them?

• know client expectations and deliverables upfront (sales, traffic coverage)

planning (research, innovate, execute)

• no substitute for excellent planning, connects the problem to your solution

• execute as planned

• innovate new ideas

• research

• best idea means nothing if not backed by research

develop content and persuade

• strong visuals, audio, and written content tied together by one narrative

• consistency is everything, must be the same across every channel

• appeal to emotion, humans crave authentic stories

experiment and evaluate succes

• ideation (strategic process of generating ideas)

• doesn’t have to be complicated

• identify KPIs to measure success

• measure before launch and throughout

• show client exactly what happened

KPIs

• awareness / reach: impressions, reach

• engagement: likes/shares/comments, video views, traffic

• sentiment / quality: positive v. negative coverage, quality of the outlet

• behavior / business impact: sales, conversions leads, food traffic, brand recall

brand recall

The ability of consumers to remember a brand name on their own, without prompting, when thinking about a product category

foot traffic

The number of people who physically visit a store, venue, or location during a specific time frame

leads

Potential customers who have shown interest in a product or service, often by sharing contact information, and who can be pursued for a future sale

conversions

The number or percentage of people who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or registering for an event, after encountering a marketing message

sales

the exchange of a product or service for money

RACE

research, action, communication, evaluation

ROPE

research, objectives, planning, evaluation

RACE / ROPE similarities

• research: identifying the problem, publics, messages, methods

• publics: understanding groups to be reached

• evaluation: final step, did we hit our goals

RACE / ROPE differences

• RACE: emphasis on building the plan and getting the message out

• ROPE: emphasis on setting measurable goals and mapping out how to reach them

cracks in RACE/ROPE

• too simple

• overemphasis on media relations

• missing social listening and monitoring

SMART(ER) goals

• Specific: goal must be clear and detailed to understand what is expected

• Measurable: progress toward the goal can be tracked with concrete criteria

• Achievable: goals need to be realistic and attainable, nothing too ambitious

• Relevant: goals should align with broader objectives to make sure it is relevant

• Time: goals should have a deadline for urgency and to prevent it from being postponed

• Evaluation: helps assess if the goal is on track and if changes are necessary (what’s working / not working)

• Review: reflecting on the process after the goal is completed

strategic plan

plan detailing the key steps to hit your goal, pull in perspectives from related disciplines, actual written document delivered to clients to talk in section

strategic plan focus

MICRO steps that tell a story

10 steps of a strategic plan

background research, situational analysis, competitive analysis, SWOT analysis, objectives, audiences / messaging strategies, evaluation, budget, calendar, future steps / recommendations

background research scanning

• environmental scan (whats happening outside the client that affects them)

• political: elections, activism

• legal: local, state, federal laws

• economic: spending habits, layoffs, inflation

• cultural: what’s trending

background research - client overview

• history and key players (CEO, CMO, CFO, CCO, CIO)

• industry position

• mission, purpose, products, services, issues

• ethical/legal conduct issues

• competitors

• communications audit: analyze ALL their content, news, socials, websites

situational analysis

• organize all research into one clear picture of what’s going on

• boil down to one-sentence core problem statement

• can also be framed an opportunity, not just a problem

SWOT analysis

• strengths: INTERNAL advantages, strong culture, awards

• weaknesses: INTERNAL hurdles, poor culture, broken communication

• opportunities: EXTERNAL circumstances, new ideas

• threats: EXTERNAL dangers, competitors protests, new regulations

objectives

• must be simple, understandable, and tied to measurable achievements

• brack to SMART

• updated throughout the campaign as needs shift

strategies and tactics

• heart of the plan

• strategy: how you’ll hit the objectives

• tactics: tools that execute it

• tactics are specific and focused (hashtags, newsletters)

• must be ladder up to a broader strategy

audience and messaging

• primary audiences: people you target directly

• secondary audiences: supporters who influence primary audiences

• emerging audiences: not on the radar but should be

• demographics (age, location)

• psychographics (attitudes, values)

• primary message: one simple sentence of the core thing to communicate

• secondary message: facts / stats

PESO model

• paid: pay to place at a certain time, place, and audience (tv/print ads)

• earned: coverage earned on someone else’s platform without paying for it (media relations, influencer content)

• shared: essence of social media, generated buzz, harder organically (insta, TikTok)

• owned: content fully owned and controlled (website, blogs)

budget and calendar

• budget categories: resources, media (PESO), measurement / research, staff time

• staff billing: per-project, retainer, or hourly

• always set aside 8-10% buffer for unexpected

• calendar: timeline

• timing is every, pause scheduled posts during crises

measurement, evaluation, and future recommendations

• measurement isn’t an afterthought - runs start to finish

• senior managers want hard numbers (growth, impact, results)

• evaluate failures

• clsoe with a future recommendations section