CST 360- Public Relations Exam #2 (UWL Fall 2026)

What is consumer relations?

Creating and maintaining positive relationships with current and future customers.

How do organizations practice consumer relations?

Advertising, handling complaints, engagement, and monitoring external reviews.

What is the consumer class?

A lifestyle dedicated to consuming nonessential goods; about 2 billion people.

What are the five objectives of consumer relations?

Retain customers, attract customers, market offerings, handle complaints, keep consumers informed.

Why is retaining existing customers important?

Most sales come from repeat customers; regaining lost customers is difficult and expensive.

What are the seven tips for brand loyalty?

Quality, engagement, feedback, return incentives, relevance, competitive value, appreciation.

How can companies attract new customers?

Use Monroe's Motivated Sequence: Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization, Action.

How can companies market new products or services?

Announcements, advertising, cross-marketing, and positive reviews.

How can companies expedite complaint handling?

Call centers, service desks, online chat, message boards, and social media.

Why should companies keep consumers informed?

Maintain engagement, prevent confusion, and reduce costs.

What is the consumer movement?

A social and regulatory movement protecting consumers from reckless and unethical corporations.

What did Upton Sinclair contribute to consumer protection?

His 1906 book The Jungle exposed meatpacking conditions and helped inspire food safety reforms.

What did Ralph Nader contribute to consumer protection?

His 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed challenged automobile safety practices.

What are JFK's four consumer rights?

The rights to safety, information, choice, and being heard.

What did the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 address?

Mislabeled food and drugs in interstate and foreign commerce.

What did the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act address?

Regulation of food, drug, and cosmetic quality and safety.

What does the Justice Department address in consumer protection?

Antitrust and monopoly issues.

What does the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) oversee?

Advertising practices, truth in advertising, and fair credit reporting.

What does the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) protect against?

Hazardous food, drugs, cosmetics, additives, serums, and vaccines.

What does the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) do?

Ensures consumer product safety, especially products used by children.

What does the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversee?

Disclosure requirements among publicly traded companies.

What is consumer-generated media?

Consumer comments, opinions, and experiences shared publicly; online word-of-mouth.

What is consumer activism?

Consumers taking collective action, such as boycotts or social media campaigns.

What are examples of consumer activism from class?

Montgomery Bus Boycott, Nestlé boycott, Abercrombie Girlcott, and #DeleteUber.

What three qualities should employee communication have?

Candid, clear, and credible.

Why are employees a challenging communication audience?

They are among an organization's most informed and savvy audiences.

What are the four keys to organizational culture?

Sincere, drives decisions, co-created, and communicated.

What are the four categories of cultural elements?

Values, symbols, interactions, and context.

What are organizational values?

Shared beliefs, priorities, and preferences that distinguish an organization's culture.

What is the difference between espoused and lived values?

Espoused values are publicly stated; lived values are actually practiced.

What are organizational symbols and stories?

Objects, logos, mottos, people, and narratives representing organizational culture.

What are organizational interactions?

Rituals, informal cultural rules, and expected communication styles.

What is organizational cultural context?

The history and place that shape organizational identity and values.

What are Moskowitz's first three employee-relations criteria?

Welcome feedback; make management accessible; inform employees before external audiences.

What are Moskowitz's final three employee-relations criteria?

Clear messages, friendly tone, and appropriate humor.

What is Management by Walking Around (MBWA)?

Managers staying visible and accessible through informal workplace interaction.

What does S.H.O.C. stand for?

Strategic, Honest, Open, and Consistent communication.

What is strategic communication in S.H.O.C.?

Explain organizational direction and employees' roles.

What is honest communication in S.H.O.C.?

Share the truth, including bad news; silence is often worse.

What is open communication in S.H.O.C.?

Encourage two-way communication and act on feedback.

What is consistent communication in S.H.O.C.?

Maintain consistency in topics, strategies, channels, and regularity.

What is corporate social responsibility (CSR)?

Contributing to stakeholders' economic, environmental, and welfare needs.

What are the three keys to strong community relations?

Understand public opinion, explain organizational values, and mediate disagreements.

What four things do communities expect?

Appearance, participation, stability, and pride.

What does NIMBY stand for?

Not In My Back Yard; opposition to unwanted nearby developments.

What are the objectives of community relations?

Inform, address concerns, build local ties, contribute culturally, source locally, remain successful.

What impacts should organizations communicate to communities?

Payroll, taxes, environmental impacts, social responsibility, and company growth.

How should organizations respond to community criticism?

Remain accessible, listen to concerns, and respond constructively.

How can organizations contribute to community culture?

Support arts, festivals, youth education, sports, and recreation.

What are the different governmental publics?

Local/state/federal; domestic/international/multinational; legislative/executive/judicial.

What notable regulatory agencies are listed in class?

FDA, CPSC, EPA, Department of Energy, SEC, and Homeland Security.

What does the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) address?

Environmental protection and related regulations.

What major topics are involved in government relations?

Regulations, inspections, trade laws, licenses, taxes, and interest rates.

What are key tips for maintaining government relations?

Know representatives, stay generally nonpartisan, emphasize public good, disclose, and participate.

Why should organizations monitor government decision-making?

To stay informed and participate in hearings, councils, and civic committees.

What is lobbying?

The ongoing process of influencing public policy for an organization or industry.

Why has the need for lobbyists increased?

Growth in government bureaucracy and wider acceptance of lobbying's influence.

What are the five lobbyist objectives?

Communicate, monitor officials, mobilize constituents, influence laws, educate lawmakers.

What was the Gillett Amendment of 1913?

Restricted use of federal appropriations for publicity experts without specific authorization.

Why does government often avoid the term public relations?

The Gillett Amendment raised restrictions and concerns about taxpayer-funded persuasion.

What alternative government PR job titles are used?

Public affairs experts, information officers, press secretaries, communications specialists.

What should a media relations policy establish?

Spokespersons, message guidelines, media lists, response protocols, and approval processes.

What are the key tips for building media relationships?

Respect reporters, be kind, build trust, know their work, and never lie or buy coverage.

Why must PR professionals respect journalists' independence?

Journalists may ignore stories, ask hard questions, or publish negative coverage.

What is publicity?

Notice or attention given to someone or something by the media.

How does publicity differ from advertising?

Publicity is typically free, more credible or impactful, and less predictable.

What is the primary goal of publicity?

Maximize positive publicity and minimize negative publicity.

What is the main challenge of publicity?

Attracting positive attention while having limited control over the story.

What are six uses of publicity?

Launch, revive, explain, gain low-cost attention, enhance reputation, respond to crises.

What is pitching in media relations?

Trying to attract positive publicity in news media.

What are the key strategies for pitching journalists?

Know deadlines, email first, target individuals, avoid badgering, use exclusives carefully.

What else matters when pitching a story?

Build lasting journalist relationships and never lie.

How should news releases adapt to an online world?

Be shorter, use strategic keywords, and include brief, topical, appealing headlines.

What is SEO's role in online publicity?

Search engine optimization helps people discover online content through relevant keywords.

What online channels can organizations use for publicity?

Links, Reddit AMAs, YouTube, podcasts, news wires, and paid news wires.

What are essential tips for handling media interviews?

Prepare, stay calm, be brief, use evidence, be truthful, and avoid faking answers.