Description
To Accept or Reject a Client
[WLOs: 1, 2] [CLOs: 1, 3, 4]
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapters 3 and 4 in the textbook and the article Crisis Communication and Ethics: The Role of Public Relations, and then watch the video Protecting a Company’s Public Relationship in Times of White Collar Criminal CrisisLinks to an external site..
A well-known professional baseball player is suspected of having used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. He has not been charged. His agent asks you to advise and assist him in handling the intense media interest in the case. He wants you to try to place favorable stories about the baseball star in the media and create a positive environment for him. If formally accused, it could mean irreparable damage to his baseball career.
You are not asked to do anything unethical. The money is quite good, and you know the publicity from working on the case will probably help your public relations consulting career, especially if the athlete is exonerated. The agent tells you confidentially that the athlete has admitted that he took some substance that was unknown to him, but that may have been steroids. Consider the following in your proposal:
Would you take the account?
Does the athlete’s unawareness of taking steroids affect your decision?
What are the ethics of the situation as you see them?
Write a proposal to your business partners regarding the situation. Answer all questions brought up in the case and compare the case to at least one similar case with a well-known ballplayer found through your research. Use the Public Relations News Research in the UAGC LibraryLinks to an external site. guide to find a similar case to support this assignment.
Finally, provide a recommendation to your partners as to whether you should accept the contract.
In your paper,
Analyze the case.
Determine if you should take the case.
Does the information that the athlete may have unwittingly taken steroids affect your decision to take the case?
What are the ethics of the situation as you see them?
Write a proposal to your business partners regarding the situation.
Assess all questions brought up in the case.
Compare the case to at least one similar case with a well-known ballplayer found through research.
Provide a recommendation as to whether you should accept the contract.
Must be two to three double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA StyleLinks to an external site. as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft WordLinks to an external site..
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper in bold font
Space should appear between the title and the rest of the information on the title page.
Student’s name
Name of institution (The University of Arizona Global Campus)
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Due date
Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic VoiceLinks to an external site. resource for additional guidance.
Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
For assistance on writing Introductions & ConclusionsLinks to an external site. and Writing a Thesis StatementLinks to an external site., refer to the Writing Center resources.
Must use at least one scholarly source in addition to the course text.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source.
To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view Quick and Easy Library ResearchLinks to an external site. tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your PaperLinks to an external site..
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References ListLinks to an external site. resource in the Writing Center for specifications.
The To Accept or Reject a Client paper
Unformatted Attachment Preview
3
Researching, Planning,
and Measuring
© Oscar White/Corbis
Man with a plan. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was known as a superb strategist as supreme commander of the Allied Forces
in Europe during World War II and later the 34th president of the United States.
Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.
Learning Objectives
—General Dwight D. Eisenhower
After reading this chapter, you should able to do the following:
1. Explain the importance of planning for public relations campaigns.
2. Articulate why every public relations initiative must begin with research.
3. List the most typical forms of public relations research.
4. Examine and catalog the essential components of a public relations plan.
5. Describe the components of a SWOT analysis in preparing the public relations plan.
6. Explain the importance of measurement in assessing public relations programs and the difficulty
in achieving statistically significant clarity in terms of public relations initiatives.
7. List the various ways that publicity might be measured.
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Section 3.1
Planning for an Inexact Science
3.1 Planning for an Inexact Science
Public relations is not an exact science. The field is fueled by common sense, experience,
and—most of all—judgment and insight. Most public relations actions are intuitive and not
quantitative. But that doesn’t mean that public relations writers shouldn’t aim to be as analytical as possible in determining their approach to and implementation of communicating
public relations messages.
• What do you want to achieve with this program?
• Whom should you target and why?
• How do you know your assumptions are right?
• What kind of results do you expect?
• How do you know the campaign was worth the cost?
Increasingly, CEOs are demanding that public relations professionals demonstrate accountability for their actions and that they base their decisions on one commodity in particular—
facts. CEOs desire—and are certainly entitled to—evidence that what you think, recommend,
and want to spend money on is worth it. In other words, these managers—many of whom are
trained in business school where quantification is key—want to see the research that justifies
the action and the expense; the planning that will ensure a logical rollout and execution of
strategy; and the measurement that lets us know what we have achieved. Research, planning,
and measurement are particularly essential for a field as difficult to define as public relations.
Managers want analytical evidence that initiatives are worthwhile. Research, planning, and
measurement help deliver those analytics for management and (equally important for our
purposes) set the framework for the public relations writer.
Research enables writers to understand the attitudes and opinions of
the target group they’re trying to persuade. The public relations plan provides a road map for the writer as the
campaign progresses. And measurement helps show the writer how the
campaign messages might be refined
to improve their effect. Without these
tools, a public relations writer is shooting blind, relying solely on instinct to
achieve organizational goals. This is a
recipe for, if not disaster, then imprecise targeting and potentially missed
opportunity. The more empirical,
quantitative, analytical, and thoughtful
the public relations writer is, the better the chance of that writer’s persuading a target receiver.
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Topp_Yimgrimm/iStock/Thinkstock
Shooting blind. A public relations writer who does
not engage in thorough research, careful planning,
and precise measurement might as well be shooting
blind in terms of persuasion.
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Section 3.2
It All Begins With Research
3.2 It All Begins With Research
The first step for any public relations writer—just as for any public relations campaign—is
research. Before you can begin to write persuasively about a topic to a target audience, you
must understand as much as you can about the topic, the audience, and the goals of the organization; in other words, you must do your research. This is the only way to map out clear
communication strategies, based on impartial analysis.
Research is the objective and systematic gathering of information to enhance understanding.
Research can be as simple as informally seeking a benchmark for your results by surveying
the attitudes and opinions of a target audience (for example, having lunch with a group of
employees) or as complex as commissioning a full-blown opinion survey to determine deepseated beliefs on a particular subject (such as the opinions of potential American voters on
gay marriage). The range and scope of research depends on the subject at hand and the budget of the organization. The research should be appropriate to answer the writer’s most fundamental questions, among them:
• What are the key beliefs of your target audience relative to this topic?
• How does this knowledge influence the design of your messages?
• What are the optimum messages you might use to convey the organization’s goals?
• How might this knowledge influence the media you will use to convey your
messages?
• How does the degree of urgency attached to this issue influence your schedule for
rolling out messages?
One additional benefit of research is
that the management of most organizations is empirically based. Managers, for the most part, favor analytics
over intuition. Public relations, on the
other hand, is largely an intuitive art
form. The more empirical—and objectively researched—the public relations
approach, the more credibility the public relations initiative will have with
management.
For years, public relations professionBrennan Linsley/Associated Press als have searched for the research
tools that would help justify their
Pot poll. By 2013, U.S. public opinion polls indicated
that a clear majority of Americans (58%) favored the role and importance to management.
In the past, public relations research
legalization of marijuana. A year before, Colorado
and analysis were dominated by the
legalized recreational pot, and partygoers lit up in
most rudimentary measures—such
celebration.
as counting the number of press clippings an organization or product or
announcement received and how closely the ultimate publicity replicated public relations
messages.
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It All Begins With Research
Section 3.2
Primary Analysis
The best public relations research is primary analysis, which consists of collecting original
data from a representative sample (or selected group) of a target audience. The ideal sample
is one that is random. Random sampling gives all members of a population an equal chance
of being selected, and therefore yields conclusions based on the laws of probability that are
statistically significant within certain margins of error and allows generalizations to be made
from the sample to the total population being studied. This is preferable to nonrandom
sampling, which generally uses focus group volunteers, selected without concern for their
being representative of the entire population, as survey participants. Nonrandom sampling
does not provide the statistical significant of random sampling.
Such primary research costs money and is often accomplished by professional research firms.
It is typically achieved by surveying subjects through the use of questionnaires or interviews
in which subjects’ opinions are recorded and then compared.
Today, the computer, sophisticated software, and comprehensive digital archives have opened
the field to more sophisticated avenues of research and analysis that enable practitioners to
more accurately target programs and measure results, often without costing a great deal of
money. According to Dr. Walter K. Lindenmann (2001) of the Institute for Public Relations,
several types of effective public relations research can be achieved inexpensively.
Secondary Analysis
Secondary analysis is the method of reviewing preexisting survey results from an alternate
perspective. It’s a technique that aims to cull new information from previously conducted
opinion studies. You can think of secondary analysis as “surveying the surveys” (Lindenmann,
2001).
Piggyback or Omnibus Studies
Omnibus surveys are versatile, regularly conducted consumer surveys. Most omnibus surveys will occur once to several times per week. Organizations are encouraged to buy—or “piggyback”—their own branded questions onto the basic questionnaire. Typically, such services
are billed on a per-question basis; in other words, organizations only pay for the specific
questions they would like asked. Depending on the size and complexity of the research, questions can range from approximately $500 to more than $1,000.
Quick-Tab Polls
The quick-tab poll involves interviewing a small pool of respondents—usually between 100
and 250—and asking only a few simple, closed-ended questions, generally by phone or via
the Internet. Such polls are ideal for measuring consumer reaction in a hurry, often when an
organization has been subjected to criticism and needs to respond to the problem.
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It All Begins With Research
Section 3.2
Intercept Studies
Intercept studies involve intercepting people you encounter in a particular setting: stopping them, and asking a number of survey questions. Intercept studies are not as concerned
with statistical precision, and so tend to be quicker, more efficient, and more economical than
other studies. Intercept interviews are frequently done near colleges, grocery stores, shopping centers, and hotel lobbies.
Internet Polls
Using Internet polls gives you the opportunity to create and conduct surveys yourself. Such
surveys are ideal if you intend to poll a specific audience and can control the sample selection
process. However, if you are looking to poll the general population and are unable to control
the selection process, these surveys may not be a reliable option. As in all polling, there is
always a danger of false responses—answering questions untruthfully for ulterior motives,
such as to earn a reward.
Mail and Email Surveys
Mail and email surveys tend to be highly reliable, cost-effective, and statistically valid as
research tools. One pitfall of such surveys, though, is that they often suffer from low response
rates, which tends to raise concerns over the reliability and validity of their results. Offering
an incentive—$1, $2, or even $5—for responding to your survey can greatly increase your
odds of achieving a good response rate.
According to Lindenmann, “Too often, public relations professionals spend a small fortune on
research and end up with a report that is pretty, but not particularly useful” (2001). What is
needed is research that yields results and can be acted upon.
Case Study: When Research Goes Awry
All research is not good research. Sometimes research that sounds good and makes sense—
at least on paper—isn’t at all what makes sense in reality. Thirty years ago, Coca-Cola found
this out the hard way when its research revealed that soft drink users in random taste tests
preferred sweeter sodas over its time-honored brand. So Coca-Cola, with much fanfare and a
multimillion-dollar ad campaign, introduced New Coke, a sweeter version that tasted more
like its traditional rival, Pepsi-Cola.
New Coke was a colossal flop, with loyal Coke drinkers protesting the company’s willingness to
dump its secret 99-year-old formula. Negative articles proliferated, and three months after its
introduction an embarrassed Coca-Cola CEO announced that New Coke was no more. One thing
Coke learned was that its quantitative research should have been buffeted by intuition—that
is, stronger consideration of the heritage loyalty that drinkers and nondrinkers alike attached
to the venerable name of Coca-Cola. For decades, New Coke reigned as the poster child for bad
(continued)
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Creating the Public Relations Plan
Section 3.3
Case Study: When Research Goes Awry (continued)
consumer research, right up until 2009 when none other than archrival Pepsi, owner of iconic
Tropicana Orange Juice, pulled an equally misguided move, based on “sound research.”
For years orange juice leader Tropicana was known by its quaint carton depicting the strawin-the-orange image. But when the company polled focus groups on new looks to reinvigorate
the brand, they responded positively to package designs featuring abstract imagery, brighter
colors, and updated typefaces. Based on this research, Pepsi decided—just as its fiercest
competitor had years earlier—to change something that its most loyal users had grown used
to and fond of over the years. Pepsi was so sure about the new packaging that it was ready to
commit $35 million to the rollout.
And boy was Pepsi surprised. Loyal customers were confused when they couldn’t distinguish
the new Tropicana package from other similarly packaged juices. Confusion turned to
outrage. And outrage soon turned to diminishing sales. Within weeks Pepsi-Cola announced
it would return to the old packaging, shelving months of market research and oodles of
money. The moral: Even the best research must be tempered with good old intuition.
© Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis © David Brabyn/Corbis
Out with the new, in with the old. The world’s two
leading soft drink manufacturers, Coke and Pepsi,
learned the hard way that sometimes even the best
research shouldn’t be followed.
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
2.
What was faulty in Coke’s rationale for New Coke and Pepsi’s for Tropicana?
What additional research might you have suggested to test the conclusions in these
two cases?
3.3 Creating the Public Relations Plan
Effective public relations campaigns depend on solid planning to ensure that persuasive arguments are organized, messages flow logically, budgets are appropriate for the effort, results
can be measured, and (if required) midcourse refinements can be made to achieve the campaign’s desired objectives. By contrast, ineffective public relations campaigns are those that
are done by intuition alone, with little foresight and minimal planning. Public relations may
be largely based on intuitive thinking, but rigorous campaign planning is necessary to backstop that intuition with clear direction.
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Creating the Public Relations Plan
Section 3.3
For a public relations writer, this planning is essential, so that you know where the campaign
is headed, how it will get there, and how you will know when you’ve arrived at your goals.
The plan, like research, should be an evolving entity, so that midcourse corrections can be
made to benefit outcomes. Indeed, the writer is often the author of the plan, ensuring that the
document is specific, purposeful, and understood by all who will participate in the campaign.
Most public relations plans follow a basic format that includes the following eight steps
(see Figure 3.1).
1. Executive Summary
The public relations plan begins with an executive summary, encapsulating precisely what
the campaign is about and the challenges it will confront. For example:
One-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk
for heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, among other ailments.
First Lady Michele Obama is declaring war on childhood obesity. This “Let’s
Move” campaign will be an all-out attack on junk food, an all-out effort to promote healthier eating, combined with an initiative to get America’s children
running, jumping, and playing to stay well.
2. Goals
The goals of the public relations plan are the specific objective or objectives that you wish the
campaign to achieve. Some argue that “goals” and “objectives” are different—that objectives
must be measureable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. Others argue that these standards
must be met whether you call them goals or objectives. For our purposes here, we will consider the terms interchangeable.
The overriding goal of “Let’s Move” is to dramatically reduce childhood obesity rates within one generation so that children born today will grow up
healthier and able to pursue their dreams.
3. Strategies
Strategies refer to the methods you will use to achieve your goals.
We will first raise awareness of “Let’s Move” by launching the campaign at
the White House with star athletes and fitness gurus in attendance. We will
engage with well-known food experts, like Food Network celebrity Rachael
Ray, to help champion the program. We will target states and state legislators, as well as nutritional experts, administrators, and teachers within those
states, to carry out the program. We will enlist corporate support from food
merchandisers, like Wal-Mart, and restaurant chains, like Olive Garden and
Red Lobster, to spread the campaign’s message. And we will constantly promote the First Lady’s travels in terms of “Let’s Move.”
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Section 3.3
Creating the Public Relations Plan
4. Target Audiences
Figure 3.1: Public relations plan
Your targets are the types of people and specific groups (including the media) you wish to
reach.
The eight steps of the public relations plan.
Our primary target audience will be
the parents and children of America,
specifically those who live in the most
obese states in the nation. These are
the people whose behavior we seek
to change. Additional targets will be
all those who play a role in childhood
obesity—from school administrators
and teachers to nutritional experts,
from nutritionists to athletes and fitness gurus, from corporate food stores
to restaurant chains, from state legislators to federal government officials
and politicians who have a hand in the
nation’s food policy.
Next
steps
Messages
Executive
summary
Goals
The
process
Strategies
Target
audience
Tactics
Target
media
5. Target Media
Target media are the specific media outlets—print, broadcast, or online—through which we
will target our key messages.
Target media will include opinion-leading national print media (e.g., New York
Times, Washington Post, USA Today) to lay out the campaign’s parameters and
update the campaign’s progress; local media in states like Mississippi and
West Virginia, which lead in childhood obesity; continuous online updates
through Twitter and Facebook accounts; and the Food Network for periodic
highlights of campaign progress.
6. Tactics
This is the outline of the key tactical recommendations—news releases, speeches, social
media messages, and the like—and public relations programs that will serve as the primary
thrust of the campaign.
Public relations tactics of “Let’s Move” will revolve around five specific implementation themes:
•
•
sei82209_03_c03_043-064.indd 50
Creating a healthy start for children
Empowering parents and caregivers
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Section 3.3
Creating the Public Relations Plan
•
•
•
Providing healthy food in schools
Improving access to healthy, affordable foods
Increasing physical activity
7. Messages
Defining the key messages that will underscore the campaign—including rationale, themes,
and the angles (or “hooks”) that will be employed—will help all involved stay on a clear path
in helping achieve the campaign’s objectives. These will serve as talking points for campaign
spokespeople to use as they promote the initiative.
Among our most important key messages in “Let’s Move” are the following:
1. Thirty years ago, most children lived more active lives, walking to school,
playing outside, and eating home-cooked meals. Today, lifestyles are more
sedentary, marked by rides to school, video games, and snacking on cheap
junk food.
2. Portion sizes for food and beverages have grown, yielding a much more
unhealthy environment for growing children.
3. The end result, according to the New England Journal of Medicine and
numerous studies, is that the average American child spends nearly eight
hours a day watching entertainment media and consumes 15 pounds
more sugar a year than in 1970.
4. “Let’s Move” is a comprehensive initiative that combines healthy food
strategies, exercise, and common sense to reduce childhood obesity and
ensure a healthier future for America’s children.
8. Next Steps
This is the blueprint, including a timeline for tactics that will be followed to
roll out the campaign.
”Let’s Move” will be staffed by
the First Lady’s Public Affairs
Unit, which will set about
immediately to allocate budgets, prepare press materials,
line up target media lists, and
begin preparations for a fullscale rollout.
A final important stage, the “Evaluation” stage, measures the success of
the campaign. We will discuss measurement at chapter end.
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© Cheryl Gerber/Reuters/Corbis
Public relations planning in motion. First Lady
Michelle Obama’s campaign to fight childhood
obesity required ample public relations planning.
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Section 3.4
Taking a SWOT at Planning
Writing Right: Perfecting the Public Relations Plan
The best public relations plans are specific, concise, and straightforward. With that in mind,
how might you improve this one?
Executive Summary: The morale at our company is just not good, so CEO
Ferdie Finlap will launch a campaign to make it better.
Goals: To improve morale so that people walk around enjoying where they
work.
Strategies: We will devote a lot of time to ensuring that the staff really becomes
grateful for the efforts of management to improve morale.
Messages: Our most important messages will include the following:
1.
2.
3.
Morale hasn’t been great since we curtailed the free doughnut program in the
cafeteria. Since then, we’ve noticed morale dropping.
Management is kind of upset that morale has been lacking.
We will implement a campaign to prove that management is really concerned.
Next Steps: We will try to convene groups of employees and discuss morale
with them at lunches. We will post smiley face posters on hall bulletin boards.
We will begin a “joke of the day” feature on the company Intranet.
For an interactive version of this exercise, visit your e-book.
3.4 Taking a SWOT at Planning
One common approach that benefits public
relations plans is conducting a SWOT analysis
before creating the plan document. Stated simply, a SWOT analysis is a structured approach,
commonly used in assessing a new project or
business venture, that helps assess the benefits and problems that may result from moving
forward.
In public relations terms, a SWOT analysis
forces you to explore the pros and cons of
approaching your intended campaign in certain ways. The best SWOT analysis will present a vast range of both opportunities that the
campaign might open and problems that the
campaign might stimulate. Performing a comprehensive SWOT analysis in advance of the
plan is often as important as creating the plan
itself.
Figure 3.2: SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis is a common approach applied to
public relations planning.
S
Strength
O
Opportunity
W
Weakness
T
Threat
Here are the four elements that comprise the
SWOT analysis (see also Figure 3.2).
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Section 3.4
Taking a SWOT at Planning
1. Strengths. The strengths of the campaign are those characteristics that recommend
it to the target audience and the broader public. These are the advantages of this
campaign over others and the attributes that differentiate it. For example, the “Let’s
Move” campaign’s strengths would include the fact that this was the first national
anti–childhood obesity campaign, perceived on a massive scale, and led by the First
Lady of the United States.
2. Weaknesses. The weaknesses are those elements that may project disadvantages
relative to others, such as elements that cause suspicion or even negativity in the
eyes of some. In the “Let’s Move” example, the First Lady’s attempt to influence
the eating habits of children, the manufacturing habits of food producers, and the
merchandising habits of restaurant chains might be interpreted by free enterprise
advocates as a blatant attempt to control a person’s freedom of choice by introducing unwanted government interference in the marketplace.
3. Opportunities. Opportunities are the elements of the project that you might exploit
in promoting it and attempting to realize its objectives. Think big. What opportunities exist locally, regionally, nationally, or even internationally? What opportunities
are there to get a leg up on competitors in the industry? The opportunities inherent
in “Let’s Move” are clear—among them, the publicity power of the First Lady, the
reality of a growing childhood obesity epidemic, and the basic knowledge among
most people that sugary foods and beverages are harmful. All of these elements
might be exploited as opportunities.
4. Threats. Threats are the elements in the campaign that could cause trouble for the
project. Are there challenges built into the campaign that we must confront—or even
preempt—in advance of launching the project? For example, the objectives of “Let’s
Move” pose a direct threat to sugar growers, soda companies, and fast food chains.
These must all be considered (and hopefully dealt with) in creating the public relations plan.
© moodboard/Corbis
Occasionally, an extra “T” is added to
the traditional SWOT analysis, signifying “trends” that might affect our planning. The more planning you do in
advance of implementing a public relations campaign, the better—not only
for the public relations writers responsible for the key messages of the program, but also for the organization
interested in achieving the plan’s
objectives. In other words, for a truly
buttoned-up public relations plan,
SWOT makes sense.
Not SWAT, “SWOT!” Good public relations plans
may not be protected by SWAT teams, but a
comprehensive SWOT analysis can serve as
protection enough for an organization intent on
positive campaigns.
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Writer’s Public Relations Campaign Arsenal
Section 3.5
3.5 Writer’s Public Relations
Campaign Arsenal
The key to implementing the public relations campaign is the public relations writer. He or
she is the one assigned to create and communicate the key messages that will drive the organization’s public relations goals. The writer must first know and understand the audience.
That means probing the experts, in advance of the campaign, about what the target audience
relates to most readily (the “hot buttons” of influence). What are the aspects of this story that
most appeal to your targets?
Next, the writer must clearly understand the various aspects of the organization’s story. What
makes the story special and different from that of the competitors? What are the aspects of
this story that rise above the din of the daily flow of news and information?
The writer’s key campaign messages must follow the “3 Cs” of storytelling—be compelling,
consistent, and credible. Specifically, the messages must be, if not unique, then interesting
to readers or listeners. The messages must be consistent, adhering to a periodic schedule of
communication formats, each reiterating the salient points that have been identified previously. The messages should be stocked with statistics, examples, and illustrations to enhance
their credibility.
The ground rules of communication—spelling, grammar, formatting—should all be scrupulously followed. The best source for this is the Associated Press Stylebook, which reporters
treat as the journalistic style bible. The organization’s reputation and the campaign’s success
may depend upon the professionalism with which messages are delivered.
Media lists must be continually updated. Reporters change publications. Bloggers switch
email addresses. News editors, TV producers, and talent bookers frequently move to new
positions. Updating media lists becomes an important task for the campaign’s public relations
writers.
Finally, the writer should be familiar with all the vehicles at his or her disposal to communicate the organization’s story. The campaign tool kit for a writer is a mix of many potential
weapons. Among them (depicted also in Figure 3.3):
• News releases. Still the most essential element in any campaign, news releases
communicate, in a succinct and factual manner, the campaign’s primary elements.
News releases are the necessary encoding vehicle from which reporters, editors, and
bloggers decode your information for their media. We will discuss news releases in
depth in Chapter 6.
• Features. Features are more informal, subjective, and editorialized than news
releases. They are designed to embellish a release, providing color and texture to
a story.
• Individual pitches/exclusives. One recommended way to secure features in leading media is to offer or pitch them on an exclusive basis. An exclusive is a pitch to
a particular journalist, giving him or her the opportunity to be the only reporter
to write first about a specific announcement or event. We will discuss pitches and
exclusives in Chapter 7.
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Writer’s Public Relations Campaign Arsenal
Section 3.5
• Interactive/Web media.
The Web offers myriad media
placement opportunities in
websites and blogs. Influential
bloggers should be pitched
personally, even offered
exclusives, if their influence
merits. We will discuss public
relations in the digital world
in Chapter 5.
• Social media. Each campaign
should have its own Twitter
identity and Facebook page.
Innovative hashtags to drive
© Pete Souza/White House/Handout/The White House/Corbis
elements of the Twitter presExclusive view. Exclusive interviews with celebrities
ence have frequently been
and politicians are coveted by journalists and TV
used to stir up interest in pubprograms. Barbara Walters (second from left), who
lic relations campaigns. Other
retired in 2014, was known as the “Queen of the
social media vehicles, such
Exclusives.”
as Instagram, Pinterest, and
blogs, should all be considered
to reach target audience members. We will discuss social media in Chapter 8.
• Employee communications. The employee population is another important audience that must be covered by the public relations campaign. Employee Intranets
and other internal vehicles should be used to keep the staff informed about the
external campaign.
• Speaking opportunities. Speeches to pertinent local or industry groups may provide additional momentum to a public relations campaign. Speeches are among the
most creative of all public relations writing vehicles. We will discuss speeches and
presentations in Chapter 10.
• Bylined articles. Speeches can be easily converted into bylined articles, drafted by
public relations writers and bylined by appropriate managers, to be used online or
in print magazines and journals.
• Events. Special events, from luncheon presentations to focused parties or press conferences, are another vehicle to keep the campaign’s momentum moving.
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Section 3.6
Measuring Public Relations’ Contribution
Figure 3.3: Your story
All of these documents and more make up the public relations writer’s arsenal.
Individual pitches/
Exclusives
Interactive/
Web media
Features
News
releases
Social media
Your
story
Bylined
articles
Employee
communications
Events
Speaking
opportunities
These are but a handful of the unlimited options available to a public relations writer in waging a campaign. The rule of thumb in choosing appropriate vehicles for a particular public
relations campaign should be “whatever works to help achieve the organization’s goals.” In
other words, you are only limited by your own creativity in setting out to achieve organizational objectives.
3.6 Measuring Public Relations’ Contribution
For the 100 years of its existence, the number one challenge of the modern practice of
public relations has been measurement—that is, answering the question “How do we measure the contribution that public relations makes to achieving organizational objectives?”
Measurement is the act of collecting data that will help you make informed decisions
about your performance. Good measurement should reveal what is and isn’t working in
your public relations initiatives.
For the most part, public relations professionals are more qualitative than quantitative. They
exist in a world composed more of amorphous elements like opinion, attitude, morale, and
words than of factual elements like statistics, analytics, and numbers. By contrast, the people
for whom public relations professionals work—principally CEOs—are more quantitatively
based. They generally ascend from backgrounds in engineering, sa
