THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

ORIGINS AND CONTEMPORARY STRUCTURE OF PR

HISTORY

THE FOUR MODELS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY

PROFESSIONALISM IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

Four levels of professional competence:

ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGEMENT

Roles of the practitioner:

The Systems concept of management:

Research:

Terms:

DEFINING AND CHOOSING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

IDENTIFYING ORGANIZATIONAL LINKAGES TO PUBLICS

Types of Linkages:

Defining "Pubtics

EVALUATION RESEARCH

Stages of evaluation:

Applying evaluation results:

Methods:

Measurement:

MEDIA RELATIONS

What helps and what hurts media rela­tions:

EMPLOYEE AND MEMBER RELATIONS

Regarding internal relations, manage­ment's job is to:

Five kinds of internal communication:

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

What is the purpose of CR?

FINANCIAL PUBLIC RELATIONS

Four groups of financial publics:

Objectives of Financial PR:

Objectives of PR vis-a-vis Financial PR:

PART 2: PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNIQUES

PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING

Writing objectives

Objectivity vs.

Source review

Long-range implications and consistency

NEWS RELEASES

Writing the lead

A checklist

BROADCAST RELEASES / PSAs

TIP SHEETS

Developing solid ideas

FINANCIAL WRITING

How does it differ?

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA

CONDUCTING A NEWS CONFERENCE

PREPARING A MEDIA KIT

PREPARING THE CONFERENCE ROOM

PREPARING A MEDIA ROOM

PITCHING STORIES

Print

Broadcast

VIDEO NEWS RELEASES - VNR

MULTI-MEDIA

WWW

Corporate Videos

CD-ROMs

CORPORATE VISUAL IDENTITY

MANAGING CORPORATE COLLATERAL

Collateral

Outsourcing

Brochures

DIRECT MAIL

NEWSLETTERS, NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES

Desktop publishing

PRODUCING THE ANNUAL REPORT

Developing the theme

Avoiding cliches and "fluff'

PUBLIC RELATIONS ADVERTISING

Visual consistency

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ESSAY QUESTIONS (10 points each. Use the paper provided. There is no need to repeat the question in your answer. Just put the number of the question, then your answer.)

• Why is a good Corporate Visual Identity plan important?

• In your own words, describe how a financial writer can develop his or her skills.

• Situation: You have to pitch a story concerning your organization's stock price fluctuations in recent months. The best place to send your release or to make your pitch is to the reporter at the daily newspa­per who regularly writes about management issues. True or False? Why?

• List some common-sense things to think about when organizing a news conference.

• What goes into a good media kit?

• Please give a working definition of Public Relations.

• Give three ways to help your direct mail piece be more effective.

• Give three questions you can ask yourself when developing a newsletter:

• How can Desktop Publishing done in-house save an organization time and money?

FILL-IN-THE-BLANKS & Multiple Choice (4 points each)

1 - What is the meaning of VNR? - Video News Releases

2 - One of the best places for story ideas is the Research department, if there is one in the organization.

3 - The "father of Public Relations" is widely considered to be Edward Bernays

4 - Any published material that supports the organization's strategic goals and objectives - brochures, annual reports, direct marketing pieces, video tapes, CD Roms, the Website - is known as collaterate

5 - Persuasion is the driving force of public relations and many of the tactics that modern PR people use to persuade have been used by the leaders of society for thousands of years.

6 - The most important publics to consider when developing an annual report are shareholders and community served by the organisation.

7 - All advertising - whether corporate or sales-marketing oriented, should be mindful of the organiza­tion's objectives.

8 - How much time does the average recipient spend reviewing the annual report

A - 104 minutes B - 32 minutes C - 17 seconds

TRUE-FALSE (2 points each)

F 1 - Cost is usually not a factor to consider when organizations choose to advertise.

T 2 - The PR pracfitioner customarily shows drafts of stories to the source or sources of information

used.

T 3 - A PR writer should try and tell a story by sending out a number of releases that add up to a complete account of the organization's message over time.

F 4 - The lead paragraph in a news story will always include Who, What, When, Where, Why,

and How - in that order.

T 5 - The most common PR advertisements are designed to support crisis management strategies.

F 6 - Producing the Annual Report is an enjoy­able task, usually ranking at or near the top of their "favorite tasks" list, according to most PR practi­tioners.

F 7 - In an emergency situation, there is not enough time to plan as thoroughly, so the most important thing to do when planning a news con­ference is to write o good news release.

__________________________________________________

THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

The "father of public relations" Edward Bernays, in 1922, distinguished between public relations and press agentry and publicity for the first time. Introduced in his book Crystallizing Public Opinion, the new profession of the public relations counsel. These counselors were to be ethical, profes­sional and socially responsible; use knowledge generated by social science to understand public opinion, public motivation, public relations techniques and methods for modifying group points of view.

According to Bernays, the objective of the PR counsel was to interpret the organization to the public ant the public to the organization.

A working definition: Public relations is the management of communication between an organisation and its publics. (However, there are literally hundreds of definitions, most touching on similar points.)

ORIGINS AND CONTEMPORARY STRUCTURE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Worldwide, more than 1,000,000 peo­ple practice public relations - under several names. Many call their work public affairs, public information, com­munications, community relations, promotion, press agentry or publicity.

On a given day, PR practitioners may prepare news releases, help a reporter develop a story, edit an employee publi­cation, prepare an exhibit, interview a government official, conduct a survey of public opinion, counsel management on the public relations impact of a major policy decision, write a speech, raise funds or prepare an annual report (the tip of the iceberg of responsibili­ties).

Whatever it is called, PR is as old as civilization, because underlying all pub­lic relations activity is the effort to per­suade. Persuasion is still the driving force of public relations and many of the tactics that modern PR people use to persuade have been used by the leaders of society for thousands of years:

HISTORY

~~~~letins in Iraq to persuade farmers on several techniques, as far back as 1800 BC

• much of the literature and art of antiq­uity was designed to build support for kings, priests and other leaders

• the walls of Pompeii were inscribed with election appeals

• the word "propaganda" was born in the 17th century when the Catholic Church set up its Congregato de Propaganda, or congregation for propa­gating the faith

• the formal study of communication probably had its origin with Aristotle, who articulated the art of rhetoric in his classic book, Rhetoric. The ancient Greeks considered rhetoric to be an important tool of statesmanship. Rhetoric is one of the first (if not the first) books written on what is now pub­lic relations

• the apostles Paul and Peter used speeches, letters, staged events and sim­ilar public relations activities to attract attention, gain followers and establish new churches - therefore, it is not too much of a stretch to claim the success of the apostles in spreading Christianity throughout the known world in the first century AD as one of the great public relations accomplishments of history

THE FOUR MODELS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Press Agentry/Publicity (PT Barnum)

• Public Information (Ivy Lee)

• Two-Way Asymmetric (Edward Bernays)

• Two-Way Symmetric (Edward Bemays, educators, professional lead­ers)

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY

Why should organizations be socially responsible? What's in it for the orga­nization?

Answers: Public responsibility is a basic component of public relations. If the organization does not need to be responsible to its publics, it also does not need a public relations function. Organizations have an obligation to be responsible - even if it is not in their self-interest. However, while altruism (doing good for the good of it) often makes an effective argument, it loses its appeal when it begins to cost money. The more effective argument is that publics that perceive organizations to be.......

.......

for help. Government usually helps by enforcing regulations and restrictions that can cost an organization a great deal to comply.

PROFESSIONALISM IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

Code of Professional Standards for the Practice of Public Relations

Four levels of professional competence:

• Beginning Professional;

• Staff Professional (18 months to 2 years);

• Professional Manager (5 years);

• Senior Professional (10+ years).

ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGEMENT

Roles of the practitioner:

• Communication technician;

• Communication manager;

• Media rela­tions;

• Communication liaison

The Systems concept of management:

• The closed system approach;

• the open system approach;

• Assumptions of sys­tems management;

• Concepts of systems management

Research:

• Formative takes place before a program or behaviour begins;

• Evaluative takes place after a behaviour.

Terms:

• Environmental monitoring;

• Social auditing;

• Public relations audit­ing;

• Communication auditing

DEFINING AND CHOOSING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The Bottom Line: What have public relations done to make the organization more effective? Of what value is the company magazine? Was that brochure really necessary?

IDENTIFYING ORGANIZATIONAL LINKAGES TO PUBLICS

Organizations are "linked" to other sys­tems through consequences - either when the organization has conse­quences on another system or when another system has consequences on the organization.

Examples: Government agencies that regulate a business firm; publics (groups of people) with common interests who are not always organized into a formal organization

Types of Linkages:

• Enabling linkages;

• functional linkages;

• Normative link­ages;

• Diffused linkages

Defining "Pubtics": ...a group of people who 1) are confronted by an issue, 2) are divided in their ideas about how to meet the issue, 3) engage in discussion over the issue

EVALUATION RESEARCH

Stages of evaluation:

• Specify Objectives;

• Measure the Objectives;

• Collect and Analyze the Data;

• Report the Results;

• Apply the Results to Decisions

Applying evaluation results:

• Continue or discontinue the program;

• Improve practices or procedures;

• Add or drop specific program strategies or techniques;

• Institute similar programs elsewhere;

• Allocate resources among competing programs;

• Accept or reject a program approach or theory

Methods:

• Surveys (personal interviews, telephone interviews, mail questionnaires);

• Experiments; Using secondary data;

• Qualitative analysis (observation, interviews, focus groups).

Sample: The Readership Survey (use overhead; provide handout)

Measurement:

• Fact questions;

• Evaluative questions;

• Information questions;

• Self-perception questions

MEDIA RELATIONS

Friends and Foes: Journalists often call PR people "flacks" who dump unwant­ed news releases on their desks and push self-serving stories that have little news value. PR people say reporters are often personally biased, are part of a biased newspaper, magazine, etc., are sloppy or too hasty to get their informa­tion, and that many are poorly trained. However, both agree, to different degrees, that they need each other to do their jobs.

What helps and what hurts media rela­tions:

• Press agentry abuses;

• public information abuses;

• two-way press rela­tions

EMPLOYEE AND MEMBER RELATIONS

Good PR managers know and respect the internal audience (employees, mem­bers) as perhaps the most important to an organization's success. Unfortunately, the internal audience is often the last group considered when organizations develop their communica­tion strategies. Internal audiences can be a company's best friend or worst enemy.

Regarding internal relations, manage­ment's job is to:

• inform employees ahead of time about changes that will affect their jobs;

• care about how employees really feel about their work and be open and honest in dealing with them;

• give supervisors enough authority to get the job done;

• make a strong com­mitment to serving the customer;

• have the ability to solve major company problems;

• run a socially responsible organization;

• provide new products and services to meet competition;

• place more emphasis on quality than quantity.

Five kinds of internal communication:

• Downward, from superiors to subordi­nates;

• Upward, from subordinates to superiors;

• Horizontal, between individ­uals in the same department or work unit;

• Horizontal, between individuals in the departments at the same level of the organization;

• Crisscross, between indi­viduals in different departments at dif­ferent levels of the hierarchy not directly connected on an organization chart.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

• Examples of CR activities:

• Members of a professional football team visit sick children in a hospital;

• Employees of a local company enter a city marathon as a team;

• A hospital sponsors special lec­tures on health for members of the com­munity;

• A local company sponsors an art exhibit, community concerts or chil­dren's football team.

What is the purpose of CR?

• To sense how customers perceive an organization's service and to give them the sense that the organization really wants to know;

• To sense how customers perceive the whole of the organization, its policies and practices, its people, rates, its char­acter;

• To stay on top of complaints and criti­cisms;

• To involve all employees in the process of representing the company to the pub­lic and vice versa. By so doing, to build employee understanding and pride in the importance of what they do and in the importance of their roles, individu­ally, in giving good service.

• To provide customers timely informa­tion about matters of interest and signif­icance, always with special attention to matters of local interest.

FINANCIAL PUBLIC RELATIONS

Four groups of financial publics:

• Current shareholders;

• Prospective shareholders;

• The financial community (bankers, brokers, investment advisers, trustees, security analysts, and man­agers of mutual funds, insurance com­panies and pension funds);

• Financial media (journalists working on special­ized media such as the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the Financial Times, CNN, Bloomberg, for the financial sections of newspapers and magazines)

Objectives of Financial PR:

• Release immediately any news that might have a material effect on the price of a compa­ny's securities, including merger or acquisition negotiations past the top secret stage, imminence of a labor strike, discovery of new resources, death of a top officer, etc.;

• Maintain adequate security on confidential infor­mation until it is ready to be released, or until it goes beyond a small group of top management of the company;

• Act promptly to dispel unfounded rumors that result in unusual market activity or price variations;

• Avoid premature announcements, whenever possible, unwarranted claims, and overly opti­mistic forecasts;

• Avoid providing one inquirer with information that would not be given to another;

• Insure that news is handled in its proper perspec­tive by avoiding over-optimism or unwarranted conservatism and by sup­plementing news releases when chang­ing circumstances require it;

• When in doubt, DISCLOSE.

Objectives of PR vis-a-vis Financial PR:

• Good communications;

• Building a strong ongoing relationship with ana­lysts;

• Developing an informed market;

• Establishing credibility;

• The price of stock or the price/earnings ratio.

PART 2: PUBLIC RELATIONS TECHNIQUES

PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING

Writing objectives - communication, acceptance of cognitions, formation or change of attitude, overt behavior.

Objectivity vs. advocacy - the PR manag­er's job is advocacy for the organization, however, to be credible as a communica­tor, he/she needs to be accurate and objec­tive; no need to use CEO's name or com­pany name in the lead (considered ama­teurish)

Source review - it is considered a breach of ethics for a journalist to allow the source(s) of information to review stories before publication. The PR practitioner, however, customarily shows drafts of sto­ries to the source. Allows for greater accuracy and clarity.

Long-range implications and consistency - PR writers rarely get a second chance to tell their stories in the media. Unlike journalists who have regular access to publication, PR writers must make sure they send complete, consistent messages the first time because it is never known whether there will be a second time.

NEWS RELEASES

Writing the lead - keep it a simple, one­-sentenced paragraph that tells the entire story. Must include Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Keep in mind that many readers ONLY read the lead.

A checklist - print on one side only of plain white paper; one-page releases, like one-page resumes, work best; double-­spacing is standard and triple-spacing is not uncommon; can be brought down to single-space in third paragraph to keep release to one page; include name, phone/fax number, email address of a per­son to contact; keep the headline simple (should include verb, noun, subject).

BROADCAST RELEASES / PSAs

Similar rules apply, but overall, much shorter and to the point. Type the infor­mation entirely in large capital letters to facilitate reading; keep the item to no more than 200 words, which is about one minute of reading time; use short para­graphs; separate clauses or long sentences with ellipses to give the newscaster an indication of where to pause or take a breath; avoid contractions, hard-to-pro­nounce words, abbreviations or anything else that may trip the tongue; provide pro­nunciation help in parentheses immediate­ly following any unfamiliar word or name. Triple space is standard for broad­cast releases.

TIP SHEETS

Developing solid ideas - interview key people in the organization on a regular basis for possible story ideas. An excel­lent area to look for good stories is the research department if there is one in the organization. Keep a list of who's doing what in research. Always keep your eyes and ears open for good story ideas. Tip Sheets are only helpful to journalists if they have some solid story ideas in them. Typical Tip Sheets have four or more tips and are issued on a regular basis from the organization (monthly, quarterly, etc.). Each tip should be no more than para­graph comprised of a succinct sentence to "sell" the story idea.

FINANCIAL WRITING

How does it differ? It differs because it is a "language" of its own - very specialized. Finance writers must know business jargon.

Developing financial writing skills ­Business graduates who are good writers make excellent Financial PR practitioners. Writers must be able to digest complex material and translate it into simple language. Studying specialized reference material is a key way to develop good skills on financial subfields (accounting, insurance, real estate, mutual funds, bonds, etc.) Reporting on corporate busi­ness requires an understanding of how corporations accumulate capital, how they are required to report their activities, and generally accepted accounting practices. Build a reference library; keep current by reading business periodicals, take refresh­er courses, attend banking institutes, asso­ciate with those activities you must under­stand and report.

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA - target specific editors, reporters and producers. Know who they are and what they specialize in. Sending information to the wrong journal­ist is a waste of your time and theirs.

CONDUCTING A NEWS CONFERENCE

First, make sure there is genuine news to have a conference about. Journalists hate to attend conferences that are simple tac­tics to get unwarranted coverage. Invite only those journalists who specialize in the topic you will be covering. Send a news release about 10 days in advance with an invitation mentioned on the release. Follow-up with phone calls the day before the event to ascertain who will be attending. Arrange an appropriately sized room to hold the conference.

PREPARING A MEDIA KIT - Should contain the news release; accompanying pho­tographs or slides; a fact sheet on the topic; a background sheet on the organiza­tion; "B-roll" or background footage on the appropriate video format, if appropri­ate. Make sure enough media kits are pre­pared for all attendees.

PREPARING THE CONFERENCE ROOM - Have an experts table where spokespeople will present their components of the news. Provide ample electrical outlets for broad­cast journalists. Make sure all speakers have easy access to a microphone and that all equipment is pre-tested.

PREPARING A MEDIA ROOM - Usually adja­cent to the area where the news confer­ence will be held. Provide coffee and other refreshments. Provide ample tele­phone outlets and enough space for jour­nalists with heavy gear. Make sure restrooms are nearby and in working order.

In an emergency situation, there is not enough time to plan, as thoroughly, so the most important thing to do is to prepare the key speakers. Make sure the people who will speak are the most appropriate. Do what you can to organize the details mentioned above (room, food, etc.) but concentrate on the essentials.

PITCHING STORIES

"Rehearse" your pitch first, then make the call. Reporters (especially tv reporters and producers) have very little time to spend on the phone with PR people. Don't over-sell to the journalist. If the story idea is good and appropriate for their medium, they'll tell you; if it is NOT, and you are wasting their time, they'll DEFINITELY tell you.

Print Develop good newspaper reading habits; know your reporters and editors; write and pitch in their style, not that of your organi2ation

Broadcast Gaining access to commercial television; working with cable outlets; preparing on­site visits; tv as adversary; developing tv news-watching habits; exploiting radio; community bulletin boards; talk shows; public affairs programming

VIDEO NEWS RELEASES - VNR

When they are appropriate? What they should include? Consider a variety of for­mats. The same information as a news release, but done on video. Companies often hire professional tv presenters or actors to appear in the VNR.

MULTI-MEDIA

WWW - corporate website components, using the Internet for Media Relations. How to balance the organization's IT needs with its PR needs. The website is a communication vehicle FIRST, and an IT product second. IT people don't always agree. Making the website easy to navi­gate; providing useful information; keep­ing the user engaged.

Corporate Videos - keep the costs down; when are they most appropriate? PR peo­ple prepare the script, handle art direction.

CD-ROMs - Keeping abreast of technolo­gy; using existing elements (video B-roll footage, slides, still photographs) to keep costs down; keeping navigation simple.

CORPORATE VISUAL IDENTITY

Why consistency is important - visual consistency leads to confusion among the organization's various publics.

Companies that set good examples ­CNN, Phillips, Shell, Exxon, etc.

Enforcing visual identity and corporate style - not an easy task if the plan is new. Many people within the organization may be resistant to creative restrictions, demanding individual freedom. However, it must be made emphatic that the organi­zation as a whole is what is important, not it's individual components. If each com­ponent were to have different visual and style elements, it could undermine the corporate respectability.

MANAGING CORPORATE COLLATERAL

Collateral - any published material that supports the organization's strategic goals and objectives: brochures, annual reports, direct marketing pieces, videotapes, CD ROMs, the Website.

Writing, editing, art direction, design, pre­press production - these functions typical­ly fall under the responsibility of the cor­porate public relations function. Many of these tasks can be handled in-house by staff, if the department is adequately staffed to do so.

Outsourcing - when any of the creative elements are handled by outsiders, the PR management must keep a close watch on the proceedings. It is easy for outsiders to stray from corporate identity and editorial style. All stages of the process must be closely monitored and approved by PR management.

Brochures First, assess the need for the publication. Does it provide a way to reach an audi­ence that can't be effectively reached any other way? Does it support existing mate­rials? Are the contents, written and designed specifically for the right audi­ence?

DIRECT MAIL

Same principles as brochures apply. Also must consider the recipient's time for direct mail pieces. Studies have shown that the public is ever more wary of direct mail because of unscrupulous practices. "Mailbox clutter" is a real problem. Avoid "dumping" ineffective direct mail on the masses. Developing a narrowly targeted mailing list is critical.

NEWSLETTERS, NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES

Content; frequency; distribution - like all collateral, newsletters, newspapers and magazines must be audience-specific. Content and design should be appropriate. To manage costs, review vendors regular­ly. Can the design be altered to get a bet­ter cut of paper on the press? Will two colors be as effective as four colours? Can we deliver these by Third Class mail? Review of samples.

Desktop publishing - more and more organizations now have internal desktop publishing divisions within the PR func­tion. Because it can save the organization considerable money, producing as much material in-house as possible using desk­top publishing has been on the increase. Newer and better programs allow virtual novices to develop solid layout skills. Inexpensive image scanners and photos via the Internet have made graphic design more efficient and cost effective.

PRODUCING THE ANNUAL REPORT

Virtually all annual reports are generated by the PR function of the organization. Studies show that PR managers list the annual report as one of the most challeng­ing and often frustrating aspects of their jobs. Egos, political correctness, keeping the organization honest, are all working in tandem to make the annual report man­agement process as difficult as possible.

Developing the theme - often the most difficult part of developing an annual report, finding the right theme each year can be time-consuming and frustrating. Enlist the people from various areas of the organization for brainstorming.

Avoiding cliches and "fluff' - readers of annual reports have become savvy. The average annual report recipient spends 17 seconds reviewing the document. Common cliches and "fluff' are easily spotted and quickly turn off readers. Make sure the writing is clear, simple and most of all, honest.

Considering community and shareholder expectations and needs - the intended audience for the annual reports varies from organization to organization. Typically, the most important publics to consider are shareholders and the commu­nity served by the organization. Shareholders are generally interested in the financial report - usually confined to a page or two at the back of the document (after the beautiful photos and impressive copy). All components - editorial, art, photos, illustrations, design - must be done with the audience in mind.

PUBLIC RELATIONS ADVERTISING

Traditionally, public relations advertising falls into the "image," "issue" "personality" or "goodwill" categories. However, contemporary PR managers know that all advertising - from selling a product to developing goodwill with the community - should have the organization's Reputation (as opposed to "image") as its underlying theme. Many organizations frown on PR advertising, for a number of reasons. Some organizations are ethically opposed to advertising in any form (law firms, graduate school programs). However, more organizations are seeing that they must advertise to stay competi­tive and reach strategic goals. Most com­mon are PR advertisements designed to augment crisis management strategies.

Creativity on a restricted budget ­Because PR advertising is a relatively new concept to many organizations, bud­gets for such are generally limited or non­existent. This is why, when an organiza­tion does decide to go forward with a spe­cific campaign, it's most challenging problem is not what to say, but where to say it. Small newspapers and radio sta­tions are commonly less expensive than larger outlets, but their effectiveness varies. However, these outlets may be the most appropriate, depending on the situa­tion. Furthermore, to keep costs low, sometimes the most creative ideas come from within an organization. It is not uncommon for organizations to develop an advertising task force to develop themes, slogans, etc. This strategy can save considerable amounts of money, as agency fees can be exorbitant and thus, prohibitive.

Visual consistency - not to be ignored in PR advertising. While creativity is impor­tant, visual consistency with the organiza­tion's annual report, brochures, Website, etc. can be achieved by using similar typefaces, slogans, and visuals.

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