Introduction to Public Relations and Publicity Management

1
Introduction to Public Relations and Publicity
Management

• How does this relate to the other elements of
  promotion?

2
Public Relations

• Often referred to as many things and often not in
  a positive light
• Many excuse behavior as just PR
• According to critics it is an industry designed
  to alter perceptions, reshape reality and
  manufacture consent.
• Others say any PR is good PR generates coverage
  and interest

3
PR Disasters, Missteps and Successes this WEEK!

• Newt Gingrich and his love life
• The Costa Concordia and Carnival Cruise Lines
• GM and the Volt
• Steven Tyler and the National Anthem (American
  Idol)
• Penn State and death of Joe Paterno

4
Is Public Relations about Deception?

• Does it pull the wires that control the public
  mind?
• Does it attempt to bind and guide the world?
• Examples
• Political campaigns are we drinking the kool
  aid?
• Introduction of new products is this really an
  improvement and innovation remember the Segue?
• Green Marketing are we really saving
  environment, creating jobs? Nissans Leaf, Chevy
  Volt

5
Public Relations

• Often misused and misunderstood
• It is a Management function that focuses on the
  relationships and communications that individuals
  and organizations have with other groups for the
  purposes of creating mutual goodwill.
• The focus is the relationships between the
  organizations and their stakeholder publics!
• It should be reciprocal, mutual and between
  parties!

6
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)

• The many definitions suggest that PR
• Conducts a planned and sustained program as part
  of an organizations management
• Deals with the relationships between an
  organization and its stakeholder publics
• Monitors awareness, opinions, attitudes, and
  behavior inside and outside the organization
• Analyze the impact of policies, procedures, and
  actions on stakeholder publics

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PRSA Definition (contd)

• Identifies policies, procedures, and actions that
  conflict with the public interest and
  organizational survival
• Counsels management on the establishment of new
  policies, procedures, and actions that are
  beneficial to both the organization and its
  publics
• Establishes and maintains two way communication
  between the organization and its publics

8
Role of PR vs Marketing

• Many PR professionals consider it to be a wholly
  separate function
• Is considered apart of the promotions mix
• PR
• Advertising
• Personal Selling
• Direct Marketing
• Sales Promotion

9
Definition of Marketing

• Exchange is the act of obtaining a desired object
  from someone by offering something in return
  Marketing consists of actions taken to build and
  maintain desirable exchange relationships with
  target audiences involving product, service, idea
  or other object.
• Apple article on tablets that is PR to support
  new product introduction

10
Public Relations

• Use and communication of information through a
  variety of media to influence public opinion
• Involves identifying important publics and
  developing and maintaining relationships

11
Public Relations

• PR should help reconcile or adjust in the public
  interest those aspects of our personal and
  corporate behavior which have social significance
• It should help organizations adjust to their
  social environments

12
Consequences of Poorly Managed PR Functions

• Loss of customers and revenues
• Time lost dealing with complaints or lawsuits
• Loss of esteem
• Weakens brand equity
• Impacts ability to secure financing

13
Advertising vs. PR

• Advertising uses the mass media and is paid for
  by the sponsor
• Customers view with skepticism rarely the best
  tool for building credibility
• Carefully placed to gain TA attention

14
Differences between Advertising and PR

• PR Communications generally are not openly
  sponsored or financed
• Info received in the form of news articles,
  interviews, feature stories after being edited
  and reviewed by the media
• More credible to publics
• Less precise in reach
• Often followed with corporate ad campaigns to
  increase effectiveness

15
Differences in Viewpoint

• Advertising professionals have a business
  background and view marketing as the umbrella
  process in which product development, how to
  distribute and sell them
• PR professionals have a background in journalism
  and feel that pr should be the umbrella process
• PR is a management discipline that
  encompasses a wide range of activities from
  marketing to advertising. Inside PR

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Strengths of PR

• Targets and maintains relationships with
  important stakeholders
• can reach difficult to reach audiences such as
  opinion leaders and upscale consumers
• pr professionals can advise clients and companies
  regarding the implications of trends and
  corporate activities on consumer opinions
• can break through clutter more effectively than
  ads

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Strengths of PR

• pr specialists can present the company as good
  citizens
• can handle crises, minimizing negative effects on
  the organizations reputation
• offers the business more flexibility than
  advertising and sales promotion
• laws less strict for press releases
• adds credibility and believability - why would
  Diane Sawyer lie?
• cost effective

18
Weaknesses of PR

• lack of control over the story slant and coverage
• subject to others approval for news story to run
• Bottom-line impact difficult to measure
• PR objectives are difficult to quantify

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Who are the Publics?

• all of the audiences that the marketing
  communicator targets to receive messages about
  the company or who are perceived as influencing
  opinions about the firm

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Parts of the PR Function

• Internal Relations
• Publicity
• Advertising
• Public Affairs
• Address public policy
• Lobbying
• Issues management
• Investor Relations
• Development

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Segments to Target

• Internal Stakeholders
• employees
• shareholders
• suppliers, distributors, brokers, wholesalers,
  retailers, dealers
• consumers (regular or loyal)

22
External Publics

• The media
• local community neighbors
• local, regional and federal governmental bodies
  and regulators
• financial community
• special interest groups
• prospective customers, employees, shareholders

23
Importance of Stakeholders

• Employee satisfaction and confidence
• WOM (Word of Mouth)
• Governmental motivation to monitor
• financial market confidence
• community involvement and perceptions
• consumer confidence

24
Types of Public Relations

• Media relations
• corporate public relations
• crisis management
• employee relations
• financial relations
• public affairs
• community relations
• marketing public relations

25
Media Relations

• Function primarily responsible for publicity
  generation and management
• Develop personal relations with media contacts
• provide information regarding
• story ideas
• press releases
• supplemental info

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Corporate PR

• High-level counseling with senior management
  about the companys overall reputation, its image
  in the eyes of the various stakeholders, and its
  response to issues that may impact the success of
  the firm

27
Corporate PR

• Issue Management
• practice of planning a companys response to
  important issues
• Corporate advertising
• ads used to create positive attitudes and
  goodwill toward the firm
• Advocacy Advertising
• expresses a viewpoint of the firm on an important
  issue

28
Crisis Management

• Strategies to address crises or disasters
• oil spills, plane crashes, management
  improprieties
• Often referred to as reactive PR
• addresses negative publicity

29
Employee Relations

• Motivation programs
• newsletters
• flyers
• video programming
• bulletin boards
• Keys to success
• security
• consideration
• recognition
• opportunity
• respect
• participation

30
Financial Relations

• Comply with governmental regulations
• manage communications with stockbrokers,
  investors
• distribute and deal with financial reporting of
  acquisitions, actions that effect stock prices

31
Public Affairs and Community Relations

• Public Affairs - focus on communication with
  government agencies
• Community Relations
• management of relations with stakeholders in the
  local community event marketing

32
Marketing Public Relations

• Seeks positive publicity for products
• very important for new products
• MPR specialists work closely with marketing staff
  members on the design of the new product,
  strategic positioning in the marketplace
• handle special events for major announcements
• coordination of imc