Public Relations: A Comprehensive Guide
What are “Public Relations”?
PUBLICOS:
CUSTOMERS: CURRENT, POTENTIAL, SHADOW CONSTITUENCIES, SECONDARY CUSTOMERS
PRODUCERS: FINANCERS, PERSONNEL, SUPPLIERS
LIMITERS: COMPETITORS, OPPONENTS, HOSTILE FORCES
ENABLERS: OPINION LEADERS, ALLIES, REGULATORS, MEDIA
ANALYZING THE SITUATION
SITUATION: SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES FACING AN ORGANIZATION. A PROBLEM A QUESTIONS NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED.
ISSUE: SITUATION THAT PRESENT MATTERS OF CONCERN TO ORGANIZATION. THE BALANCE BETWEEN OBSTACLES/OPPORTUNITIES.
Ej: johnson & johnson using news exposure.
ISSUES MANAGEMENT: ANTICIPATING POSSIBLE ISSUES AND RESPONDING BEFORE THEY GET OUT OF HAND
Best practice approach: benchmarking: research into how other organizations have handled similar situations. Can you think of its benefits.
BENEFITS OF BENCHMARKING
Schwartz & Gibb (1999): PREVENTS INTERNAL INERTIA FROM TAKING OVER. CONTINUAL AWARENESS OF INNOVATION COMING FROM COMPETITORS. INTRODUCTION OF FRESH AIR FROM OUTSIDE THE ORGANIZATION.
CRISIS
BIGGEST CRISIS CATEGORIES: 1)WHITE-COLLAR CRIME 2)LABOR DISPUTES 3)MIS-MANAGEMENT
WHEN AN ISSUE GETS OUT OF HAND IT BECOME A CRISIS. Crisis management: PROCESS BY WHICH AN ORGANIZATION DEALS WITH OUT-OF-CONTROL ISSUES.
A STUDY BY THE INSTITUTE FOR CRISIS MANAGEMEN FOUND THAT 86% OF CRISES DID NOT SUDDENLY APPEAR
SIX PRINCIPLES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT
PRINCIPLE OF EXISTING RELATIONS, PRINCIPLE OF MEDIA-AS-ALLY, PRINCIPLE OF REPUTATIONAL PRIORITIES, PRINCIPLE OF QUICK RESPONSE, PRINCIPLE OF FULL DICLOURE, PRINCIPLE OF ONE VOICE.
ANALYZING THE ORGANIZATION
PUBLIC RELATIONS AUDIT: YOU WILL NEED CANDOR AND HONESTY IN LOOKING AT YOUR OWN COMPANY. WE NEED TO ASSUME OUR POSITION IN THE MARKET, EVEN IF IT’S BAD. SELF-AWARENESS: SWOT(MARKETING).
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: INTERNAL IMPEDIMENTS: obstacles that might limit the effectiveness of the PR program STRUCTURE: mission/situation and role of PR within the organization also resources available (personnel, equipment, time, etc). PERFORMANCE: the quality of the goods and services provided by the organization. NICHE: specialty the function or role that makes the organization different.
PUBLIC PERCEPTION: VISIBILITY: extent to which an organization is known. REPUTATION: based on visibility how people evaluate the information they have psychologically a company with positive reputation earns the benefit of the doubt in times of crisis.
EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: SUPPORTERS: people and groups who are likely to help the organization achieve its objectives. COMPETITIONS: company providing a similar product or service. OPPOSITION: people or group’s fighting your organization. EXTERNAL IMPEDIMENTS: social political or economic factors that might interfere with your company’s ability to address the situation.
ANALYZING THE PUBLICS
PUBLIC: GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT SAHRES A COMMON INTEREST REGARDING AN ORGANIZATION, RECOGNIZES ITS SIGNIFICANCE AND SETS OUT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. PUBLICS ARE HOMOGENEOUS (SIMILAR IN THEIR INTERESTS AND CHARACTERISTICS). THEY ARE USUALLY AWARE OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ORGANIZATION. THEY THINK THE ISSUE IS RELEVANT AND THEY ARE AT LEAST POTENTIALLY ORGANIZED TO ACT ON THE ISSUE.
PUBLICS II: IS NOT EQUAL TO MARKET SEGMENTS. LIKE YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
PUBLIC/MARKET: having some special relevance to a business or other organization, eg customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers and the local community generally.”identified through a common need and with resources to satisfy that nee”.
PUBLIC/AUDIENCE: long/brief relationship, audiences are not homogeneous.
PUBLICS III: APUBLIC IS DISTINGUISHABLE, A PUBLIC IS HOMOGENEOUS, A PUBLICS IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR ORGANIZATION, A PUBLIC IS LARGE ENOUGH TO MATTER, A PUBLIC IS REACHABLE.
PUBLICS IV: LINK AGGES: patterns of relationship if that exist between an organization and it5s various publics. CUSTOMERS: those publics that receive the products or services of an organization. PRODUCERS: those publics that provide input to the organization. ENABLERS: groups that otherwise help make the organizations successful. LIMITERS: those publics that in some way reduce or undermine the success of an organization.
KEY PUBLICS: THOSE SPECIFIC PUBLICS THAT THE PLANNER IDENTIFIES AS BEING MOST IMPORTANT TO THE PUBLIC RELATIONS ACTIVITY.
ANALYZING KEY PUBLICS: NON-PUBLIC: doesn’t share any issues with the organization no significance. Continuous monitoring see if it changes. LATENT PUBLIC: shares an issue does not recognize it enhance the relationship. APATHETIC PUBLIC: knows the issue doesn’t care, monitor and planning but careful. AWARE PUBLIC: recognizes they share an issue, perceives it as relevant, has not acted on it. ACTIVE PUBLIC: fullness of what we perceive as a public acts and discusses, begin coalition/respond to their acts.
PUBLICS OR OBJETIVES FIRST?
IN MARKETING OBJETIVES GO FIRST. IN PR PUBLICS BECAUSE THEY EXIST PRIOR TO OUR OBJETIVES AND OBJETIVES ARE IMPORTANT IN RELATION TO THE PUBLIC.