Public Relations Planning

A Strategic Approach

Edward T. Vieira, Jr.

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351590396
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Public Relations
• Index: Business

Public Relations Planning provides students with an in-depth understanding of the steps involved in planning and executing a successful PR campaign. Taking a strategic approach to the subject, the author brings years of practical experience to the project, helping students see how it all fits together in reality.

The book goes beyond an introductory discussion of the theory of PR planning, incorporating material from cutting-edge research in the field. A discussion of the psychological aspects of communication, material on in-house/employee communication, as well as a chapter dedicated to discussing how social media strategies fit into a PR campaign, give students a real edge when it comes to executing an effective campaign.

Plenty of global examples and a companion website featuring PowerPoint slides, a test bank, and answer key for end-of-chapter questions round out this excellent resource for students of public relations and corporate communication.

Part I

Introduction

Chapter 1

Introduction to Public Relations

For there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.

(Oscar Wilde, 1891, p. 6)

Learning Objectives

To:

• Understand and define public relations.

• Explain what is propaganda.

• Describe the difference between symmetric and asymmetric public relations.

• Define glocalization.

• Describe the functions of public relations.

• List the types of public relations.

• Understand the relationship between public relations and marketing.

• Describe the roles of public relations and social media.

• Explain the four public relations models.

• Describe owned, paid, shared, and earned media.

• Understand the process of public relations.

Introduction

According to iExpert (2018), the global public relations sector is a $19 billion industry comprising roughly 48,000 businesses and upwards of 2 million practitioners, with almost half of its revenues going to salaries. The revenue breakdown by service category is 49.8% for general and full service public relations, 20.4% devoted to corporate and lobbying, 16.5% going to media relations, 7.5% to other, and 5.8% to event management.

The industries of operation are as follows: 34% of public relations for retail, 21.5% other client industries, 13.0% for the healthcare sector, 13.0% for information and telecommunications technology, 10.5% for banking and finance, and 8.05% for the automotive sector. Although these are global figures, retail accounts for 75% of the United States economy. The healthcare sector is growing especially considering the aging global population. Information and communications technology are becoming more and more critical for our interdependent world and will continue to do so in the future.

Figure 1.1 Because of Communications Technological Advancements, Including the Advent of Social Media, the World Is Smaller

The world is smaller today than it was ten years ago. People can easily travel virtually anywhere. Economies are more global. Communication technologies and social media have created a global village in which people from all corners of the world can learn about each other and communicate directly. People are exposed to diverse ideas and cultures. Communication plays an important role in fostering these trends. Public relations plays a central role in pluralistic cultures where the free exchange of ideas and debate take place.

The exchange of ideas and free flow of information is fundamental to a representative democracy and capitalist economic system. Informed citizens rely on information to vote for candidates. This process extends to policy making where voters can express their opinions in ways that support or oppose policies.

Like candidates, savvy consumers require information about products, services, or brands to make wise purchase decisions. Online brand reviews, product recalls, and independent consumer rating organizations provide information that aids consumers in the decision-making process.

Whether one is researching features and benefits of washer and dryer brands or positions of presidential candidates, the free flow of information is vital for the system to live up to its expectations. In both circumstances, public relations performs a critical role in providing information and a forum for the exchange of ideas and information.

So, what exactly is public relations? Although it is dynamic and evolving because of new and innovative ways of communicating, we can define public relations based on its key characteristics. The Public Relations Society of America defines public relations as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics” (About Public Relations, 2017, para. 4). Along similar lines and considering the various types of public relations, public relations is perhaps best defined as a managed, researched, and planned process involving effort to communicate directly or indirectly strategically to publics of one or more persons or groups. Public relations efforts are routine, relational, or ad hoc in nature. The messages communicated are informative, persuasive, and/or compel a call to action through various paid or unpaid tactics. Ideally, previous messaging assessment informs future campaigns.

The focus of this book is public relations strategy and planning centered on a specific issue. However, public relations also performs a maintenance function in which it maintains and reinforces relationships with stakeholders over the long term. For instance, an unexpected event that brings negative publicity to a company and subsequent pressure from publics in opposition to the company, requires immediate action. Public relations agencies develop volunteer and fundraising campaigns for companies focusing not only at its employees, but the local communities in which the companies operate as well. Both situations can be short or long term or evolve into longer term or permanent programs. At the same time, organizations have long term relationships with employees and vendors. The support of these stakeholders is usually vital to the existence of organizations.

Public relations has been equated with propaganda. However, the two endeavors are different. Propaganda attempts to persuade based on appeals that are not supported by sound reasoning and/or evidence presented objectively. Propaganda makes use of exaggerated language, name calling, stereotypical labeling (directly or indirectly), fear tactics, euphemisms, and a host of other tactics to persuade individuals.

On the other hand, legitimate public relations makes use of warranted claims supported by evidence that fits the argument. Often these efforts are with the intention of establishing long-term relations with stakeholder groups. As discussed by Bobbitt and Sullivan (2014), public relations must provide choices that center on win/win possibilities.

In the past, whether in-person or mediated, interpersonal, small group, or mass, people assumed that communication was a natural and innate process and taken for granted. With the development of communication theories and advancements in technology, that changed. We began to question these assumptions. We discovered ways to make communication more cost and message effective. We developed and are still developing digital methods to measure and evaluate public relations’ contribution to profit. The role of public relations as a management function is becoming more accepted as communication continues to evolve and management acknowledges the importance of its role in a pluralistic, social media world. With the growth of analytics and methodologies that measure online behaviors and public relations effectiveness, it is likely that the public relations manager as part of the dominant coalition (organizational decision-makers) will be commonplace.

This chapter defines public relations and describes the functions as well as types of public relations. We also discuss the relationships among public relations, advertising, integrated communication, and marketing and examine public relation practitioner roles in addition to public relations models. The discussion covers earned, paid, owned, and new media public relations. Finally, public relations is examined as a process of interdependent parts. In short, this chapter provides an overview of what is public relations and its place in the real world.

Asymmetric and Symmetric Public Relations

Asymmetric public relations campaigns can involve one-way or two-way communication. In either case, they are one-sided focusing on the “interests” of the organization. Asymmetric public relations can simply provide publicity framed to support an issue, the facts advocating a position, or an appeal with evidence to support a position. This perspective is usually short term, eliciting a desired response to an existential issue. The Press Agent/Publicity, Public Information, and Two-way Communication Asymmetric models examined in the Models of Public Relations section are asymmetric public relations approaches. The following are two examples of asymmetric public relations.

Yahoo waited two years before reporting a cybersecurity breach that occurred in 2014. A “state-sponsored” hacker procured the users’ names, emails, telephone numbers, and encrypted passwords of more than 500 million Yahoo account holders. During the time between the hack and its reporting, Yahoo was negotiating its sale to Verizon for $4.8 billion, but kept the breach secret, which delayed the sale until it was finally announced in June 2017. Yahoo’s credibility was damaged, which resulted in several law suits, delay in the acquisition, and the discovery of an even larger cyber-breach.

Equifax, the cred...