Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns

A Strategic Approach

Anne Gregory

• Publisher: Kogan Page
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781789663211
• Edition: 5
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Public Relations
• Index: Business

Taking a PR campaign from planning to implementation can seem overwhelming. This book provides a blueprint for success and is widely regarded as one of the best 'how-to' guides available. Digestible and easy to read, this fifth edition of Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns presents a 12-point plan for ensuring success of campaigns of all sizes, covering vital areas including the role of public relations in organizations, the importance of context, research and analysis, setting objectives, strategy and tactics, timescales and resources, evaluation and review.With discussion of new developments in the industry, from the gig economy and online influencers, to disruptive models, this fully updated new edition addresses the need for agile planning and draws on fresh case studies to provide up-to-date examples of best practice. Supported by a suite of online resources, Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns is an invaluable guide for students and practitioners alike. Online resources include extended case studies, lecture slides, discussion questions and assessment tasks.

08

Strategy and tactics

Chapter objectives

It is sometimes tempting to move directly from content to tactics, but a key step in planning well is to have a strategy for campaigns. This chapter focuses on strategy and how tactics, guided by strategy, can have maximum coherence and impact. The objectives of this chapter are to:

• explain strategy and how to develop it;
• describe the link between strategy and tactics;
• explore the range and combination of tactics for effective communication;
• introduce behavioural economics and its link to strategy and tactics;
• provide examples and case studies demonstrating effective strategy and tactics;
• consider the sources of risk and mitigation in campaigns.

Introduction

The fourth basic question in the planning process asked in Chapter 4 was ‘How shall I say it?’ – what mechanisms shall be used to communicate? The answer to this question falls into two parts: strategy and tactics.

Moving immediately from objectives or content to tactics is a temptation planners should resist. Devising the strategy for a plan or campaign is the most difficult part of the planning process. If the strategy is right, everything else rolls off the back of it. Rather than thinking of a cohesive and coherent strategy, however, many practitioners move straight to tactics, the ‘What shall we do?’ part of the campaign, rather than considering carefully how the overall approach should be shaped. They then end up with a fragmented, unfocused effort that lacks any underpinning direction or driving rationale.

Strategy, like planning, applies at all levels: to the overall approach to communication, to full ongoing programmes and to individual campaigns. It’s important because it focuses effort, it gets results and it looks to the long term.

What is strategy?

Strategy is the overall approach that is taken to a programme or campaign. It is the coordinating theme or factor, the guiding principle, the rationale behind the tactical programme.

Strategy is dictated by the issues arising from analysis of the information at the planners’ disposal (see Chapter 5). It is not the same as objectives and it comes before tactics. It is the foundation upon which a tactical programme is built. Strategy is the principle that will move the planners from where they are now to where they want to be. It is sometimes called ‘the big idea’. Sometimes it can be an all-embracing concept, but sometimes it isn’t, and planners shouldn’t be overly concerned if they can’t come up with a big idea. They should, however, be very concerned if they don’t have a clear idea of the overall approach that should be taken. A parallel can be drawn with academic research: methodology is the overall approach (for example, qualitative) and methods are the tactics used (for example, one-to-one interviews and focus groups).

A very clear if somewhat dated and unpleasant example of ‘strategy’ and ‘tactics’ was demonstrated in the war conducted by the combined forces that moved against Iraq following that country’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 (a particularly appropriate example bearing in mind the military origins of the two words):

The objective:

To get the Iraqis out of Kuwait.

The strategy:

According to General Colin Powell, to cut the Iraqis off and kill them.

The tactics:

Pincer movement of ground forces to cut the Iraqis off from Iraq, carpet bombing, diversionary tactics, cutting bridges, jamming communications and so on.

Further examples of the relationship between objectives, strategy and tactics are given in Table 8.1.

Developing a strategy

Strategies can be built around a number of propositions. Sometimes a strategy is clearly borne out of the necessity to use certain kinds of channels or tactics. For example, given that gaming is prevalent in the under-18 population, it could well be that a game becomes the focus of a campaign with other elements of activity being based on it (toys of the characters, apps, clothes etc).

If the issue is about credibility, then endorsement by others (third parties) while the company stays very much in the background may be the strategy chosen.

Sometimes the strategy is to focus on a particular theme or message. The long-running road safety campaigns in the UK revolve around the message ‘Think!’ – think before you drink and drive; think by keeping distance between you and the driver in front; think about the risk of driving when you are tired, think bike, etc.. The tactics focused around that can show the consequences of not thinking, or, more positively, helping those tempted to drink, or drive when tired, to think through viable alternatives, such as getting a taxi or buying a cup of coffee and having a break at the next service station.

Strategy can be ‘borrowed’ from other campaigns and programmes that have been shown to work and repurposed for the specifics of the issue being addressed. The consumer organization Which has long used its research reports for the basis of its work, and its communication strategy is to pick out the key and unusual elements of that research and use experts to talk about it.

Sometimes there is a ‘big idea’ when thinking about strategy, as can be seen in the case study on the Post Office later in this chapter. The strategy was to stop making people feel guilty that they didn’t save on a regular basis, but to provide practical advice on how they can spend their money more wisely on the things they want to, and make savings as they do so. Saving wasn’t about doing without something, but having what you want more cheaply so that you can then save the difference.

Communication strategy can also be developed collaboratively, either with partners or with the people that it is aimed at. A number of mental health charities work collaboratively with their service users to develop communication that is helpful, timely and in a format that is appropriate to their needs. Their strategy is to take away the stigma around mental health as well as providing support. For example, the charity Mind is mainly aimed at people with mental health issues, and they state that ‘Our new strategy has been created in partnership with people with experience of mental health problems – people’s experiences are the heart of everything we do’.¹ The communication strategy follows that cue.

Harley Davidson work with the Harley Owners Group (HOG) so closely...