Introduction to Public Relations and Publicity Management

How does this relate to the other elements of promotion?

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.

Public Relations Use various forms of

communication to relay information to the audience. A wide variety of media are used to sway public opinion

Involves identifying important ‘publics’ and developing and maintaining relationships

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

Impact of Negative Publicity Today’s Example: Tom Cruise and

Scientology Negative publicity consequences Incident One – Oprah and her couch

Box Office Impact War of the Worlds - $234 million (budget

$132m) Mission Impossible Three - $133 million

(budget $150m) Lions for Lambs $14.9m (budget $35m)

Before Couch Incident Mission Impossible II $215m

Companies Dealing Negative Press Steven Jobs and his questionable

health at this time Apple stock prices have fluctuated

resulting from conflicting reports regarding his health

Apple beat Wall Street estimates for profits in 2008

GM continues to cut production and workers; Sales forecasted to drop 20% over 2008

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

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

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

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

Strengths of PR pr specialists can present the company

as good citizens can handle crises, minimizing negative

effects on the organization’s reputation offers the business more flexibility than

advertising and sales promotion laws less strict for press releases

adds credibility and believability - why would Dan Rather lie? (ha ha!)

cost effective

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

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

Segments to Target Internal

Stakeholders employees shareholders suppliers,

distributors, brokers, wholesalers, retailers, dealers

consumers (regular or loyal)

External Publics The media local community

neighbors local, regional and

federal governmental bodies and regulators

financial community special interest groups prospective

customers, employees, shareholders

Importance of Stakeholders Employee satisfaction and

confidence WOM (Word of Mouth) Governmental motivation to

monitor financial market confidence community involvement and

perceptions consumer confidence

The Public Relations Job

Media relations corporate public

relations crisis management employee relations financial relations public affairs community relations marketing public

relations Reputation

Management

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

Corporate PR High-level

counseling with senior management about the company’s overall reputation, its image in the eyes of the various stakeholders, and its response to issues that may impact the success of the firm

Corporate PR Issue Management

practice of planning a company’s 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

Reputation Management Long-term process using a number of

strategies to manage the image or reputation of your client or firm

Tools employed include publicity, press releases, press agentry, crisis management, and community involvement Press agentry

Planning and staging of events Bring attention to new products or services or

portray the organization favorably

Crisis Management

Strategies to address crises or disasters oil spills, plane

crashes, management improprieties

Unless react quickly and effectively can destroy brand value

Often referred to as reactive PR addresses negative

publicity

Employee Relations

Motivation programs newsletters flyers video programming bulletin boards

Keys to success security consideration recognition opportunity respect participation

Financial Relations Comply with

governmental regulations

manage communications with stockbrokers, investors

distribute and deal with financial reporting of acquisitions, actions that effect stock prices

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

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