re-shaping today and tomorrow - dr. bill nichols

Re-Shaping Today and Tomorrow

Key Trends in PR Practice and Thinking

Dr. Bill Nichols Senior Lecturer PR/MarCom; Deputy Director, CHCR; Director – Astrophel LLP

BNU School of Business and Management

Kozara, Bosnia – 23-24 May 2013 Author: Dr. Bill Nichols

1. Welcome To The Borderlands

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols

Join me on the border Academia and Practice


They’re Very Different Languages


Quel est le futur des relations publiques?

公共关系的未来是什么？

Sometimes more like a war…


But breaking down barriers is the heart of PR… Let’s call it..



Successful interaction!

Dobrodošli na moju prezentaciju


Today’s Agenda

• The Borderlands

• Triumph and Expectation

• The Empire of Spin

• Spin Overwhelmed: Forces of Change

• Consequences: Tomorrow in PR – Theory

• Tomorrow: Seven Trends: One Narrative

• Final Thoughts: A New Practitioner


2. Triumph and Expectation


.

It’s A Great Time for PR


On The Up…

• Industry growth = 5-10% annually even in recession

• Multi-billion business

£1.7bn consultancy UK (2005)

• Practitioners up X4-5 in 30 years (=48K in the UK)

• University courses globally (31 UK vs. 1 in 1980)

• Diversifying and winning control of social media.

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: CEBR (2005); Gregory (2011).

And PR Won That War – 5:1

PR

Traditional Media

Citizen Media


There’s Lots On The Menu

• Media relations

• Corporate comms

• Community relations

• CSR

• Issues & crisis management

• IR

• Public affairs

• Internal comms

• Digital PR

• Branding

• Event management

• Comms strategy

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: CEBR (2005); Gregory (2011).

.

So Where Now?


3. Context: The Empire of Spin (1980-2000s)


End of an Era: Triumph of Spin and Control


The Spin Game

• Era of ruthless news managers

• ‘Bury bad news’

• Clearly defined news agendas and schedules

• Message, message, message…


Key Words

• Persuasion

• Advocacy

• Control


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How It Worked: 1980-2004

• Theory of Social Exchange:

• Negotiated relationships

• Everything has a price.

• Relationships 1.0:

• Network power

• Who you know.

• Perceptions Management:

• “Convince key audiences that messages delivered… are true”.

• Expectations control

• Synonym for advocacy and persuasion.

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Golomb (1995); Ferrara (1998); Vargo and Maglio (2008); Latane (1981); Leaf (2012:271) .


Driven By Functionalism: All Very Logical

• Dominated teaching

• Focused on process, causes and effects

• This is PR ‘inside-out’ – founded on:

• Systems theory

• Commitment to situational theory

• Ideal of symmetrical communication

• Aspirations of excellence and effectiveness

• Role structure (manager-technician)

• Quantitative research (e.g. evaluation).

Source: L’Etang (2008: C1, 12); Grunig (1984, 2001). Author: Dr. Bill Nichols


All About Measurement and Results

Inputs Outputs Outcomes

* Budget Compliance • Resource Compliance • Timeline • Contacts/Media.

• Exposure • Coverage/Clipping Count • Readership/ ‘000s • AVE (Advertising Value Equivalent) • Advertising Page Rate Multiplier • Message Count/Weighting • Cost Per Message • Proprietary: e.g. Wordsworth.

* Tracking Study • Behaviour/Purchasing • Attitudes • Intentions • Analytic Relationships.

High

High

Low

Low

Accuracy/Value

Cost

Source: Watson and Noble (2007); McNamara (1992)

.

This is the road to Barcelona…


.

Just A Moment: We’re Human…


Three Variables: Not One

Personality

Motivation

Change

Perception

Source: Schiffman and Kanuk (2007:90ff) Author: Dr. Bill Nichols

.

AND Change… Always Change…


4. Spin Overwhelmed: Forces of Change


1. We Went Digital: The Mechanism

Sweden (1996) Now The #1


Hard-wiring the potential for co-creation.

2. Connectivity Went Global

3. Social Media Rolled In…

Obama vs. Romney (Election Night - 2012)

• Facebook 32m vs. 12m fans

• Twitter 21m vs. 1.7m followers

• YouTube 260K vs. 29K views.


Co-creation AND Social Influence.

.

4. AND our culture is changing rapidly


The Waning of Attention

• “It is only lately that the pursuit of distraction has been embraced as the meaning of life”.

John Gray

Philosopher

(2013)


The Writing of the Elite

• “Writing today is like Latin on the eve of the Renaissance, the language of a scholarly elite.”

Prof. Elizabeth Daley,

Uni of Southern California

(2013)


The Age of The Image

• “While our culture still relies on words, they are increasingly wrapped up with images. And it is images that people remember”

Stephen Apkon

Cultural Historian

(2013)


5. Consequences: Tomorrow in PR - Theory


• Authenticity vs. Perceptions:

• The degree to which one is true to one's own personality, spirit, or character

• Co-creation vs. simple Relationship Management:

• Value in use rather than in exchange… Therefore…

• Social Influence vs. Social Exchange (SET):

• Physical and virtual impact upon another’s emotions, opinions or behaviours.

Shaping Theory: A New Paradigm

Source: Golomb (1995); Ferrara (1998); Vargo and Maglio (2008); Latane (1981). Author: Dr. Bill Nichols


Key Words

• Reputation

• Relationships

• Social Interaction.



.

Reputation and Relationships are two sides of the same coin..


.

By managing social interactions which create a web of relationships, we sustain and develop reputation.


People-Centric Communications Wheel

Grounded in Insight

Target Right

Segments

Aim for Behaviour Change

Develop Engaging

Propositions

Manage Complexity

Best ‘Total People

Experience’

Interface and

Collaborate

Open and Accountable

Source: GCN (2010); CHCR (2013).

6. Tomorrow in PR

Seven Trends: One Narrative


Media Convergence – real world and in the classroom


1. Media Convergence: One Focus

Paid

Earned Owned

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols This is the ‘New Secularism’ (Nichols and Davies 2010)

Rolling up social media as a core component…


2. Convergence Integrates Social Media

Paid •Digital Ads, Banners

•Overlays, Adwords

Promoted •In-stream or

•Social paid promo vehicles

Owned •Created or

•Custom content

Shared •Collaborative platforms

•Vehicles

Earned

•Brand-related conversations

•User-generated content.

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Giles Peddy, Hotwire (2012)

Powered by Big Data (when enough people are trained to manage it!)


3. Integrated Seamlessly Via Big Data

• Only just begun

• Clearing ‘smoke and mirrors’

• Transforming understanding

• Feeding:

New business measures for PR.

Big Data

Analytics

Insights

Creative Ideas

Multiple Platforms

Business Performance

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Giles Peddy.Hotwire (2012)… .

Creating intelligent real-time customer interactions and relationships…


• The use of social media requires organisations to not just use these tools, but to have a mindset that embraces immediacy

• Some brands have caught on engage quickly though social media – Eurostar, Gatorade, Dell

• Brands need to be part of the conversation and decision making process – if not, they are forgotten

• Social intelligence creating social capital

• RoI advantage = +3%

4. Powering Real-Time Marketing

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: David Meerman Scott (2013) .


Supporting intelligent real-time community interaction and engagement…


5. The 3Ts: Community Engagement

Source: Bowen et al (2010); CHCR (2013)

Transactional CE

One-way

Controlled

Compliance-focused.

Transitional CE

Building bridges

Dialogue and consultation/ Town Halls

Cause-focused

Frequent

Transformational CE

Achieving shared value

Relational

Permanent joint-teams

Co-creation/co-ownership.

Direct contact leaves no hiding-place… Applies a high-value to authenticity…


6. Corporate Character: Reputation’s Gold Standard

• “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Giles Peddy.Hotwire (2012)… .

Which are the building blocks of the most crucial trend of all… the creation of narrative…


5. Helping Us Create Master-Narratives

• Organisations are good at messaging, identifying stories and weaving messages

• BUT:

• Many forget the master narrative – the red thread that binds these stories and messages together, day in day out

Author: Dr. Bill Nichols Source: Peddy/Hotwire (2012)

It’s Human: The Master Storytellers

• The way we’re wired

• Dream, believe, internalise

• Evolve

• Re-define.

7. Tomorrow: The New Practitioner


What We Do

• Weave our stories, weave our magic…

Working As Influencers

• Traditional media outreach is subsumed by:

Influencer outreach.

• The world of engagement and new emerging models.


Engaging Live As Brand Journalists

• The creation of videos, blog posts, photos, charts, graphs, essays, ebooks, and other information that deliver value to your marketplace..

BJ

•

• A product pitch

• An advertorial

• An egotistical spewing of gobbledygook-laden, stock-photo enhanced corporate drivel.

Not

• Marketers using the tools of digital publishing and social media to speak directly to consumers.

BJ or Content Marketing

Source: Meerman Scott (2010); Forbes (10 March 2012) Author: Dr. Bill Nichols

Leading on Customer Service…

• Customer service

• Empowerment

• Social media management and execution.


.


.

It may be a great time… But here comes the scary bit…


• His time is fading…

• After Leveson in the UK, we will be next in the spotlight..

• How will they seek to regulate the ‘hidden manipulators‘?

• Are we ready?

• Are we professional enough?

We Are The Publishers Now…



Who Will Win The Next War??

PR

Trad Media

Citizen Media


Thank you for listening.

Any questions?


8. References


References 1

• Apkon, S. (2013), The Age of the Image: Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens. New York NY: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.

• Bowen, F., Newenham-Kahindi, A., and Herremans, A. (2010). When Suits Meet Roots: The Antecedents and Consequences of Community Engagement Strategy, Journal of Business Ethics, 95 297:318.

• CEBR (2005), The Economic Significance of Public Relations. London UK: CIPR.

• Cornelissen, J. (2008). Corporate Communication: A Guide to Theory and Practice. 2nd Ed, London UK: Sage.

• Daley, E. (2013). Unpublished Lecture. USC.

• Ferrara, A. (1998), Reflective Authenticity. Rethinking the Project of Modernity. London UK: Routledge.

• Fruchter, G.E., and Sigue, S.P. (2004). Managing relational exchanges, Journal of Service Research, 7 (2), 142:154.

• Golomb, J. (1995), In Search of Authenticity: From Kierkegaard to Camus. London UK: Routledge.

• Gordon, A.E. (2011), Public Relations. Oxford UK: Oxford UP.

• Gottman, J. (1998). Psychology and the study of marital processes. Annual Review of Psychology, Vol.49, pp. 169-197.

• Government Communications Network (2010), Engage Handbook for the Communications Community. London UK: Cabinet Office.

• Gray, J. (2013), The Silence of the Animals: On Progress and Other Modern Myths. London UK: Allen Lane.


References 2

• Gregory, A. (2011). The State of the Public Relations Profession in the UK, Corporate Communications, 16 (2) 89-104.

• Grunig, J.E. and Hunt, T.E. (1984), Managing Public Relations. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart & Wilson.

• Grunig, J.E. (2001). Two-Way Symmetrical Public Relations: Past, Present and Future. In: Heath, R. (ed), Handbook of Public Relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Kelley, H.H., and Thibaut, J.W. (1978), Interpersonal Relations: A Theory of Interdependence. New York, NY, John Wiley and Sons.

• Latané, B. (1981). The psychology of social impact, American Psychologist, 36, 343-356.

• Leaf, R. (2012), The Art of Perception. London UK: Atlantic.

• L’Etang, J. (2008), Public Relations: Concepts, Practice and Critique. London UK: Sage Publications.

• McNamara, J. (1992). Evaluation of public relations: the Achilles heel of the PR profession, International Public Relations Review, 15 (24), 17-31.

• Moorman, C, Zaltman, G., and Deshpande, R. (1992). Relationships between providers and users of market research: the dynamics of trust within and between organisations, Journal of Marketing Research, 29, August, 314:328.

• Moss, D and DeSanto, B (2011), Public Relations: A Managerial Perspective. Los Angeles CA: Sage.

• Oliver R.L., (1997), Satisfaction: A Behavioural Perspective on the Consumer. New York, NY, McGraw Hill.


References 3

• Oliver, R.L. (1999). Whence customer loyalty, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 63, Special Issue, pp. 33-44.

• Schiffman, L. and Kanuk, L. (2007), Consumer Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

• Spreng, R. and Page, T. A. Jr. (2003). A test of alternative measures of disconfirmation, Decision Sciences, 34, (1) 31:62.

• Tench, R and Yeomans, L. (2009), Exploring Public Relations. 2nd Ed, London UK: Kogan Page.

• Vargo, S.L., and Maglio, P.P. (2008). On value and value co-creation: A service systems and service logic perspective, European Journal of Marketing 26 (3) 145-152.

• Watson, T., and Noble, P. (2007), Evaluating Public Relations: A Best Practice Guide to Public Relations Planning, Research and Evaluation. 2nd Edition, London UK: Kogan Page.


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