Tactics

As with any important field, there are tactics to get what you want.  Lawyers, advertisers, politicians.  They all have tactics to achieve to obtain their final goal.  And seeing as public relations are an overarching field that all others employ and encompass, there are of course, tactics used by PR professionals.

When reading this week’s information on tactics, I came across a chart that listed common tactics used for different traditional publics.  For this week’s post I decided to zone in on one of these tactics, my favorite one that I have used in the past.

Under the public of social media, the tactic of social networks is listed.  Social networking is something I know all about, thanks to Facebook.  Facebook is one of the fastest growing websites in history.  The below link tells more of the business background of the company, from the NY Times.  Facebook is an amazing PR tactic for lots of things- upcoming movies and events, new bands, or products.  For example, if someone is hosting an event,they can make a FB event and send it out to everyone on their buddy list.  In most cases, this means that you just informed 1000 people of something, who will in turn forward it on and on. Facebook is also being utilized by companies to form what they call “fan” pages.  It is like being friends with the company, but instead you are a fan.  On these pages, they post specials, news, and links about the company.  I have friends that work in retail, and they get bonuses based on how many friends they can get to add their company as their fans. Facebook, and other social networks are an amazing PR tactic, one that is especially prudent with the current rise of technology

http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/business/companies/facebook_inc/index.html

Planning

Planning is something I know a lot about.  As a sociable person, I often fall into the party and event planner for our weekend affairs.  Looking at the written model of goals and planning, I can totally see why this is effective.

First the goal, which normally is to host an event. I have to think of where this should be, who should attend, what the theme would be, etc. The overall goal of course, is to have a fun, exciting, event.

Objectives include all the party planning details. Like, to have fun, to host a great event, etc.

Strategies include how to get the food, how to send out the invites, who to invite, etc.

Tactics are how to do all those small details.

The following article sums up party planning at its finest:

Selecting a Day and Time for the Party Choosing a Day When selecting a day for the party, consider your child’s age and the guest list. If you plan to invite your baby/toddler’s playgroup, any weekday should work well. Just remember to avoid nap times! If you plan to invite your family (especially if they live out of town) and/or your child’s friends from school, it’s best to have the party on the weekend. Also keep in mind that . . . busy holidays, like Christmas, are better avoided unless this is the only time you can get your family together. parents with older children may have conflicts with sports and other activities. many people go to church on Sunday mornings. Choosing a Time The time of day you choose to start your child’s party depends on whether you want to serve a meal or just cake. If serving a meal, start the party between 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. or 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. If you plan to just serve cake, have the party two hours before, or one hour after, traditional meal times (i.e. 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.). You may want to set an ending time for the party, too, if you are inviting school-age children. That way, parents will know when to drop off and pick up their children. This is also helpful if you have a commitment later in the day. Selecting a Location for the Party Choosing a Location If you want to throw a good old-fashioned “home” party but would rather do it somewhere other than your house, consider these locations: Amusement Park Aquarium Arcade Ballet Studio Baseball Field Beach Bowling Alley Children’s Museum Community Center Farm Friend’s Home Gymnastics Studio Hotel Miniature Golf Course Movie Theatre Nature Center Park Pool Restaurant Sports Center Tourist Train Theatre Zoo When making your decision, keep the following in mind: Space Limitations Potential Bad Weather Safety Considerations Your Ability to Set Up and Clean Up Filling Out the Invitations Incorporating the Date, Time & Location into the Invitations Whether they’re handmade, created on your PC and printed at home, purchased as fill-in-the-blank, or custom-made and personalized, the invitations for your child’s party should include the following: Your Child’s Name Date & Time of the Party Party Location A Map or Directions, if Appropriate “RSVP,” “Please Respond,” or “Regrets Only” Response Date Contact Name Contact Phone Number Special Instructions (i.e. “No Gifts, Please.”) For additional tips on who to invite to the party, addressing invitation envelopes, and other invitation etiquette, check out our article on Children’s Party Etiquette. Planning a grown-up’s birthday party? We have a selection of party themes perfect for grown-ups, and also offer solid partyware that will coordinate with any theme. Or, visit our partner, Celebrations.com for grown-up birthday party decorations.

PR Research

One of the points that stuck out to me in Chapter 7 was that of measuring intangibles.  When it comes to PR research, this can often become an issue.  Research is a very important factor in all fields, especially ones that influence such a large population.  Since I am a dork, and like to make connections across multiple courses I am taking, I instantly thought of my research in Comm. 310: Quantitative Research Methods.  In this class, we are divided into groups, and each team must complete a research project.  Our group, The Velociraptors, has decided to center our project on how attraction affects self-disclosure, conflict, and communication among dating relationships.

As it turns out, most measures of communication and relationships are intangible.  There is no way to see, touch, or feel attraction.  It varies from person to person, and it would be described differently be each individual.  So the challenge is, how do we measure and record this?

We decided that a survey would be the most effective and beneficial way to measure the factors in question.  This applies most to what the book describes as “evaluation research.” This form of research starts from the very beginning, just as we need to do when surveying individuals for research on relationships.  Research is a very important principle that is both important and ethical.

Research for my course must be ethical. This is always important when working people, which all PR work involves.  When researching human subjects, it needs to be important to remember to use ethical standards, as illustrated in the attached Belmont Report.

http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/belmont.html

Chapter 4

In response to the announcement in BB about how these posts should not be solely information rephrased, I have decided to write this one as a personal anecdote of how I work as a public relations leader in my sorority:

As stated in my introduction, I am the vice president of my sorority.  One of the requirements of the job is to attend weekly meetings with the rest of the executive council- to talk about current issues, and to plan things.  One of the interesting things about EC meetings is that we learn a lot of information that the rest of the chapter is unaware of- who has gotten in trouble recently, issues with members, conflicts with planning, etc.  While this is a necessary function of the council, it is hard to deviate between what EC talks about, and what information gets passed along to our public- the rest of the chapter.

According to the book, our chapter would be considered a traditional public, and we would be considered the opinion leaders and decision makers.  As a decision maker, it is difficult to decide how much and what information should be shared with our group.  We want the chapter to be involved with the decisions, and informed of what is going on, however if we asked the opinion of every girl in our chapter on every matter, nothing would ever be determined.  However, as a decision maker, all of our decisions are for the best interest of the public.  Without the public, there would be no point for us to do anything that we do.  That right there, sums up our relationship with the public, and their importance to the decision makers.

History of PR

To me, history is one of the most important topics in the world.  Whatever the topic- whether it be sports, politics, pop culture, science, etc.- nothing would be as it is today if it weren’t for the past.  To quote Henry Steele Commager:

“History, we can confidently assert, is useful in the sense that art and music, poetry and flowers, religion and philosophy are useful. Without it — as with these — life would be poorer and meaner; without it we should be denied some of those intellectual and moral experiences which give meaning and richness to life. Surely it is no accident that the study of history has been the solace of many of the noblest minds of every generation.”

With that being said, the history of PR is no exception.  In my opinion, public relations is one of the most important influences that people have over one another.  Every monumental moment that has happened in the past, from sporting events to world wars, have been surrounded by the haze of  the media.  PR has the ability to shape the public’s opinions, and spin them in a positive or negative light.  PR has the chance to pick scapegoats.  An example of this reminds me of 1912 when the Titanic sank.

After the ship sank, there was a lot of controversy surround Mr.Bruce Ishmay, one of the ship’s primary financial backers.  Ishmay made it off the ship alive, while many people said he should have gone down with the Titanic.  Ishmay was crucified in the newspapers- cartoons, articles, and jokes were all written at his cost.  I think that this is a trend that has been utilized throughout history: people are always looking for someone to blame.  For example, after 9/11 and heading into the current war, the media decided to crucify George Bush.  And while it is obvious to even the most liberal that the whole situation could not possibly blamed on solely Bush, the jokes come as a relief.  In times of trouble, the public wants someone to blame.  This is a trend that has been used countless times throughout history, and continues to repeat itself.

Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen focuses on how public relations influences marketing.  It begins by defining consumer-focused marketing, which uses various media to focus on and build relationships with individuals, as opposed to mass-marketing.  The main strategy used to apply these concepts is integrated market communications, or IMC.

The IMC has five traits that set it apart from mass marketing.  A few examples of these are in the first three traits.  The first is that it focuses on individual consumers, as opposed to the masses.  The second is that to obtain information on customers, the IMC users draw from databases.  These databases contain wants, needs, and preferences of the consumers.  The third is the tactics IMC practitioners employ, which include PR, advertising, and direct marketing.

Next the chapter, describes the pillars of IMC, which are advertising, marketing,and public relations.  Advertising is controlled media, and attempts to influence consumers actions.  Marketing is a process in which marketers research and promote a product or service.  Coupons and personal selling are both aspects of marketing.  Public relations is “the values-driven management of relationships between an organization and the publics that can affect its success.” (pg. 411)

In the closer look at marketing section of chapter 13, the marketing mix is introduced.  This concept combines everything involved in marketing from design to packaging, to price to placement.  Each part and step of this concept sets IMC apart from other marketing concepts.

The chapter concludes with the problem of modern-day marketing.  The first issue is jealousy between the products.  The second is that it’s hard to measure success.  The third issue is that at its very core, consumer based marketing is hard to complete because of its nature.

Key Ideas from Week 1

In the first pages of the textbook, Guth and Marsh attempt to define the term, “public relations.”  They explain that there was no definite answer to the question, so in 1976 Harlow combined multiple definitions into his own, part of which states, “helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its publics.” (Harlow, 1976)  Scholars still debate the definition of the word, however they can all agree on the definition of public, “any group of people who share common interests of values in a particular situation- especially interests of values they might be wiling to act upon.” (Guth & Marsh, 2009, pg. 7)  They also define stakeholder, which occurs when the public has a stake or issue within the organization.  

While it is hard to define the term public relations, there are five elements that make up the phrase.  The first is that public relations is a management function.  This means that there needs to be managers organizing the public relations professionals. The second is that public relations involves two-way communication. The third is that PR is a planned activity. Things do not just happen, they must be carefully thought out.  Fourth, public relations is  a research-based science.  This allows an organization to fully know what the public will respond to.  And finally, public relations is socially responsible.  

There are four models of PR that are usually used, according to the Hunt-Grunig model. The first is the press agentry/publicity model, which emphasizes getting publicity from the media. The second is the public information model, which focuses on distributing accurate information.  The third, the two-way asymmetrical model, uses research to sway the public opinion toward a particular point.  The final model, the two-way symmetrical model, is the most effective model because it focuses on both conflict resolution and understanding. Another model, the dynamic model of the PR process has four, intertwining steps: research, planning, communication, and evaluation.

PR has a very important role in society, and therefore they must uphold strong values. In this section, Guth and Marsh offer their own definition of public relations, “Public relations is the values-driven management of relationships between an organization and the publics that can affect its success.”

Introduction

My name is Molly Carpenter, and I am a junior Communication Studies major/Psychology minor from Atlanta, Georgia.  I went to a small, private school for thirteen years: Pace Academy.   I met many of my greatest friends there; including my best friends, Cam and Caroline.  It’s still weird that they are in Tennessee and Virginia, and not in class with me every day. 

My family is very important to me. I am the only member of my family born and raised in the South: everyone else is from the Midwest. While we may dispute who has the accent, I love going to visit them on the farm. The small town country life of Holstein, Iowa is so delightfully opposite the hustle and bustle of Atlanta. I think that my love of the farm is what led me to my favorite pastime and passion: horseback riding. I own two horses, Brody and Lenny, and throughout high school I showed them all over the southeast.  

Coming to Clemson was the greatest decision I have ever made. The first time I visited the campus was the Friday before a football game, and everyone was wearing orange.  I fell in love with the spirit and the passion behind our school, and it has truly become my home. Shortly after becoming a Clemson tiger, I became a proud new sister of Zeta Tau Alpha. I never thought I would make friends as close as my friends from home, and I could not have been more wrong. I have found the best girls in the world in my sorority, and everything I do with them is guaranteed to be fun and an adventure.  I currently am serving as Vice president for my chapter, and I am having so much fun being in a leading role.

Personally, I would define PR as how an organization, company, or individual interacts and displays themselves to the public sphere. Factors would include image, values, and mission of the group at hand.

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