MEDIA RELATIONS 370 SEPTEMBER 19, 2011

BIG PICTURE STUFF

ADVERTISING VS. PUBLIC RELATIONS •  Advertising defends brands. •  Public relations builds brands.

•  Wal-Mart barely advertised before becoming Wal-Mart. •  Starbucks spend $10 million on advertising in its first ten

years. •  Harry Potter author is richer than the Queen of England. •  Bronx Zoo snake has higher Klout score than Ohio’s

Governor.

ADVERTISING VS. PUBLIC RELATIONS

•  Advertising is “Big Bang”

•  Public Relations is slow and steady

TERMS I HOPE YOU KNOW. IF NOT, YOU KNOW THEM NOW.

•  Project: Single and short lived activity to meet an objective. A press release for instance.

•  Program: Ongoing activity with several objectives that are associated with a goal. Think a community relations program.

•  Campaigns: Set of activities, each with a specific and finite purpose over a set list of time with a set list of objectives.

RESEARCH BASICS

WHY ARE WE DOING RESEARCH? •  We want to ID ways to make our agency/

department more valuable to the company. •  This strengthens the client or company. •  We want to prevent situations from becoming a

problem. •  We want to prevent a problem from becoming a

crisis.

FORMATIVE RESEARCH FOUNDATION

•  Casual Research: This is stuff you should already know. Picking client and colleague brains or talking with people who have expertise in the area.

•  Secondary Research: Looking for existing info. Previous reports, the web or the library.

•  Primary Research: Info you mold or create. Surveys, focus groups or content analysis.

HOW DO YOU TALK TO A CLIENT ABOUT RESEARCH? 1. An initial meeting to develop an understanding of the research needs (What are we doing) , resources (cash) and how it will be used. 2. A second meeting to agree on scope and timeline.

3. A meeting to refine the questions once you’ve developed them.

4. A meeting to agree on the study approach.

ANALYZING THE SITUATION

ANALYZING THE SITUATION •  The situation is a set of circumstances facing an

organization.

•  A situation is an opportunity to be embraced because it offers an advantage to the organization or its publics.

•  A situation is a obstacle if it limits the organization in realizing its mission.

IS IT AN OPPORTUNITY OR AN OBSTACLE?

ANALYZING THE SITUATION: ISSUE MANAGEMENT

Issue Management explains how an organization anticipates potential trends and reacts to them. •  Which stakeholders are impacted?

•  Who has an interest?

•  Who exerts influence?

•  Who should care?

•  Who gets the ball rolling to make us act on the plan?

ANALYZING THE SITUATION: ISSUE MANAGEMENT

Bench-marking explains how other people have handled similar situations. •  This helps you monitor competitors.

•  This gives you fresh perspective.

•  This prevents internal politics from taking over the situation.

ANALYZING THE ORGANIZATION

ANALYZING THE ORGANIZATION

There are three factors to think about. •  Internal Environment •  External Environment •  Public Environment

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT •  Performance

•  Are they good at what they do? •  Are people satisfied with the work?

•  Niche

•  What makes them different from anyone else? •  Ethical Base

•  Do they have a code of ethics? •  Does the industry have a code of ethics?

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT •  Structure.

•  Mission. •  Role of PR in that mission. •  Organizational resources (Staff, budget,

time and equipment) •  Internal Impediments

PUBLIC PERCEPTION

• Visibility

• Reputation

MEDIA PERCEPTION

•  Visibility •  Reputation •  Do they “like” you? •  Have you burned them in the past? •  Hast the media burned you in the

past?

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

• Supporters • Competitors • External Impediments.

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OPPONENTS •  Advocates support something else, and you stand in the way

of that.

•  Activists are advocates who want change, not dialogue. •  Dissidents oppose you based on the actions you’ve taken

•  Antis are dissidents on a global scale…people who oppose everything.

•  Missionaries are acting on moral principle

•  Zealots are single-issue activists

•  Fanatics are zealots without the social stabilizers.

ANALYZING THE PUBLIC

ANALYZING THE PUBLIC •  Public: You can’t pick them. They’re just the there. •  Market: You can pick them. They can pick you.

•  Audience: A member of the public who bothers to pay attention to your message.

•  Stakeholder: Someone who ought to be in the audience.

FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PUBLIC

•  Distinguishability: Can you ID them? •  Homogeneity: Do they have common traits or

features?

•  Importance: Are they?

•  Size: Are they large or important enough to merit your time and attention?

•  Accessibility: How can you interact with them?

THERE ARE FOUR KINDS OF PUBLICS

• Customers • Producers • Limiters • Enablers

CUSTOMERS THE FOUR KINDS •  Current •  Secondary: The customers of your

customers

•  Potential •  Shadow Constituencies: People who may

not have a direct link with the organization’s product or services, but they can effect the perception of your organization.

PRODUCERS THE THREE KINDS

•  Financiers: Who pays the bills? •  Personnel: Who keeps the place

moving? •  Suppliers: Who gives you the stuff to

do your job?

LIMITERS THE THREE KINDS •  Opponents •  Hostile Forces •  Opinion Leaders

ENABLERS THERE ARE FOUR KINDS

•  Media •  Opinion Leaders •  Allies •  Regulators