APR exam prep

Question 0

First step in research for strategic planning?

Answer 0

Monitoring the social environment.

Question 1

Four-step public relations process?

Answer 1

1. Defining PR problems
2. Planning and programming
3. Taking action and communicating
4. Evaluating the program

Question 2

SWOT

Answer 2

• Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
• Typically conducted as an analysis to identify internal and external business drivers
• Internal: Strengths and Weaknesses
• External: Opportunities and Threats

Question 3

Name 5 methods of informal or “exploratory” research

Answer 3

1. personal contacts
2. key informants
3. focus groups and community forums
4. advisory committees and boards
5. ombudsman
6. call-in phone lines
7. mail and e-mail analysis
8. web 2.0 sources (e.g. Blogs, social media, etc.)
9. field reports

Question 4

What is the difference between processes and outcomes In regards to program evaluation?

Answer 4

• Processes are the work–effort and outputs–that lead to the desired outcome
• Outcomes are the results: what was the impact and how did the processes contribute value to the organization?

Question 5

Public relations action is characterized by …

Answer 5

1. Socially responsible acts taken by PR departments or other parts of an organization based on PR counseling/recommendations
2. Corrective in nature
3. Serve mutual interest of organization and it’s publics

Question 6

Describe the “triangular relationship” and why it was so important to the development of modern PR.

Answer 6

• A model developed by Walter Lippmann who said “out of reach, out of sight, out of mind”
• Describes the relationship between the scene of action (people, places, actions, etc.), perceptions of that scene, and responses based on the perceptions
• Mass media fit in the model between scene of action and audience perceptions
• Last side of triangle complete when responses have an impact on the original scene of action
• Important because it established a framework for understanding the role of mass media in shaping public perception as they help paint a trustworthy picture of something the public did not see or experience first hand

Question 7

What is cultivation theory?

Answer 7

• George Gerbner built on Walter Lippmann’s work by studying effects of television on audience attitudes and perceptions
• The homogenizing effect of creating a shared culture
• Heavy TV watchers had a more pessimistic view of the world–an altered reality–from those who didn’t watch much television
• Effects of television viewing are better understood as a collective impact on culture and people’s views of the world around them rather than the individual impact

Question 8

1. Political propaganda =
2. Publicity =

Answer 8

1. A one-sided argument
2. One-way communication

Question 9

Who was a leader in professionalizing public relations and how did he do so?

Answer 9

• Considered the first PR counselor, Ivy Ledbetter Lee was an advisor to John D. Rockefeller
• Emphasized long-term relationship building, transparency and most importantly, taking corrective action
• He followed core principles including:
  
  • Tell the truth
  • Provide accurate facts
  • Give the PR director access to top management so he/she can influence decisions

Question 10

Explain differences between one, two and multi-step flow theories

Answer 10

• In one-step flow, practitioner sends messages direct to target audience ( e.g. Twitter, e-blasts, etc.)
• In two-step flow, the practitioner crafts messages and sends them to the media for distribution to the public
• In a multi-step flow model, the practitioner crafts messages which are provided to organizational leaders who in turn deliver those messages to key communicators and/or opinion leaders who in turn deliver those messages to the public

Question 11

How did Eddie Bernays professionalize the PR profession?

Answer 11

• Known as the father of PR, he published a seminal text in 1923 called Crystallizing Public Opinion
• Established important guiding principles for the craft of PR:
  
  • Interpret (promote) your client to the public
  • Interpret the public to your client; social responsibility
  • He also established idea of many publics, each with unique needs and the value of key communicators/opinion leaders
• Other concepts:
  
  • Public relations is a public service
  • PR should advance new ideas and progress
  • PR should build a public conscience

Question 12

Name the 4 models of PR developed by James Grunig and Todd Hunt:

Answer 12

1. Press agentry/Publicity (one way with propaganda as it’s purpose)
2. Public information (one way communication used to distribute truthful information)
3. Two-way asymmetrical is used to convince public to adopt organization’s position
4. Two-way symmetrical is used to promote mutual understanding

Question 13

Who is sometimes referred to as the “father of corporate PR” and what were his five principles?

Answer 13

1. Arthur Page
2. 5 principles:
   
   1. Make sure management thoughtfully analyzes its relationship with the public
   2. Create a system to inform employees about firm’s general policies and practices
   3. Create system to give contact employees info to be reasonable and polite to the public
   4. Effective two-way communication between public and management
   5. To ensure frankness about he firm’s actions

Question 14

Who was George Creel and why was he important?

Answer 14

• Selected by Woodrow Wilson to head the Committee on Public Information (CPI) during WW I
• Used propaganda to successfully sway public backing for the war effort

Question 15

What approach should you use to describe a target audience effectively?

Answer 15

• IFPR:
  
  • Identify: determine demo/psycho/geodemographic characteristics to group individuals with similar needs and wants (e.g. Teachers)
  • Fragment (e.g. 6th grade math teachers with a masters degree)
  • Profile: learn as much as you can about audiences using psychographics, demographics, etc. to determine their importance
  • Rank: placing audience segments/fragments in order of importance from most important to least important to assist with allocating limited resources; when ranking, the NEED to reach is the primary consideration

Question 16

What are the four segment types for an audience?

Answer 16

1. Internal
2. External
3. Intermediary (message carriers)
4. Special

Question 17

What is the difference between a segment and a fragment?

Answer 17

• A segment is a division of total market into groups, subgroups or sectors (by demographics, psychographics and geodemographics) by relatively similar needs and wants
• A fragment is a narrowly defined group with relatively similar needs and wants. Similar to a segment but much more defined (e.g. High school math educators with 10 years teaching experience and national certification)

Question 18

Who are stakeholders?

Answer 18

Anyone with an interest–financial or otherwise–in a company or organization.

Question 19

Define public relations:

Answer 19

Management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its publics on whom its success or failure depends.

Question 20

How are public relations and marketing similar and how do they differ?

Answer 20

Similar: they are both management functions. Different: marketing is a narrower discipline focused on the relationship of a company to its customers whereas public relations is concerned with relationships between an organization and its stakeholders–both internal and external.

Question 21

What are the functions within PR?

Answer 21

1. Internal relations: management and employees
2. Publicity: media relations via uncontrolled tactics such as press releases
3. Advertising: controlled message delivery through paid placements; used to reach audiences other than customers targeted by marketing
4. Press Agentry: creating newsworthy events and stories to garner media attention in order to grain public notice/notoriety/celebrity; building mutual understanding is not a priority and examples include sports events, Hollywood, politics, etc.
5. Public Affairs: government public relations limited by the 1913 Gillette amendment and reaffirmed in 1973 by public law 93-50 section 305 which restricted spending on publicity by gov agencies
6. Lobbying
7. Issues Management: proactive process of identifying, analyzing and responding to public policy issues that effect the relationship between an organization and its publics
8. Investor Relations: managing relationships with shareholders and other finance stakeholders to maximize company value
9. Development: PR for nonprofit orgs, typically involved in donation and pledge drives Bottom line: all orgs use PR to manage relationships with publics who are central to their success

Question 22

Describe 4 primary roles of practitioners and a key difference with the others.

Answer 22

1) Communications Technician:

Question 23

What makes primary diversity characteristics unique and give some examples?

Answer 23

• Innate and cannot be changed
• Examples include:
  
  • gender
  • age
  • nationality
  • sexual orientation
  • ethnicity
  • race

Question 24

What are examples of secondary diversity characteristics?

Answer 24

• Can change over time:
  
  • religion
  • geographics
  • marital status
  • military service status

Question 25

What are some of the values outlined in the PRSA code of ethics?

Answer 25

• Advocacy
• Honesty
• Expertise
• Independence
• Loyalty
• Fairness

Question 26

List some barriers to Communication:

Answer 26

• Fuzzy language
• Misalingment with cultural values
• History of distrust
• Distractions
• Negative infuencers
• Sources or spokespeople with no credibility
• Unreliable media
• Media with which people are not comfortable
• Captive audiences
  *

Question 27

What are the four parts of a sound objective?

Answer 27

1. Key publics
2. End results expected from those publics (the desired behavior, attitude or opinion)
3. Level of accomplishment expected from those publics (how much you hope to achieve)
4. Time frame (when)

Question 28

Difference between goals, objectives and strategies?

Answer 28

Goals are broad statements that represent a state of “being” such as “To be viewed as the leading provider of healthcare services in a X market” Also, more global and communicate what the overall program is designed to achieve such as “widespread understanding of the value of teaching professionals.”

Objectives support the goal and are more specific “To obtain 90% positive mentions in local media over a 90 day period.”

Strategies should indicate how you plan to reach your objectives.

Question 29

Process to follow when recommending research

Answer 29

1. Recognize and state the problem
2. Enviornmental scanning
3. Conduct SWOT analysis
   4.