Public Relations 2 Flashcards
The secret to PR, life and this semester
Planning!
Belt/suspenders rule
If you have a plan A and B, you’re always ready (be over-prepared)
Obstacles of PR
- being excluded from the planning
- no goal
- red tape
- procrastination
The planning falacy
When we plan something in a group, we’re too confident, and we focus on the details instead of the bigger picture
The two parts of a PR plan
- Action
2. Communication
ROI
Return on investment: you have to justify the money you spent
Parts of a mission statement
- Why we exist
- CSR
- Direction/purpose for staff
- Personality
- How you’re different from the competition
Process of a proposal
- Strategy
- Pitch
- Approval
RFP
Request for proposal
• the client who want the work submits RFPs
Tolerance for ambiguity
Have a tolerance for not understanding everything all at once
Event planning basics
- Piggyback on another event – it saves money
- Get a sponsor
- Choose an event that fits your image
- Use local talent
- Invite the media
Examples of event committees
Budget, housing, facilities, exhibit, PR, transportation, etc
How do you determine ROI?
- event is worthy of attention
- event is interesting, convincing, on-brand
- event is relevant to what your business does
- evaluate the event after
The communications cycle
- Idea
- Transmitted
- Received
- Interpreted
- Responded
Rinse and repeat.
What is the single biggest communication problem?
The illusion that it’s taken place.
6 C’s of good communication
- Clarity
- Concrete
- Cohesive
- Compelling
- Credible
- Courteous
Common writing issues for PR
- plain language
- parallellism
- agreement (tenses)
- punctuation
“The way we do things around here”
Corporate culture
PR for an internal audience
Internal/employee communications
How do you solve the problem of corporate culture?
Formalize the corporate culture so everyone knows what to expect
Value vs Growth
Value: investing in undervalued things in hopes of fixing it
Growth: investing in things that are already valuable in hopes of it becoming more valuable
HR vs PR
HR: manages people and creates policies
PR: communicates policies
Employee communications key terms
- Identity
- Maintain/re-establish
- Mutually beneficial for organization and publics
What phases of employment does internal communications deal with?
- Pre-employment: hiring, job ads
- New employee: job packages
- Longstanding: thank-you’s, recognition, features
- Termination: honouring work
IRP
Interest, response, participation
The world’s most valuable resource
Time
Job interview tricks
- Show personality
- Ask why they hired you after
- Carry a book with you about the company
- Ask questions at the end
What does it mean to be a “volunteer at work”?
Look for things that need to be done and do it
What does a PR person in media relations do?
Working with the media.
• interviews, news releases, pitches, lunches, photo ops, releasing audio and video clips, writing/delivering speeches
• “framing” the story
Agenda-setting theory
The media you consume sets the agenda
Media dependency theory
People are dependant on media for communication; media sets the precedent
Framing theory
PRs spin, Js frame…basically, don’t trust anything you hear
Cultivation theory
Repetition: the more the media repeats something, the more we believe it
Community of one theory
Modern-day: There’s no shared narrative, everyone can isolate themselves in their own position
NIMBY
Not in my backyard!
• people who are hostile toward your business – stave them off
CR: needs of the community
- Jobs/wages
- Attractive appearance
- Community support
- Economic stability
- Hometown pride
CR: needs of the business
- Municipal services
- Tax breaks
- Living conditions and labour supply
- Support from community
How do you do community relations?
- Tours/open houses
- Special events
- Newsletters
- Advertising/sponsorships
- Scholarships
- Renting out facilities
RAPP
Recognition, analysis, policies, participation
Goals of community relations
- Inform community
- Correct misconceptions
- Reply to criticism
- Gain support from community
- Determine the community’s needs and wants
What makes a good spokesperson?
No divided loyalties
Steps to get ready for the interview
- Research the reporter
- Define your objectives
- Anticipate the questions
- Rehearse the questions
- Talk in quotable headlines/clips
Sneaky J questions and how to answer them
- The front-loaded question: reject the assumption, find the positive
- The doomed alternative: say what you’re improving, not the problem
- The pregnant pause: sit and smile, don’t fill the space
- The echo: Agree with your original answer, don’t back down
- The multi-Q: choose which one to answer, or disagree with all
- The interrupter: answer the question you want
- The re-stater: stick to your answer
- The labeller: show how their assumptions are false
The golden rules of media relations
- look for news
- know the skeleton in the closet
- fix problems
- know what you can/can’t talk about
- tell the truth – not “no comment”
- facilitate access to CEO
What do PRs say about Js?
- Miss context
- Misquote
- Don’t appreciate corporate structure
- Don’t show balance
- Don’t provide relevant details
What do Js say about PRs?
- Only there for good news
- Prevent access to other people
- Don’t appreciate reporter’s deadlines
- Jargon
- Spin on facts
What kind of relationship do Js and PRs have?
Symbiotic
Holding a news conference
- Is this news?
- When not to seek attention
- Briefing: short conference that brings people up to date
- Basics: location/food/setup/timing/rehearsal
- Think visually, even if only print shows up
- Background: give Js a takeaway with key info on it
What’s the first question you ask yourself in issues management?
What’s the worst that can happen?
Issues management
Calculating the odds of something happening
Crisis communication
Reaction to a crisis
Stages of a crisis
- Surprise/threat
- Info vacuum
- Escalation
- Anxiety/scrutiny
- Loss of control
- Siege mentality
- Short-term focus
- Urgency
Types of crises
- Emerging: could/likely to happen
- Immediate: crisis has hit
- Sustained: Public moves on, then comes back
Best place to see issues/crisis action
The newspaper
Parts of a crisis plan
- Scenario
- Key objectives
- Strategies
What takes the lead function in any crisis?
PR
What communication tool would you use to express an organizational opinion?
Position paper
Sponsorships, donations and strategic alliances fall under what branch of PR?
Community relations
How do you reduce outrage?
- Acknowledge you did something wrong
- Fix the problem
- Apologize/take accountability
- Addressed unvoiced concerns
The sections of a proposal
- Letter of transmittal
- Title page
- Executive summary
- Table of contents
- Purpose statement
- Situation analysis
- Target publics analysis and desired outcomes
- Strategy and rationale
- Preliminary budget
- Evaluation
Characteristics of a good mission statement
- express your organization’s purpose in a way that inspires support
- motivate those who are connected to the organization
- be convincing and easy to grasp
- use proactive verbs to describe what you do
- be free of jargon
- be short enough so that anyone connected to the organization can readily repeat it (40 words)
How often should you review your mission statement?
Five years
The three parts of a mission statement, according to Janel M. Radtke
- Purpose
- Business
- Values
What makes communications “strategic”?
MBO: Management by objective:
- Identify what you want to achieve
- Discover through research and analyze the best way to get it
- Measure how well you did
The RACE formula
Research
Analysis
Communication
Evaluation
What’s the most important page in the proposal?
The executive summary
The four main publics
- Primary: most desirable receiver
- Secondary: Second-most desirable receiver. Sometimes intervening (connect with public) or moderating (have influence over public
- Tertiary: Third most desirable
- “Everyone else”: includes media
Descriptors marketers use to describe their publics
- Behavioural
- Interest
- Consumer-predisposition
- Consumption
- Awareness
- Opinion-leader (political, economic)
- Social-media
What are five ways to measure a PR campaign?
- Audience exposure
- Audience awareness
- Audience attitudes, perceptions
- Audience action
- Internal measurements
What’s an organization’s most valuable resource?
Employees
Five key principles for employee communication
- Honesty
- Respect
- Thanks and recognition
- Two-way dialogue
- Consistency
Factors that make up corporate culture
- Environmental factors
- Values (policies)
- Behavior
- Structure
- Leadership (heroes, role models, mentors)
- Employee perception
Roles of employee communicators
- Attract, select, indoctrinate employees
- Provide instruction, rules, news
- Publicize achievements
- Exchange information
- Increase employees’ effectiveness
- Solicit and encourage input
- Satisfy employees’ desire to be informed and involved
The IRP rule
In employee communications, demonstrate interest, respond to concerns, provide opportunities to participate in decision-making
The 3 levels of evaluation
- Preparation: Before the event
- Implementation: During the event
- Impact: after the event
