PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE

2014 Week 4

!

DR KANE HOPKINS

1

32Planning

Strategy

Research

The four essential steps of effective public relations1. Research 2. Planning 3. Communication 4. Measurement !

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

The majority of practitioners ... still prefer to ‘flyby the seat of their pants' and use intuitionrather than intellectual procedures to solvepublic relations problems.

Grunig & Hunt (1984)

RESEARCH

The majority of practitioners ... still prefer to ‘flyby the seat of their pants' and use intuitionrather than intellectual procedures to solvepublic relations problems.

Grunig & Hunt (1984)

Poindexter says:!there are extra readings on Stream.

Why research?• Are you kidding? Why ask why? • Determines everything we do

– Defines audiences – Develop strategy – What the messages are – Monitor competition – Evaluate campaign outcomes

• 3-5% currently spent on research, should ideally be 10%

Research takes PR…• From random to targeted • From uninformed to informed • From unethical to ethical • From fluffy to credible • From immeasurable to measurable • From art to science

The role of research in PR• The dimensions of the issue • The factors contributing to the issue • The publics involved in or affected by the issue

Common assumptions• Who the publics are • What the publics know about the issue, or think

they know • How they feel about the situation (and their

attitudes toward it) • What information they see as important • How they they will use that information • How they will recieve that information

1. Define the problem

2. Analyse the situation

3. Find problem specific information

4. Interpret the information

5. Solve the problem

Primary researchWhen the researcher collects original data

Advantages Disadvantages• Accurate • Expensive• Reliable • Takes a long time• Current

Research involving the collection of data in numerical form for quantitative analysis

• Systematic process of collecting and analysing data • Generally involve counting instances or occurrences

Examples include

• Surveys - telephone, online, mail questionnaires, intercept

• Content analysis

Quantitative research

Qualitative researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people have constructed, that is, how people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the world. (Merriam, 2009, p. 13)

• Assists in understanding opinions and attitudes • Relies on non-numerical elements such as words, visuals,

behaviours, etc

Examples include • Individual interviews • Focus groups • Observation

Qualitative research

Secondary researchData that has already been produced and can be contemporary or historical, qualitative or quantitative

• Documents • Letters • Diaries • Autobiographies • Referencing other forms of research and using quotes

Secondary research

Advantages Disadvantages

• Inexpensive • Can be outdated

• Immediate • May not be reliable• Fast • May not be available

PLANNING

5 Attributes of Strategic Planning1. It deals with fundamentals or basic issues,

providing answers to core questions, i.e.

• Who is our audience?

• What media do they use?

• What are our messages?

2. A framework for more detailed planning for day-to-day actions and decisions over time

3. A medium to long-term time frame

5 Attributes of Strategic Planning4. Provides coherence and momentum to an

organisation's actions and decisions over time

5. A top level activity. Needs commitment across the organisation

The Importance of Planning• Failing to plan is planning to fail • It doesn’t matter which planning system you use

of the many on offer (or develop your own) as long as you cover everything in a systematic and logical way

• You must plan not only for what you know or expect will happen, but for what could happen (or not happen)

Purposes of PlanningProactive

To make something happen To prevent something happening

Reactive To explore/enhance an existing situation To remedy a situation

Strategy vs Tactics: Our working definitionStrategy indicates the overall approach to deploying resources that convey messages to achieve broad objectives and reach the goal !Tactics refer to the activity conducted to meet a specific objective and thus implement (action) the overall strategies of a campaign (Mersham et al)

Types of Plans• Strategic

– Long-range, usually top-level management – Major organisational goals & broad ways to reach

them – Rely on relatively uncertain data, because forecast

• Econometric, e.g. public opinion surveys • Delphi model: consensus among key informants • Brainstorming: positive-only idea generation • Scenario construction: hypothetical ‘test’ of future possibilities

• Tactical – Specific ways to accomplish strategic plans

Strategy v Tactics• Strategy

– Big picture, perspective – The overall plan, how the campaign will achieve

organisational goals and objectives – It involves deciding who the important stakeholders

are, and which of them will be the recipients of your messages (i.e., target publics) 

• Tactics – Activities – Tactics are the actual ways in which the strategies are

executed • Media release, newsletter, blog, flyers, brochures and

advertising

Creating a PR PlanFreitag’s Four Questions:

1. Where are we now? 2. Where do we need to go? 3. How will we get there? 4. How will we know when we’ve arrived?

!Let’s look at these in more detail…

Where are we now?Situation: • Describe the organisation or issue and its

environment • History? • Purpose or nature? • Organisation & components? • Associated communication challenges?

Where do we need to go?Goals & objectives:

• Goals set general directions - E.g. Zero smokers by 2020

• Objectives set specific destinations - Use SMART objectives

Goals• A broad statement of which the organisation hopes to

achieve and which reflects the organisation’s business strategy

• Goals deal reputation, relationships or tasks • Examples:

– A relationship goal: To promote a better appreciation of [organisation] relationships with our neighbours

– A reputation goal: To reinforce [organisation] standing as a valued member of the local community

– A task goal: To increase the number of Newtown and Island Bay residents attending [organisation] open day

S.M.A.R.T.

Objectives• A precise and measurable statement of what the

organisation needs to do in order to achieve a goal • Each goal should have specific objectives written to make

sure the goal is achieved • Clear, precise and measurable objectives achieve outcomes • Objectives deal with changes:

– raising awareness (deal with information and knowledge) – building acceptance (focus on how people react to

information) – convincing publics to take action that is favourable to the

organisation (addresses a hoped-for response to information and feelings)

How will we get there?Strategies & tactics • Target publics

– Define segmented publics for each goal or objective

• Key messages – Identify messages that will achieve a

behavioural or cognitive change • Budget & Timeline

– Specific detail of costs and dates makes sure tactics are concrete & achievable

How will we know when we’re there?Evaluation: • Show change against benchmarks • Means you MUST have measured your

objectives BEFORE you put your campaign into action

Next week we will talk about the first assignment.