Public Relations: Interactions, Relationships, and the News Chapter 12

Handling a Campus PR Crisis Charges of racism led to protests on campus Football team threatened to “go on strike” if president didn’t resign Biggest problem was administration’s failure to communicate Administration had problems with students and state legislature. Conflict blamed for substantial drop in enrollment following year

From Press Agency to Professionalism Public Relations “The management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends.”

The Origins of Public Relations Press Agentry Sending one-way communication from the press agent to the media with little opportunity for feedback; was often deceptive and unethical Early users of press agentry P.T. Barnum, Standard Oil, railroads, temperance & abolitionist movements

The Origins of Public Relations Ivy Lee Early PR practitioner Helped railroads deal with image problems Early advisor to John D. Rockefeller Importance of telling the truth

The Origins of Public Relations Edward L. Bernays Applied social-scientific research techniques to public relations Promoted technique he called engineering consent Applying principles of psychology and motivation to influencing public opinion Wrote Crystallizing Public Opinion (1923) and Propaganda (1928) Recognized importance of the crowd

World War I: The Federal Government Starts Using Public Relations Committee on Public Information (CPI) CPI run by newspaperman George Creel Four-Minute Men Importance of interpersonal channels Opinion leadership A two-step process of persuasion that uses influential individuals to deliver information to the community (Two-step flow)

What Is Public Relations? According to Bernays, the functions of public relations are: Informing Persuading Integrating

The Public Relations Process Research Researching opportunities, problems, or issues Objectives Specific and measurable outcomes Programming Activities to carry out objectives Evaluation Testing prior to campaign, monitoring during delivery, measuring outcomes Stewardship Maintaining relationships created during previous steps

Who Are the Publics? Public Any group of people who share a common set of interests and goals Internal publics People within the organization External publics People outside of the organization Media relations Two-way interactions with members of the press

Crisis Communication Principles of Crisis Communication Be prepared Have a plan for things that are likely and unlikely Be honest Lies will catch up with you and hurt worse than the original problem. Ask Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton

Crisis Communication Principles of Crisis Communication Apologize, and mean it Real apologies include action. Move quickly The news cycle moves quickly. You can’t get left behind. Communicate your actions Remember, these include internal and external publics, along with the press.

Crisis Communication The Tylenol Scare Tampered-with Extra Strength Tylenol capsules killed 7 in Chicago area. Johnson & Johnson immediately pulled product off the market in Chicago. In response to public fears, Johnson & Johnson recalled all Tylenol nationwide. PR firm Burson-Marsteller handled corporate communication for J&J.

Crisis Communication The Tylenol Scare Reintroduced product with triple-sealed packaging Communicated using sales reps, press conferences, and 60 Minutes interview Quickly regained public trust and market share

Crisis Communication The Exxon Valdez and BP Oil Spills Oil tanker ran aground, spilled 240,000 barrels of crude oil into ocean Exxon perceived as being at-fault for spill Lacked effective crisis plan Failed to control information environment Failed to accept responsibility immediately Corporate image still suffering more than 27 years later

Crisis Communication The Exxon Valdez and BP Oil Spills Still tried to keep message on technical issues rather than effects on people Both companies tried to shift blame to others. Neither company had effective PR plan in place.

Public Relations Goes Online Online media give PR professionals new channels to work with. Organizations can bypass legacy media. Internet gives critics access without gatekeeper limits of journalists. Online media make it easy to leak confidential information. Rumors can spread easily if organizations don’t supply timely information.

Public Relations Goes Online Using Social Media Effectively Social media present an opportunity to interact with publics, not just a channel to send out information. Need to establish ongoing relationships

Public Relations Goes Online Kraft and the #Cheeseocalypse Kraft had minor issue manufacturing one size of its Velveeta cheese product Crisis was publicized; Tweets poked fun at the issue Kraft capitalized on the conversation for publicity and to learn more about their customers.

Public Relations Goes Online Responding to an Internet Crisis Identify your crisis team. Imagine your worst nightmare, and be prepared for it. Track what is being said about you online. Don’t wait – You have limited time to respond.

Media Transformations: Old and New Tools for Integrated Marketing Communication Effective IMC uses both old and new tools. Must be prepared to communicate with wide range of publics If you do a good job of telling the bigger story, smaller negative stories won’t become big problem.

Journalism and Public Relations News starts out as press release, press conference, speech, or event created to be covered by the media. There are limits to what PR professionals can do when it comes to news coverage.

Public Relations and the Government In 2013, more than 11,500 lobbyists registered to work in Washington, D.C. Total spending on government relations more than $6.44 billion Government and politicians make extensive use of public relations. President Obama “outed” his college-age drug use in 1995 book Dreams From My Father to get the story over early in his career.

Spin Control: A More Personal Form of Public Relations Attempting to shape how the press interprets (spins) stories. Spin Techniques: Selectively leak information in advance, hoping reporters will pay more attention to early information. Contact press immediately after an event with your interpretation of the situation. Push the idea that there are always two sides to every story.

Public Relations and the Civil Rights Movement Needed action, words, and visibility Conducted protests where local officials could be counted on over-reacting Made sure northern press would witness protests Martin Luther King Jr. wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail while in jail Easter weekend. Gave message more force