Chapter 12 PUBLIC RELATIONS: The Image Industry Chapter Outline History Industry Controversies Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations Public relations is defined as the art or science of establishing and promoting a favorable relationship with the public. Public relations differs from advertising. Both public relations and advertising, however, are persuasive endeavors and work together in integrated marketing. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations Internal publics are those within the client’s organization and include employees, stockholders, and members. External publics are those outside the client’s organization, including the community, the news media, customers, voters, and legislators. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What are Optics? Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Controversies The Ethics of PR Tactics Many journalists have a negative, but working relationship, with PR professionals. Journalists call PR people “spin doctors and “flacks,” which derives from the term for World War II anti-aircraft fire. To some, spinning is the practice of twisting the truth so that what is said puts the best possible face on the facts. Spin something for me. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Controversies The Ethics of PR Tactics Critics contend that most spinning is a type of lying, or a half-truth at best. “The Big Lie” occurs when prominent people state something they know to be untrue, but stick to it in spite of all evidence in the hopes that the press and public will become confused by the issue and forget about it. Who tells “the big lie?” Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What are The Big Lies today? KAC clip from Vox. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Politicians & Elections Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Controversies Greenwashing is covering up environmental problems caused by the client by associating that client with beneficial environmental actions. Many critics believe that freebies, including junkets, meals, and gifts designed to curry favor with reporters and magazine writers, amount to bribes. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations Precursors of Public Relations People have always had opinions, and others have always tried to influence those opinions: Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations Precursors of Public Relations People have always had opinions, and others have always tried to influence those opinions: Ancient Greeks hired Sophists to help fight their verbal battles in public forums. Ancient rulers all over the world employed spies to keep in touch with public opinion and spread rumors favorable to the sovereign. Most people in the colonies were indifferent to the cause of American independence and patriots used PR techniques, such as the Boston Tea Party of 1773, to gain public support for the war. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations Press agents worked to generate publicity for their clients. The dramatic means they used was known as hype. Phineas T. Barnum planted stories filled with lies about his attractions, and named his circus “The Greatest Show on Earth.” In the 1800s, public relations techniques were used by land speculators and railroads to entice people west with glowing reports fertile land and cooperative natives. The railroads encouraged the westward migration to generate customers for their services. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations Public Relations As a Profession Ivy Ledbetter Lee is recognized as the father of the modern public relations industry. Lee believed that the goal of public relations was not to fool or ignore the public. In 1917 President Woodrow Wilson authorized the Committee on Public Information (CPI) to mobilize support for the war, to encourage enlistment in the armed forces, and to promote the sale of Liberty Bonds. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations Edward Bernays coined the term “public relations counsel” in his book, Crystallizing Public Opinion, which was published in 1923. He also taught the first university public relations course that year at New York University. Edward received most of the credit at the time but today historians are beginning to appreciate the contributions of his wife, Doris, a well-known writer of the time. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations FDR used the CPI to drum up support for New Deal programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA). FDR established the Office of War Information to promote World War II bonds, encourage work productivity and the rationing of food, clothing, and gasoline. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) was founded in 1947 to promote professional standards and put forth a positive image. PRSA adopted a code of ethics in 1950. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations Countries with expanding economies such as Korea and some countries of the former Soviet Union, hire public relations firms to improve the perception that international investors have of them. In the wake of the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States, the U.S. government established media specifically designed to sway anti-U.S. sentiment in the Arab media. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Brief History of Public Relations HOW DO WE GET PR’d…. Teleconferences, allows business execs to be interviewed by dozens of reporters in different parts of the country. The industry has embraced the Internet just as passionately. New technologies have been a mixed blessing for the field of public relations. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry PR Activities Research that occurs through the public relations process is used to: define problems identify publics test concepts monitor the progress of a campaign evaluate its effectiveness when it is over Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry Public Relations Activities Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry PR Strategies News management techniques include: publicity stunts to create human-interest stories creating news hooks to interest media gatekeepers in the information that clients want to publicize developing media relations, or press relations, that maintain contact with reporters Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry PR Strategies Government news management occurs when governments try to manage their news coverage by controlling the flow of information to the press. Using leaks and trial balloons to test public reaction to a major policy, Granting exclusives to just one news outlet to increase the impact of publicity. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry PR Strategies Public Relations maintains good community relations by giving corporate aid to schools, charities and nonprofits. Crisis management is the action used to repair a client’s public image following an emergency, such as a major error, accident, or sabotage. Lobbying is any attempt to influence the voting of legislators. The name comes from the practice of PR representatives speaking to lawmakers in the lobbies outside their hearing rooms. Is all lobbying bad? Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Public Relations Strategies Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry Some Public Relations Tools Press releases, or news releases, are short documents, written in standard news form, for insertion into news reports. Canned news and editorials are digital files to be inserted verbatim into feature or editorial sections. Audio news releases include interviews and sound bites ready for insertion into news reports. Video news releases (VNRs) are ready-to-broadcast tapes. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sample Press Release Format Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry Some Public Relations Tools VNRs have become increasingly controversial in recent years, and have come to be called fake news, when they are used without attribution. A 2006 Center for Media Democracy study found 36 VNRs that had aired on 77 stations. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry Some Public Relations Tools Press kits are elaborate collections of publicity photos, color slides, product samples, and fact sheets. Many press kits also contain backgrounders, in depth articles on such matters as company history, the management team, and the product or market. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry Some Public Relations Tools A special event can be used to reconnect the public with the client after something changes perception. In the 1980s, Coca-Cola’s marketing blunder of changing its formula for Coke was met with consumer rejection. The company returned to its original formula, renamed it Coke Classic, and used the build up to its 100th anniversary as the launch date. Publicity cost over $23 million and took several years. Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Today’s Public Relations Industry Some Public Relations Tools Corporate sponsorship is also used to polish the image of clients. Miller Brewing Company sponsors almost 90 events. Corporations also purchase naming rights for stadiums (Busch Stadium) and even the naming rights for sports teams themselves (Red Bull paid $100 million to rename the MetroStars soccer team to the New York Red Bulls.) Copyright ® 2012. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.