The Four Models of Public Relations Donna Simmons, Ph.D.

1st Model: Press Agentry/Publicity Philosophy of Promotion People want information. People want entertainment. Use media and just about any other means to promote your organization or client. Stage an event / make a wild claim to get media and public attention.

Hype is necessary. Truth is secondary. Influence the attitudes and opinions of the public by whatever means necessary. PT Barnum: Comedy of the harmless deceiver and the willingly deceived. Press Agentry/Publicity = Promotion P.T. Barnum= Dennis Rodman?

2nd Model: Public Information Ivy Lee and others…. Philosophy of Public Information Tell the truth. Organizations to communicate, not hide. Use the press release to communicate and inform.

One-way communication-- Tell your story with a press release or newspaper article. Newspaper prints or TV news tapes story. Public reads or sees story. Public absorbs the information the organization sent out.

One-way communication-- CSUSB press release: Professor Saves Dogs Stories printed in “The Sun” and “LA Times” Public reads stories. Public focuses on CSUSB and one of its professors.

Problem with 1st two models: The organization (pr person) thinks the public has been hit with the message and will absorb it. But the public can react by avoiding or ignoring the message.

Problem showed need for new model. Enter Edward Bernays-- Research the audience. Use: Surveys, Questionnaires, and Polls Find Out: Demographics (age, sex, income, education, ethnicity, etc.) Psychographics (values, attitudes, lifestyle information) Create a message: For a specific audience with a message so the audience will respond.

3rd Model: Two-way asymmetric Wants to have a good reputation with its customers. So the company learns about its customers by researching - satisfaction cards the customers fill out at the restaurant - s customers send to the company through its web site - letters the company gets from its customers - the demographic and lifestyle characteristics of the people who come to the restaurant

3rd Model: Two-way asymmetric Research Suggests: Children ages 5-12 = main customers. Children get their parents to come to McDonalds. As a result of the research: McDonalds creates a web page with a section for kids. The end result for McDonalds: Kids like McDonalds. Kids and their parents come to McDonalds. Good Public Relations – Primarily Persuasion What does McDonalds want to accomplish with this web page?

Audience has many choices. Audience hears/sees many messages. Audience is active, not passive. Research does not ensure audience response and loyalty. But it’s not that simple.

A better way to ensure audience response and loyalty is 4 th Model. Two-way Symmetric THEN, adapt the organization’s goals, practices, products to the expectations and needs of specific publics. Create a dialogue. Talk with the organization’s publics. Find out what they want.

McDonalds changes cooking oil used to make French fries. Customers are loyal because McDonalds listened… Or not… McDonalds’ customers tell them they are concerned about Trans Fatty Acids in the oil M uses for French fries. Excellent Public Relations Understanding, not Persuasion Two-Way Symmetric Model

In summary: The four models are Publicity/Promotion (standard public relations) Public Information (standard public relations) Research-Oriented Two-Way Asymmetrical (good public relations) Research-Oriented Two-Way Symmetrical (excellent public relations)