Chapter 4 Public Relations as Strategic Communication Strategy, Tactics, Goals and Objectives Five Step Process Project Management Return on Investment

Public Relations is “More than Publicity” Practitioners use more than the news media to reach targets. Publicity is a means to an end.

Strategic Effective public relations is strategic — has a purpose. Publicity should be mindful and used to pursue important organizational objectives.

Strategy Guides action. Is both plan and enactment of the plan.

Tactics Tools that are used to enact strategies. Public relations tactics include news releases, brochures, web sites, blogs, advocacy advertisements, town hall meetings, newsletters, and lobbying. Tactics make strategy a reality.

Goals “a general statement of what you hope to achieve with your public relations effort” (Coombs, 2005, p. 364). Vague statements of where a practitioner wants to go.

Objectives Specific versions of goals. Details what is expected from the public relations effort. Must be measurable.

Types of Objectives Process objectives check to see that certain steps were taken in the preparation and execution of a public relations action. Answer the question, “Did we do what we were supposed to do?” Outcome objectives determine whether or not the public relations action was a success. Answer the question, “Did we succeed?”

Outcome Objective An action verb preceded by “to.” Specifies the amount of desired change or target behavior stated as a percentage or number. Describes the target for the public relations effort. Example: “To increase blood donation from first time donors by 10%.”

When are Public Relations Actions needed? When a problem occurs, something threatens the organization. When an opportunity occurs, something can benefit the organization.

Five-Step Public Relations Process Environmental scanning Formative research Planning Message design and execution Evaluation

Public Relations Process

Environmental Scanning Form of radar. Search inside and outside the organization for information. Includes listening to constituents Identify changes that could affect the organization. Opportunities could benefit Problems could harm

Environmental Scanning Information is analyzed/interpreted. Analysis converts information into knowledge. Monitor the promising situations. Now a need to collect additional information.

Formative Research The systematic collection and analysis of information about a situation identified through environmental scanning. Answers question “What is going on?” Must determine if situation is problem or opportunity. Seek to reduce uncertainty gaps and have the knowledge to make further decisions.

Three Gaps for Practitioners Who is involved. Why each group or individual is involved. Cause of the problem or reason for the opportunity. - Problem, need to know causes - Opportunity, why might organization benefit

Situational Awareness Another name for formative research. Indicates managers have enough information to make a decision. Again, information must be analyzed.

Types of Research Informal research is subjective, how people interpret the information can vary greatly. Common techniques include in-depth interviews focus groups data bases case studies content analysis

Content Analysis “is the systematic, objective and quantitative method for researching messages” (Stacks, 2002, p 107). Though systematic, content analysis is still considered informal. Content analysis is used to analyze news stories, blogs, web sites, videotapes, and media releases.

Formal/Quantitative Research Is objective and rigidly structured. Information collected in the form of numbers. Numerical information is then examined using a statistical program. Statistical tests are considered objective because they will provide the same results regardless of who performs the test.

Surveys Common in formal research. Typically close-ended questions. Can be completed in person, over the phone, online, or through postal mail.

Samples Subset of the total population to be studied. Sample is representative, if it accurately reflects the population. Some variation of a probability sample is used to select a representative sample. A probability sample is when every possible member of a population has an equal chance of being chosen for the sample.

Visual of Sampling

Samples Probability Non-probability Simple random Simple systematic sample Skip interval system Cluster sampling Non-probability Convenience Purposive Volunteer

How much Research is Needed? Depends on the number and size of the information gaps. More and bigger information gaps require more research. Experience plays a role. Practitioners use their past experience as a resource for the simple and routine public relations actions.

Planning Maps what needs to be created. Guide for strategy.

Key Points Create an objective. Detail how to reach objective. Identify how much effort will cost.

PR Effort as a Project An organized attempt to create a unique product or service. Has a specified time frame for completion and is comprised of a series of tasks necessary to reach the objective.

Project Management Documents Identify the tasks to be completed. Identify the person or persons responsible for each task. Identify time required to complete each task.

Project Management A systematic approach to planning and organizing a task from start to finish. Emphasis on four factors: scope, cost, schedule and quality. Scope: what must be accomplished Cost: how much money there is available Schedule: time allotted for the project Quality: grade of the project’s outcome

Types of Outcome Objectives Knowledge objectives include simple exposure to the message, comprehension of the message, and retention of the message. Attitude objectives seek to change or to reinforce how constituencies think about an issue or an organization. Behavior objectives seek to change or to reinforce how people act.

Types of Outcome Objectives Often seen as building on one another. In reality, not always a progress from knowledge to attitude to behavior. All three involve some form of influence. Even the selection of information is used to influence behaviors.

Larger Organizational Interests Public relations should be helping support larger organizational objectives. The public relations actually should help achieve the organization’s strategic plan. It is not “just a public relations action.”

Planning Process Part 1: Task, identify what needs to be done. List of tasks is the process objective. Time, how long will each task take. Staffing, identify who is responsible for tasks. Dependencies between tasks. Tasks are dependent if one must be completed before another can begin.

Planning Process Part 2: Organizing the tasks. Task, timeframes, and dependencies must be placed in useable format. Gantt Charts PERT Charts Microsoft Projects

Planning Process Part 3: Calculating the budget. Summed cost of the tasks. Human resource costs, people working on the project. Hard costs, out-of-pocket expenses for materials and supplies.

Three Constant Budget Factors Knowing what goes into developing a budget. Being accurate in your estimates. Learning to stay on budget.

Message Design and Execution Message design: create messages Execution: deliver the messages Message must fit the objective and target—informed by earlier steps. Delivery methods must fit the objective and the target.

Important Message Factors Sources, who is perceived to send the message. The argument. The channel.

Source Needs to appeal to target. Following factors influence appeal: Credibility Similarity Attractiveness

Arguments Claim you want others to accept. Recommendations for claims. Strongest argument first or last Make conclusion implicit or explicit One-sided or two-sided arguments If two-sided, refutational or not

Channel How target experiences the message. Must consider reach and its cost. Does channel reach the target? Can you afford the channel?

Evaluation Is a measure of success or failure and provides feedback for future public relations actions. No evaluation without a measurable objective. Evaluation method depends on the type of objective.

Ramifications of Evalution Personal level: helps practitioners to refine and to improve their writing and planning skills. Client or organizational level: determine success or failure. Success can mean more clients and bigger budgets Failure can mean fewer clients and smaller budgets

ROI Return On Investment. ROI is how much an organization gets in return for a capital investment (Hardt, 2005). Organizations and clients want to know what they get for the money spent on public relations. Requires outcome objectives and evaluation.

Bigger Picture Individual public relations actions do not occur in isolation. Each individual public relations action is connected to relationships and larger organizational objectives. Failure to appreciate the bigger picture can be harmful to an organization.

Effects from Public Relations Actions

Reflection Points What are the dangers of forgetting the parts of a public relations effort are related? Why are proper outcome objectives so important to public relations efforts? When might scanning not be necessary?