Public Relations

What is public relations? “Public relations is a management tool for leaders in business, government and other institutions to establish beneficial relationships with other institutions and groups”

Four steps necessary for PR First, identify your publics--your existing relationships Second, evaluate the relationships using research

Design policies to improve the relation- ships Implement the policies –“enlightened self- interest”

Role of public relations in a democracy A way for public to speak its desires & interests to organizations A way to achieve mutual adjustments between institutions and groups A safety valve for freedom An essential element to keep us informed Can help activate social conscience of organizations where we work

Origins of public relations Moguls in trouble Vanderbilt social Darwinism Ivy Lee Rockefeller Ludlow Massacre Philanthropy

Public relations on a new scale World War I George Creel--Creel Committee World War II Elmer Davis--Office of War Information Corporate giving –Minneapolis--5% club –United Way campaigns

Edward Bernays Freud’s nephew WWI Creel Comm Crystallizing Public Opinion 1955 “Engineering of Consent” Social responsibility

Structure of public relations Arthur Page at AT&T PR as a management function External relations Internal relations Media relations PR agencies

PR services Publicity & promotion Lobbying Political communication Image consulting Financial PR Fundraising Contingency planning Polling Events coordination

PR and advertising Both persuade through mass media PR shapes org policy Sells points of view and images PR tries to influence media to tell its story a certain way

Integrated marketing communications Hot new buzz word. IMC--attempts to coordinate advertising as a marketing tool with promotion and publicity of the sort that PR experts can provide. Ad agencies move into PR Overlap in institutional advertising

Media relations: crisis management Open media relations –Tylenol case history Proactive media relations –Persian Gulf

Steps in Tylenol case Halt Tylenol manufacture & distribution Remove Tylenol from stores Launch massive ad campaign to exchange Tylenol for safe product Staff press center - 50 PR experts for media & consumers Ordered internal co. investigation Full cooperation with gov’t investigators Tamper proof pkg.

Proactive media relations Crisis management –seize leadership on a story Persian Gulf war –Pentagon spokesman with Defense Sec’y & Chiefs of Staff –Lots of news briefings

Adversarial media relations General Motors 1954 severed media relations with information boycott Mobil oil’s Herb Schmertz attacked media critics –Use of paid advertising, ‘advertorials’ –Use corporate reps to tell Mobil’s side –Respond to any media criticism of oil industry

Professionalization of PR Tarnished image –PT Barnum “Huckster” –“whitewashing” –“Flaks” –“public information,” “public affairs,” “corporate communication” departments Standards,certification, accreditation Professional associations