Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-1 Chapter One: What is Public Relations, Anyway?

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-2  In the early 21 st century, public relations and social media have emerged as powerful societal forces.  Together, they have revolutionized the way we communicate with key publics around the world.  What current events can you think of that underscore this new reality?

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-3 In the age of social media, public relations professionals must cut through the online clutter with arguments that are:  persuasive  believable  actionable Yet, the power, value and influence of public relations have never been greater.

 In the initial decade of the 21 century, public relations as a field has grown immeasurably both in numbers and in respect. Today the practice of public relations is clearly a growth industry. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-4

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-5 In numbers:  It is a multi-billion dollar business practiced by 158,000 professionals in the U.S. alone.  Employment growth is expected to increase faster than average through the year  Public relations has grown rapidly across the globe: From Europe to China; Latin America to Africa.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-6 In respect:  A survey of Fortune 1000 company executives revealed strong support for the practice.  250 U.S. colleges and universities offer public relations degree programs to more than 20,000 majors.  The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) boasts 20,000 members in 116 chapters.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-7  The strength of public relations stems from its roots: “A democratic society where people have freedom to debate and make decisions – in the community, the marketplace, the home, the workplace and the voting booth.”

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-8 Let’s define the field…

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-9 One definition to consider……

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-10 “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other. Public relations is an organization’s efforts to win the cooperation of groups of people.” * The Public relations society noted that its definition implied the functions of research, planning, communication dialogue, and evaluation, all essential in the practice of public relations.

 The methods and activities employed by an individual organization, corporation, or government to promote a favorable relationship with the public. ”  (American Heritage Dictionary) Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-11

 Is a distinctive management function which helps establishing and maintain mutual lines of communications, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its publics on whom its success or failure depends. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-12

 No matter which formal definition one settles on to describe the practice, in order to be successful, public relations professionals must always engage in a planned process to influence the attitudes and actions of their targets. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-13

 What is the process through which public relations might influence public opinion?  Professor John Marston suggested a four step model based on specific functions which are: Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-14

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-15  R = Research  A = Action  C = Communication  E = Evaluation * The key to the process is the second step.

 Public relations professor Crifasi has proposed extending R-A-C-E formula into five parts R-O-S-I-E, prescribes the functions of research, objectives, strategies, implementation and evaluation. Indeed setting clear objectives, working from set strategies, and implementing a predetermined plan is a key to sound public relations practice. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-16

 Still others suggest a process called R-P-I-E for research, planning, implementation and evaluation, which emphasizes the element of planning as a necessary preceding the activation of a communication initiative. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-17

 The process of public relations, then as professor Sharpe has put it, “ it harmonizes long term relationships among individuals and organizations in the society.” to harmonize professor Sharpe applies five principles to the public relations process: Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-18

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-19  Honest communication for credibility  Openness and consistency for confidence  Fairness of actions for reciprocity, goodwill  Two-way communication to build relationships  Research and evaluation to determine actions and to adjust for social harmony

 Public relations affects almost everyone who has contact with other human beings. All of us, in one way or another, practice public relations daily. For an organization, every phone call, every latter, every face-to-face encounter, is a public relations event.  Public relations professionals, then, are really the organization’s interpreter. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-20

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-21  on the one hand, they must interpret the philosophies, policies, programs, and practices of their management to the public.  On the other hand, they must convey the attitudes of the public to their management.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall Second Quiz! Who is that lady in the blue dress, and why is she with President Bush?

 Good public relations cant be practiced in the vacuum. No matter what the size of the organization, a public relations department is only as good as its access to management. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-23

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-24 To management, public relations practitioners interpret the public’s:  Opinions  Needs  Desires Management needs to know what the public thinks about an organization and its practices!

 Interpreting the public to management means finding out what the public really thinks about the firm and letting management know. History is filled with examples of powerful institutions and their public relations departments, failing to anticipate the true sentiments of the public. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-25

 As the 20 century ended, president Clinton forgot the candid communication skills that earned him the White House and lied to the American Public about his affair with an intern. The subsequent scandal, ending in impeachment hearings before the U.S congress, tarnished Clinton’s administration, and ruined his legacy. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-26

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-27  Practitioners must communicate with many different publics at once.  Each public has its own special needs, media habits and communication requirements.  Technology has created a complex web of interrelationships between publics.

 Internally, managers must deal directly with various levels of subordinates as well as with cross relationships that arise when subordinates interact with one another.  Externally, managers must deal with a system that includes government regulatory agencies, labor unions, subcontractors, consumer groups and many other independent – but often related- organizations Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-28

 Definitions differ on what constitutes a public, one time honored definition states that a public arises when a group of people: 1. Faces a similar indeterminate situation 2. Recognizes what is indeterminate and problematic in that situation and 3. Organizes to do something about the problem. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-29

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-30  Internal and external  Primary, secondary and marginal  Traditional and future  Proponents, opponents and the uncommitted

 Internal publics are inside the organization, supervisors, clerks, managers, stockholders, and the board of directors.  External Publics are those not directly connected with the organization: the press, government, educators, customers, suppliers and the community Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-31

 Primary publics can most help or hinder the organization’s efforts.  Secondary publics are less important and marginal publics are the least important for all.  For ex. Members of the federal reserve board of governors, who regulate banks would be primary publics, whereas legislators and the general public are secondary. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-32

 Employees and current customers are traditional publics, students and potential customers are future ones.  Today a firm’s publics range from women to minorities to senior citizens, each might be important to the future success of the organization. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-33

 An organization must deal differently with those who support it and those who oppose it.  For supporters, communications that reinforce beliefs maybe in order. But changing the opinions of skeptics calls for strong, persuasive communications, often in politics the uncommitted public is crucial. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-34

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-35  Actualizers  Fulfilleds  Believers  Achievers Segmenting by values and lifestyles  Strivers  Experiencers  Makers  Strugglers

 Actualizers: are those with the most wealth and power  Fulfilleds: have high resources and are principle oriented professionals or retirees.  Believers: are fulfilleds without the resources  Achievers: have high resources and are status oriented  Strivers : lack the resources of achievers but are equally status oriented. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-36

 Experiencers : have high resources, are action oriented and are disposed toward taking risks  Makers: also are action oriented but have low resources  Strugglers: have the lowest resources. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-37

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-38  Writing  Media relations  Planning  Counseling  Researching  Publicity  Marketing communications  Community relations  Consumer relations  Employee relations  Government affairs  Investor relations  Special publics relations  Public affairs and issues  Social media interfaces They are numerous:

 Writing: the fundamental public relation skill with written vehicles from news releases to speeches and from brochures to advertisement falling within the field’s purview  Media relations: dealing with the press is another front line public relations function.  Planning : of special events, media events, management functions and the like. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-39

 Counseling: in dealing with management and its interactions with key publics  Researching: of attitudes and opinions that influence behaviors and beliefs.  Publicity: the marketing related function, most commonly misunderstood as the only function of public relations, generating positive publicity for a client or employer. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-40

 Marketing communications: such as creating brochures, sales literature, meeting displays and promotion  community relations: positively putting forth the organization’s messages and image within the community  Consumer relations: interfacing with consumers through written and verbal communication Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-41

 Employee relations: communicating with all important internal publics of the organization.  Government affairs: dealing with legislators, regulators and local, state and federal officials  Investor relations: communicating with stockholders and those who advise them Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-42

 Special public relations: dealing with those publics critical to particular organizations, from African American to women to Asians.  Public affairs and issues: dealing with public policy and its impact on the organization  Social media interface: when the organization interfaces with the public its website as well as creating links with social media options. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-43

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-44  What does the term mean to you?  Spin equals distortion, obfuscation or lying.  Spin cannot cover up for poor performance.  Spin does NOT equal good public relations!

 So pervasive has the influence of public relations become in our society that some even fear it as a pernicious force, they worry about the power of public relations to exercise a kind of thought control over the public. Which brings us to spin. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-45

 In its benign form, spin signifies the distinctive interpretation of an issue or action to sway public opinion, as in putting a positive slant on a negative story.  In its most virulent form, spin means confusing an issue or distorting or obfuscating it or even lying Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-46

 Spinning an answer to hide what really happened, that is lying, confusing, distorting, obfuscating, whatever you call it- is antithetical to the proper practice of public relations.  In public relations, if you lie once, you will never trusted again, particularly by the media. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-47

 Nonetheless, public relations spin has come to mean the twisting of messages and statements of half-truths to create the appearance of performance which may or mayn’t be true Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-48

 There are seven areas in particular that characterize a successful public relations career: 1. Diversity of experience 2. Performance 3. Communication skills 4. Relationship building 5. proactivity and passion 6. Teamliness 7. Intangibles such as personality, and likeability Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-49

 There are six important skills which are important in PR: 1. Knowledge of the field: the underpinnings of public relations- what it is, what it does, and what it ought to stand for 2. Communications knowledge: the media and the ways in which they work, communications research, and most important how to write. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-50

3. Technological knowledge: familiarity with computers and associated technologies as well as with world wide web are imperative 4. Current events knowledge: knowledge of what’s going on around you. 5. Business knowledge: how business works, a bottom-line orientation, and knowledge of your company and industry 6. Management knowledge: how senior managers make decisions Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-51

 In terms of attitude that effective public relations practitioners must possess the following six requisites are imperative: 1. Pro Communications: a bias toward disclosing rather than withholding information. Public relations professionals should want to communicate with the public not shy away from communciating Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-52

2. Advocacy: public relations people must believe in their employers, they must be advocates for their employers, they should stand up for what their employers represent 3. Counseling orientation: a compelling desire to advise senior managers, top executives are used to dealing in tangibles, such as balance sheet, cost per thousands and cash flows, public relations deals practitioners deal with intangibles such as public opinion and messages Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-53

4. Ethics: the mantra of public relations practitioners must to do the right thing 5. Willingness to take risk: public relations professionals must have the courage of their convictions and the personal confidence to represent their curious role in any organization 6. Positive Outlook:the most important thing is to keep on swinging and smiling. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-54

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-55 Public relations, marketing, advertising…

 Scope Public relations has many components; journalism has only two.  Objectives Journalists are objective observers; public relations personnel are advocates.  Audiences Journalists focus on a mass audience; public relations professionals focus on defined publics.  Channels Journalists use only one channel; public relations uses a variety of channels.

 Tools Advertising works through mass media; public relations relies on a variety of tools.  Audience Advertising addresses external audiences; public relations targets specialized audiences.  Scope Advertising is a communications function; public relations is broader in scope.  Function Advertising is a tool; public relations fills a support role.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 1-58  Marketing and advertising traditionally promote products and services.  Public relations promotes an entire organization.

… is information placed in the media by an identified sponsor that pays for the time and space. It is a controlled method of placing messages in the media.

… is information from an outside source that is used by the media because the information has news value. It is an uncontrolled method of placing messages in the media because the source does not pay the media for placement.

 Focus Public relations is concerned with relationships; marketing sells products or services.  Language Different words are used by each profession to express similar meanings.  Method Public relations relies on two-way dialogue; marketing relies on persuasion.

… is the management function that identifies human needs and wants, offers products and services to satisfy those demands, and causes transactions that deliver products and services in exchange for something of value to the provider.