Before reading this chapter I understood that it is important to conduct research and practice evaluating this research in order to execute a successful public relations campaign. What I had not previously considered was the specific ways of going about acquiring information and the importance of selective choice of methodology dependent on the amount of information required and budget restrictions.
There really is a lot to think about when acquiring information for a campaign. Once a methodology has been chosen, such as qualitative or quantitative varieties of techniques, care must be taken that not enough or too much research isn't undertaken as too little research may leave a practitioner without enough knowledge of the situation at hand and too much reserach is costly in time and money. To ensure this doesn't happen, the setting of clear goals and objectives must be set prior to undetaking research. For me this is an important point of the readings, and one that is laying out a firm theme across PR practice. The most obvious rule I have taken from this weeks readings and previous weeks is that before doing anything in a PR campaign, one must have clear objectives set out in order to achieve success.
The information on SWOT analysis also extended my knowledge of the PR plan and report assignment ahead of us. The readings also outlined that to use a SWOT analysis to its full potential and understanding of related opinions and attitudes surrounding the issue is paramount. The following list of questions will greatly help me narrow down my PR plan for the Maitland Repertory Society:
*Who is the public?
*What are their characteristics?
*Where do we find them?
*Why are they important to us?
*How active or involved is this public relative to our interests?
*What is their hierarchy of importance?
I also found the ethical considerations in reasearch interesting as I previously hadn't considered them. PRIA's Code of Ethics adresses the issue of research, with guidelines to follow such as "Give full disclosure of the reserach procedure".
See John Hanlen's blog for critique.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Strategy, Planning and Scheduling & Tactics
Strategy, Planning and Scheduling
This chapter served an effective, practical addition to my growing knowledge of public relations. In order to execute an objective well, a PR practitioner needs to identify a clear understanding of the situation at hand through operational strategies, planning, budgeting and scheduling. These elements of a campaign are of upmost importance- without them a campaign is doomed to fail. Mintzberg and Quinn ( 1991) define strategy as "a pattern or plan that integrates an organisation's major goals, policies and action sequences into a cohesive whole."
The readings stressed the overall value of strategy in a campaign. I agree with this and found the steps to write an effective strategic communication plan interesting. The 10 important factors to consider are:
*An executive summary
*The Communication Process
*Background
*Situation analysis
*Main messsage statement
*Stakeholders
*Messages for key stakeholders
*Implementation
*Budget
*Monitoring and evaluation
Out of all of these points I feel that the monitoring and evaluation of a strategy is by far the most important element to executing effective strategy. Without the re-evaluation of original ideas, a campaign will not move forward or achieve the objectives set out.
Tactics
Tactics are an exciting element of public relations in that the use of a tactic is only limited to the practitioner's imagination and invention. I learnt it is important not to use the terms tactics and strategy interchangeably as they pose different implications. Tactics are methods used in order to achieve the strategic outcome of reaching a target audience.
The readings went into detail about traditional tactics in the industry such as media relations, printed materials, reports, newsletters, mail, branding, DVD's etc and their status as either controlled or uncontrolled tactics. I found the example of printed materials interesting as I had not previously thought about them in such detail. The need for careful consideration when producing printed tactics such as brochures, leaflets and flyers confirms its status as a controlled tactic, meaning the practitioner has the sole control of the production of the tactic and the way it is received (message creation and crafting of final distribution.) Factors that before seemed trivial to me such as paper size, colour use, semiotics, binding were revealed as important considerations when developing printed material. This is because visual elements may be the difference between a public successfully receiving a message or simply missing it all together. I also learnt that mistakes are costly to a practitioner's time/deadline and budget.
This week I commented on David Elliot's blog.
This chapter served an effective, practical addition to my growing knowledge of public relations. In order to execute an objective well, a PR practitioner needs to identify a clear understanding of the situation at hand through operational strategies, planning, budgeting and scheduling. These elements of a campaign are of upmost importance- without them a campaign is doomed to fail. Mintzberg and Quinn ( 1991) define strategy as "a pattern or plan that integrates an organisation's major goals, policies and action sequences into a cohesive whole."
The readings stressed the overall value of strategy in a campaign. I agree with this and found the steps to write an effective strategic communication plan interesting. The 10 important factors to consider are:
*An executive summary
*The Communication Process
*Background
*Situation analysis
*Main messsage statement
*Stakeholders
*Messages for key stakeholders
*Implementation
*Budget
*Monitoring and evaluation
Out of all of these points I feel that the monitoring and evaluation of a strategy is by far the most important element to executing effective strategy. Without the re-evaluation of original ideas, a campaign will not move forward or achieve the objectives set out.
Tactics
Tactics are an exciting element of public relations in that the use of a tactic is only limited to the practitioner's imagination and invention. I learnt it is important not to use the terms tactics and strategy interchangeably as they pose different implications. Tactics are methods used in order to achieve the strategic outcome of reaching a target audience.
The readings went into detail about traditional tactics in the industry such as media relations, printed materials, reports, newsletters, mail, branding, DVD's etc and their status as either controlled or uncontrolled tactics. I found the example of printed materials interesting as I had not previously thought about them in such detail. The need for careful consideration when producing printed tactics such as brochures, leaflets and flyers confirms its status as a controlled tactic, meaning the practitioner has the sole control of the production of the tactic and the way it is received (message creation and crafting of final distribution.) Factors that before seemed trivial to me such as paper size, colour use, semiotics, binding were revealed as important considerations when developing printed material. This is because visual elements may be the difference between a public successfully receiving a message or simply missing it all together. I also learnt that mistakes are costly to a practitioner's time/deadline and budget.
This week I commented on David Elliot's blog.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Sponsorship and Event Management
The readings this week identify sponsorship as a 'hugely successful' public relations tactic. Sponsorship is defined by Johnston and Zawawi as "the purchase of specific rights and benefits associated with an event, organisation or individual." The readings go on to imply very clearly in their definition of sponsorship that it expects a return.
This concept rings true whenever you go to an event. Just on the weekend I attended the Olyroos V North Korea match at Energy Australia Stadium. Toshiba were a major sponsor of this event and used logos easily recognisable by attendees to generate a sense of awareness of the company. Through purchasing the rights of this event, Toshiba were able to generate a sense of goodwill and also attempt to strengthen their reputation and image through the association with the football match. The readings urge that sponsorship also provides potential sales for businesses through marketing their brand or product in ways that are highly visible to a target or mass group which may contain potential consumers. Toshiba clearly shared these objectives and attempted to achieve this through exclusivity, image association, signage rights, merchandising and media coverage- all of which are outlined in the readings as sponsor benefits.
I feel the most interesting aspect of the reading was the specific components of a sponsorship proposal and the emphasis on identifying target audiences, setting clear objectives and the subsequent evaluation of these objectives. The extensive work and preparation behind sponsorship became apparent in the Telstra sponsorship criteria and application guide. Also the potential for marketing ambushes complicates sponsorship proposals. It is something a PR practitioner must be aware of as a successful ambush may diminish the effectiveness of the main sponsors.
Similarly to sponsorship, event management takes on the need for extensive planning, evaluation and consideration in order to achieve the successful execution of an event. I found Rob Tounge's research about unsuccessful events interesting as a helpful guide of 'what not to do' when planning for an event. Although most of the characteristics of failed events listed are purely common sense, it made me realise that something as simple as the clashing of event dates or insufficient planning for undesirable weather conditions can be the underlying difference between a succesful event or a disastrous one. The various case studies discussed also demonstrates this point, highlighting that anything can go wrong and the ability to remedy sticky situations is vital in event management.
See Abby's blog for critique.
This concept rings true whenever you go to an event. Just on the weekend I attended the Olyroos V North Korea match at Energy Australia Stadium. Toshiba were a major sponsor of this event and used logos easily recognisable by attendees to generate a sense of awareness of the company. Through purchasing the rights of this event, Toshiba were able to generate a sense of goodwill and also attempt to strengthen their reputation and image through the association with the football match. The readings urge that sponsorship also provides potential sales for businesses through marketing their brand or product in ways that are highly visible to a target or mass group which may contain potential consumers. Toshiba clearly shared these objectives and attempted to achieve this through exclusivity, image association, signage rights, merchandising and media coverage- all of which are outlined in the readings as sponsor benefits.
I feel the most interesting aspect of the reading was the specific components of a sponsorship proposal and the emphasis on identifying target audiences, setting clear objectives and the subsequent evaluation of these objectives. The extensive work and preparation behind sponsorship became apparent in the Telstra sponsorship criteria and application guide. Also the potential for marketing ambushes complicates sponsorship proposals. It is something a PR practitioner must be aware of as a successful ambush may diminish the effectiveness of the main sponsors.
Similarly to sponsorship, event management takes on the need for extensive planning, evaluation and consideration in order to achieve the successful execution of an event. I found Rob Tounge's research about unsuccessful events interesting as a helpful guide of 'what not to do' when planning for an event. Although most of the characteristics of failed events listed are purely common sense, it made me realise that something as simple as the clashing of event dates or insufficient planning for undesirable weather conditions can be the underlying difference between a succesful event or a disastrous one. The various case studies discussed also demonstrates this point, highlighting that anything can go wrong and the ability to remedy sticky situations is vital in event management.
See Abby's blog for critique.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Writing Skills and the Press Release
I learnt from the readings this week that sound writing skills are a must in order to secure a job in public relations.
Kurt Wise urges in his article, "The Importance of Writing Skills":
"Writing is one of the foundations of a successful public relations practitioner and the ability to communicate messages clearly and concisely is one of their differentiating skills." (Treadwell and Treadwell, 2004)
Possessing the ability to write in a versatile, persuasive and informative manner will set the strong candidates apart from the weak applicants as basic writing skills are diminishing in university graduates.
The readings also emphasised the importance of writing for web format. It urges a different approach needs to be taken when composing text for the internet as people read information differently on the web than they do when reading a newspaper or magazine. Wise advises that a more concise, conversational and enticing style needs to be adopted for the on-line audience.
The second article was extremely helpful for a budding public relations practitioner. It gives 10 simple tips to construct an effective media release. This is important as the media release is vital for media relations in the PR world. Here is a quick summary of the tips:
1. Make sure you are presenting information of genuine worth.
2. Don't mistake a press release for an advertisement.
3. Don't think one size fits all.
4. Keep it short and succinct.
5. Make the heading relevant.
6. Be careful and clever with quotes.
7. Do the reporters job for them.
8. Keep the boilerplate to a minimum.
9. Give a tag-team of contacts.
10. Check and double check.
See Levi's blog for critique.
Kurt Wise urges in his article, "The Importance of Writing Skills":
"Writing is one of the foundations of a successful public relations practitioner and the ability to communicate messages clearly and concisely is one of their differentiating skills." (Treadwell and Treadwell, 2004)
Possessing the ability to write in a versatile, persuasive and informative manner will set the strong candidates apart from the weak applicants as basic writing skills are diminishing in university graduates.
The readings also emphasised the importance of writing for web format. It urges a different approach needs to be taken when composing text for the internet as people read information differently on the web than they do when reading a newspaper or magazine. Wise advises that a more concise, conversational and enticing style needs to be adopted for the on-line audience.
The second article was extremely helpful for a budding public relations practitioner. It gives 10 simple tips to construct an effective media release. This is important as the media release is vital for media relations in the PR world. Here is a quick summary of the tips:
1. Make sure you are presenting information of genuine worth.
2. Don't mistake a press release for an advertisement.
3. Don't think one size fits all.
4. Keep it short and succinct.
5. Make the heading relevant.
6. Be careful and clever with quotes.
7. Do the reporters job for them.
8. Keep the boilerplate to a minimum.
9. Give a tag-team of contacts.
10. Check and double check.
See Levi's blog for critique.
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