Chapter 6
Program Planning
Overview

The value of planning

Approaches to planning
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Elements of a program plan
The value of planning
The second step of the P.R process , following
research is program planning .
A good public relation program should be an
effective tool , to support an organization
business , marketing and communication
objectives .
Public relation planning should be strategic
Continued ..
_Strategic planning is deciding where you want to be in
the future ( The Goal ) and how to get there ( the
strategies) , it sets the organization’s direction
proactively , avoiding Routine in activities .
_systematic planning prevent ineffective communication
, having a blueprint of what’s to be done makes
programs more effective and P.R more valuable to the
organization .
Program planning should be:
Strategic
Proactive
Coordinated
Approaches to planning
_Planning is like putting together a Jigsaw puzzle
This section provides two approaches to
planning , in two cases the emphasis is on
asking and answering questions to generate a
road map for success .
Continued..
1.
Management by Objective (MBO)
2.
A Strategic Planning Model
Management by objective
MBO : provides focus and direction for
formulating strategy to achieve specific
organizational objectives .
_ The use of MBO ensure the production of
relevant messages and establishing criteria
against which campaign results can be measured
MBO Steps
***Client / employer objectives : what’s the
purpose of communication and how does it
promote or achieve the objectives of the
organization ?
Specific objective such as ( to make consumers
aware of the product’s high quality ) are more
meaningful than ( to make people aware of the
product )
continued
** Audience / publics : what exactly should be
reached with the message and how can the
audience help achieve the organization’s
objectives ? What are the characteristics of the
audience and how can demographic information
be used to structure the message ?
** Audience objectives : what’s that the audience
wants to know, and how can the message be
tailored to audience self interest ?
Continued..
**Media channels : what’s the appropriate channel for
reaching the audience and can multiple channels ( news
media, special events and direct mail ) reinforce the
message among key publics ?
** sources and questions : what primary and secondary
sources of information are required to provide a factual
base for the message ?
** communication strategies : what environmental factors
will affect the dissemination and acceptance of the
message ?
Continued ..
** Essence of the message : what’s the planned
communication impact on the audience ?
Telling people about the values of physical fitness
is different from telling them how to achieve it .
** Nonverbal support : how can photographs ,
graphs , films and artwork clarify and visually
enhance the written message ?
Approaches to Planning :
A Strategic Planning Model
Ketchum’s Strategic Planning
Model for Public Relations provides the general
building blocks for planning.
Approaches to Planning :
A Strategic Model
Facts:
_Category facts :what are the recent industry trends ?
_ Product/service Issues : what are the significant
characteristics of the product , service , or issue ?
_ competitive Facts: who are the competitors ,and
what are their competitive strengths, similarities
and differences ?
_ customer Facts : Who uses the product and why ?
Approaches to Planning
A Strategic Model
Goals
_ Business objectives : what are the company’s
business objectives ? What’s the time frame ?
_ role of public relation :how does public relation
fit into the marketing mix?
_sources of new business : what sectors will
produce Growth ?
Approaches to Planning:
A Strategic Model
Audience
_ Target audiences: what are the target
audiences ?
_ Current Mindset : how do audience feel
about the product , service or issue ?
_ Desired Mindset : How do we want them
to feel ?
Approaches to Planning:
A Strategic Model
Key Message:
Ask: What key message must be
conveyed to change or reinforce mind sets?
Elements of a Program Plan
Situation
Objectives
Audience
Strategy
Tactics
Calendar/timetable
Budget
Evaluation
Elements of a Program Plan:
Situation
3 reasons for a public relations program
1.
To overcome a negative situation
2.
Specific one-time projects
3.
To reinforce and preserve reputation and
public support
Elements of a Program Plan:
Objectives
Objectives are:
Informational
Motivational
Continued..
_ Informational objective : many public relations plans
are designed primarily to expose audiences to
information and to increase awareness of an issue, an
event or a product.
_ Many communication and marketing professionals
believe that the major criteria for public relation
effectiveness are 1. an increase in public awareness and
2. delivery of key messages .
_ One difficulty with informational objectives is
measuring how will a particular objective has been
achieved .public awareness & the extent of education
that takes place are somewhat difficult to quantify .
Continued ..
_ Motivational Objectives : although changing
attitudes and influencing behavior are difficult to
accomplish in a public relations Campaign ,
motivational objectives are easier to measure ,
that’s because they are bottom-line oriented and
are based on a clearly measurable results that can
be quantified .such example Levi Jeans .
Elements of a Program Plan:
Audience
Public relations programs
should be directed
towards:
 Specific audiences and defined audiences

Primary and secondary audiences
Continued ..
_ In another word public relation practitioner
target specific publics within the general public ,
this is done through market research that can
identify key publics by such demographic as age,
income , social strata , education … etc.
_ for example market research told M&M’s
Candies that young people were the primary
consumer of it’s product
Elements of a Program Plan:
Audience
_ Again the primary audience is not the general
public .
_ A thorough understanding of the primary and
secondary publics is essential if a program’s
objectives are to be accomplished . Such
knowledge also provides guidance on the
selection of appropriate strategies and tactics
that would reach these defined audiences .
Elements of a Program Plan:
Strategy
A Strategy Statement describes how an
objective is to be achieved, providing guidelines and
themes for the overall program.
Key Messages /Themes :are reoccurring
messages thorough a campaign. for example in Turkish
Tourism Campaign , the strategy of combating
(Negative stereotype & lack of knowledge about Turkey
) included key messages designed to reinforce
historical/cultural sites , Great shopping , ideal weather
and friendly people. In an effort to position Turkey ‘
center of World History ‘
Elements of a Program Plan: Tactics
_Tactics are the nuts and bolts of the plan that
describes , in sequence , the specific activities
that put the strategies into operation and help to
achieve the stated objectives. Tactics involves
using the tools of communication to reach
primary and secondary audiences with key
messages .
Elements of a Program Plan: Tactics



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Public Service Announcements
Press releases
Guest appearances
Contests
Example of Levi Jeans
_ The tactics of Levi Jeans : Levi Used a number
of tactics to support it’s objectives and strategies
in its program to reposition Levi Jeans as a hip
Brand in the college –age market .
_other tactics included :
• Announcement of winners for publicity
• Creation of a weekly web show using webcams
and headsets to broadcast online shopping
experienece
Example of Levi Jeans


Levi jean made a 1$ donation to the brand’s
ongoing beneficiary , and these donations will be
rewarded to HIV program called Life Beat .
So as we see In many cases each strategy is
supported by specific tactics .
Elements of a Program Plan:
Calendar/Timetable
_ The Three aspects of timing in a program plan
are 1. deciding when a campaign should be
conducted 2. determine the proper sequence of
activities and 3. compiling a list of steps that
must completed to produce a finished product
_ All the three aspects are important to achieve
maximum effectiveness
The timing of a campaign
_ program planning should take into account the
environmental context of the situation and the time
when key messages are most meaningful to the
intended audience .
_ for example the strawberry producers increase public
relation efforts in May and June , when a crop comes to
market and stores have large supplies of the fruit .
_ Other Campaign depend less on environmental or
seasonal context such as Levi’s Jeans as it’s in anytime.
Scheduling of Tactics
_ The second aspect of timing is the scheduling
and sequencing of various tactics or activities.
_ A typical pattern is to concentrate the most
effort at the beginning of a campaign when the
number of Tactics are implemented
Compiling a Calendar
_ An integral part of timing is advance planning , a video
news release , a press kit , or even a brochure often
takes weeks and months to prepare , arrangements for
special events also take time.
_ In another words , the public relations professional
must link ahead to make things happen in the right
sequences at the right time
_one way to achieve this goal is to compile time lines and
charts that list the necessary steps and the completion
dates .
Compiling a Calendar
Calendars and time lines takes various forms : one
simple method is to post activities for each day
on a large monthly calendar .
Gantt Charts are also used for planning purpose ,
Gantt Chart is a column matrix that has two
sides the vertical and the horizontal one .
Elements of a Program Plan:
Budget
No program plan is complete without a budget,
both clients and employees ask “ How much will
this program cost “
 A budget can be divided into two Categories :
 Staff time

 Out-of-pocket
(OOP) expenses
Elements of a Program Plan:
Budget
_ Staff time usually takes the lion’s share of any
public relation budget
_ In a program plan , budget are usually estimated
on the basis of experience and requests from
Vendors for estimates
_ after the program is completed , part of the
evaluation is to compile a form that shows
estimated expense versus actual expense .
Elements of a Program Plan:
Evaluation
Evaluation criteria should be:



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Realistic
Credible
Specific
In line with client or employer
expectations
Elements of a Program Plan:
Evaluation
•
•
Evaluation of an informational objective often
entails a compilation of new clips and an analysis
of how often key messages points were
mentioned .
But in the motivational objectives often are
measured and evaluated by increases in sales and
market share .
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