Chapter Five:
The Public Relations
Process
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Overview
Research
 Planning
 Communication
 Evaluation

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Research: The First Step
What is research?


A form of listening
Controlled, objective, systematic information
gathering
Questions to ask before research design
 What’s the problem?
 Kind of information needed?
 How will results be used?
 Audience?
 Who should do it?
 How will data
 Timetable?
 Budget?
be analyzed/reported?
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Ways to Use Research

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Achieve credibility
Identify/segment
publics
Develop strategy
Test messages
Inform management





Prevent crises
Monitor competition
Influence opinion
Generate publicity
Measure success
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Types of Research

Secondary research
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
Primary research
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Existing information
New/original information
Qualitative

Exploratory, rich data, often not generalizable
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Focus groups, in-depth interviews, observation
Quantitative

Descriptive/explanatory, often generalizable

Surveys, polls
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Research Techniques
Archival
 Databases
 Internet
 Content analysis

Interviews
 Focus groups
 Copy testing

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Sampling Issues

Random sample
Everyone in the target audience has an equal chance
of being selected.
 Nonprobability sample is not random.
 Most precise random sample is selected from list
naming everyone in the target audience.
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Sample size
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Usually a sample of 250 to 500 people will provide
data with a 5 to 6 percent margin of error
100 people will provide about a 10 percent margin
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Reaching Respondents
Standard Mail
 Telephone
 In-person
 Omnibus survey
 Web and/or E-mail
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Planning: The Second Step
Planning must be strategic
 Approaches to planning
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MBO
Planning model: Facts, Goals, Audience, Key Message
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Eight elements of a plan
 Situation
 Objectives
 Audience
 Strategy
 Tactics
 Calendar/Timetable
 Budget
 Evaluation
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Communication: The Third Step

Tactics are developed to implement the plan

Five possible objectives for communicators
Message exposure
 Accurate dissemination
 Acceptance by audience
 Attitude change
 Behavior change

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Receiving the Message

Schramm’s model
 Source,

Encoder, Signal, Decoder, Destination
Grunig’s model
 Two-way
symmetrical communication
 Mixed motives
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Theoretical Perspectives
Lasswell’s definition of communication
 Media uses and gratification
 Passive audiences
 Active audiences

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Importance of Language
Understand cultural differences
 Check writing for simplicity and clarity

 Readability
formulas: Flesch, cloze
Use symbols, acronyms, easy-toremember slogans
 Avoid jargon, hype, euphemisms,
discriminatory language

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Issues related to believability

Credibility
 Hovland’s
Sleeper effect
Context
 Audience predispositions

 Festinger’s
cognitive dissonance
 Involvement
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Getting the Audience to Act
Repetition
 Five-stage Adoption Process

 Awareness,
Adoption

Interest, Evaluation, Trial,
Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations
 Relative
advantage, Compatibility, Complexity,
Trialability, Observability
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Evaluation: The Fourth Step
Objectives are a prerequisite for evaluation
 Basic evaluation questions:

Adequately planned?
 Message(s) understood?
 How could strategy have been more effective?
 Audiences reached?
 Objectives achieved?
 What was unforeseen?
 Budget met?
 Future improvements?

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Measurement
Of
 Of
 Of
 Of
 Of

Production
Message Exposure
Awareness
Attitudes
Action
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
Production
 Count
how many releases, photos, pitch
letters made within a time frame

Message Exposure
 Compile
 Most
 Media
clippings/mentions
widely used metric
impressions
 Placement
 Internet
x circulation/viewership/listenership
hits
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
Message Exposure, cont’d
 Advertising
equivalency
 Space/Time
 Systematic
 Analyze
x advertising rate
tracking
volume and content of media placements
 Requests
and 800 number calls
 Cost per person
 Audience attendance
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
Audience Awareness
 Survey

Audience Attitudes
 Related
to awareness
 Baseline/Benchmark studies

Audience Action
 Measure
desired behaviors
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