Public relations (PR), publicity and corporate advertising are ways by which information about the organization, its products and/or its services may be communicated. Like the program elements discussed thus far, the marketer will attempt to use these tools to benefit the firm, and its offerings. At the same time, these promotional mix elements are generally used in a different way in that they are not always designed to promote a specific product or service. Rather, they may be used to promote the organization as a whole, a cause or position advocated by the organization, or to create goodwill in the marketplace. In addition, at least one of these elements—publicity—is not always in the control of the marketer. Thus, while it may be possible to affect publicity in some situations, in many others the marketer may have to assume a reactive posture. This chapter discusses each of these program elements, and expands on the changing role of public relations.
1. To recognize the roles of public relations, publicity, and corporate advertising in the promotional mix.
2. To know the difference between public relations and publicity and to demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of each.
3. To understand the reasons for corporate advertising and its advantages and disadvantages.
4. To know the methods for measuring the effects of public relations, publicity and corporate advertising.
I. PUBLIC RELATIONS
A. The Traditional Definition of PR—The chapter begins by differentiating between the traditional role of public relations and the new role . The traditional role (as defined on page 564) reflects a management function that has as its primary responsibility the goal of communicating and the gaining acceptance of the organization’s policies and programs within its various communities.
B.
The New Role of PR—The new role assumes a much broader, and more marketing-oriented, perspective. In the new orientation, the public relations department operates in close communication with the marketing department (rather than as separate entities) to develop programs and policies.
C.
Integrating PR into the Promotional Mix—The chapter takes the position that the activities of the public relations department must be coordinated with marketing, and integrated into the overall promotional mix.
D. Marketing Public Relations (MPR) Functions—Public relations activities designed to support marketing objectives are called marketing public relations functions. The text discusses the numerous ways that MPR adds value to the integrated marketing program.
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II. THE PROCESS OF CONDUCTING PUBLIC RELATIONS
The actual process of conducting public relations will require a number of tasks. These tasks will involve both traditional and new role activities.
A.
B.
C.
Determining and Evaluating Public Attitudes—The first step in the public relations process is to determine the public’s existing attitudes toward the firm and/or its products. Four reasons are given to explain why this step is necessary (p.568):

To provide input into the planning process
 To serve as an “early warning system” for potential problems

To secure internal support

To increase the effectiveness of the communication
Establishing a Public Relations Plan—Too many firms do not establish a formalized public relations plan. As a result, actions tend to be more reactive than proactive. A formal plan— coordinated with marketing—needs to be developed.
Developing and Executing the Public Relations Program—A number of activities must be conducted once the plan has been established.

Determining relevant target audiences—Target audiences may be categorized as internal or external.
Internal audiences include: a. employees b. stockholders and investors c. community members d. suppliers and customers
External audiences may include: a. the media b. educators c. civic and business organizations d. governments e. financial groups

Implementing the public relations program—Once the target audience has been established, and objectives established, a number of tools may be used for implementation or delivery including:
 press releases
 press conferences
 exclusives
 interviews
Professor’s Notes
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D. Advantages and Disadvantages of Public Relations—Pages 576-577 of the text list a number of advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of public relations.
Advantages include:
 credibility
 low cost
 less clutter
 lead generation
 ability to reach specific groups
 image building
The primary disadvantages result more from improper implementation of the programs than with public relations in and of itself. These include:
 not completing the communication process
 redundancies with the marketing effort
E. Measuring the Effectiveness of Public Relations—Figure 17-4 lists a variety of criteria that might be used as dependent variables in the measurement of the PR program. In addition, the text lists a number of methods that might be employed in this process including
 personal observation and reaction
 matching objectives and results
 the team approach
 public opinions and surveys
 management by objectives
 audits
Professor’s Notes
III. PUBLICITY
The text provides a definition of publicity and notes that the distinction between publicity and public relations is not always clear. The dissemination of publicity is a task that is the responsibility of the public relations department, as is the development of programs to deal with publicity originating from other sources. At the same time, public relations activities are under the control of the firm. The same cannot always be said for publicity.
A.
The Power of Publicity— IMC Perspective 17-1 provides interesting fodder for discussion with examples of how companies handle publicity. Simply put, publicity is powerful enough to make or break a firm. Products such as aspirin and red wines are testimonials as to the way that companies can benefit from this power. In addition to those stated above, products such as Audi, Texaco and Tylenol have all felt the negative impact of this communication form. Given this power, the firm must have programs in place to capitalize on or control and minimize the effects of these messages.
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B.
The Control and Dissemination of Publicity—While the marketer may not be able to control all publicity, it is possible to impact these communications in a number of ways. For example, press releases, or “leaks” may be used to make sure that the information gets out. Publicity can also be managed or turned around to be used as an advantage (Pokemon, Power Rangers and Cabernet
Sauvignon examples), or responded to (Tree Top).
C. Advantages and Disadvantages of Publicity—The text notes (p.583 that publicity offers the advantages of (1) credibility; (2) news value; (3) high word-of-mouth communications; and (4) perceived endorsement by the media.
Disadvantages include possible problems with respect to: (1) timeliness and (2) accuracy.
D. Measuring the Effectiveness of Publicity—The measures employed in assessment of the public relations program can also be used here. In addition, the Ketchum Effectiveness Yardstick (p. 584) might also be employed.
Professor’s Notes
IV. CORPORATE ADVERTISING
A firm’s advertising is not always designed to promote a specific product or service. Corporate advertising is designed to promote the firm overall—either by enhancing its image, assuming a position on a social issue or cause, or seeking direct involvement from the market. As noted in the text, this form of advertising is often considered controversial and/or of dubious benefit to the firm.
A.
B.
Objectives of Corporate Advertising—Two specific objectives for using corporate advertising have been provided: (1) creating a positive image for the firm and (2) communication of the organization’s views on social, business and environmental issues. In addition, three more specific applications are listed including:
 boosting employee morale and improving relations
 providing answers to investors and reducing uncertainty
 helping diversified companies establish an identity
Types of Corporate Advertising—Various types of corporate advertising are described.

Image advertising
—Advertising designed to promote the organization’s overall image may include:
- general image or positioning ads
- sponsorships
- recruiting
- generating financial support

Advocacy advertising —This form of advertising is designed to promote the organization through the taking of a position on an issue rather than through the promotion of the firm directly. The Bell Telephone ad and Exhibit 17-19 are examples of the use of this form of advertising.

Cause-related marketing contributing sponsor.
—A company links with a charity or non-profit organization as a
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C.
D.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Advertising—As noted, corporate advertising is not considered to be of value by all advertisers. Those citing advantages of this form of advertising argue that it offers an excellent means for positioning the firm and a way of reaching target markets not reached through other forms of advertising, and takes advantage of the efforts of public relations. Critics charge that it is of questionable effectiveness, and that it may be ethically wrong.
Measuring the Effectiveness of Corporate Advertising—The effectiveness of corporate advertising may be measured through the employment of some of the methods discussed earlier in the chapter. In addition, attitude surveys, studies relating corporate advertising and stock prices, and focus group research may also be employed in this regard.
Professor’s Notes
As in the previous chapter, this chapter can be supplemented and developed in more detail according to the needs of the instructor. A number of good public relations texts are available. In addition to lecturing on the three topics, it is possible to generate a great deal of class discussion. A multitude of public relations and corporate advertising examples can be found, and the discussion of the impact (and examples) of publicity can also stimulate a great deal of student interest.
We have found that the issue of corporate advertising, particularly advocacy advertising, provides a great topic for debate. Students might be encouraged to take one position or another and discuss the issues, providing examples to support their arguments.
Finally, some time should be spent on the discussion of the new role of public relations. While there has been more and more emphasis on this IMC program element, is it as powerful a tool as many contend? A good discussion of the Ries and Ries book cited in the chapter could follow.
1.
The lead-in to the chapter discusses a new book that argues that public relations should replace advertising as the primary means of introducing new products. Explain arguments in favor and opposed to the position. What do you conclude?
Ries & Ries contend that PR will replace advertising in terms of importance in the marketing communications mix. Advertising—they say—will be used primarily to support existing brands, with
PR assuming the primary responsibility for introducing new products. While some support this argument, many others do not. Following are some of the reasons both supporting and opposing this position:

Supporting--because of the declining effectiveness of advertising, it is no longer effective for introducing and building new brands. The reason for this is because consumers have changed in regard to how they learn about new brands, and the communications program must change as well. Consumers now learn about products and brands through means other than advertising, as demonstrated by numerous examples in the book. Further, they contend, advertising has lost credibility. Public relations and publicity are considered more objective information.
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Advertising’s role in the future will be primarily to maintain the brand image. The success of the examples cited are evidence that PR is now more important.

Opposed--Many advertisers feel that it is hard to control the message disseminated through PR channels. Often the complete message does not get told, the message may not appear at all, or may appear at the wrong time. For example, Heinz received $10 million worth of free publicity about the green ketchup, but two month too early, before they were ready for it. Perhaps more importantly, the message was not what they had intended to promote. While Heinz was fortunate, the publicity could have been a disaster. Further, publicity can be a tool for mature brands beyond the introductory stage, and there is no reason to focus on this aspect only. The Pillsbury example in the text reflects this well. Finally, almost eight times as much money is currently being spent on advertising as PR. It is highly unlikely that this will reverse, as PR—while important—is still perceived by many as support for advertising.
The most effective situation is when advertising and PR work together in an integrated program. To get the most from their individual contributions, they must work together to provide the consumer with a unified message.
2.
A number of companies have experienced public relations problems resulting from product recalls, product failures, etc. Describe some of the steps companies can take to minimize the impact of this negative publicity.

The text discusses a number of examples of negative publicity and public relations. One is the example of the Firestone tire recall. Negative publicity rose from SUV accidents involving
Firestone tires. Ford blamed the accidents on Firestone, while the tire company contended that the problem was with the Ford Explorer. Both experienced negative publicity. Firestone responded by replacing nearly 900,000 tires and implementing a communications plan to counter the negative publicly including commercials, personal visits to dealers, and print advertising. An example of one of the ads is shown in Exhibit 17-2. As a result of this response, Firestone lost none of its 10,000 independent dealers and the company is now on the road to recovery.

Another example is San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E). Now owned by
Sempra, the former company experienced negative publicity due to its high rates, and seemingly uncaring attitude. In addition, the company planned on raising their rates even higher, and building a plant near the ocean. To counter-attack the negative publicity SDGE developed an extensive public relations plan including TV spots that showed consumers how to save energy, print ads explaining the energy purchases made by management, and programs designed to foster more community interaction. These programs have led to more favorable attitude among all the publics targeted.

Jack in the Box is another company that suffered from negative publicity when 4 people died eating tainted hamburgers. Jack in the Box used interviews with the company’s president to detail the corrective actions the company would take.
These and numerous other examples exist in the press. The Tylenol and Odwalla examples are two that indicate the ability to effectively counter this negative publicity. To be effective, companies must accept responsibility, act quickly and institute programs designed to alleviate the problem. Blaming others, waiting, and failing to take counter measures can only lead to problems.
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3.
Describe some of the criteria used by companies to measure effectiveness of the public relations program. Provide examples.
The text discusses a number of criteria for measuring effectiveness of PR programs (pp.577-579).
Among others, these include:

Total number of impressions over time

Total number of impressions on the target audience

Total number of impressions on specific target audiences

Percentage of positive articles over time


Percentage of negative articles over time
Ratio of positive to negative articles

Percentage of positive/negative articles by subject

Percentage of positive/negative articles by publication or reporter

Percentage of positive/negative articles by target audience
Also discussed are the means for accomplishing the evaluation process:

Personal observation and reaction-- personal observation and evaluation by one’s superiors should occur at all levels of the organization

Matching objectives and results--specific objectives designed to attain the overall communications objective should be related to actions, activities, or media coverage. For example, placing a feature story in a specific number of media is an objective, quantitative, and measurable goal.

The team approach--whereby evaluators are actually involved in the campaign. By working together the team develops and accomplishes their goals.

Management by objectives--executives and their managers act together to identify goals to be attained and the responsibilities of the managers. These goals are then used as a standard to measure accomplishments.

Public opinion and surveys--research in the form of public opinion surveys may be used to gather data to evaluate program goal attainment.

Audits--internal audits involve evaluation by superiors or peers. External audits include those that are conducted by consultants, the client, or other parties outside the organization.
4.
Explain why public relations and publicity may have more impact on the consumer than other IMC program elements (for example, advertising, direct marketing, etc.) Provide case examples.
The primary reason for the stronger impact is that public relations and publicity are perceived as highly credible to the consumer. Because it is often not perceived as being sponsored by the company, the information is perceived as more objective and more confidence is afforded to it.
Advertising, direct marketing, and sales promotions, for example, are usually perceived as intentions by the company to sell the product or service. This may lead the consumer to be more skeptical.
Another reason for publicity’s power is its news value and the frequency of exposures it generates.
For example, when Krispy Kreme Donuts opened a store in Minnesota, anxious customers camped out overnight waiting for the store to open. Every local TV station covered the event, providing the store with more media coverage than they could have afforded to purchase. The free publicity is often repeated in other locales where the doughnut shop opens a new store. Publicity is often perceived as news, and people like to pass on information that has news value. Publicity thus results in a
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significant amount of free, credible, word-of-mouth information regarding the firm and its products.
The power of publicity is used to create buzz about their product. Other examples are also shown in the text. Segway, Wonderbra and others mentioned in Figure 17-1 are just a few of many PR success stories.
5.
The text describes various forms of corporate advertising. Find examples of each type and discuss whether the company has effectively employed this form.
As noted on pages 585-587, corporate advertising may take on a variety of forms including:
Image advertising— these forms may include:
 general image or positioning ads (see the Chevron example in the text)
 positioning ads such as tyco, Accenture, and Verizon. Philip Morris changed its name to the Altria Group, Inc. to reflect the fact that they were no longer just a cigarette company.
Sponsorships

Hallmark greeting cards sponsors the Hallmark Hall of Fame Movies on TV; Visa sponsors the Olympics, the U.S. decathlon team, the U.S. Olympic basketball team, the U.S. Gymnast Federation, as well as the US Open Tennis Championships, and
Major League Baseball’s All Star Game. All are designed to enhance their image through association with these organizations.
Recruiting

In an attempt to recruit employees, companies will use corporate ads in the Sunday employment section of newspapers. Exhibit 17-18 demonstrates Mattel’s use of this corporate advertising method in a different medium.
Generating financial support

Providing positive information about the company to attract investors, please stockholders, etc.
Event sponsorship— a variety of event sponsorships may be employed including:

Sports—sponsoring tennis tournaments, college bowl games, etc.

Entertainment tours and attractions—Reebok’s sponsoring of the Shakira tour

Festivals, fairs, and events—local event sponsorship is common


Causes—the Doug Flutie Organization’s cause for autism
Arts—many companies sponsor the arts
Advocacy advertising
—this form of corporate advertising is concerned with propagating ideas and elucidating controversial and social issues of public importance.

AT&T engaged in issue-oriented advertising way back in 1908 and still continues to use this form of advertising throughout the 20 th century. Other examples cited include Mobil.
Cause Related Advertising -this form of advertising is used for supporting specific causes as well as image building
 Visa’s “Reading is Fundamental” campaign led to a 17% increase in sales; BMW saw sales increase when it sponsored a program to eradicate breast cancer; and
Wendy’s International in Denver, Colorado saw sales increase by more than 33% when a portion of purchases was contributed to Denver’s mercy medical center.
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6.
Discuss the advantages that the Internet offers for those responsible for conducting public relations activities. Describe how these activities are different than traditional methods.
Even though public relations practitioners have been some of the slower adopters of this innovation, the Internet offers this field a number of advantages. Traditional pr activities involve the dissemination of press releases, articles, etc. regarding the organization. The process of delivering these is cumbersome, and can mount up when paper and mailing costs are considered—particularly when the list of contacts is large. In addition, this distribution takes time.
The Internet offers the advantage of speed. Articles and/or newsworthy events can be posted on the site almost immediately after they happen. There are no limits on length, which allows the organization to provide as much detail as they wish. News organizations or others wishing to use this information can access it as needed and remain up to the minute in terms of developments.
Knowing that the organization has a website providing this information also allows the user to know where to go to access the same. Rather than having to wait for the pr news, the medium can access the site, and get it themselves. They can go back for updates, additional information, etc., which makes their job much easier, and increases the likelihood of the information getting published or on the broadcast medium.
Finally, the cost savings are enormous. There are no paper and printing costs. There are no distribution costs other than putting it on the site, and of course there are no mail costs. And, in the process, many trees are saved.
7.
Discuss some of the advantages associated with the use of MPR’s. What are some of the disadvantages?
Page 576 of the text discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of using MPR’s.
Advantages include:

It is a cost effective way to reach the market—public relations activities are often less expensive than traditional marketing programs

It is highly targeted—MPR’s can be targeted to a specific audience, thus increasing the effectiveness of the program

Endorsements of third parties—MPR’s may be perceived as more credible because they receive endorsement of those who may not be connected directly with the organization. This perceived lack of a relationship is a benefit to the sponsoring organization.

Credibility—as noted in the previous advantage, MPR’s may result in higher credibility than marketing efforts

Support of the IMC program—due to its credibility, the MPR program lends support to the more profit-oriented IMC program strategies

Breaking through the clutter—due to the length of the articles, and the separation from advertisements, MPR’s may break through the clutter of ads

Circumvents consumer resistance—consumers may be hesitant to respond to marketing efforts they know are designed to sell, MPR’s help circumvent this problem
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Disadvantages include:

Lack of control—as with other pr pieces, the marketer loses control over the material

Difficulty tying in marketing efforts—it is often difficult to get one’s logo, positioning statement, etc. tied into the message

Media time and space are not guaranteed—because there is no media being paid for, there is no guarantee that the media time or space will be granted

Measuring effectiveness—the measures used to determine the effectiveness by marketing standards may be more difficult to employ. Traditional pr measures may not be as useful.
8.
Explain why traditional public relations practitioners might be unhappy with the organization’s use of
MPR’s. Take a position as to whether this criticism is justified.
Those educated in public relations programs—as opposed to business schools—have been taught pr from a very different perspective. To them public relations is designed to create goodwill for the organization through traditional pr activities. Profit motives are, at best, optional benefits.
MPR’s represent marketing activities. Public relations is considered a marketing tool, designed not only to create goodwill, but to potentially generate a profit as well. This is a very different perspective than traditional pr objectives.
The difference in perspectives leads many pr practitioners and academics to a position of conflict.
The pr people believe that marketers are overstepping their bounds, and are getting involved in an area in which they do not belong. They see for-profit efforts as eventually ruining the credibility of pr, and eventually destroying its effectiveness.
Marketers take the position that since it is being paid for, and it benefits the firm, pr should be used to better the interests of the organization, even if it means making a profit. In addition, they want to see coordination among all efforts to bring synergy to the communications. They don’t understand the pr argument or logic.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between the two positions. Too much of an effort on profit will eventually render the pr program ineffective, due to a loss of credibility. At the same time, no coordination with pr may mean mixed messages, wasted monies, and less contribution to the overall communications effort. A balance between the two extremes seems to be in the best interest of all.
9.
List and describe the advantages and disadvantages of the use of public relations in an IMC program.
Provide an example of an appropriate use of public relations in this mix.
Pages 576-577 list the advantages and disadvantages of public relations. Advantages include:

Credibility—due to its perceived news intent (versus selling), pr may have higher credibility than many marketing messages

Cost—pr costs less than marketing messages, due to the lack of media costs

Lack of clutter—longer articles, separation from ads and new content help avoid clutter

Lead generation—pr, if effectively targeted, can generate leads ranging from financial investments to sales to participation in or support of the cause
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
Ability to reach specific groups—through effective targeting, and due to its news value, pr messages may get through to groups advertising cannot

Image building—corporate advertising, cause and advocacy advertising, and pr activities in general may help establish a positive image in the mind of receivers
The major disadvantages of public relations are the lack of control over the message and guarantee that it will appear in the media at all. Thus, the intended communication never takes place.
Marketers can effectively employ pr activities and eliminate the disadvantages. Corporate, advocacy and cause advertising are paid for, and will get the message and media sought delivered. At the same time, they maintain many of the advantages, as there is no perceived intent to sell. Likewise, sponsorships can be effectively used to get the message delivered. Many companies now formally design-in pr programs as part of their IMC program to increase effectiveness.
10.
What is a video news release (VNR)? Provide an example of a situation in which a company might employ the use of a VNR. Discuss some of the ethical implications of using this tool.
Video news releases (VNR’s), are broadcast segments designed to look like news that are made by companies themselves in an attempt to get their messages out. VNR’s can take a range of topics, including company information regarding new products, stories of interest, and the like.
Unfortunately, depending on the content, VNR’s have the capability of deceiving the audience. An obvious VNR in which product information is provided may be honest and straight forward, but has less news value, and thus, less likelihood of being aired. As a result, some companies design the
VNR to look more like news, when the purpose is to sell. For example, if Intel introduces a new chip, they may develop a VNR and provide it to the media. The media, will decide if it is news worthy and air or not air it. Others may have more deceptive messages. A number of years ago, when a hurricane ravaged Jamaica, the Jamaica Tourist Bureau developed and released a VNR approximately six months later to show how well the country had come back. The video showed new hotels, new roads, etc., all of which were true. But when aired, the VNR appeared to be a news story only, without mentioning that the backers were trying to improve tourism. While this example is not terribly deceptive, nevertheless, viewers were deceived. The VNR which appeared on CNN looked just like any other news story, with no indication of profit motives.
11. Give examples of companies that are pursuing traditional public relations activities, and those that are employing the new role.
The traditional role of public relations has been to operate independently of the marketing department, with the purpose of earning public understanding and acceptance. In this regard, public relations activities typically involved establishing community relations through planned events, tokens of goodwill, charitable contributions, etc. The marketing of the firm and its products were the responsibility of the marketing department.
The new role of public relations is substantially different. While the responsibilities of maintaining community understanding and acceptance remain, the PR department has now been given a broader role. Organizations have recognized that the activities of the public relations department may often have a direct effect on sales. As a result, the PR departments are working more closely with marketing to reduce redundancies in their efforts, and to work together so that their individual contributions may achieve a “sum of the parts is greater than the whole” situation. Keep in mind that it was the PR department that saved Tylenol—not marketing. And it was a joint effort between marketing and public relations that led to the effective Life Cereal campaign to bring back Mikey.
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Likewise, within the past few years the role of advertising agencies and public relations agencies has been changed to coincide with the new perspective. Ad agencies now offer public relations activities, and many of the public relations firms now have advertising departments. In those situations where both departments have not been created, agencies are teaming with their advertising or PR counterparts to offer the clients integrated full service capabilities.
Figure 17-1 lists a few companies that have effectively employed MPR’s. There are many others. At the same time, many companies like Ford, GM, and Microsoft engage in a variety of pr activities that follow traditional objectives, which the consumer may never become aware of.
12. Many companies are now taking the position that their charitable contributions should lead to something in return—for example, sales or increased visibility. Discuss the pros and cons of this position.
Traditionally, public relations (pr) activities have been separate from the marketing department, primarily designed to create goodwill in the community, portraying the organization in a favorable light, etc. In some cases, the organization would attempt to insure that no profitable aspects were realized, (from a sales standpoint) in fear that the goodwill would be negated. The more modern role basically takes the position that “if we are doing it, why not get credit for it”? In other words, these pr activities may not need to be designed to aid the marketing process, but if they do, what is the harm?
Still another perspective is to use pr activities to directly aid the organization’s marketing efforts.
From a marketing standpoint, one might take the position that if the pr activity is done in good taste, and it does benefit the recipient, why not get credit for it? There is no less value to the receiver, and so long as there is no exploitation involved, everyone benefits. One can take this position too far however, in that the receiver of the benefits now are selected based on potential benefits to the organization not on need. It is this last point that upsets the public relations people—especially the traditionalists. They believe that pr was never designed to be a marketing activity and that it should remain independent. In addition to their altruistic convictions, they note the fact that the whole plan could backfire, causing the firm more problems than benefits.
Many companies still engage in both forms of PR. Olympic sponsors are one example. Some do so quietly, with little or no recognition. Others essentially buy the sponsorship, using the same in their advertising and promotions to benefit their products or services.
13. Many companies are now trying to generate as much free publicity as they can. Cite some examples of this and discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with this strategy.
There is an old saying that “any publicity is better than none”. We are not sure that we subscribe to this expression. Many companies have a designed strategy to generate as much publicity as they can, assuming that most exposures are likely to help them. In many cases it does. For example, No
Excuses Jeans was very successful without advertising, just based on the free exposure the pants got every time a “No Excuses Woman” (Donna Rice, Marla Maples, Monica Seles) was chosen. Others have been much less successful (Clothestime ran ads that were knowingly controversial in an attempt to generate free publicity. The ploy was seen through, and the strategy was ineffective).
The logic is that if one generates free publicity, the exposures result in millions of dollars of free time.
For example, when Michael Jackson’s hair caught on fire during the making of a Pepsi commercial, it was estimated that over $32 million dollars of free air time was accrued as stations showed the accident. The impact of the publicity generated by products shown in Figure 17-1 demonstrate the positive impact that this publicity can have. On the other hand, one of the key ingredients to this success may very well be the fact that it is not perceived as a planned effort to generate free time.
Once the consumer and/or the media figure out that the publicity is sought, the effectiveness decreases immediately.
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14. Explain what is meant by the term cause-related advertising and advocacy advertising. Cite examples of organizations that have used this strategy. Does it work?
Cause-related advertising is the term used to describe the linking of companies with charities or nonprofit organizations as contributing sponsors. Cause related marketing is a “hot” trend in the business community. Companies like American Express, Visa, Johnson & Johnson and many others have participated in cause-related marketing for a variety of reasons. First, the goodwill and positive publicity associated with these activities are beneficial to the firm. Secondly, there is the feeling of doing something good for the community. Third, marketing activities such as coupon redemptions and sales have been shown to be positively affected.
Participating in a cause-related relationship is not a guarantee of success, however. American Express and Benetton have suffered negative publicity, as have others when the public feels that all of the motives are not altruistic. In addition, some causes (such as AIDS) are considered by many to be too controversial to engage in, creating possible problems in the marketplace as well as within the organization.
Advocacy advertising involves the propagating of ideas and elucidating controversial social issues of public importance in a manner that supports the interests of the sponsor. A quick perusal of any major daily newspaper will reveal that this form of advertising is on the increase. Such ads can also be found in magazines such as Time and Newsweek among others. The reasons for advocacy advertising are many. One is to generate public support on an issue. Another is to elicit funds, while a third is to make people aware of an issue.
15. Explain the differences between public relations and publicity. In what ways are they the same?
As noted in the text, the distinction between public relations and publicity is often not clear to students. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that problems and opportunities involving publicity are typically handled by the public relations department. Thus the tools used in the creation of public relations programs are the same as those employed to generate or control publicity. The procedures used to measure the effectiveness of these programs are also similar.
At the same time, there are distinct differences between public relations and publicity, with control being foremost. While public relations programs are designed and implemented by the organization, publicity may originate from within or outside of the organization. In the latter case, the information is not always favorable to the firm, and the scope of the actions designed to deal with these communications will differ significantly.
A second difference lies in the cost of public relations and publicity. While some textbooks argue that there is no cost involved in public relations, we take a different view. Public relations programs may be very costly in and of themselves, not to mention the cost of staff, materials, etc. Likewise, public relations agencies charge firms for their work. (If public relations is free, how did these large public relations firms get in business in the first place?) Publicity may also cost the firm. Writing and issuing press releases, managing “leaks,” etc., obviously cost money. But these costs may be much less than those involved in large pr efforts, and—when released by other sources (for example, Consumer
Reports )—may be free.
Finally, both PR and publicity may too often be reactive rather than proactive in design. That is, they may be employed in response to an event or communication that poses a potential threat. Formalized programs designed to be proactive are now becoming more common, though more so in the public relations area than in publicity.
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Instruct students to find examples of various types of public relations activities engaged in by organizations. These include both traditional and nontraditional methods of public relations. Also, have them find an example of a company engaged in sponsorship of an event such as a music concert tour or sporting event. They should be asked to evaluate the company’s sponsorship of the event with regard to issues such as the target audience they are trying to reach and how they might benefit from the sponsorship of the event.
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