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Communication 5580 – PR Cases and Campaigns
Semester Project
Public relations is a process used to create a final campaign. This campaign assignment is broken
into five steps that are due throughout the semester. Each assignment will be presented to the class as
you would present to a client or boss. The final project is a culmination of all the assignments with the
opportunity to take the instructor’s comments into consideration and revise, as you feel necessary, for a
final completed campaign. The final campaign will be presented as your final project.
Note on presentations: You may want to invite your client to the final project presentation.
Parameters
 To achieve this you will be put into a team with two to five members that will work together to
create a campaign for one of the companies listed below or of your choosing. I strongly
suggest that you have a personal connection with the company because you will talk with them
and work with them through this process. Although the company you choose may not
implement the plan you suggest, they should be made aware of your work. In the past, some
students have done a “live” campaign – taking on a project a company needs done. A “live”
client who will implement your suggestions can be a big draw on your resume. You must
receive approval for all clients through me.
 Below is a list of Utah companies you might choose from as your client, if you do not know
someone. I want you to have a Utah company/organization as your client, but you are not held
to choosing one listed below. If you have another company that you would prefer to create a
campaign for, come see me and we can review it. It is important that there is enough
information available for you to be effective. A local contact is essential. You will then create a
campaign for this company based on a set of goals and objectives you choose for the client
based on your research. In the case of a “live” campaign, they may outline the goals and
objectives with you.
Company List
Zion’s Bank
Evans & Sutherland
Thiokol Corp.
Deseret Industries
Deer Valley Resort
Kennecott Utah Copper
Sky West Airlines
Primary Children’s Hospital
Weider Nutrition Group Inc.
Ballard Medical Products
Larry H. Miller Theaters
Grande America Hotel
Novell
Utah Jazz
OC Tanner Co
AutoLiv
NuSkin
Questar Gas
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For listed clients, your budget is $50,000 and the campaign will run during a 6-month period in
the Salt Lake market only. For “live” clients, you will need to meet their budget restrictions,
suggested time frame, and market. (Note: Don’t let them get carried away with this. You only
have a finite amount of time in this class).
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Your grade will come from your instructor and your team members, who will be giving you an
evaluation for your participation and contribution. Feedback from clients will only enhance your
grade. The information below outlines the expectations for each of the project assignments.
Each step will be discussed and reviewed during class.
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Step 1 Assignment: Introduction of YOUR Organization – (10 points)
Due – 09/07/05
Every campaign is presented by an organization, albeit nonprofit, corporate, government, or a
public relations firm. For this first step, you need to develop and define WHO YOU ARE as a firm,
department, or organization. Give yourself a name; explain who you are and your qualifications and
experience. In addition, define any specialty or specializations that qualify you to handle the campaign for
this client.
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Step 2 Assignment: Introduction of Client/Corporation – (25 points)
Due – 10/05/05
You will be selecting your targeted client and presenting the necessary facts. Public relations
practitioners must be thoroughly familiar with their clients. If the practitioner is working in an in-house PR
department, the client will be the organization housing the department. An employee of a PR firm will
obviously be independent of the client. In either case, background data about the client or organization
includes, but not is exclusive, as follows: financial status; reputation; past and present public relations
practices; competitive environment; and public relations strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. These
are an essential starting point for any program.
Initial research is performed to establish basic elements needed to complete communication
transactions such as client research, opportunity or problem research, and audience research. Research is
the discovery phase of a problem-solving process.
Situation Research: Another aspect of research consists of clearly determining why the
organization should conduct a particular PR program at a particular time. An investigation of why a public
relations program is necessary, whether it should be proactive or reactive, and whether it should be
ongoing or short-range all need to be taken into consideration when developing a public relations program.
Organization Research: If the organization is a business, the practitioner needs to be familiar with
its products and services as well as the overall competitive environment. If the organization is nonprofit,
the practitioner must become acquainted with the services provided and the organization’s clientele,
including major donors.
Publics Research: A third aspect of research in the public relations process involves investigating
the target audiences, or “publics.” This part of the research process includes identifying the particular
groups that should be targeted, determining appropriate research data that will be useful in communicating
with these publics, and compiling or processing the data using appropriate research techniques. Four key
questions to consider in targeting and prioritizing publics are:
1. Who is the public (demographics, psychographics, etc.)?
2. Why is it important to us?
3. How active or involved is this public, relative to our interests?
4. Which publics are most important to us, in priority rank order?
In addition, research objectives usually include:
 Probing attitudes of targeted groups
 Measuring opinions of various groups
 Identifying opinion leaders
 Assist in determining the timing of message(s)
 Revealing trouble spots
 Help in achieving two-way communication
For the second assignment, it is your job to conduct the necessary research and present
information that reflects your knowledge of the client. Additional important background information
includes: the precise mission of the organization; management’s goals, priorities, and problems; and how
this proposed public relations program might help accomplish overall objectives.
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Step 3 Assignment – Planning – (25 points)
Due – 10/24/05
Planning is the strategy phase of the problem-solving process, in which you use the information
gathered from your research. What is the organization’s primary goal for this project? You must look at
the current situation and position of your client and determine what is their needed and/or necessary course
of action. To determine what objectives best fit your campaign, you must first gain a clear understanding of
the specific situations that lead to your conclusion that there is a need for public relations. After you have
executed your situation analysis, the goals, objectives, and strategies can be determined.
The goal should be rooted in the organization’s mission or vision.
Objectives are the most important element in the public relations process. They present the
practitioner’s desired outcomes in communicating with the targeted publics. Objectives may be at three
different levels: awareness, acceptance, and action (see Smith p. 75) or informational, attitudinal, and
behavioral.
Informational objectives include message exposure to, message comprehension by, and/or
message retention by the target public. Such objectives are appropriate when the practitioner wishes to
publicize an action or event; seeks to communicate instructions, operating procedures, or other forms of
information; or wants to educate an audience about a non-controversial subject.
Attitudinal objectives aim at modifying the way an audience feels about the client or organization
and its work, products, or services. Attitude modification may consist of forming new attitudes where none
exist, reinforcing exiting attitudes, or changing existing attitudes.
Behavioral objectives involve the modification of behavior toward the client or organization.
Behavior modification may consist of the creation or stimulation of new behavior, the enhancement or
intensification of existing favorable behavior, or the reversal of negative behavior on the part of the an
audience toward the practitioner’s client or organization
Public relations objectives should be verifiable. To be verifiable, the desired outcome should be
stated in quantified, measurable terms, and a time frame or target date should be set for its
accomplishment. Although the objectives just stated meet our infinitive test, they are not stated specifically
in quantitative terms. Thus, wording may be similar to:
 To publicize special event X through the community’s daily newspaper, its TV station, and its three
radio stations during the month of October.
 Or to stimulate attendance of at least 1,500 persons at a special event X on May 15.*
In the public relations process, objectives precede and govern program decisions. It is important
to understand the client’s needs and set measurable objectives. Once objectives are set, strategies and
tactics are established.
A strategy is the concept in which the objective is to be achieved. Many confuse this with the
objective. The strategy provides guidelines and themes for the overall program. It states key themes and
messages to be reiterated throughout the campaign on all materials for the campaign (see Smith Step 5).
For this assignment you must conduct a situation analysis and establish what your campaign
goals, objective(s), and strategies will be. Explanations could be given regarding why which objectives,
how you determined them, and what measurements are important. In addition, explain your strategy(ies)
regarding what concept(s) you will be using to achieve your objectives and how you arrived at them.
(*Public Relations Cases pgs. 24-45, J. Hendrix; Wadsworth 2004)
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Step 4 Assignment – Communication execution and creative presentation – (25 points)
Due – 11/07/05
Communication is the execution phase of the public relations process. You direct messages to
specific publics in support of the specified goals. Once objectives and strategies have been determined,
the tactics or communication tools need to be established. Communication objectives must consider
exposure, accurate dissemination of the message, and the acceptance of the message(s).
Tactics are the methods that the program uses to disseminate its messages and are the specific
activities that put the strategies to work to achieve the objective(s). The tools of communication may
include the use of brochures, press releases, media kits, events, etc.
Effective communication process needs to consider factors such as:
 Source credibility – who is the spokesperson for the organization, and how are they perceived
by the intended audience? Personal characteristics are important to the success of a PR
program.
 Salient information – The use of salient information in the client’s messages addressed to the
target audience(s). The message content must be motivational for the intended audiences(s) –
it must strike responsive chords in their minds.
 Targeting opinion leaders – A simple way of identifying opinion leaders is to catalog the
leadership of all important targeted groups in the community or institution.
 Selective exposure – The principle of selective exposure dictates that you first target the
“positives,” then the “somewhat positives,” next the “undecideds,” and last, if at all, the
“negatives,” those opposed to or in disagreement with the program’s message(s).
 Calendar/timetable – the timing of when things need to happen. The sequence of activities –
the timing and scheduling considerations optimize the effectiveness of a program. The timing
of a campaign reflects strategic thinking about when key messages will be most meaningful for
a given public. Scheduling the tactics enhance the effect a tactic might have. Also involved
are sequencing when contacts with media need to be made.
 Budget – this assignment is giving you $50,000, or as defined by your client. A practitioner
needs to breakout the costs by item.
For this assignment, show what messages to what audiences you will be disseminating; reflect the
timetable of your messages and when you will be executing each. In addition, what avenues will you use to
reach your targeted audiences – what media, brochures, press releases, etc. Do not forget to address
each of your targeted audiences that you determined in assignment #2. If they have changed, explain why.
And finally, for this assignment, show rough creative samples in addition to what messages you will
be using for each of your targeted audiences. Make sure they are consistent with your strategy(ies) and
will help you achieve your objectives.
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Step 5 Assignment – Program evaluation presentation – (15 points)
Due – With Final Project
Evaluation is the measurement of how efficiently and effectively a public relations effort met the
organization’s goals. The purpose of the evaluation process is to assess the results of a program. When
all is said and done, you will be asked if the public relations program accomplished its stated objectives.
Evaluation is an ongoing process of monitoring and giving the final assessment of the stated objectives of
the PR program.
If the objectives were informational, they include: message exposure, message comprehension
and message retention.
 Message exposure is most commonly determined by publicity placement in the media. This
measurement can be made by number of clippings in print or number of minutes on broadcast. It
also can be measured by circulation figures and audience size data, such as Nielsen and Arbitron
ratings, or measurement of attendance figures for events or meetings.
 Message comprehension is determined by the application of readability formulas to the messages
used in the PR program. Such measurements applications are the Flesch Reading Ease Formula
and the Grunning Fog Index .
 Message retention is usually tested by asking appropriate questions designed to check target
audiences’ knowledge of the client’s message.
The key to determining the effectiveness of informational objectives lies in the assessment of
message exposure, comprehension and retention.
Attitudinal objectives usually require pre-testing and post-testing target audiences, such as
benchmark studies. This type of evaluation process is used for pre- and post-campaign measurement. An
organization can determine if its communication of key messages has affected the audiences’ attitudes and
intention to act in a favorable way.
Behavior objectives can be measured in two ways. First, targeted audiences can be asked what
their behaviors have been since exposure to the PR program. Close-ended questions or checklists
designed to determine audience behaviors are one way to measure behavior. A second way of assessing
behavior objectives is simply observation of target audience behaviors.
Evaluation of PR programs can range from benchmark studies, audience survey questionnaires,
content analysis, attendance, increase in sales, and analysis of key copy points used by the media as well
as return of coupons and requests for information. This last step requires you to put together an evaluation
program using the most appropriate methods in determining the effectiveness of your PR program.