Chapter 13
Public Relations
Chapter Objectives
• To recognize the role of public relations in the
promotional mix
• To understand public relations and its strength
and limitations
• To understand the reasons for corporate
advertising and its advantage and disadvantage
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Chapter Objectives
• To know how to compile a public relations plan
• To understand how public relations is obtained
partly through publicity generated through news
media
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Public Relations
• Traditional Definition of PR
The management function which evaluates public
attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an
organization with the public interest, and executes a
program of action (and communication) to earn public
understanding and acceptance.
( Definition by the Public Relation News)
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Public Relations
• Required stages in PR
1. The determination and evaluation of public attitudes
2. The identification of policies and procedures of an
organization with a public interest
3. The development and execution of a
communications program designed to bring about public
understanding and acceptance
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The New Role of PR
• It demonstrates four relationships that marketing
and public relations can assume in an
organization
• Defined by the degree of use of each function
– 4 different classes
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Four Classes of Marketing
and Public Relations
• Class 1
– Relationships are characterized by minimal use of
either function
• Class 2
– Relationships have a well-established public relation
functions but do very little in the way of formal
marketing
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Four Classes of Marketing
and Public Relations
• Class 3
– Organizations, in which marketing dominates and
public relation function is minimal
• Class 4
– Enterprises have both strong marketing and strong PR
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Weak
Strong
MARKETING
The New Role of PR
Example:
Example:
Small social
service
agencies
Hospitals,
colleges and
universities
Example:
Example:
Small
manufacturing
companies
Large, Fortune
five-hundred
companies
Weak
Strong
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
The New Role of PR
• PR departments position themselves as
– a tool to both supplant and support traditional
advertising and marketing efforts
– a key part of IMC program
• PR must play an integral role in IMC program
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Publicity: One Effect
of Public Relations
• Publicity
– It refers to the generation of news about a person,
product,service, or organization that appears in broad
cast or print media
In some instances…
• Publicity and PR are synonymous. (I.e. Tree Top‘s respond to
an adverse publicity)
• Publicity is the end result or effect of PR effort
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Publicity: One Effect
of Public Relations
• Marketers like to have controls over the time and
place where information is released
• They accomplish this by…
– Video news release (VNR)
• A Publicity piece produced by publicists
– The effective media use for product launches
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Publicity: One Effect
of Public Relations
• Publicity complications
– The publicity typically lasts for a short time
– The publicity is not always positive and is not always
under the control of, or paid for by, the organizations
– Publicity’s sheer power as a form of communication
(I.e. Tylenol, and Johnson & Johnson)
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Strength of Public Relations
• Credibility
– The public does not realize the organization paid for
public relations
• Cost
– In both absolute and relative terms, the cost of public
relations is very low
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Strength of Public Relations
• Avoidance of clutter
– They are typically perceived as news, PR messages
are not subject to the clutter of ads
• Lead generation
– Inquiries generated by Information about technological
innovations, and like may give the firms some quality
sales leads
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Strength of Public Relations
• Ability to reach specific groups
– It can reach small market segments with relatively low
costs
• Image building
– Effective PR can helps to develop positive image for
the organization
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Limitations of Public Relations
• Weaker brand or corporate identification effect
– The major disadvantage of PR is the potential for not
completing the communication process
• Inconsistent message
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Limitations of Public Relations
• Timing
– It is hard to control a timing of publicity
• Accuracy
– Information sometimes gets lost in transaction – it is not
always reported the way the provider wishes it to be
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Public Relation Plan
•
PR is an ongoing process requiring formalized
policies and procedures for dealing with
problems and opportunities.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Situation analysis
Determine Relevant Target Audiences
Behavioral objectives
Communication objectives
Strategy
Tactics
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Situation Analysis
1. It provides input into the planning process.
2. It serves as an early warning system.
3. It secures support internally.
4. It increases the effectiveness of the
communication
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Determine Relevant
Target Audiences
Internal Audiences
•
•
•
•
Employees of the firm
Stockholders and investors
Community members
Suppliers and customers
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Determine Relevant
Target Audiences
External audiences
•
•
•
•
•
The Media
Educators
Civic and business organizations
Governments
Financial groups
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Behavioral Objectives
• Trial purchase
• Repeat purchase
• Purchase-related action
• Consumption
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Communication Objectives
• Category need
• Brand awareness
• Brand attitude
• Purchase intention
• Purchase facilitation
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Strategy
• Focus of the message
– Marketing public relations – public relations activities
designed to support marketing objectives
– A major threat of marketing public relations is that it
may lead to public relations becoming subservient to
marketing
• Creative of the Message
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Strategy
• Marketing public relations can be used effectively
in following ways
– Building marketplace excitement before media
advertising breaks
– Creating advertising news where there is no product
news
– Introducing a product with little or no advertising
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Strategy
• Influencing the influential– providing information
to opinion leaders.
• Defending products at risk with a message of
reassurance
• Constructively promoting a product
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Criteria for Measuring
PR Effectiveness
• Total number of impressions . . .
– Over time
– On the target audience
– On specific target audiences
• Percentage of . . .
– Positive articles over time
– Negative articles over time
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Criteria for Measuring
PR Effectiveness
• Ratio of positive to negative articles
• Percentage of positive and negative articles by ...
–
–
–
–
Subject
Publication
Reporter
Target audience
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Tactics
• The tactic of public relations partly
depend on they type of media or
dissemination tool used
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Public Relations Strategy
News Media Options
•
The press release
– Information must be factual, true, and interest to the
medium as well as its audience.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Telephone press conference
In-studio media tours.
Multi-component video news release (VNR)
Targeted newswire stories
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Public Relations Strategy
News Media Options
• Press conferences
– The topic must be a major interest to a specific group
• Exclusives
– To offer one particular medium exclusive right to the
story if the medium reaches a substantial number of
target customers
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Public Relations Strategy
News Media Options
• Interviews
• Community involvement
– Membership in local organizations
– Contributions to or participation in community events
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Strength of News Media Options
• News media messages are highly credible
• Consumers perceive this information more objective
• Endorsement
• Publicity information may be perceived as endorsed
by the medium
• Frequency potential
• The frequency of exposure it generates
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Limitations of News Media Options
• Timing
• Timing of the publicity through news media is not
always completely under the control of the marketer
• Accuracy
• The information contained in the press release
sometimes gets lost in translation
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Corporate Advertising Options
Corporate Advertising
– It designed to promote the firm overall, by
enhancing its image, assuming a position on
a social issue or cause, or seeking direct
involvement in something
– One of the most controversial from of
advertising
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Corporate Advertising Options
Corporate Advertising
Why is this controversial?
•
Consumers are not interested in this form of advertising.
•
It’s a costly form of self-indulgence.
•
The firm must be in trouble.
•
Corporate advertising is a waste of money
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Corporate Advertising Options
Image Advertising
• General image or positioning ads
• To create an image of firm in the public mind
• It is also used when a company changes its name
• Television sponsorship
• A firm often runs corporate image advertising on TV
programs or specials
( I.e. Hallmark, IBM)
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Corporate Advertising Options
Image Advertising
• Recruiting
• It is designed to attract new employees
• Generating financial support
• It is designed to generate investments in the
corporation
• In this instance, corporate image advertising is
almost attempting to make a sale; the product is the
firm
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
To 30 Companies Based on RQ
(Reputation Quotient)
Figure 13-4
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Corporate Advertising Options
Advocacy Advertising
• It is concerned with propagating ideas and
elucidating controversial social issues of public
importance in a manner that supports the
interest of the sponsor
• It adopts a position on a particular issue
• Advocacy Advertising has been creasing
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Corporate Advertising Options
Cause-related Marketing
• Companies link with charities or nonprofit
organizations as contributing sponsors
• 80 percent of consumers say that they have
more positive impression of companies that
support a cause
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Corporate Advertising Options
Event Sponsorship
• Sports receive the majority of event
sponsorship monies (I.e. golf, tennis, etc)
• Traditionally, tobacco,beer, and car companies
have been the largest sports event sponsors
• Event marketing, contests, sampling, and
sweep takers are effective promotion tools.
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Corporate Advertising Options
The Internet
• Differences between traditional media and the
Internet:
– The Internet offers a more limited opportunity to gain
attention due to short exposure times
– It offers the opportunity to build internal links that
provide the media with instant access to additional
sources of information on the issue
– It offers the ability to provide much more substantial
information
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Strength of Corporate Advertising
• It is an excellent vehicle for positioning the firm
• It offers some control that the message will be
disseminated
• It reaches a select target audience
Chapter 13 : Public Relations
Limitation of Corporate Advertising
• Questionable effectiveness
– There is no strong evidence to support the belief that
corporate advertising works
• Constitutionality and/or ethics
– Since large firms have more money, they can control
public opinion unfairly
Chapter 13 : Public Relations