What is Public Relations Anyway 02 12 2013 Social Media and public relations has revolutionized the way organizations individuals communicate to their key constituent publics around the world I Prominence of Public Relations Multi billion dollar business practiced by 158 000 professionals Expected to increase faster than avg for all occupations Typical agency has less than 10 employees and an annual revenue of less than 1 million yr The 7 000 US PR agencies record annual revenue of more than 6 billion US Gov has thousands of communications professionals not labeled public relations specialists Today the profession is vulnerable to intrusion by ppl with non PR backgrounds lawyers marketers and general managers Worlds largest PR firms are all owned by media conglomerates refuse to reveal PR revenues o Omnicom o The Interpublic Group o WPP Group What is Public Relations PR a planned process to influence public opinion through sound character and proper performance based on mutually satisfactory two way communications In 1988 The PR Society of America formally adopted PR helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other o Noted that the functions research planning communications dialogue and evaluation are ALL essential to PR II Planned Process to Influence Public Opinion Communications Professor John Martson suggested a 4 step model explaining the process through which PR might influence public opinion o Research research attitudes about the issue at hand o Action Identify action of the client in the public interest Key component you cant have effective communication or positive publicity without proper action performance must exceed publicity o Communication communicate that action to gain understanding acceptance and support o Evaluation evaluate the communication to see if opinion has been Essence of RACE is performance recognition positive action positive action communicated straightforwardly will yield positive results Professor Sheila Crifasi proposed extending RACE to ROSIE research objectives strategies implementation evaluation to encompass a more managerial approach Setting clear objectives working from set strategies and implementing a pre determined plan is a key to PR R P I E Research planning implementation and evaluation Emphasizes the element of planning as a necessary step preceding the activation of a communications initiative Denny Griswold s definition of PR has the key terms management for PR to serve organization properly advice must be reported to management unfiltered and action Malvin Sharpe the process of PR harmonizes long term relationships among individuals and organizations in society To harmonize there are 5 principles o Honest communication for credibility o Openness and consistency of actions for confidence o Fairness of actions for reciprocity and goodwill o Continuous two way communication to prevent alienation build relationships o Environmental research and evaluation to determine the actions adjustments needed for social harmony III Public relations as management interpreter public interpreter Management Interpreter o 1 Must interpret policies of organizations management to public o 2 Must convey attitudes of public to their management o no matter size of organization PR department is only as good as its access to management must have firsthand knowledge of the reasons for managements decisions and rationale for their policy Public Interpreter management know o Finding out what public really thinks about the firm and letting IV The Publics of Public Relations In PR a public is a group of people with a stake in an issue Publics can be classified into these overlapping categories o Internal and external Internal inside organization supervisors stockholders etc External press gov customers suppliers o Primary secondary and marginal Primary can most help organization s efforts Members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors who regulate banks would be a PP for a bank awaiting a regulatory ruling Secondary less important Legislators and general public Marginal least important o Traditional and future Traditional employees and current customers Future students and potential customers o Proponents communication that reinforce beliefs opponents persuasive communication and the uncommitted often especial in politics these are crucial Second way to segment publics is on a basis of lifestyles and values 8 DISTINCT CATEGORIES this segmentation is used regularly by marketers to focus to product and service appeals on specific socioeconomic levels Fulfilleds high resources and are principle oriented professionals Actualizers most wealth and power Believers fulfilleds without the resources Achievers high resources and status oriented Strivers lack resources of achievers but equally status oriented Experiencers high resources action oriented willing to take risks Makers action oriented but low resources Strugglers lowest resources Public Relation s Spin the twisting of messages and statements of half truths to create the appearance of performance which may or may not be true Attitudes important for PR professionals Pro communications Advocacy must believe in their employers Counseling orientation advice senior managers Ethics Willingness to take risks Positive outlook The History and Growth of PR 02 12 2013 Trends in Society that Influence PR theory and Practice Growth of big institutions Heightened public awareness and media sophistication Globalization and the growing power of global media public opinion and Increasing incidence of societal change conflict and confrontation democratic capitalism Dominance of the Internet and growth of social media Ancient Beginnings Might be a 20th century phenomena but its roots are ancient o We ve found 1800 b c bulletins in Iraq that told farmers of latest harvesting sowing and irrigating techniques o Ancient Greece Politian s enlisted sophists lobbyists to help fight verbal battles o Julius Caesar when faced with an upcoming battle would rally up public support through pamphlets and staged events o Catholic church Pope Gregory XV 1600s established College of Propaganda help propagate faith muckrackers group of journalists that criticized the robber barons men who ran America s industries who cared little for the rest of society more concerned with making profit Ivy Lee Real father of modern PR Former wall street reporter Believed the key to business acceptance was that the public be informed instead
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