What is Public Relations? Revisited

On December 7, 2019January 29, 2020 By Megan IrelandIn CAP 220, PR TrendsLeave a comment

It’s hard to know exactly what a career entails with no direct experience in the field. And walking into the third advertising & public relations class I’d ever taken four months ago, I had little clue what I was getting myself into.

In my first post on this blog, I mentioned that PR is a dynamic and creative profession that requires a commitment to relationship-building. While I still stand by these points, I think that I failed to attest to the tedious process of research and evaluation that goes hand in hand with any PR activity.

After completing a full campaign planbook of my own in CAP 220 across the past semester, I have come to more fully appreciate the amount of meticulous research and planning that goes into every PR campaign. You could have the most creative idea in the world, or be the best communicator around. However, for a campaign to be truly successful, it must be backed up by research that proves the logic of the idea. Even though it takes a lot of time and concentration to comb through secondary sources, conduct surveys, and hold focus groups, the data that these methods reveal make writing actual tactics that much easier. When there is an issue to be addressed, good research can almost solve the problem for you by showing you exactly what your target population wants and needs.

In my own research for the campaign plan I prepared for the Grand Valley State University Division of Inclusion and Equity, I had no idea how long it would take me to synthesize the materials I found. Finding the research was one thing, and extracting meaning from it was quite another. I also learned that it was extremely important (and harder than I expected) not to let preconceived notions or biases creep into my research report. Many times throughout the process, I found myself wanting to prescribe action based on a simple feeling I had about the atmosphere on GVSU’s campus, or on a complaint I had heard from one or two friends. But I now know that a key part of the PR planning process is thorough, well-developed research. And it takes time to do that well.

Evaluation too is a step that I discounted in my initial overview of public relations back in August. It can be really hard to evaluate the outcomes of some public relations campaigns, because there just isn’t a standard measurement system put in place for brand awareness or public attitudes (and truly how can there be?). When something is difficult to calculate or gauge, it’s easy to cast it aside as unimportant. And sadly, many business leaders fail to recognize the value of quality evaluation in public relations just as I did.

While working on my campaign, I came to understand exactly how crucial quality evaluation is when I went to recommend steps for how to evaluate the objectives, strategies, and tactics I suggested for my client to carry out. I needed a clearly defined starting place if my client was to assess how well my proposed ideas helped meet the overall goals and objectives. The only problem? There was no data for me to start with! Because the Division of Inclusion and Equity had failed to keep good records about student awareness of their services, it made it much more difficult to determine how my campaign plan would be evaluated. Consequently, it taught me that consistent and quality evaluation is a crucial part in helping the PR machine to run smoothly.

Coming into CAP 220, I knew that PR was changeable and multifaceted. I knew that it involved strategic thinking and a willingness to “think outside the box” when coming up with solutions. But with the knowledge I gained through the class and especially through working on the campaign book for the GVSU Division of Inclusion and Equity, I’d like to amend my prior assessment of the public relations field. Public relations is a cycle and a process. It is often a messy process. And within it, careful research, creative and strategic planning, and continual evaluation and improvement serve as the best way to drive effective communication and relationship-building.

Considering Stakeholders in the Measurement of PR Campaigns

On November 25, 2019October 29, 2021 By Megan IrelandIn CAP 220, PR TrendsLeave a comment

A confused face emoji atop a background of one hundred dollar bills — Created with Canva

There is something about measurement that the human brain inherently connects to numbers. If you want to measure the length or height of a table, you pull out a ruler. If you want to measure your weight, you pull out a scale. If you want to measure how many trees are in a forest, you count using numbers. But when measuring the results of a public relations campaign, it’s not always so straightforward.

PR campaigns can have a multitude of different goals, not all of which can be easily met with numbers. For instance, how do you measure a change in awareness among a target public surrounding your company’s products? Or how do you measure a shift in attitude towards your brand? Certainly not with a scale, a ruler, or an algebraic equation.

To accurately measure the outcome of a public relations campaign, a lot of thought, planning, and sometimes even cost is required. And the unfortunate truth is that the quality evaluation of public relations strategies is often turned aside in favor of procedures that more directly benefit a company’s bottom line: sales. PR staff and senior executives live in very different worlds, and the world of management revolves around ROI – return on investment. As professors Anne Gregory and Jim Macnamara point out, without a clear demonstration of the business or organizational value that a public relations activity adds, senior leaders will only focus on the costs of the activity. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Public relations practitioners must find a middle ground between proving the business value of their strategies, being cost-effective, and still performing a meaningful evaluation that allows them to move forward in some way. This may sound like a difficult thing to do, but there is a simple solution that can help them achieve all three points: placing focus on their stakeholders.

There is no better reason for a brand to take PR action than if its stakeholders – the people who hold interest or weight in the business – will benefit from it. If your stakeholders are happy then they will continue to invest in your business, and as a result, your business will thrive. Bhattacharyya and Cummings even suggest that inviting stakeholders to participate in some level of corporate decision-making may help legitimate public relations activity. Usually, stakeholders love to share their input and will even do so at no cost, if they know that their voice is being heard and considered by your brand. This can gain you valuable insights that you can use to evaluate your PR efforts in a cost-effective way.

By considering the expectations of stakeholders through the entire public relations process, PR staff may also improve the effectiveness of their campaigns. Of course, it is important to focus on internal business goals. But if the external expectations of society leaders, customers, donors, service partners, or other stakeholders are not also considered, it’s unlikely that a public relations strategy will reach its full potential.

The members of the Public Relations Society of America stress that public relations “has real, measurable impact on the achievement of strategic organizational goals” (para. 2). But it is the act of showing that impact to business leaders that matters the most. Ultimately, it’s up to senior management members to endorse the value of evaluation of the public relations activities in their company. But the involvement of stakeholders in the process can certainly help prove to them its worth.

4 Things to Think About Before Signing a Celebrity Endorser

On October 27, 2019October 29, 2021 By Megan IrelandIn CAP 220, PR TrendsLeave a comment

Finding the right spokesperson — Created with Canva, Original image by Pixabay from Pexels

As a corporate executive, the idea of making a big name actor or musician the face of your brand might seem pretty appealing at first glance. But let’s face it: it’s hard not to think of a celebrity endorsement gone wrong. Perhaps Pepsi’s 2017 controversial commercial with Kendall Jenner comes to mind. Or maybe you immediately recall Lance Armstrong’s partnership with Nike, in which the company was even accused of collusion in his doping coverup.

Celebrity endorsements in the world of PR can be risky undertakings. Not only can they be extremely costly, they ride largely on trust. A lot of careful consideration must be put into choosing the celebrity who will best represent your values and reach your audience. Their words and actions are largely out of your control, and with the wrong choice, the reputation of your brand could end up badly damaged.

Of course, on the flip side, some celebrity endorsed campaigns work wonders for a brand’s reputation and exposure. I had never heard of Pepsi’s sparkling water brand, Bubly, until they partnered with Michael Bublé to make one of the most well-received Super Bowl ads of 2019. Likewise, when you say the word “Lincoln,” the first thing that pops into my head is not the 16th president of the United States, but Matthew McConaughey driving a luxury car.

So, I certainly am no expert on celebrity endorsements in PR. But I have paid close enough attention to the media to know what has and hasn’t worked for brands collaborating with celebrities in recent years. I’m not necessarily saying don’t sign that big-name actress to star in your newest ad campaign. But before doing so, always be sure to ask yourself four key questions.

1) What are the business objectives?

Without a solid grasp of your goals, you’ll never be able to find the celebrity who can most effectively help you advance. Frankly, without firm, clearly stated business goals, you won’t be able to make any PR activity truly effective. Goals and objectives are the foundation on which to base activities and campaigns.

2) Who is the audience, and what do they value?

Your audience will never buy into a campaign that they can’t relate to. Steve Olenski of Forbes Magazine writes that “in order for their impact to be shown, endorsements have to have a similar target audience that the [celebrity] ‘influencer’ has to begin with” (para. 8). It may seem like an obvious thing to do, but it’s incredible how many times businesses forget to put their audience first. It doesn’t make much sense to have a country music artist promoting a new athletic shoe, does it? If campaign goals and celebrity values don’t align with audience interests, your brand’s chances of being listened to will be very low.

3) Who is the celebrity, and what do they value?

Celebrity partnerships have to be authentic to work. If you choose to work with a celebrity whose values are completely different than that of your business, the public will notice! And as a result, they may be less likely to trust your brand. Tara Reid, Vice President at Havas Formula media company in Chicago, mentions that some of the best relationships are built when celebrities are already fans of a brand, product, or cause. When a celebrity showcases genuine passion, it is much more convincing and effective than a pitch for a product they’ve never actually used.

4) Do the values of the business, audience, and celebrity align?

The most important question of them all. The values of all three parties absolutely must be aligned for the endorsement to be effective. And honestly, what’s the point of having a person who your audience doesn’t relate to and who doesn’t support your mission, marketing your products or services? Why try?

As a PR firm or brand, it can be scary not having control over celebrity performance. While this shouldn’t deter you from signing a celebrity on to help you with your next big campaign, it’s important to be aware of the dangers that such endorsements can pose. Yet, a careful evaluation of the four questions above can help you to be sure that you are making the right choice for the future of your brand when working with a celebrity.

Social Media: Hero or Villain in the PR World?

On October 22, 2019October 29, 2021 By Megan IrelandIn CAP 220, PR TrendsLeave a comment

Cover of a Jekyll and Hyde comic book, featuring Mr. Hyde terrorizing a crowd — CC No 13 Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Chordboard [Public Domain, Copyright not renewed]

People have long been fascinated with the idea of split personalities. Countless book and movie characters have been created with starkly contrasting sides, from Bruce Banner and the Hulk to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And while it may sound crazy, social media too can act like one of these two-faced beasts.

As a public relations practitioner, social media platforms can be great tools to help improve a client’s brand reputation, or increase sales revenue. However, one small misstep – an insensitive post, or the failure to respond to a dissatisfied customer in a timely manner – and social media can turn into an agent of destruction for a business. Unfortunately, PR staff often get stuck with the job of taming this more dangerous side of social media, cleaning up after crises and helping turn platforms back into catalysts for growth. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

There are so many proactive ways that companies can use social media in public relations to prevent a crisis situation. According to Linda Fanaras, President at Millenium PR Agency in New Hampshire, hashtags can be a great strategic tool used to monitor and engage in conversations surrounding your brand. By doing so, a PR team can gauge customer sentiment and quickly catch any negative comments that need to be addressed. Embedding social media links into press releases is another way that brands can control the story being told about them in the media. In this way, their direct voice and message will be more widely distributed to the public.

Social media can also play the hero in manifesting a successful public relations campaign. Releasing original and creative content on social platforms allows brands to set themselves apart from the competition and better broadcast what makes them unique. Christina Forrest of Cision Communications says it helps brands to build better relationships with the publics they serve by providing a more two-way, transparent means of communication. In addition, a company’s social media posts can be more personal, informal, and conversational than traditional news content. This helps humanize their brand and build trust among audiences who feel like they can relate to what the business is saying.

Given the pervasive nature of social media, it’s impossible for it not to play the villain sometimes. Mistakes happen. Companies screw up. And the never-blinking eyes of the social world are always watching, ready to broadcast those mistakes for all to see. As professors C. Guo and G. Saxton note, social media is like a microphone for people to communicate anything and everything they believe, for better or for worse. Learning how to deal with the repercussions of your company’s mistakes in the form of backlash on social media is just part of the PR job.

At the end of the day, social media will always have the potential to be both an ally and an enemy in public relations. It is too vast of a network to control. Yet, creating a business presence on social media would be a silly opportunity to pass up for the same reason. Its vastness is what makes it an invaluable tool for reaching audiences. And in my opinion, the benefits of using social media as a brand far outweigh the potential for harm.

3 Things PR Practitioners Should Always Do Their Homework On

On September 11, 2019October 29, 2021 By Megan IrelandIn CAP 220, PR TrendsLeave a comment

“All right, time to fix this problem! What is it?”

Exactly the thing you never want to say to your client as a public relations specialist preparing a campaign plan.

Preliminary research is perhaps one of the most important parts of the PR process, simply because you can’t solve an issue without even knowing what the issue is. But beyond the basics of the problem at hand, there are a few other things you should always be sure to do your homework on before you attempt to dive right in and come up with a solution.

Know your audience.

Having a working knowledge of the public your campaign aims to target – their demographics, their perceptions, and their attitudes – is essential. No campaign can reach everyone. But if you can effectively reach and change the ideas of a small, relevant section of the population, you can consider yourself successful. In a 2014 article from PR Journal, professor Denise Bortree concurs that productive communication between corporations and their publics “is built on knowledge of audience interests and expectations” (pg. 1).

So maybe your issue is that WXYZ company has a weak brand that they’d like to revamp. Before you jump into making an action plan to address the problem at hand, take some time to look at exactly who the people the company serves are. Maybe the company is a line of eco-friendly hair and skin care products that caters mostly to middle-aged women who value their health and the protection of the environment. Or they could be a fast-food chain that attracts young families looking to eat out at an affordable price. Each of these businesses would likely serve a very different crowd with very different values and opinions. It’s crucial to do your research on the people who are going to be receiving your message so that you can communicate with them in the most effective way possible.

Know your objectives.

Or your client’s objectives. Either way, having some sort of picture of what you want the result of your campaign to be can help you figure out what tactics to use to get from point A to point B.

Sure, there may be many different ways to tackle the problem. In fact, Arthur Solomon of PR Daily says “every crisis needs original thinking. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy. The same is true in non-crisis program planning” (para. 9). But creativity provides all the more reason for you to do your research, talk to management, and know the end goals you or your client strive for. Surely it is easier to be creative when you know whether your objective is to increase awareness of a cause, get a new segment of the public to buy a product, or something else entirely.

Know your competition.

In the business world, if there’s someone out there doing what you do and doing it better, of course you should want to know about it. Not only does researching your competition help you to know what you’re up against, it can give you ideas about tactics that are working for other companies that you might want to try. Communications professor Melissa Dawn Dodd mentions that it’s actually the job of PR professionals “to achieve competitive advantages for their organizations” (2016, pg. 289). And honestly, how can you beat your competition if you don’t even know who you’re up against?

This can be where qualitative research – the kind of research that provides insight into attitudes and perceptions – becomes key. If WXYZ fast food franchise is losing business to restaurant chain ABCD, the PR team working for WXYZ should want to know why. Research tools like surveys and interviews can tell them invaluable information, like perhaps the fact that people prefer ABCD for their cheaper hamburger prices, or their family-friendly atmosphere.

Lightbulb icon — Wikimedia-research-blank by Wikimedia Foundation, CC BY-SA 3.0

It’s easy to see how spending even a few hours to research your problem, audience, objectives, and competition can give you a leg up in the PR field. Once you have a solid grasp on where you are, where you want to go, and what obstacles are in your way, that knowledge allows you to be so much more creative while constructing a strategy to achieve your objectives. It’s like destinations on a road map – there might be a million different ways to get from place to place, but without knowing where you must start and end, you’ll be lost.

References:

Dodd, M. D. (2016). Intangible resource management: Social capital
      theory development for public relations. Journal of 
      Communication Management, 20(4), 289-311. doi:10.1108/JCOM-12-
      2015-0095

PR Professionals: So What Do They Even Do, Exactly?

On September 7, 2019October 29, 2021 By Megan IrelandIn CAP 220, PR Trends1 Comment

Movies and TV shows often depict the work of public relations practitioners as glamorous or even effortless, but upon closer examination, their jobs are no walk in the park.

Chances are you’ve been exposed to at least one pop culture stereotype of a public relations career, whether that be the party lifestyle of Samantha Jones in the series “Sex and the City,” the vengeful publicity methods of Jessie Bowers on “Arrested Development,” or somewhere in between. According to PR professors Jami A. Fullerton and Lori Melton McKinnon, “public relations may struggle with its professional image more than other industries,” (pg. 1) no doubt due in part to media portrayals like these. Professional organizations like PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) are putting in a lot of effort to debunk negative myths about public relations as a career. But while they try to help the general public answer the question of what PR is not, how do we address the question of what it is?

Growing up, I used to think that PR only consisted of persuasion and feedback gathering. I had this preconceived notion that people in PR did a lot of standing out on the street, trying to get strangers to take surveys and share their feedback on a product or service they probably didn’t even care about. Really, don’t ask me where that idea came from. It’s just what eleven-year-old me thought.

As I’ve grown older and learned more and more about PR as a career field, I’ve come to realize that it actually focuses a lot more on communication and on building relationships – the stuff that matters most when a company or organization is building a reputation with the public. The Arthur W. Page Society, a professional association of PR and communications executives, defines public relations as “the art of developing, understanding, and communicating character, both corporate and individual” (para. 2). And I couldn’t agree more.

I like to think of PR in terms of a walkie talkie system. The senior executives of a company are on one walkie talkie, having a conversation with the general public on the other end. The PR practitioners act like the radio waves bouncing between the two devices, handling the communication and serving as a sort of “middle man” helping to build the relationship. I think it’s important to recognize that, like walkie talkies, PR is a system of two-way, back-and-forth communication. Both the company and the publics they attempt to reach have influence over the relationship for better or for worse. And it’s this real, human relationship-building that to me makes PR such an important career field.

I’ve also come to learn that PR is an incredibly multifaceted, ever-changing profession. Practitioners often must play many diverse management roles, contrary to the myth that a PR career requires little effort. Their duties can even bleed into other related fields, including marketing, advertising, journalism, or finance. And with all of this in mind, it’s hard to imagine being a PR professional tasked with helping a company to build a good reputation among the public. Where would you even start?

Luckily, PR practitioners are allowed (and in fact encouraged) to get pretty creative with the tactics they use when carrying out a campaign. The rise of social media over the past ten to twenty years has also completely transformed the profession (and for the better too, I think). Companies can now collaborate with other companies halfway across the world on campaigns, or have instant access to interact with the public at any given time of any given day via Facebook comments, Instagram likes, or retweets.

A group of researchers from Texas Tech and San Diego State University found that entry level PR practitioners in 2015 “spent more time on social media than they did on traditional tasks” (Lee, Sha, Dozier, & Sargent, pg. 412). Indeed, it’s an incredibly important job of PR teams to keep up with today’s growing online world. And it’s an exciting new way to build those relationships that are so crucial for companies in maintaining a good reputation.

Even with little experience in the field, I’ve learned enough so far to know that public relations is no career for the faint-hearted. While the job may involve the occasional Samantha Jones-esque dinner party, it also requires a lot of writing skills, planning skills, strategic thinking, and a readiness to adapt to change. Yet, the dynamic, changeable nature of PR is exactly what makes it such an exciting and appealing profession to me. It isn’t by any means the career of smooth-talking and glamour that the media portrays it to be – however, it is a fun, challenging, people-oriented profession that many find to be very rewarding.

References:

Lee, N., Sha, B., Dozier, D., & Sargent, P. (2015, September). The 
       role of new public relations practitioners as social media    
       experts. Public Relations Review, 41(3), 411-413. 
       doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.05.002