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Marketing: A McGraw-Hill and QUT Custom Publication
Marketing
A McGraw Hill and QUT Custom Publication
The Nature of PR

eLearning Session

  1. Public Relations (PR) is the management function that focuses on the relationships and communications that individuals and organizations have with other groups (called publics) for the purpose of creating mutual goodwill.
    1. Every company or organization has relationships with groups of people affected by its actions: employees, customers, stockholders, competitors, suppliers, legislators, or community people.
      • Marketing professionals refer to these groups as "stakeholders," because they have a stake, or interest, in the company's actions.
      • Each group is considered one of the organization's publics.
    2. The goal of PR is to develop and maintain goodwill with most, if not all, of its publics.
      • A company's publics change constantly.
      • Because of the power of public opinion, companies must consider the breadth of the impact of their actions. Every decision affects each group in different ways.
      • Effective PR channels groups' opinions towards mutual understanding and positive outcomes. The role of PR is to improve public opinion, build goodwill and mold long-term relationships.
    3. The difference between Advertising and PR
      • Advertising - reaches its audience through media for which the advertiser pays; advertising appears just as the advertiser designed it, with the advertiser's bias built in. Knowing this, the public views ads with some skepticism.
      • Public relations - is less precise and guaranteed than advertising because people receive public relations communications as new articles, editorial interviews, or feature stories after the messages have been edited - filtered -by the media. The public thinks PR comes from the medium and thus accepts and trusts PR more readily.
    4. Advertising and PR in the eyes of practitioners
      • Advertising professionals are sales or marketing oriented; tend to use advertising and public relations as "good news" vehicles.
      • Public relations people view PR as a management discipline that encompasses a wide range of activities - marketing , advertising, investor relations, government affairs - that build relationships with all publics.
      • To PR pros, public relations should be integrated "corporate" communications, which is certainly broader than what most people consider integrated "marketing" communications
      • When PR activities are used as a marketing tool, the term marketing public relations (MPR) is often used.
      • In an IMC program, advertising and MPR should be closely coordinated.
  2. The Public Relations Job (59.0K)
    1. Functions
      • PR Planning and Research - first function of PR practitioner is to plan and execute the public relations program. The PR practitioner analyzes the organization's relationship(s) to its public(s) and assesses people's attitudes, then develops a public relations plan for the whole organization.
      • Reputation Management - the process of managing the standing of the firm with various publics. PR practitioners employ a number of strategies and tactics:
        1. Publicity and press agentry
          1. Publicity - the generation of news about a person, product, or service. Media are not paid to run the publicity, but the company may go to considerable expense to get coverage.
            1. To be picked up by the media, publicity must be newsworthy.
            2. Unintentional publicity may be impossible to control - an "unplanned messages" in IMC terms.
          2. Press agentry - planning and staging of events that will attract attention and generate publicity.
      • Crisis communications involves three stages of action:
        1. Identify the problem and take immediate corrective action.
        2. Cooperate with outside authorities/media
        3. Quickly rebuild the company's brands and overall image (all message should be channeled through the corporate communications department).
      • Community involvement - develop a dialog between the company and the community; encourage executives and employees to contribute to social and economic growth of community and set up and publicize community programs. Part of a company's mission marketing activities.
      • Other Public Relations Activities - in addition to planning and reputation management, public relations professionals are often involved in activities like:
        1. Public Affairs and Lobbying
        2. Speechwriting - responsible for writing speeches, arranging speaking opportunities, and developing answers company representatives will likely be asked.
        3. Fundraising and membership drives - a PR person may be responsible for soliciting money for a nonprofit organization or for a cause the company deems worthwhile, e.g., United Way.
        4. Publications - PR people prepare many of a company's communications materials, e.g., news releases and media kits, booklets, brochures, speeches, position papers, etc.
        5. Special eventsmanagement
    2. Public Relations tools - the communication at the PR person's disposal vary:
      • News releases (61.0K)and media kits - news release (or press release) - most widely used - typewritten information issued on 8 1/2" x 11" paper generates publicity or sheds light on a subject of interest, such as a new product, promotion of an executive, an unusual contest, landing of a major contract, etc. A press kit (or media kit) - supports the publicity gained at staged events such as press conferences or open houses.
      • Photos - can lend credence or interest to a dull news story. Typed captions should describe the action and accurately identify the people shown.
      • Feature articles (soft news) - written by PR person, someone at trade publication, or a third party; a case history, illustrated how-to, problem-solving scenario, state-of-the-art update, etc.
      • Printed materials - are the most popular tools used by public relations professionals. They may be brochures or pamphlets about the company or its products, letters to customers, inserts, or enclosures that accompany monthly statements, the annual report to stockholders, other reports, or house organs. A house organ is a publication about happenings and policies at the company.
      • Posters, exhibits, and bulletin boards -
        1. Posters can be used internally to stress safety, waste reduction, etc., or externally to impart product information, corporate philosophy, etc., to consumers.
        2. Companies use exhibits to describe the organization's history, present new products, show how products are made, or explain future plans.
        3. Internally, the public relations staff often uses bulletin boards to announce new equipment, meetings, promotions, etc.
      • Audiovisual materials - can take many forms, including slides, films, videocassettes, used for sales, training, or public relations. Many public relations departments provide video news releases (VNRs) - news or feature stories prepared by a company and offered free to TV stations.
  3. Sponsorships and Events (80.0K)
    1. Sponsorship embraces two disciplines: sales promotion and public relations.
    2. Sponsorship is a cash or in-kind fee paid to a property (sports, entertainment, or nonprofit event or organization) in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property (cause marketing)
      • In-kind - fee paid via donation of goods and services.
      • Philanthropy - support of a cause without any commercial incentive..
    3. Reasons for recent growth in sponsorship (61.0K)
      • Escalating costs of traditional media.
      • Fragmentation of media audiences.
      • Growing diversity of leisure activities.
      • Ability to reach targeted groups of people economically.
      • Growing interest in global events like World Cup soccer, the Olympics, and the Super Bowl.
    4. Benefits of sponsorship
      • The public favors sponsorship.
      • Sponsorships get stakeholders involved.
      • Events are highly self-selective of their target audience.
      • Sponsorships and events provide face-to-face access to current and potential clients.
      • Affiliation with an event reinforces product positioning.
      • Affiliation with an event can boost employee morale and company pride.
      • Sponsorship can convert fan loyalty into sales.
      • Sponsorships can be cost-efficient.
    5. Drawbacks of sponsorship
      • Costs can be too high for one sponsor to bear.
      • Cosponsored events, however, suffer from "clutter."
      • Evaluating the effectiveness of a sponsorship is tricky because it is difficult to separate the effects of sponsorship from the effects of other concurrent marketing activities.
    6. Types of sponsorship
      • Sports marketing - vast majority of sponsorship money is spent here.
        1. Buying the rights to serve your product at events gives the product more credibility than any television ad could.
        2. In hotly contested markets, the giants in the field often fight over sponsorship rights.
        3. Many sports events are local, costing less with a closer access to attendees and participants.
        4. Without close coordination with other promotional activities, the money spent on sponsorships is wasted.
        5. Ambush marketing - promotional strategy non-sponsors use to capitalize on the popularity or prestige of an event or property (i.e., buying up all the billboard space around the athletic stadium to confuse the consumer as to who is the sponsor).
      • Entertainment
        1. Entertainment is the second largest area of sponsorship after sports.
        2. Includes: concert tours, attractions, and theme parks, festivals, fairs, fan fests and annual events
        3. Annual trade shows (business to business) attract large number of sponsors and exhibitors because of the economic benefits of being able to speak with customers and prospects at the same time.
      • Causes
        1. Charity event and educational institution sponsorships are a tried-and-true PR activity that often fits with IMC strategy.
        2. People appreciate the fact that business does not receive any directly tangible cash return from the event.
      • Arts and Culture
        1. Symphony orchestras, chamber music groups, art museums, and theater companies always need funding and are relatively untapped access to people with high-end income.
      • Venue Marketing
        1. Venue marketing - a form of sponsorship that links a sponsor to a physical site like a stadium, arena, auditorium, or racetrack (i.e., Qualcomm Stadium, Coors Field, etc.).
        2. These revenue streams are not shared with other teams owners as is done with TV fees.
    7. Methods of sponsorship
      • Companies interested in sponsorship have two choices:
        1. Buy into an existing event.
        2. Create their own.
    8. Measuring sponsorship results
      • Event sponsorship has historically been hard to evaluate.
      • Experts say there are only three ways to evaluate the hard-to-determine results of a sponsorship:
        1. Pre- and post-sponsorship surveys.
        2. Measure spending equivalencies between free media exposure and comparable advertising.
        3. Measure changes in sales revenues with a tracking device such as coupons.
    9. The International Events Group (IEG) suggests:
      • Have clear goals and narrowly defined objectives.
      • Set a measurable goal.
      • Measure against a benchmark.
      • Do not change other marketing variables during the sponsorships.
      • Incorporate an evaluation program into the overall sponsorship and marketing program.
      • Establish a budget for measuring at the outset.
  4. PR people use corporate advertising when they want to control the message. In an IMC program, corporate advertising covers the broad area of nonprofit advertising, including public relations advertising, institutional advertising, corporate identity advertising, and recruitment advertising.
    1. Public relations advertising directs a controlled public relations message at an important public. When companies sponsor art events, programs on public television, or charitable activities, they frequently place public relations ads in other media to promote the programs and their sponsorship, enhance their community citizenship, and create public goodwill.
    2. Corporate/Institutional Advertising denotes the type of nonprofit advertising used to enhance a company's image and increase awareness.
      • Institutional or corporate advertising campaigns can be used to:
        1. Report the company's accomplishments.
        2. Position the company competitively in the market.
        3. Reflect a change in corporate personality.
        4. Shore up stock prices.
        5. Improve employee morale.
        6. Avoid a communications problem with agents, dealers, or customers.
      • Companies and professional ad people have questioned the effectiveness of corporate advertising. But evidence indicates that those businesses who use corporate advertising create a better overall impression than those companies who use only product advertising.
      • A company uses advocacy advertising to communicate its views on issues that affect its business, to protect its position in the marketplace, to promote its philosophy or make a political or social statements. Such ads are frequently referred to as advertorials since they are basically editorials paid for by an advertiser.
      • Corporate advertising can also build a foundation for future sales, traditionally the realm of product advertising. Many advertisers use umbrella campaigns, called market prep corporate advertising to simultaneously communicate messages about the products and the company.
    3. Corporate Identity advertising is used to communicate changes in a company's name, logo, trademark, or corporate signature.
    4. Recruitment advertising is used to attract new employees. Most recruitment advertising appears in the classified sections of daily newspapers and is placed by human resources departments.








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