Scenario 18-3
For some years now, enterprising individuals have gotten their own ideas, forums, and
entertainment programs out in front of the public with no help from big tech firms,
media conglomerates, or ad agencies. They simply posted their creations on the
Internet. It began with blogs, moved to podcasts, expanded to social networks, moved
on to YouTube videos, and transferred to Twitter. Audience members can download
these technological tidbitstext, visual, and audio formatsto their laptops as well as to
cell phones, Blackberries, iPods, iPads, and every other mobile gadget that hits the
market. Eventually, public relations companies started getting into the act.
A medium-sized, family-owned organic farm in California packages its fresh produce
and distributes it to grocers around the country. It is now rumored to be part of an E.
Coli outbreak that is destroying spinach in nearby farms. This is absolutely false, so the
family acts fast by clarifying the situation through Twitter releases, blog responses, and
announcements on its home page. This kind of activity focuses on problems to be
solved rather than opportunities to be considered, and requires that a company take
defensive measures. Which of the following measures would it take?
a. Reactive public relations strategy
b. Lobbying campaign
c. Corporate image marketing
d. Proactive public relations strategy
If you choose to block the websites that track your online activity, you will actually
reduce the number of relevant advertisements targeted toward you.
a. True
b. False