Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter 5: Research, Part 2: Goals
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Effective organizational communications mean that communications must be ______.
a. focused on a specific audience
b. considerate of diverse viewpoints
c. based on input from stakeholders
d. aligned with organizational goals
2. Which one of the following does the PR practitioner use as framework for addressing
organizational problems and opportunities?
a. marketplace environment conditions
b. the organization’s stakeholders
c. target audience research
d. the organization’s mission
3. According to author Stacks, a communications goal should be informed by which one
of the following?
a. research in the marketplace
b. research on the organization
c. consumer viewpoints
d. stakeholders’ priorities
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
4. In the goal-setting phase, public relations practitioners are cautioned about which one
of the following?
a. requesting budgets that appear unrealistic
b. assigning inadequately skilled staff to specific projects
c. attempting too many strategies and tactics
d. requiring organizational leadership to do too much in a campaign
5. When it comes to addressing organization’s challenges, Wilson and Ogden
recommend which one of the following?
a. accounting public perception in strategies to address the challenge
b. considering how the challenge may alter the organization
c. stating the problem as an opportunity
d. seeking input from the organization’s stakeholders
6. What are two key factors for any public relations practitioner to consider when
defining opportunities for a public relations campaign?
a. organizational mission and its audiences
b. organizational structure and its business model
c. outside regulations and legal requirements
d. the organization’s status as for-profit or non-profit
7. For large organizations, large numbers of internal stakeholders and audiences can be
difficult to work with. What is often thought of as a factor that offsets this difficulty?
a. Larger organizations usually have greater resources with which to address problems
and challenges.
b. Larger organizations usually have better ties to their audiences than smaller
organizations.
c. Larger organizations can often take more time to address problems and challenges
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
d. Stakeholders in larger organization will often have greater influence over target
audiences.
8. In the planning and implementation stages of public relations, strategic PR
practitioners will commonly do which one of the following?
a. Base new strategies on what was most effective in the past.
b. Refer to the research it is conducted in relation to the problem or challenge.
c. Take into consideration the best practices from other similar-sized organizations.
d. Relate their actions to organizational goals.
9. When developing a campaign’s goals, the most important points to establish are
which one of the following?
a. the impact of the communication, and the scope of the campaign
b. the scope of the campaign and the expected audience reaction
c. the staffing of the campaign and the intended audience reactions to it
d. the staffing of the campaign and the impact of the communication
10. Kane emphasizes that public relations campaigns need to employ what kinds of
goals?
a. goals that are the same as those of the organization
b. goals that can be affected through communications
c. goals that are relatable to the target audiences
d. Goals that can be supported by internal stakeholders
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
11. Campaign communication goals first must have which one of the following sets of
characteristics?
a. They need to be measurable and cost-effective.
b. They need to be executable and measurable.
c. They need to be based on organization’s priorities.
d. They need to be relatable to target audiences.
12. An organization that works to have the uses of its brand better understood in the
marketplace, it may choose which one of the following goals?
a. a brand introduction goal
b. a brand familiarity goal
c. a brand definition goal
d. a brand reminding goal
13. Which of the factors below are NOT identified as part of the SCOPE of a campaign?
a. available resources
b. team expertise
c. preferred timeline
d. message relevance
14. PR practitioners evaluate audiences based on the probability of achieving the
campaign communication objective. What is a typical consideration in audiences?
a. the demographic makeup of the audience
b. the relative size of the audience
c. the potential audience response to a communication
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
d. the geographic makeup of the audience
15. In selecting an audience to reach out to, what helps identify how a campaign
communication might be tailored to a specific audience?
a. audience research
b. audience size
c. media cost and availability
d. past audience responses
16. A clearly identified communication goal would do which one of the following as a
result of that communication?
a. State a desired identifiable change.
b. Describe the audience and its makeup.
c. Refer to the organizational mission.
d. Identify magnitude and measures used to determine effectiveness.
17. A communications objective would do which one of the following?
a. Identify measures and magnitude to determine effectiveness.
b. Identify the problem at hand.
c. Refer to the organizational goals.
d. Describe how often a particular medium will be used.
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
18. Which one of the following is NOT typically part of a budget consideration in goal–
setting?
a. the priority of the project
b. budgetary limitations
c. stakeholder influence
d. considerations of anchor strategies and tactics
19. Organizations should observe which one of the following principles when staffing
over the long term on its communications projects?
a. Teams with skill shortages should supplement with paid expertise.
b. Generalists will typically outperform specialists.
c. Teams with evenly distributed skills are generally more cost-efficient.
d. Specialists will typically outperform generalists.
20. An organization’s communication goals can bridge a gap between which one of the
following?
a. target audiences and the communications goals the organization sets for them
b. mission and vision, and campaign objectives and tactics
c. desired accomplishments and those who can affect reaching those accomplishments
d. an organization’s stakeholders and its audiences
21. Balanced public relations planning requires involvement with which one of the
following?
a. adherence to the organizational mission
b. being responsive to changes
c. respect for audience needs
d. availability of funding sources
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
22. Wilson and Ogden describe goals and objectives as which one of the following?
a. Goal is the direction, objective is the destination.
b. Goal is the destination, objective is the direction.
c. Goal is the value, objective is the outcome.
d. Goal is the measure, objective is the magnitude.
23. What complicates the planning process at the research stage of a project?
a. Leadership may steer projects in the direction they prefer.
b. All the questions that need to be answered cannot be known at the beginning of the
process.
c. Outside sources interject unrelated viewpoints through the research process.
d. Stakeholders may obstruct projects they deem unnecessary.
24. In the realm of goals and research, which one of the following characterizes iterative
planning?
a. Objectives are planned, goals are measurable.
b. Goals are based on research, research in turn is based on objectives.
c. Research is measurable, goals are actionable.
d. Goals lead to research, research can lead to goal revision.
25. With regard to diagnostics and solutions, public relations practitioners help an
organization in which stated way?
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
a. to ensure that organizational mission and values are present in communications
solutions
b. to adhere to organizational mission and execute its policy
c. to review and develop organizational mission and values
True/False
1. For the PR practitioner, research about an organization’s internal and external
environments precede a thorough understanding of the organization’s goals.
2. Objectives act as a compass for a public relations campaign, pointing practitioners
toward the goals and strategies.
3. When addressing stating problems, it is recommended that they be conceptualized
as positive challenges.
4. Paine’s recommendation of measuring what matters pertains to setting
communications goals only where they can make an impact.
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
5. If consumers have misconceptions about a brand and its uses, it is preferable to
abandon that brand and establish a new brand using different descriptions for
consumers.
6. A campaign budget is NOT considered a reliable way to examine a campaign’s
potential impact.
7. After defining objectives, it is essential to conduct budgetary planning and all
associated fiscal processes.
8. Identification of key audiences and publics should be among the first steps that a PR
practitioner considers when diagnosing an organizational problem or opportunity.
9. When planning a campaign, after campaign objectives are established, the
measurements and magnitude of the impact of a campaign is set.
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
10. Media relations may take longer to achieve a communications goal than the use of
paid outreach.
11. Having team members with particular expertise in one area has generally not been
shown to have a positive effect on campaigns.
12. Because for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations typically pursue the
same communications goals, communications goals can often be shared across both
situations
13. Setting communications goals for an organization requires that they be responsive
to internal, external and historical considerations.
14. Goals may include how an organization is uniquely distinguished in the minds of its
key publics.
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
15. A collaborative approach to goal-setting can lead to increased buy-in from the
stakeholders involved
Short Answer/Essay
1. Why is it recommended that the communications arm of an organization do research
on the organization before developing communications goals?
2. Provide examples of how the following two problems can be presented as “positive
restatements.” Problem 1: The threat of outside regulatory action to an organization.
Problem 2: A shrinking market for a manufacturer’s goods
3. Describe an example of how two different organizations may have very different
staffing structures and why that matters to communications campaigns.
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
4. Explain why public relations goals should focus only on areas where communication
itself can make a difference.
5. Name the factors that set limits on the scope of a campaign.
6. How do the elements of the scope of a campaign relate to PESO decisions?
7. Why should an organization prioritize audiences to approach during a
communications campaign?
Instructor Resource
Luttrell, Public Relations Campaigns: An Integrated Approach 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
8. Communications goals must achieve several things for the organization. Name two of
these.
9. Describe a key difference between an organization’s mission and its communications
goals.
10. Describe the role of goals and objectives and how they work together in a
campaign.