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Principle: IMC and Total Communication
Hundreds of different communication activities deliver brand messages both formally
through planned communication programs and informally through other activities. This
section provides a framework for you to understand how all of these programs and tools
can work together to engage target audiences with consistent, persuasive messages that
get people talking about a brand.
In this part, we describe a collection of key marketing communication tools whose
activities need to be coordinated as part of an integrated brand communication program.
It includes chapters on public relations, direct response marketing, and promotions,
events, and sponsorships. To help you understand how this works to deliver effective
brand communication, consider what Professor Tom Duncan, one of the early leaders in
IMC education, has to say about IMC.
We then tie everything up with a chapter on the IMC umbrella which reviews all of the
IMC principles and practices, as well as the big picture of total communication. The last
chapter focuses upon how the effectiveness of each of these tools is evaluated.
Building Brands, Brand Relationships, and Brand Equity
Because marketing communications functions have become so sophisticated and
the media so fragmented, brand message clutter has significantly increased,
making it more difficult and costly to manage brand communication. Companies
are finding it increasingly difficult to reach prospects and retain current
customers.
These changes have resulted in customers becoming more business savvy and at
the same time having greater brand expectations than ever before. As these
changes take place, competition becomes more intense, and top management
demands more and more accountability and results from marketing
communication expenditures.
Recognizing this new marketing environment, smart companies have intensified
their efforts to integrate their marketing communication and all other brand
messages because this is the most cost effective way to build brand relationships
and brand equity.
Originally, IMC was about creating ‘one voice, one look’ across all messages on a
campaign. We now know that a more effective approach to IMC has moved from
this narrow execution focus to a much broader focus on branding and customer
brand perceptions.
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Although IMC has been around for 25 years, few understand the breadth and
depth of this communication focus. It’s not just advertising, and it’s not just
marketing communication. Rather, it’s everything a brand says and does.
Chapter 15
Public Relations
CHAPTER CONTENT
CHAPTER KEY POINTS
1. What is public relations?
2. What are the different types of public relations programs?
3. What key decisions do public relations practitioners make when they create plans?
4. What are the most common types of public relations tools?
5. Why is measuring the results of public relations efforts important and how should that
be done?
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
This chapter focuses upon the role of public relations in an organization and explores
how goodwill can be developed effectively in a marketing communication program. It
discusses the different types of public relations programs, planning and tools, and also
ways of gauging their effectiveness.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS?
Public relations is a fundamental communications discipline covering a wide
range of functions that helps an organization connect with the people it touches.
Those functions include internal relations, publicity, advertising, press agentry,
public affairs, lobbying, issues management, investor relations, and development.
Public relations is used to generate goodwill for an organization. It is the
management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial
relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or
failure depends. It is a field that is rapidly evolving and growing. Public relations
is increasingly used to build and maintain reciprocal relationships through
dialogue and two-way communications in our networked society.
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Public relations focuses on all of the relationships an organization has with its
various publics. By publics, we mean all of the groups of people with which a
company or organization interacts: employees, members, customers, local
communities, shareholders, other institutions, and society at large. Another term
for this is stakeholders, which refers more specifically to people who have a
stake, financial or otherwise, in a company or organization.
Public relations is practiced by a wide range of organizations: companies,
governments, trade and professional associations, nonprofit organizations, the
travel and tourism industry, educational systems, labor unions, politicians,
organized sports, and the media. Most organizations have in-house public
relations departments that handle the organizations’ public relations work,
although many also hire outside public relations agencies. Public relations is a
dynamic, global profession.
On one level, public relations is a tactical function that produces a variety of
communication tools to achieve corporate image objectives. On a higher level, it
is a management function that monitors public opinion and advises senior
corporate managers on how to achieve positive relationships with various
audiences in order to effectively manage the organization’s image and reputation.
Publics may be external and internal.
Public Opinion
Public relations programs are built on an understanding of public opinion on
issues critical to the organization, such as the company’s impact on the
environment and its local community or workers’ rights and how the company
deals with employees.
Principle: Public relations is the conscience of the company, with the objective of
creating trust and maintaining the organization’s integrity.
The public relations strategist researches the answers to two primary questions
about public opinion to design effective public relations programs. First, which
publics are most important to the organization, now and in the future? Second,
what do these publics think?
Public opinion differs from mass opinion in that public opinion examines specific
subgroups rather than a more general mass audience. Particular emphasis falls on
understanding the role for each of the publics of opinion leaders, important
people who influence the opinions of others.
Reputation: Goodwill, Trust, and Integrity
Public goodwill is the greatest asset any organization can have. A well-informed
public with a positive attitude toward an organization is critical to the
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organization’s survival. This is why creating goodwill is the primary goal of most
public relations programs.
Sometimes a totally unexpected crisis can threaten an organization’s respect and
trust. Beyond responding to immediate issues, a public relations program that is
tuned to creating goodwill operates as the conscience of the organization.
Creating goodwill demands that both public relations professionals and the clients
they represent act with integrity.
To underscore the importance of acting with integrity as a prerequisite to creating
goodwill, most public relations organizations have created codes of ethics. The
Public Relations Society of America’s Code of Professional ethics spells out core
values of conduct, such as truth, accuracy, fairness, and responsibility to the
public.
A reputation of integrity involves more than image. Image is a perception based
on messages delivered by the advertising and other marketing communication
tools. Reputation, however, is based on an organization’s actual behavior. Image
mirrors what a company says about itself, but reputation reflects what other
people say about the company.
Principle: Reputation is earned based on what you do, not what you say about
yourself.
The value of a good reputation is hard to measure. Although considered a soft
asset, one that is not usually included in a company’s financial statements, it can
be significant in determining company and brand value.
How Public Relations Contributes to Brand Perception
Public relations, like advertising, contributessignificantly to brand perceptions. In
integrated programs, advertising and public relations aim at selected targets with
different but complementary messages. Advertising and public relations
specialists share a joint responsibility to promote a brand, and at times their
efforts converge.
Advertising creates consumer awareness and that delivers sales. The goal of
public relations specialists is to communicate with various stakeholders and
manage the organization’s image and reputation, creating positive public attitudes,
and building strong relationships between the organization and its constituents.
Ultimately, the difference between the two is that public relations takes a longer,
broader view of the importance of image and reputation as a corporate
competitive asset and addresses more target audiences. Public relations and
advertising also differ in how they use the media, the level of control they have
over message delivery, and their perceived credibility.
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Here are some specific differences between public relations and advertising:
Media use: In contrast to buying advertising time and space, public relations
people seek to persuade media gatekeepers to carry stories about their
company. Gatekeepers include writers, producers, editors, talk-show
coordinators, and newscasters.
Although public relations has a distinguished tradition, it is often mistaken for
publicity, which refers to getting news media coverage. Publicity is focused
on the news media and their audiences, which is just one aspect of public
relations, and its carries no direct media costs. The message focuses on the
organization, with little or no attempt to sell a brand or product.
Control: In the case of news stories, the public relations strategist is at the
mercy of the media gatekeeper. There is no guarantee that all or even part of a
story will appear. Public relations writes the story, sends it to the media, and
cross their fingers that this story will appear. Read the A Matter of Practice
feature in this chapter in which a professor discusses what she sees as an
emerging opportunity for employment in the public relations field.
Credibility: The public tends to trust the media more than they do advertisers.
This consumer tendency to confer legitimacy on information simply because it
appears in the news is called the implied third-party endorsement factor.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAMS
The word relations in public relations refers to relationships with various
stakeholders. In fact, the main subspecialties in the field—public affairs, media
relations, employee relations, and financial relations—call attention to important
relationships with such groups as the general public, the media, employees, and
the financial community. Figure 15.1 outlines the various publics, or
stakeholders, for a multinational company. The term relationship marketing
introduces a point of view in marketing planning that evolved from public
relations.
Aspects of Public Relations that Focus on Relationships
The key publics addressed by relationship management programs in public
relations are media, employees, members, shareholders, others in the financial
community, government, and the general public. Here are the specialty areas that
focus on these relationship programs:
Media relations. The area that focuses on developing media contacts, that is,
knowing who in the media might be interested in the organization’s story, is
called media relations. A successful relationship between a public relations
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person and editors and producers is built on a public relations person’s
reputation for honesty, accuracy, and professionalism. If that reputation is
tarnished or lost, the public relations person can no longer function effectively
as a liaison between a company and the media.
Employee relations. Programs that communicate information to employees
are called employee relations. A related program is called internal
marketing, which deals with communication efforts aimed at informing
employees about marketing programs and encouraging their support.
Financial relations. All of the communication efforts aimed at the financial
community, such as press releases sent to business publications, meetings with
investors and analysts, and the annual report, are referred to as financial
relations.
Public affairs. Corporate communication programs with government and with
the public on issues related to government and regulation are called public
affairs. Public affairs includes lobbying, which occurs when acompany
provides information to legislators in order to get their support and vote on a
particular bill. It also includes communication efforts with consumer or
activist groups who seek to influence government policies. Issue
management is another term for this function. In addition to government
relations, public affairs programs also monitor public opinion about issues
central to the organization’s interest and develop programs to communicate
with the public about these issues.
Recruitment. Public relations professionals are sometimes involved in
employee recruitment, working with human resources and also membership
recruitment for organizations. This may involve preparing ads, websites, and
literature on the company or organization, as well as arranging events.
Fundraising.The practice of raising money by collecting donations is called
fundraising. It is used primarily by nonprofits and directed to potential
donors. Professional fundraisers know how to make the initial contacts and
use other marketing communication tools in a way that inspires people to
participate. Sometimes fundraising is called development or strategic
philanthropy.
Cause marketing. When companies associate themselves with a good cause
by providing assistance as well as financial support, the practice is called
cause marketing.
Aspects of Public Relations that Focus on particular Functions
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Other areas of public relations, such as corporate reputation management, crisis
management, marketing public relations, and public communication campaigns
are distinctive because of their focus rather than their target audience.
Corporate Reputation Management
The area that focuses on an organization’s image and reputation is called corporate
relations. The overriding goal of reputation management in a corporate relations
program is to strengthen the trust that stakeholders have in an organization.
Because corporate reputation is a perception, it is earned through deeds, not created
by advertising.
Crisis Management
There is no greater test for an organization than how it deals with a crisis. The key
to crisis management is to anticipate the possibility of a disaster and plan how to
deal with the bad news and all the affected publics.
Preparing for a potential crisis helps organizations weather the storm. By
analyzing the potential for emerging crises and identifying resources to cope with
them, an organization can be ready to respond quickly and meaningfully. A quick
response is essential.
An effective crisis plan can help both to avoid crises and ease the damage if one
occurs. A plan outlines who contacts the various stakeholders who might be
affected, who speaks to the news media, and who sets up and runs an on-site
disaster management center.
Public Communication Campaigns
Used as a way to change public opinion, public communication campaigns also
discourage socially harmful behaviors, such as driving in areas with air pollution
problems. Sometimes they are engaged in countermarketing as they try to negate
the impact of other advertising messages. Taken to the global level, public
relations intersects with public diplomacy.
Marketing Public Relations
One area in which advertising and public relations overlap is marketing public
relations. Tom Harris, author of The Marketer’s Guide to Public Relations,
defines marketing public relations as the process of planning and delivering
programs that encourage sales and contribute to customer satisfaction by
providing communication that addresses the needs and wants of consumers. He
also says marketing public relations is the fastest growing area of public relations.
Marketing public relations is different from a more general public relations
approach in its consumer, brand, and sales focus. However, the need to establish a
credibility platform is similar in both. Marketing public relations supports
marketing’s brand and sales focus by increasing the brand’s credibility among
consumers.
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Is public relations the career for you? A short exercise appears in the text to help
students answer that question.
WHAT KEY DECISIONS GUIDE PUBLIC RELATIONS PLANS?
Planning for a public relations campaign is similar to planning an advertising or
IMC campaign. The plan should complement the marketing and brand
communication strategies so the organization communicates with one clear voice
to its various publics. The plan also identifies the various key publics and the
public relations activities the PR people use to address the interests of its various
publics. In addition to identifying key targets, public relations plans specify the
objectives that give direction to the public relations program or campaign.
Research and SWOT Analysis
Research is used by an organization, as well as outside public relations agencies,
throughout the planning and implementation of a public relations plan. It’s also
used afterward to determine if the effort was successful and if the organization is
spending its money wisely on the public relations efforts.
The public relations effort may also begin with a more formal type of background
research, called a communication audit, to assess the internal and external PR
environment that affects the organization’s audiences, objectives, competitors, and
past results. An annual audit or a campaign specific audit can be used to ensure
that a program is on track and performing as intended. Often benchmarking is
used to identify baselines from previous audits or audits of other related
companies and industries, so there is a point of comparison. A gap analysis
measures the differences in perceptions and attitudes between groups.
Practitioners categorize publics so they can develop effective public relations
plans to address issues. They consider latent publics to be those who are
unaware of their connection to an organization regarding some particular problem.
Aware publics are those who recognize the connections between the problem and
themselves and others but who do not communicate about it. Active publics are
those who communicate and organize to do something about the issue or situation.
Since public opinion is so central to public relations programs, companies often
use ongoing research to monitor opinions and attitudes. One such example is the
companies that monitor voting behavior, such as Gallup, CNN and Google.
A public relations plan begins with background research leading to a situation
analysis or a SWOT analysis that evaluates a company’s strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats. This analysis reflects a general understanding of the
difficulty of changing people’s attitudes about such issues as corporations and
their role in protecting the environment. Understanding the nature of the problem
makes it easier to determine the appropriate communication objectives and the
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target stakeholder audiences, or publics, who will be addressed by the public
relations efforts.
In public relations planning, the situation analysis can include such topics as
changes in public opinion, industry and consumer trends, economic trends,
governmental regulations and oversight programs, and corporate strategies that
affect a company’s relationships with stakeholders.
Targeting
As in other marketing communication areas, it is important to understand the
target audience before designing the campaign. Research is conducted to identify
the appropriate publics to which to address the public relations message.
Principle:Before changing behavior, a communication program may need to
change beliefs, attitudes, and feelings.
Objectives and Strategies
A variety of objectives guide a public relations plan and the company can use a
number of strategies to carry out the plan. Public relations objectives are designed
by PR planners to make changes in the public’s knowledge, attitudes, and
behaviors related to a company, brand, or organization. Usually, these objectives
focus on creating credibility, delivering information, and building positive images,
trust, and corporate goodwill. The A Matter of Practice feature in this chapter
illustrates the thinking behind an image campaign for the University of Colorado
at Denver.
A company may also seek to change behavior, but that is a difficult task. Before
changing behavior, a communication effort may be needed to change people’s
beliefs. In many public relations efforts, these communication effects are easier
to accomplish and measure than behavior change. Typical public relations
objectives include:
Creating a corporate or organizational brand
Shaping or redefining a corporate reputation
Positioning or repositioning a company or brand
Moving a brand to a new market or a global market
Launching a new product or brand
Disseminating news about a brand, company, or organization
Providing product or brand information
Changing stakeholder attitudes, opinions, or behaviors about a brand or
company
Creating stronger brand relationships with key stakeholders, such as
employees, shareholders, and the financial community, government, members
(for associations), and the media
Creating high levels of customer (member) satisfaction
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Creating excitement in the marketplace
Creating buzz (word-of-mouth)
Involving people with the brand, company, or organization through events and
other participatory activities
Associating brands and companies with good causes
Change-Agent Strategies
Changing the attitudes that drive behavior is central to public relations programs.
Change agent programs can be internal strategies focused on employees
(sometimes called internal marketing) or external and focused on other publics,
such as customers or other stakeholders.
Involvement Strategies
Public relations uses participation to intensify stakeholder involvement with a
company or brand. Involvement can create interest and a feeling of excitement but,
more importantly, it can drive loyalty. Getting people to participate in an action plan
is one way to drive behavior change.
The Big Idea
Creative ideas are just as important in public relations as in advertising and for the
same reason—to get attention. Public relations stunts designed to get publicity are
also part of the promotional arsenal, such as Janet Jackson’s big exposure during the
2004 Super Bowl. Some critics say the overexposure was in poor taste, while others
say it was an example of a stunt that will be talked about for years.
Flash mob marketing is another version of a publicity stunt. Sometimes public
relations stunts generate negative publicity, such as the attempt by Pizza Hut, which
offered a lifetime of free pizza to anyone at one of the 2012 presidential debates
brave enough to ask either candidate which topping he preferred. When the media
caught wind of the dare, they were outraged by the mockery of the political system.
Was this an example of effective public relations? Is any publicity good publicity?
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