Chapter 17 – Public Relations, Publicity, and Corporate Advertising
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CHAPTER 17
PUBLIC RELATIONS, PUBLICITY, AND CORPORATE
ADVERTISING
Chapter Overview
Public relations (PR), publicity and corporate advertising are ways by which information about the
organization, its products and/or its services may be communicated. Like the program elements discussed
thus far, the marketer will attempt to use these tools to benefit the firm, and its offerings. At the same
time, these promotional mix elements are generally used in a different way in that they are not always
Learning Objectives
2. To know the difference between public relations and publicity and to demonstrate the advantages
and disadvantages of each.
4. To know the methods for measuring the effects of public relations, publicity and corporate
advertising.
5. To understand the different forms of corporate advertising.
Chapter and Lecture Outline
I. PUBLIC RELATIONS
A. The Traditional Definition of PR—The chapter begins by differentiating between the traditional
role of public relations and the new role. The traditional role (as defined on page 573) reflects a
management function that has as its primary responsibility the goal of communicating and the
gaining acceptance of the organization’s policies and programs within its various communities.
B. The New Role of PR—The new role assumes a much broader, and more marketing-oriented,
perspective. In the new orientation, the public relations department operates in close
communication with the marketing department (rather than as separate entities) to develop
programs and policies.
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II. THE PROCESS OF CONDUCTING PUBLIC RELATIONS
The actual process of conducting public relations will require a number of tasks. These tasks will
involve both traditional and new role activities.
A. Determining and Evaluating Public Attitudes—The first step in the public relations process is
to determine the public’s existing attitudes toward the firm and/or its products. Four reasons
are given to explain why this step is necessary :
• To provide input into the planning process
B. Establishing a Public Relations Plan—Too many firms do not establish a formalized public
relations plan. As a result, actions tend to be more reactive than proactive. A formal plan—
coordinated with marketing—needs to be developed.
C. Developing and Executing the Public Relations Program—A number of activities must be
conducted once the plan has been established.
• Determining relevant target audiences—Target audiences may be categorized as internal
or external.
Internal audiences include:
a. employees
External audiences may include:
a. the media
b. educators
• Implementing the public relations program—Once the target audience has been
established, and objectives established, a number of tools may be used for
implementation or delivery including:
• press releases
• press conferences
Professor’s Notes
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D. Advantages and Disadvantages of Public Relations—Pages 571-572 of the text list a number
of advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of public relations.
Advantages include:
• credibility
• low cost
The primary disadvantages result more from improper implementation of the programs than
with public relations in and of itself. These include:
• not completing the communication process
• redundancies with the marketing effort
E. Measuring the Effectiveness of Public Relations—Figure 17-4 lists a variety of criteria that
might be used as dependent variables in the measurement of the PR program. In addition, the
text lists a number of methods that might be employed in this process including
• personal observation and reaction
Professor’s Notes
III. PUBLICITY
The text provides a definition of publicity and notes that the distinction between publicity and public
relations is not always clear. The dissemination of publicity is a task that is the responsibility of the
public relations department, as is the development of programs to deal with publicity originating from
other sources. At the same time, public relations activities are under the control of the firm. The same
cannot always be said for publicity.
A. The Power of Publicity—the text provides information for discussion of how companies handle
negative publicity. Simply put, publicity is powerful enough to make or break a firm. Products
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B. The Control and Dissemination of Publicity—While the marketer may not be able to control all
publicity, it is possible to impact these communications in a number of ways. For example, press
C. Advantages and Disadvantages of Publicity—The text notes (p.561 that publicity offers the
advantages of (1) credibility; (2) news value; (3) high word–of-mouth communications; and
(4) perceived endorsement by the media. Disadvantages include possible problems with respect
to: (1) timeliness and (2) accuracy.
Professor’s Notes
IV. CORPORATE ADVERTISING
A firm’s advertising is not always designed to promote a specific product or service. Corporate
advertising is designed to promote the firm overall—either by enhancing its image, assuming a
position on a social issue or cause, or seeking direct involvement from the market. As noted in the
text, this form of advertising is often considered controversial and/or of dubious benefit to the
firm.
A. Objectives of Corporate Advertising—Two specific objectives for using corporate advertising
have been provided: (1) creating a positive image for the firm and (2) communication of the
organization’s views on social, business and environmental issues. In addition, three more
specific applications are listed including:
• boosting employee morale and improving relations
B. Types of Corporate Advertising—Various types of corporate advertising are described.
• Image advertising—Advertising designed to promote the organization’s overall image
may include:
– general image or positioning ads
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• Cause-related marketing—A company links with a charity or non-profit organization as
a contributing sponsor.
C. Advantages and Disadvantages of Corporate Advertising—As noted, corporate advertising is
not considered to be of value by all advertisers. Those citing advantages of this form of
Professor’s Notes
Teaching Suggestions
As in the previous chapter, this chapter can be supplemented and developed in more detail according to
the needs of the instructor. A number of good public relations texts are available. In addition to lecturing
on the three topics, it is possible to generate a great deal of class discussion. A multitude of public
relations and corporate advertising examples can be found, and the discussion of the impact (and
examples) of publicity can also stimulate a great deal of student interest.
Answers to Discussion Questions
1. As can be seen in the lead in to the chapter, BP appeared to be less successful than Toyota in the final
outcome related to their negative publicity. Give some reasons why this might have happened. What
could BP have done differently, if anything? (LO1)
To start, Toyota had a much stronger brand image in the US than did BP. Oil companies, regardless
of who they are, are not positively received here. Secondly, the oil spill received far more public
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2. Some marketers consider corporate advertising a waste of time and money. What are some of the
reasons they feel this way? Take a position pro or con corporate advertising and defend it. (LO3)
Because corporate image advertising does not specifically promote a product or service, critics
contend that it is a waste of time and money. They argue that the company must be having problems
that need to be addressed, or that it is a self-indulgence designed to satisfy the egos of top
management. They further contend that consumers are not interested in this form of advertising, and
3. Explain how social networks can both help and hurt companies in regard to publicity. (LO1)
Do to their viral nature, social networks can spread both positive and negative publicity even faster
than the traditional channels themselves can. Consider a situation in which something negative
Chapter 17 – Public Relations, Publicity, and Corporate Advertising
4. Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of public relations. Now do the same for MPR’s.
(LO3).
Pages 582-583 list the advantages and disadvantages of public relations. Advantages include:
a. Credibility—due to its perceived news intent (versus selling), pr may have higher
credibility than many marketing messages
b. Cost—pr costs less than marketing messages, due to the lack of media costs
The major disadvantages of public relations are the lack of control over the message and
guarantee that it will appear in the media at all. Thus, the intended communication never takes
place.
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5. Why do companies get involved in event sponsorships? Is this an effective strategy? Give examples
of event sponsorships that were successful and some that were not. (LO5
One of the fastest growing public relation activities is that of event sponsorship. While event
sponsorships may take on a variety of forms, the sponsoring of sports events is by far the most
commonly employed. Companies like to engage in these sponsorships because it gets their name in
Consider these other examples of event sponsorships:
• Sports—sponsoring tennis tournaments, college bowl games, having one’s name
placed on a stadium or arena, etc.
• Entertainment tours and attractions—Verizons’ sponsoring of music tours
6. The chapter discusses the lack of coordination that often exists between marketing and public
relations departments. Discuss some of the reasons this might occur. What can be done to reduce this
conflict to achieve greater coordination? (LO1)
One of the difficulties in implementing an IMC program is the fact that many of the communications
functions operate as silos rather than in an integrated manner. Perhaps the best example of this is the
marketing-public relations divide.
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7. Examine a number of examples of different types of sponsorships corporations are currently
engaging. Analyze the reason for the sponsorship, and evaluate whether it employs a wise strategy or
not. (LO3)
Sponsorships are clearly on the increase—particularly in sports and entertainment. Many companies
sponsor NASCAR. Others sponsor NCAA college football games (Tostida Fiesta Bowl, Capital One
Bowl). Buick sponsors golf tournaments and Verizon sponsors concerts. The list goes on.
8. The use of MPR’s has irked traditional public relations people. Discuss why MPR’s may be
controversial. Explain the reasons why MPR’s should or should not be used. (LO1)
Those educated in public relations programs—as opposed to business schools—have been taught pr
from a very different perspective. To them public relations is designed to create goodwill for the
organization through traditional pr activities. Profit motives are, at best, optional benefits.
Marketers take the position that since it is being paid for, and it benefits the firm, pr should be used to
better the interests of the organization, even if it means making a profit. In addition, they want to see
coordination among all efforts to bring synergy to the communications. They don’t understand the pr
argument or logic.
Chapter 17 – Public Relations, Publicity, and Corporate Advertising
• It is a cost effective way to reach the market—public relations activities are often less
expensive than traditional marketing programs
• It is highly targeted—MPR’s can be targeted to a specific audience, thus increasing the
effectiveness of the program
• Support of the IMC program—due to its credibility, the MPR program lends support to the
more profit-oriented IMC program strategies
Reasons for not using MPR’s include:
• Lack of control—as with other pr pieces, the marketer loses control over the material
9. The chapter discusses the increasing use of advocacy advertising and issue advertising. Explain what
these adverting forms are, and why there has been such an increase in their use by profit and nonprofit
organizations. (LO5)
Advocacy advertising involves the propagating of ideas and elucidating controversial social issues of
public importance in a manner that supports the interests of the sponsor. A quick perusal of any major
daily newspaper will reveal that this form of advertising is on the increase. Such ads can also be
found in magazines such as Time and Newsweek among others. The reasons for advocacy advertising
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10. There is a saying that “any publicity is good publicity”. Discuss what you think about this
statement.(LO2)
This often heard statement obviously seems to reflect a misunderstanding of the power of publicity.
One would certainly get a strong argument against this statement from Audi, Tylenol, Texaco,
Wendy’s and Wal-Mart, to name a few of the companies that have suffered the consequences of
communication is generally perceived as being objective, or at least as not having a vested interest,
the information is often treated differently than that of advertising and/or promotions. As a result this
information is passed on more readily, and in general is considered more believable.
A contributing factor is the way that the media handle publicity. Unfortunately for many firms,
negative publicity often receives more attention than does that of a positive nature. Audi for example,
experienced negative publicity on the TV show Sixty Minutes regarding its Audi 5000 and accelerator
Additional Discussion Questions (not in text)
11. Many accuse companies like GoDaddy.com of exploitation of the media. They contend that events
like Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction and the NFL’s refusal to show GoDaddy’s commercials
are designed strategies to gain publicity. Discuss whether you feel these are designed strategies and
whether they are likely to be effective. Cite other examples of such efforts. (LO2)
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The Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident as well as the NFL’s refusal to air a GoDaddy commercial
are seen by many to have been staged attempts to generate free publicity. Both of these events
generated a great deal of publicity, the former among the consuming public, the latter mostly among
those in the trade. While Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake both denied that the incident was
intentional, nevertheless there are many who believe that it was nothing more than a cheap publicity
stunt. While some believe that the action took place to generate publicity prior to her new album
release, sale of the album did not achieve expectations, and there are those who feel that the publicity
It is hard to say with certainty whether or not these incidences were planned or not. Certainly, in the
latter case, given that one ad did air, one might argue that the intent was to have the commercials
shown, and the publicity was generated by the NFL, not GoDaddy. A similar incident occurred with
the “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” campaign when they wanted to air a Super Bowl spot.
The NFL’s opposition to the ad led to enormous publicity, and probably benefited the campaign more
so that the commercials could ever have done.
12. The growth of video news releases, (VNR’s) has increased significantly. The Bush administration
and Governor Schwarzenegger of California have both employed this strategy. Describe what a VNR
is, and discuss some of the ethical issues surrounding their use. Should VNRs have to carry a message
noting that they are VNRs? (LO1)
The chapter discusses the use of VNR’s—a public relations tool in which so called “news segments”
are provided to TV stations free of charge. The news segments may promote a cause or issue, a
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13. Some marketers and PR people believe that public relations should replace advertising as the primary
means of introducing new products. Explain arguments in favor and opposed to the position. What do
you conclude?(LO1)
Ries & Ries in their book The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, contend that PR will replace
advertising in terms of importance in the marketing communications mix. Advertising—they say—
will be used primarily to support existing brands, with PR assuming the primary responsibility for
introducing new products. While some support this argument, many others do not. Following are
some of the reasons both supporting and opposing this position:
• Opposed—Many advertisers feel that it is hard to control the message disseminated through PR
channels. Often the complete message does not get told, the message may not appear at all, or
may appear at the wrong time. For example, Heinz received $10 million worth of free publicity
about the green ketchup, but two month too early, before they were ready for it. Perhaps more
The most effective situation is when advertising and PR work together in an integrated program. To
get the most from their individual contributions, they must work together to provide the consumer
with a unified message.
14. A number of companies have experienced public relations problems resulting from product recalls,
product failures, etc. Describe some of the steps companies can take to minimize the impact of this
negative publicity. (LO2)
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• The text discusses a number of examples of negative publicity and public relations. The
Toyota and BP are just some of the more current examples. One is the example of the
• Another example is Wendy’s who suffered negative publicity when a woman falsely claimed
that she found a severed finger in chili. Wendy’s experienced significant losses of sales in
their stores—particularly in the San Jose area. Wendy’s took a limited response nationally,
but a stronger one in the San Jose area giving away free products as an appreciation to its
loyal customers. The claimant was convicted of fraud, and Wendy’s has bounce back.
15. Describe some of the criteria used by companies to measure effectiveness of the public relations
program. Provide examples. (LO4)
The text discusses a number of criteria for measuring effectiveness of PR programs. Among
others, these include:
• Total number of impressions over time
• Total number of impressions on the target audience
• Total number of impressions on specific target audiences
Also discussed are the means for accomplishing the evaluation process:
• Personal observation and reaction— personal observation and evaluation by one’s
superiors should occur at all levels of the organization
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• Matching objectives and results—specific objectives designed to attain the overall
communications objective should be related to actions, activities, or media coverage. For
example, placing a feature story in a specific number of media is an objective,
16. Explain why public relations and publicity may have more impact on the consumer than other IMC
program elements (for example, advertising, direct marketing, etc.) Provide case examples. (LO1)
The primary reason for the stronger impact is that public relations and publicity are perceived as
highly credible to the consumer. Because it is often not perceived as being sponsored by the
17. Discuss the advantages that the Internet offers for those responsible for conducting public
relations activities. Describe how these activities are different than traditional methods. (LO1)
Even though public relations practitioners have been some of the slower adopters of this
innovation, the Internet offers this field a number of advantages. Traditional pr activities involve
the dissemination of press releases, articles, etc. regarding the organization. The process of
delivering these is cumbersome, and can mount up when paper and mailing costs are considered—
particularly when the list of contacts is large. In addition, this distribution takes time.
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18. Give examples of companies that are pursuing traditional public relations activities, and those that
are employing the new role.(LO1)
The traditional role of public relations has been to operate independently of the marketing
department, with the purpose of earning public understanding and acceptance. In this regard,
public relations activities typically involved establishing community relations through planned
events, tokens of goodwill, charitable contributions, etc. The marketing of the firm and its
products were the responsibility of the marketing department.
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IMC Exercise
Instruct students to find examples of various types of public relations activities engaged in by
organizations. These include both traditional and nontraditional methods of public relations. Also, have
AdForum Exercise: “Understanding Corporate Image Advertising”
(See Advertising and Promotion Playlist, Chapter 17)
As more and more companies engage in corporate image advertising, they use this form of advertising to
achieve a variety of objectives. Using the play list for Chapter 17, answer the following questions:
1. What type (from the text) of corporate image advertising is being employed?
2. Why would each of these companies use corporate image advertising (explain
individually)?