APR Exam Questions

You work as the communications manager for city public transit. In a recent meeting, the organization's recruiters alerted the management team about a dire shortage of bus drivers and little interest in job listings they had posted from the last six months. Their suggestion is to hand out a print postcard and ask you to create and distribute it right away. What is your response? Choose two: A. You create and distribute the postcard, along with other digital assets to promote the job openings. B. You begin researching the current local employment market, ways other organizations are addressing hiring issues and review exit survey data to determine why employees have left the organization. C. You suggest the organization needs to determine the impact the shortage will have on the public and create talking points. D. You contact the newspaper to pitch a story idea about the bus driver shortage and include how to apply information.

Answer: B. is a PR competency: research and the beginning of strategic communications planning C. is a PR competency: issues management: "1) early identification of issues with potential impact on an organization and 2) the strategic response designted to mitigate or capitalize on their consequences." EPR pg. 15 A are only tactics and fulfill only the communication technician role without the necessary planning. D. Is a tactic.

You are the public relations director for a local hospital system. You are in an executive leadership meeting, and learn that major leadership changes (resignations, promotions, transfers) are happening soon. Your CEO insists that no announcement is made, in case people view some of the changes negatively. He wants to let the changes happen quietly. Which public relations functions should you use to create a better plan for communication around these changes? Choose two. A) Counselor B) Issues Management C) Researcher D) Manager

Answer: A & B

You are a one-person Corporate Communications department for a medium-sized technology company. When considering organizational strategy and policy the CEO and other line staff check in with you, recognizing the specialized talents of PR in maintaining relationships with internal and external publics on whom the success of failure of organizational strategy depends. Which level of influence below best represents the working relationship between Corporate Communications and management? A. Compulsory-Advisory B. Chief Authority C. Advisory D. Concurring Authority

Answer: A./Compulsory-Advisory Under the compulsory-advisory model, management have to at least check in with PR before considering strategy. While line management can certainly turn down recommendations, this level of influence ensures that management has made use of the specialized talents of PR.

You are a public relations specialist in the Marketing and Communication department of a medical corporation consisting of three hospitals, a network of health care providers, rehab services and facilities, and home health companies. Based on community survey data, your communities have a high diabetes and high blood pressure rate among its citizens. You are tasked with developing relationships with elected officials to advocate for a bill that will fund a special grant program for community hospitals to address significant, serious health issues in their communities. This is an example of ______. a) Press Agentry b) Public Affairs c) Issues Management d) Two-Way Symmetrical Communication

Answer: B

You are the PR director at a school district where enrollment has dropped dramatically. State funding is tied to enrollment and your superintendent tells you to create a public relations plan to help increase student enrollment in the district. What is your first step(s)? A) Develop a newsletter that includes information on the benefits of the schools and send it to all families in the district. B) Develop a list of target audience groups and pull representatives from these groups together for a focus group discussion. C) Develop a list of strategies you will use to reach people in your district through communications. D) Review available data from families who have left the district and indicated why.

Answer: B & D KSA: the Four-Step Process Research, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation (RPIE) Page 23 of study guide

You are the communications manager for a regional airline. Like your larger counterparts, business suffered in 2020 because of the pandemic, and staff across all levels of the organization were laid off. With vaccination rates climbing, travel demand has skyrocketed, straining your company's capacity as rehiring has not kept pace with demand. The company is preparing for a busy holiday weekend and expects flights to be delayed. The CEO asks you to "handle the PR situation" while she calls the HR and operations directors together to develop a logistics plan for the weekend. What communications role are you being asked to play? Choose one. A) Communication technician B) Expert prescriber C) Communication facilitator D) Problem-solving process facilitator

Answer: B. Expert prescriber. Rationale: An expert prescriber is tasked with sole responsibility for defining public relations problems and delivering solutions. Public relations is seen as unrelated to the overall management function, and practitioners in this role perform outside of the mainstream of the organization. You were not invited to the management discussion table, and public relations was pulled out as an ancillary component of the anticipated problem. A communication technician would be assigned to carry out a specific task, such as drafting an email to ticket holders or writing a press release. A communication facilitator would communicate between the airline and its publics, such as crafting the airline's response to customer concerns on social media, and help the airline maintain key relationships. A problem-solving process facilitator would be in the room collaborating with the other directors to define the problems and related solutions/responses. Source: EPR 11th edition, pp. 31-34 KSA 4.3: Knowledge of the field

You are a public relations specialist for a technology startup in the extremely competitive Silicon Valley. Your boss requests you create a communication campaign that will help the company reach its target audience and market its products. You spend the next few days combing through demographic statements and comparing the best forms of media to reach those audience members in way that generates mutual understanding between the organization and the public and influence them to purchase your company's products. Your actions are an example of? A) Counseling B) Research C) Industry Relations D) Issues Management

Answer: B. Research Research is determining attitudes and behaviors of publics to plan public relations strategies that are used to 1) Generate mutual understanding and 2) Influence or persuade publics. Source: Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics, Chapter 1, What is Public Relations?

The President and CEO of your company is planning to retire in 8 months. He knows the best fit for his successor is the current CFO. However he is concerned that the Board of Directors will go a different direction because they are unfamiliar with the CFO and her accomplishments over the past two years she has been with the company. He asks you (the Director of Communications) to create a campaign that will improve the boards trust and confidence in her as a leader. What is the desired result of this campaign? A. Return on Investment B. Return on Expectations C. Earned Media Exposure D. Stakeholder Confidence.

Correct Answer B Return on Expectations ( Primer of PR research, Page 19). The public relations function is to create a positive expectation in the CFO's capability as a leader.

You are the PR Specialist for a company that sells outdoor camping equipment including cast iron Dutch ovens. Management is highly concerned the cast iron Dutch oven market is down, and wants more attention and awareness of Dutch ovens in the local area. You decide to create an event called "National Dutch Oven Day." You pitch stories to local media about your company's plans for a blowout celebration on "National Dutch Oven Day." The event will be held in the company parking lot, and will include a gourmet Dutch oven cooking contest, a Dutch oven throwing event, and a public presentation on the history and development of Dutch ovens. Your strategy of creating "National Dutch Oven Day" and the attendant events is an example of which Public Relations activity? A) Advertising B) Publicity C) Press Agentry D) Lobbying.

Correct Answer C. Press Agentry. Press agentry is creating newsworthy stories and events to attract media attention in order to gain public notice. Publicity is incorrect because it is information provided by an outside source that is used by media because the information has news value. Effective Public Relations page 10.

In your role at a small organization, less than 500 employees, you serve oversee the office of public relations and the marketing department. In your role, you provide management advice to the board on functions of public relations and the subset of marketing activity. Your new board chairperson has expressed to you a desire of the board to downsize the departments, combining into one unit, as part of an effort to remove what they believe is the redundancy of roles between public relations and marketing. In advance of the next board meeting, you should, A) Prepare a presentation for the board chairperson which defines the different management roles public relations and marketing have in the organization, providing definitions and examples of benefits each role has to the organization. B) Call a meeting of your division to get the input of your staff on how to approach the board chairperson to show the value of your divisions so they are not downsized C) Conduct an analysis of how you can downsize your department and save money while still keeping the functions of marketing and public relations separate.

Correct Answer: A "Public Relations is a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance and cooperation between an organization and its publics; it involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasized the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and sound and ethical communication as its principal tools (Bloom, 2009, p.6)." Management in all organizations must attend to public relations. (Bloom, 2009, p.7) "Marketing is a management function that identifies human needs and wants, offers products and services to satisfy those demands, and causes transactions that deliver products and services in exchange for something of value to the provider (Bloom, 2009, p.9)."

You are the public relations professional hired to represent and manage the interests of a regional theatre company. A production involving a large amount of strobe lighting causes a seizure reaction in two audience members in the opening week of the production. Warnings about the production containing special effects and strobe lighting were posted on the theatre company's website, the doors of the theatre and in the printed program. As the public relations representative, what are two approaches you would use to address the concerns surrounding the recent incidents? A) Hold an internal meeting of production staff and management to reassess the use of strobe lights and special effects in the production. B) Reach out to the affected audience members to express your concern and support. C) Send out a press release addressing the concerns, including restating of disclaimers about the special effects and reasoning behind the use of special effects and strobes to the production for artistic purposes. D) Team up with a local epilepsy association for a special adaptation of the production to make it more accessible to people with sensory or seizure disorders.

Correct Answer: A Rationale: APR Study Guide pp. 16-18. KSA: PR a Management Function

You represent a large national non-profit organization as their communications director. Your CEO and the Board of Directors are wanting to promote a new effort to encourage volunteering for youth from 16-25. Volunteerism has dropped with the fears over responding in communities showing a higher rate of COVID-19 positive residents. Your CEO believes there is a need to increase youth volunteers who are less in danger of contracting the virus than older volunteers. The Board has decided to start a statewide youth program to encourage students in high school and college to sign up as disaster volunteers. Leadership wants you to create a comprehensive media relations and marketing plan to entice involvement in this demographic group. What is your first response? A) Begin researching how other organizations and programs entice young volunteers. B) Hold a press conference to push a new PSA out to entice youth through social media. C) Create a new website geared to 16 to 25-year-olds. D) Give the request to your college age intern in hopes the board will forget about it.

Correct Answer: A Rationale: Before you begin planning your approach to sending out information to a certain demographic, you must first apply the first principle of the Public Relations Four-Step Process of research. Research will give you and your leadership a better understanding to the challenges and outreach you will need before you plan your communication strategy. Source: APR Study Guide pg. 17 KSAs RPIE

You are the Communications Director for your school district. This year, the school district is seeing an increased number of teachers leaving the profession or retiring early because many of them are exhausted due to COVID-19. Your boss tells you to create a PR plan with the Human Resources Department during the summertime to create awareness about your school district. Some of the advantages of your district is that it is one of the highest-paying education entities in the area with added incentives for remaining with the district long-term. The District currently has 500 positions available which must be filled prior to the start of the school year. Choose the first step in your PR plan? A) Meet with the Human Resources Department to see what has worked in the past, what has not worked, what the message should be and what advantages your district has compared to other school districts. B) Start creating an action plan. C) Set-up several job fairs at universities and colleges D) Reach out to the media for help to announce the District is hiring.

Correct Answer: A Objective: Creating awareness that the school district is one of the highest paying in the region and it is looking to fill 500 teacher positions before the first day of school, which is August 1, 2022. Rationale: Four Step Process in the APR Study Guide Page 23

You are the media relations specialist at a large health system. You find out by networking there is a rare, potentially life-saving procedure done by a small number of doctors at the system. But there is nothing about the procedure being offered there on the system's website. And few outside the hospital system and the doctors' circles know that this small group performs the procedure. Internally, there is debate over singling out specific doctors. What do you do? Choose 3. A) Reach out to division leadership to discuss the procedure, who does it and whether it warrants more attention. B) Ask the doctors to recommend a patient of theirs who has successfully undergone the procedure and is willing to talk about it publicly and in the media. C) Work with the doctors directly on creating flyers and writing an email for them to send to patients and referring physicians to let them know they perform this procedure. D) Connect with web, physician liaison and marketing colleagues to discuss what each division can do to bring awareness to the fact the procedure is done by the doctors and at the health system.

Correct Answer: A,B,DA Ask the hospital or division leadership whether this procedure is indeed something that would benefit the public and would create a 'halo effect' of the expertise required to perform the procedure. Also, see if promoting the procedure would align with division goals."Problem-solving process facilitators get invited to the management team because they have demonstrated their skill and value in helping other managers avoid and solve problems. As a result, public relations thinking is factored into management decision making." EPR pg. 34 B: Finding a patient to appear in the media drives home the life-saving nature of the procedure. People listen to other people and will give more credence to a first-person story about a procedure's success than a straight doctor interview."The goal of press agentry is to create the perception that the subject of the publicity is newsworthy and deserves public attention." D: Bringing other communications experts together will allow all potential outreach vehicles and their audiences to be evaluated for interest and effectiveness of PR about the procedure.Exhibit 1.4 Core Axioms of Public Relations: EPR pg. 21 "Strategic planning begins by identifying the current conditions motivating the process,the contributing forces and actors in the situation, the objectives to be achieved with each target public, and the overall program goal. Incorrect: C Connecting other departments (graphics, internal comms, marketing) allows them to use their expertise for the most effective campaign.

You are the director of communications for a large gas and electric utility. It's summertime and you're in the twelfth day of a heat-wave. Your cell phone rings and it's a local reporter you've worked with in the past. You answer and the reporter tells you that an elderly man in your coverage area has passed away from heat exposure following the cut-off of his electricity by your firm a few days prior. What public relations function describes your role in this situation? A) Crisis management B) Issues management C) Lobbying D) Press agentry

Correct Answer: A. EPR 11, p 16 says that "Crisis management is the public relations specialty that helps organizations strategically respond to negative situations..."

The national organization you represent is expanding overseas. It's an exciting move for the company and you're preparing to make the announcement at a press conference next week. You know that all current employees will keep their jobs, and will have an opportunity to apply for the soon-to-be open positions outside of the U.S. However, a rumor is spreading that some offices in the United States will be closed and employees will be laid off. Some employees are sharing this rumor on social media. It's catching the attention of national media, and journalists are asking you about it. A) You should move forward with the press conference. B) Call an immediate staff meeting squash the rumors. C) Scale back the announcement from a press conference to a few social media posts to combat the rumors online. D) Respond to the journalists asking about the rumor to let them know it's not true.

Correct Answer: B Rationale: "Critical to the success of any organization... are its employees. Before any relationships can be maintained with customers, consumers, neighbors, investors, and others outside the organization, management must attend to those who do the work - the employees." Effective Public Relations, Employee Communication, page 30

You were recently hired for a short-term communications assignment with your local community college. The Director of Communications for the college wants you to create a PR plan that will increase awareness and enrollment for the college's adult education program. Enrollment for the program has dropped in recent years and the college president wants to turn things around with a fresh PR plan that will lead to increased enrollment. What is your first step in creating this needed PR plan? A) Determine the budget and staff you will need to successfully execute the plan. B) Convene a focus group of the program's alumni to gain feedback on the program. C) Create a newsletter targeted to adults over 18 with no college education in the college's service area that highlights the program's majors and courses. D) Recommend the college hire a consultant to define the program's target audience and the appropriate tactics to increase enrollment.

Correct Answer: B Rationale: PR Strategies & Tactics: pp 14-15 "Public Relations as a Process;" APR Study Guide p. 16 KSA: PR a Management Function

You are a public relations professional for a large school district in a suburban city. At a middle school basketball game, a parent loudly announced she needed to pull one of the athletes from the game. She shouted someone in their family had the mumps, and therefore, the athlete had the mumps. In coordination with your district health director, state, and local public health authorities it is confirmed that this student did not have the mumps. (State law requires a confirmed case to be reported within four hours to the state health department). However, this did not prevent a rumor from spreading, leading many to be concerned that hundreds of people at the school had been exposed to mumps. Prior to sending a letter to the school community, you are asked to attend and assist at an emergency staff meeting at the school with the health director, district administrators, and school nurse. The meeting included information from the health director and a question and answer session for staff. Which stage, among the macrostages defined by Tim Coombs, are you engaged in at this staff meeting? A) Pre-crisis B) Crisis C) Post-crisis D) Pan-crisis

Correct Answer: B Rationale: The crisis stage "includes dealing with the event, containing the damage, and recovering from what happened." Source: Effective Public Relations, Chapter 1, Page 16.

A former employee recently made a serious accusation that your organization discriminated against several employees and wrongfully terminated them based on their religious beliefs and decisions to not get vaccinated against COVID-19. The story has been picked up by national news. You just found out, and have been informed that Human Resources is conducting an investigation. A reporter contacts you and requests that you or your spokesperson make a statement on behalf of the company. What should you do? A)Make a statement denying the claims of discrimination and wrongful termination B) Inform the reporter that the company is investigating the claims C) Don't respond to the reporter's request D) Provide a statement supporting the reasons of termination and provide the reporter with links to the CalOSHA and CDPH guidance regarding employee vaccination and testing requirements.

Correct Answer: B You don't want to ignore the press, but you also need to be wary of reporting on something you are not sure of. In this situation you need to take control of the story, while remaining cautious. You need to be careful not to report out on protected private employee information. At the time of the call from the reporter, you can report on what you know which is that an investigation is taking place.

Eliza works for Travel Texas, which is responsible for promoting Texas as a premier travel destination as part of the "Let's Texas" campaign. Her responsibilities mainly include posting photos and videos to the Travel Texas Facebook page and interacting with followers on the page. Who is Eliza's primary public in this public relations scenario? Select one option. A) Hotels and restaurants throughout Texas B) Travel Texas Facebook page followers and commenters C) Texas Office of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism division D) Potential tourists considering vacation destinations

Correct Answer: B While the campaign as a whole may have many stakeholder publics, the primary public in this scenario is Facebook page followers and those commenting. Source: Public Relations, ch. 1. KSA: Objective 1.6 (identification of publics)

A city manager hired your agency to increase activity in the downtown retail district for Friday evening street entertainment. Given the allocation of public funds for the efforts, the client notes a heavy emphasis on results. What effort would best appease the client? A) A campaign centered on public appearances by the star player of the local professional sports team. B) A research plan tracking business' median Friday sales before and after the campaign. C) A media relations strategy to drive live TV and radio coverage during the event. D) A focus on measuring the number of individual visitors into the district each Friday evening

Correct Answer: B Source: Cutlip and Center's Effective Public Relations

You are a new public relations manager for a major construction company that is gearing up for two major projects - building of a new school in your community and building a new church nearby. All of the below are important relationships for you and management to grow and foster. Which is your first priority? Choose one. A) Investor Relations D) Employee Relations C) Community Relations D) Public Affairs

Correct Answer: B. Employee relations. EPR, Chapter 1, Part 1: "Critical to the success of any organization, of course, are its employees. Before any relationship can be maintained with customers, consumers, neighbors, investors and others outside of the organization, management must attend to those who do the work - the employees."

You are a Communications Strategist at a corporation that's starting to see a decline in employee retention because you're not offering telework opportunities like many of your competitors. Because of this, several departments are becoming short staffed and it's starting to impact your member service stats. A local reporter caught wind of this and has reached out to you for a statement, but your VP has said they want to keep this issue internal. How do you handle the reporter's request for comment? A) Ignore the reporter and follow what your VP says B) Respond to the reporter and share you "are not able to comment at this time" C) Explain to your VP the value of transparency and send a statement to the reporter D) Respond to the reporter denying the decline in retention

Correct Answer: C Rationale: Based on ERP, Chapter 10. Tell the truth, even if it hurts. You should treat every story as if it's a good news story. Though it may be a difficult discussion to have with your VP, by issuing a statement you will have more control over the story and not seem as if you are hiding facts from the media.

You are an account manager at a mid-sized public relations firm that specializes in social media and branding. You are in charge of bidding on a new contract for a housekeeping services company that is seeking PR support. The company is in your hometown and you are aware that they have been in the news recently after an employee was caught on surveillance video stealing from a home. What is the first course of action you should take to prepare for the client presentation? Choose one. A) Set a series of goals and measurable objectives to help the business increase public awareness of their services B) Conduct a review of local and trade publications, as well as their ranking with the Better Business Bureau, to find out more about issues impacting their organization and industry C) Create a crisis communications plan to address customer concerns and build back trust in the company D) Draft a problem statement and outline a plan to increase the company's positive sentiment analysis by incremental amounts throughout the term of the contract

Correct Answer: B. Rationale: "Employing a programmatic research plan requires an additional first step, evaluation or pre-evaluation. Environmental scanning is used to detect and describe problems or potential problems. In the case of a PR firm about to bid on a contract, it provides the information necessary to begin to state the problem." The book defines environmental scanning as "a research technique for tracking new developments in any area or field by carrying out a systematic review of what appears in professional, trade or government publications." (Primer of Public Relations, pages 27-28).

You are a PR practitioner for a large suburban public school district that is planning to call for a bond election to be held in May 2022. Your superintendent has tasked you with making the advantages of the referendum known to the community-at-large so they will vote in favor of the bond. What should be your first course of action? A) Meet with local newspaper editors in order to request media coverage of aging facilities throughout the district. B) Conduct a survey of local taxpayers to discover what their key needs are from the school district for the next five years. C) Develop a social media hashtag to begin engaging potential voters. D) Polish the bond section of your website in order to show the work that has already been completed with voter-approved bond funds.

Correct Answer: B. Rationale: A survey provides a PR practitioner with fairly fast, accurate and generalizable data on perceptions, issues or concerns. Source: Primer of Public Relations, Ch. 11, p. 245

You are a Public Information Officer for your local city. A devastating hurricane — a category 5 — is anticipated to hit your state and pass through your city. Your mayor asks you to start engaging with the local media to distribute critical information to citizens in your town. You immediately pull out your preexisting plans, checked and drilled quarterly, and start implementing Crisis Communication actions anticipated for such an event. Which one of the following is the type of crisis facing your organization? A) Sustained B) Immediate C) Emerging or "shouldering" D) Contingent

Correct Answer: B. Immediate crises are sudden incidents, such as a natural disaster, that requires an immediate response and allows little time for research or planning. Hence, it is critical to have preexisting Crisis plans in place that outline general responses. These plans allow for rapid reaction. Source: APR Study Guide, Pg. 108, Managing Issues and Crisis Communications. KSA: Managing Issues and Crisis Communication, 3.1.

You are the public relations specialist for an elementary school district. You want to conduct research to find out if the community is in support of a new STEM Center. You decide to conduct an online survey. This is a form of what? A) Qualitative Research B) Quantitative Research C) Management By Objective Research D) Knowledge-based Research

Correct Answer: B. Rational: According to the textbook, Primer of Public Relations, Chapter 1, page 21: Quantitative Research usually takes to form of survey or poll methodology. Qualitative research stem from discussions with people who deal with particular audiences on a daily basis, come from structured interviews with key audiences members, or derive from focus group discussions of key and/or "normal members. Management by Objective and Knowledge-based research are not research methods.

You are the Public Affairs Officer for an Infantry Brigade Combat Team and you are about to conduct Field Artillery Live Fire Exercises over the next 30 days. Understanding that the last live fire exercise caused complaints within the community due to loud noise at different hours of the night and day, you issue a press release to warn the surrounding community. What Public Relations function did you just perform? A) Crisis Management B) Issues Management C) Development D) Lobbying

Correct Answer: B. Issues Management. Based on the EPR, Issues Management anticipates and identifies trends that will harm the local community. It is not Crisis Management because through Issues Management you have taken the steps to avoid another potential crisis, and you are not currently at the stage of responding to a negative situation. You are attempting to avoid the negative situation by being proactive and communicating with your key publics.

I just presented this in last week's cohort meeting and received some feedback on how to make it a stronger question. I have since revised the question and would appreciate your thoughts on how I did! You are the founder and CEO of Samantha Jones Public Relations, a PR firm based out of Manhattan in New York City. You are hired by a restaurant group to do the PR for its newest property. Opening weekend is just around the corner, and you are strategizing ways to get the restaurant's name in every newspaper and across all the airwaves. What would be the best way to attract media attention and gain public notice (choose one)? A) Invite staff members to bring a few people to a "Friends and Family" soft opening. B) Send a "Free Appetizer" coupon to the restaurant's investors . C) Make a few calls to your favorite media contacts and tout the restaurant's already one-month-long waiting list for reservations. D) Submit a one-page ad to the local newspaper, featuring happy hour specials.

Correct Answer: C Make a few calls to your favorite media contacts and tout the restaurant's already one-month-long waiting list for reservations. Rationale: Option A is employee relations, and option b is investor relations. Option D is advertising, and while it could attract media attention and gain public notice, it would not be the preferred strategy for doing so. Press agentry is creating newsworthy stories and events to attract media attention in order to gain public notice. Telling the media about the long waiting list is an example of creating a newsworthy story, thus encouraging media coverage and therefore public notice. KSA: Understanding Theories, Models & Concepts of PR - Knowledge of the Field Sources: Essential Public Relations Chapter 1 - Introduction to Contemporary Public Relations, p. 10; APR Study Guide, p. 19

You are the Communications Director of a public school district of about 2,000 students in a small, close-knit town. Your schools and community are rocked when they learn that a tenth grader - the son of a beloved and well-known coach - has died by suicide. Word has quickly spread; students are devastated and parents, staff members and even some members of the media are asking questions and trying to help the family . Based on your Crisis Management Plan, what action do you take first? Please select one choice: A) Set up a "news center" for media and provide information as quickly as it becomes available. B) Channel all inquiries to a family spokesperson, so as to keep messaging consistent. C) Convene the Crisis Team (referring to your crisis plan) and include experts to help analyze the way you communicate / explain the crisis. D) Be wary of sharing the full story; this is not your story to tell.

Correct Answer: C Rationale: Checklist for Crisis Communication from Page. 283 in Ch. 12 of Effective Public Relations (EPR). Work together as a team to establish a cohesive plan for this tragic event in your school district. Use your Crisis Plan to drive decisions and have one point of contact for all information. DO NOT refer media or any questions to the family.

You are a clinical associate professor who recently joined a communications department with a two-year old public relations major and minor. The chair of the department wants you to create a PR plan that will increase awareness and enrollment for both. You decide to work with the students in your capstone PR Campaigns course to research, plan, execute, and evaluate this public relations campaign. What is your first step in creating this needed PR plan? A) Convene a focus group of the program's alumni to gain feedback on the program. B) Identify your target publics. C) Conduct a reputation analysis. D) Create a department newsletter.

Correct Answer: C Rationale: The Four Step Process, APR Study Guide pg. 23 KSA: Research

The CEO of a community hospital has asked you, a Public Relations Manager, to work with various members of the team to determine the best communication vehicles for employee communications. She would like to use the best method to reach the most staff as efficiently as possible. What should you do first? A. Take Action, come up with a plan to communicate with employees B. Gather a sample of a few employees and see which communications vehicle they like best C. Define the problem, determining staff opinion, attitudes, and behavior D. Planning the next steps and developing a statement to share with employees

Correct Answer: C Source: Cutlip & Center's Effective Public Relations , Chapter 11, Management Process

You are the public relations director for a private security manufacturer. The president decides it's time to rewrite the mission and vision of the company so you can come up with a communications plan to elevate the company's brand within the security market. Once his vision is clear, he will leave it with you to complete the entire plan. What role are you taking on with this project? Pick one. A) Communication Facilitator B) Problem-Solving Process Facilitator C) Expert Prescriber D) Communication Technician

Correct Answer: C Expert Prescriber. When practitioners take on the expert role, others see them as the authority on public relations problems and solutions. Top management leaves PR in the hands of the expert and assumes a relatively passive role. Practitioners in this role define the problem, develop the program, and take full responsibility for its implementation. Role descriptions are found in EPR, pages 31-34.

You are responsible for an internal employee newsletter. A freelance photographer provides several photos you intend to use in the next issue. Your supervisor quickly reviews and approves the newsletter before leaving for an extended vacation. You are nearing your deadline and in final preparation of the files, you notice fine print copyright information by the photographer in the corner of the images. Which one of the following is the best course of action? A) This is work for hire so you can follow the directive of your supervisor and proceed with publication of the newsletter. B) Contact the freelance photographer directly to get verbal approval for publication. C) Coordinate with your legal counsel to review the contract terms before taking further action. D) Include the copyright information from the photographer in the photo caption and proceed with publication of the newsletter.

Correct Answer: C) Coordinate with your legal counsel to review the contract terms before proceeding with publication. (EPR 10th, pgs 157-158 and PR: S&T 10th, pgs 302-303)

You are a director of communication at a IT company that develop mobile apps for healthy life style. Your company has just launched a new application that is very innovative and fun to use. Your team at the communication department launched an information campaign through social media, news outlets, and app stores. As a director, which of the following outcomes are you going to closely follow? Choose two. A) Number of stories your team created on social media B) Number of stories your team pitched to media C) Number of people who downloaded the application D) Number of people who actually use the application

Correct Answer: C, D Public relations technicians are primarily concerned with writing, producing, and disseminating communications. However, the role of public relations managers calls for research skills, an aptitude for strategic thinking, and a tendency to think in terms of the outcomes or impact of public relations activities. Source: EPR, Chapter 2, p. 34, Technicians versus Managers

You are the Media Specialist in a small, public school district. During a morning leadership meeting with the Superintendent, you are informed that a teacher has passed away and asks you to prepare a letter to be sent to the campus parents and staff. A few hours later, a local reporter calls and asks you to confirm a post made by the Board president on the district's Facebook page stating the teacher died of COVID-19. For clarity-this information has not been shared by the teacher's family publicly. The president's wife was the teacher's nurse and was privy to her medical diagnosis. What is the Board member's post a violation of? Select one. A) FERPA B) DPPA C) HIPPA

Correct Answer: C. HIPPA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The Board member is, by proxy, a representative of the district. Not only did he obtain the information second-hand, but he shared it publicly without the consent of the immediate family. A. is incorrect, as FERPA protects student privacy. B. is incorrect, as DPPA is the Driver's Privacy Protection Act Objective 2: Applying Ethics & Law

As the owner of a physical therapy clinic, you are worried about the health of your employees as they interact daily with patients in the midst of a pandemic. While you do not want to force your employees to be vaccinated, you do want to launch a campaign to encourage your employees to get vaccinated. What is your first course of action to incentivize employees to get vaccinated? A. Offer employees a vaccination pay stipend if they are able to provide proof of vaccination. B. Distribute posters throughout the clinic with positive messaging about the vaccine. C. Send an anonymous survey to all employees to gauge current vaccination rates and possible incentive options. D. Hire a subject matter expert on the vaccine to come speak to your employees.

Correct Answer: C. KSA: Researching, planning, implementing and evaluating programs Rationale: The first stage of the four phases of strategic planning involves formative research in 3 stages: (1) analyzing the situation, (2) analyzing the organization, and (3) analyzing the publics. Strategic Planning for Public Relations. Ronald Smith. Chapter 1. Page 18-19.

You are tasked with creating a brief description of your role as a public relations professional as part of a department evaluation. Choose the statement below that describes the competencies of a public relations professional. A) I write stories and create printed materials to promote our company to the public. B) I collaborate with other departments to advertise products and services. C) I provide insight and advice that fosters open lines of communication and helps maintain positive relationships. D) I create newsletters and videos to share with stakeholders so they know what we are doing.

Correct Answer: C. This statement demonstrates providing trusted counsel and using communication to build and develop relationships. Five competencies are: trusted counsel, internal communications, media relations, community relations, and external communications.

You are the Public Affairs Officer for a community college district and the communications director wants to use a hit song as part of a video ad campaign to push enrollment. Which statement is true about this video ad campaign? A) Yes, you can pursue using the hit song on the video because it falls under the digital millennium copyright law. B) Maybe, copyright law will protect the use of a hit song for marketing and enrollment purposes. C) No, you cannot use the hit song because it does not fall under the fair use law, which is only intended for use in criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching and research. D) Use the hit song at your discretion and hope you do not get caught.

Correct Answer: C. You cannot use the hit song under fair use. Fair use allows uses of parts of copyrighted materials without violating copyright laws and without paying a fee. It's intended for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching for research. Fair use does not apply to commercial use. A video ad to push enrollment does not fall into this category.

You are a Public Relations Director for a performing arts non-profit organization. As part of the organization's new DEI journey, the head of artistic planning has announced that the organization will branch out and offer free outdoor performances in surrounding low-income communities. Historically, the public perception of your organization is that it is only accessible to wealthy audiences. As the Public Relations Director, you are tasked with developing a communications campaign around this new outreach and start to conduct research on your publics. Which of these is a "qualitative" approach? A) Pull an internal report to show income levels of active audience members B) Interview board members on implications of new outreach C) Conduct a small focus group of arts lovers from surrounding low-income communities D) Administer anonymous surveys through official city/town email system

Correct Answer: C. Rationale: Primer of Public Relations Research, Third Edition, pg. 23. "Qualitative research on the target audience(s) may be anecdotal, stem from discussion with people who deal with particular audiences on a daily basis, come from structured interviews with key audience members, or derive from focus group discussion of key and/or "normal" members."

You are a new public relations manager at a university. Your division VP tells you that employees are unhappy about a new policy regarding COVID vaccinations, and many have not complied with the requirements by the deadline. The VP wants you to devise a communications plan to encourage more employees to comply with the new policy. What is the first thing you will do? Choose one. A) Draft an email to be distributed to all employees stating why the policy promotes overall health and safety. B) Create a survey and disseminate it to the employees to assess why so many employees oppose the policy. C) Write a problem statement after you initiate environmental scanning. D) Develop your goals and SMART objectives to address the problem.

Correct Answer: C. Define the problem after you initiate environmental scanning. Source: Primer of Public Relations Research, 3rd edition (Ch. 2, pp. 25-28)"...follow a four-step type of public relations model: (1) define the problem, (2) state the program's objectives, (3) create a campaign or program that meets or surpasses the objectives, and (4) evaluate and provide feedback on the campaign." (p. 25)"...employing a programmatic research plan requires an additional first step, evaluation or pre-evaluation. In terms of program planning research, this first step is called environmental monitoring or environmental scanning." (p. 26)"...environmental scanning is used primarily to detect and describe problems or potential problems." (p. 26)

You are the public relations director for state government. It was recently discovered that a consumer product your agency has been using for decades has been found in the groundwater at neighboring properties contaminating drinking water. Your executive leadership tasks you advising and implementing the appropriate plan within the companies broader communications plan to respond to this scenario. Which plan would you adapt this scenario? A) Government Relations B) Issues Management C) Crisis Communications D) Reactive Public Relations

Correct Answer: C. Study Guide P. 16-19 Based on the definitions reactive public relations calls for implementing an organization's crisis plan. Crisis communications is protecting and defending an organization facing a public challenge to its reputation.

Your are the school PR Director for a small, urban school district. The district has 15 schools, with five being 50 years or older. The district is in desperate need of a complete renovation or new construction of buildings and in order to do so, must pass a bond. The superintendent has requested your input on how best to communicate the needs of the district to the public in order for the bond to pass. What is the first step in order to begin this process? Select one. A) Implement B) Research C) Evaluate D) Plan

Correct answer: B. - Research. Once you understand the issue at hand, you must do your due diligence and research in order for the process to be complete.

You are the Sr. VP of Marketing and Public Relations for a nonprofit healthcare organization that is struggling to retain staff in a highly competitive market. During a recent high-level organization strategic planning meeting, you and your colleagues have identified a need to improve staff retention. Your colleagues jumped into the weeds, sharing many ideas of topics to communicate to staff, which they believe will improve retention. They suggest that we implement the suggestions immediately. Which would be the most appropriate next step for you in your role (select one)? A) They had some good suggestions. Tell them you will block off your next two weeks to write a series of staff emails, as they have suggested. B) Ignore them. You have other priorities to focus on. C) Advise them that a formal public relations planning process would be beneficial to research, identify, implement and measure the appropriate objectives, strategies and tactics. D) Send out a survey to all staff about their satisfaction and morale.

Correct Answer: C. While the research suggested in answer D is *just one* way to start the important "research" of the RPIE process, you first need to act as a counselor to your Executive Leadership on effective public relations planning, advising top management on the importance of stepping back and creating a thoroughly researched, planned and executed process that can be evaluated for success. KPI Addressed: 5.2 - Organizational Structure and Resources

You are the strategic communications specialist for a Fortune 500 company with the goal of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. Your CEO has tasked you to develop a plan to highlight one employee's heritage each week. You quickly align the monthly heritage observances with employees who are willing to share their backgrounds through newsletters, media engagements, and social media spotlights. As you start publishing content on the employees and sharing their personal backgrounds in accordance with the planned heritage month, you notice another Fortune 500 company is highlighting two employees each week, which is gaining more visibility than your campaign and reducing new prospective customers. Which category of publics could the other Fortune 500 company fall under? A) Customer B) Producer C) Enabler D) Limiter

Correct Answer: D. Limiter According to Ronald D. Smith's Strategic Planning for Public Relations, 5th Edition, Limiters are those publics that in some way reduce or undermine the success of an organization (such as competitors, opponents, and hostile forces).

You are the director of public relations for an arts-focused nonprofit organization based in a mid-size city. As part of a campaign that will encourage donations during the organization's largest annual fundraising event, you design an online challenge that begins to go viral and receive media attention. Of which of the following is this an example? A) Marketing B) Marketing communications C) Community relations D) Branding E) Promotion

Correct Answer: E. Promotion is an activity designed to receive attention or publicity and thereby create or enhance interest in a person, product, organization or cause. While promotion may be considered a channel in which marketing communications are applied, the latter--as well as marketing--are defined by an exchange of products or services for something of value. In this case, the activity does not deliver a product or service as a result of participation in the online challenge. Because the challenge does not focus on building or maintaining relationships with citizens and groups solely in the organization's geographic operating area, it is not an example of community relations. And because it does not focus on disseminating the organization's name, it is not an example of branding. Source: APR study guide, sixth edition, pages 18 and 19

You are the chief public relations officer for a struggling start-up apparel company with a restless board. The product team pulls a hail Mary, working around the clock to create a line of clothing made from recycled fibers that will be guaranteed for life. The CEO gathers the managers, including you and the chief marketing officer, to discuss how each team will support the launch. What tactics would you propose the PR team take on as part of your strategic communications plan? Choose three (3). A) Pitch green media about the reduced carbon footprint of the manufacturing process and the clothes' durability B) Develop a paid social campaign with Instagram and TikTok influencers C) Draft talking points for the CEO to explain the line's importance to the board D) Highlight employees who developed the new fiber recycling process in the company's e-newsletter E) Create a virtual look book with links to purchase items of clothing

Correct Answers: A, C, D Public relations is the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends (EPR p. 2). In contrast, marketing is the management function that identifies human needs and wants, offers products and services to satisfy those demands, and causes transactions that deliver products and services to users in exchange for something of value to the provider (EPR p. 5). A is an example of media relations, designed to boost awareness of the line through uncontrolled communications channels. C is an example of executive/external communications, designed to secure support from the board. D is an example of internal communications, designed to thank and motivate employees—the public whose continued support will be critical to whether the company takes off or folds. B and E are marketing tasks designed to motivate customers to engage in a transaction with the company. KSA 4.3 Knowledge of the field.

You are the Director of Public Relations for a mid-size non-profit organization which has been financially strapped since COVID-19 hit. Due to budgetary cuts, the Vice President of Marketing and the marketing agency hired to researched and create your non-profit's bi-annual marketing campaigns, were let go. The VP of Operations wants you to develop a digital marketing campaign on a shoe string and has asked you to develop a marketing plan for the following year. What is your next step? Please pick two: A) Set-up a planning meeting with your VP of Operations to identify the goal and audiences of the marketing campaign, and explain what you can assist with as part of a public relations strategy. B) Obtain the previous marketing campaign documents (e.g., research data, PowerPoints presentations, and strategic documents/plans) to devise a marketing strategy which will help save the non-profit money, and assist you in helping your organization continue to build their brand awareness. C) Share with you VP of Operations that you are more than willing to assist as part of an integrated communications plan and explain the difference between the role and purpose of public relations and how it differs from marketing. Then graciously explain that it would be best for you to coordinate your PR efforts as part of an integrated plan. D) Contact a marketing colleague to obtain information regarding the process of creating a successful marketing campaign and the most cost-effective way to do so.

Correct Answers: A & C Effective Public Relations pg. 57: Some hold the mistaken notion that advertising is the sole province of marketing. Advertising designed to establish, change, or maintain relationships with key publics other than customers (usually by influencing public opinion) should, by its objectives and strategic nature be implemented as part of public relations strategy.

You are the communications manager for a college. The Criminal Justice department created a banner for the community's breast cancer awareness parade next month using the college's logo. The dean sends it to you for your approval, and you notice that the design contains a noticeably altered version of the American Flag. Which two functions of Public Relations do you use to communicate your concerns with the dean? Chose two responses. A) Issues Management B) Community Relations C) Trusted Counsel D) Crisis Communication

Correct Answers: A & C Rationale: The public has strong emotions regarding the American Flag. Altering it, regardless of harmless intent, could cause severe community backlash. As the communications manager, it is your job to predict possible negative responses to your college's actions. To do that, you have to be the trusted counsel (advise and anticipate) to proactively (issues management) identify and mitigate any problems that could negatively impact the company and tarnish its reputation. Source: APR Study guide pages 17 and 18.

You work as a middle school principal. There has been an outbreak of chickenpox in a couple of the feeder elementary schools in the community. There hasn't been an outbreak in your middle school yet, but you know that several students have younger siblings in the impacted schools. You immediately contact your district superintendent and get in touch with the elementary school principals. How should you address this emerging issue (choose two answers)? A) Identify the issue and outline the potential impact on your school immediately execute your crisis communications plan B) Develop a strategic response with your district to mitigate and maximize the outcome of this issue C) Notify parents about this potential issue and encourage them to keep their kids at home if they are showing symptoms

Correct Answers: A and C Rationale: Effective Public Relations, CH 1, pg. 15 The essence of issues management are (1) early identification of issues with the potential impact of an organization and (2) a strategic response designed to mitigate or capitalize on their consequences. The two answers embody those two points.

You are a communications practitioner at a healthcare, non-hospital organization. You have been touting the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine since it was first available to your patients and community partners. You have not, however, mandated vaccination for your employees well into a devastating surge. Now, with operations threatened to severely decline due to rising caseloads in your community and among the employee population, your organization is proceeding with a mandatory vaccination policy for all employees. Which tactics will you employ to ensure your goodwill remains intact? A) Employee Communication B) Public Affairs C) Issues Management D) Crisis Management

Correct Answers: A&C Employees are your key stakeholders in this scenario, so employee communication will be a key tactic. Because of your organization's outspokenness regarding the use of the vaccine there is a gap here between corporate action and stakeholder expectations on a few different fronts: employees, patients and community partners. You'd use issues management to ensure the announcement of this policy change is well-understood in the context of your organizational values and ability to safely continue to serve the public. KSA: RPIE(audience identification), Leading the PR Function (problem-solving, organizational skills), Managing Relationships (reputation management, internal stakeholders) Source: Cutlip & Center's Effective Public Relations, 11th edition, pp.6-16

You are the Public Relations Director for a small airport in eastern Texas. As with all other airports, yours had to cut a significant number of flights during the pandemic, but business has been picking up in the past few months with an expectation to be back to 100% by the end of the summer of 2021. You must come up with a marketing plan that ensures travelers are aware of the resumption of service and reassures their safety during the pandemic, with the goal of having airlines carrying travelers at pre-pandemic levels before the end of the year. What tactics would be part of your plan to support the efforts to reach your goal? Choose three. A) Prepare a television/radio campaign announcing your airport's big "come back" B) Engage your airline tenants to begin brainstorming sessions to get feedback on the proper message that tailors to a combined objective. C) Setup daily social media posts detailing the efforts the airport goes through to disinfect and keep travelers at safe distances from each other. D) Disseminate email blasts showcasing the airlines available for travel in your airport. E) Create relationships with local businesses that benefit from an influx of visitors to the area.

Correct Answers: A, C and D. Tactics are specific elements of a strategy. B and E are strategies. Source: APR Study guide p. 25

You are visiting with the CEO of a local financial company who wants to know how hiring someone to help with public relations would benefit her organization. What THREE benefits might you list? A) Public relations can build trust and support among investors B) Public relations can develop paid advertisements for trade publications C) Public relations can engage the organization's employees D) Public relations can develop relationships with reporters at trade publications

Correct Answers: A,C,D KSA 4.3 Knowledge of the Field Rationale: APR Study Guide Page 16: Included in the five competencies of PR are: external communication to customers/stakeholders/investors (answer A), engage the organization's employees (answer C) and media relations (answer D)

You are the Director of Communications for a private K-12 school. The school was placed on immediate lock down when your School Resource Officer (SRO) detected a possible breach in visitor procedures, which allowed a person of community concern into the building. Local media was alerted to the lock down when the SRO made his partnering police station aware of the situation. A quick reference to your crisis management plan leads you to take which of the two following steps? A) Quickly field calls from local reporters and assure them that the situation is likely not as serious as it sounded when relayed to the local authorities. B) Call together the crisis management steering committee to help analyze the situation. C) Make sure all messages originate from the lead spokesperson and are consistent among all publics, including parents, employees and media. D) Weave positive facts about the school - such as its recent increase in enrollment - when speaking to the media to help balance the crisis.

Correct Answers: B & C Rationale: Checklist for Crisis Communication from Page. 307in Ch. 12 of Effective Public Relations (EPR). Do no play favorites among reporters and do not try to capitalize on media attention by trying to promote the organization. Do assemble your crisis team and do make sure all messaging is consistent.

State funding for your public university has dropped severely in recent years leading to major layoffs and program closures. Despite regular announcements of "good news" on research, innovation, successful graduates and other positive items, most media coverage focuses on the negative impacts, declining enrollment and loss of academic programs. University leadership wants to launch a public awareness campaign to elevate the reputation of the university to counter the negative coverage. Which of the following research activities would support campaign planning? Choose two. A) Interview students who dropped out to determine why they aren't continuing. B) Conduct a statewide telephone poll to measure perspectives about the university and to test messaging. C) Present sample design ideas to the leadership cabinet for feedback. D) Conduct one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders to better understand their relationship with the university and the emotional triggers that motivate them.

Correct Answers: B & D A- At first this may seem like a reasonable research subject, but it is looking to solve the wrong problem. For a public awareness/reputation building campaign the key publics are largely external to the organization. If this was a retention/enrollment/marketing campaign then the student interview would be the first choice. B- Broad public polling is key primary research. C- Feedback on tactics will come at some point, but this is not initial research. D- Emotional connection is huge to reputation and public awareness initiatives, but takes deep and careful interviewing with select stakeholders to tease out those triggers that evoke the responses that the campaign is intending to generate.

Due to COVID-19, the organization you work for terminated more than 100 jobs to enable the company to continue its operations. There have been grumblings amongst employees about the layoffs and concerns about their own continued employment with the company moving forward. This has caused a decrease in morale and overall employee satisfaction. Word of this has reached your CEO, who tasks you with creating an internal communications plan to increase morale and employee satisfaction throughout the company. Which of the following are productive ways to begin creating your plan? Choose two. A) Plan an employee appreciation luncheon to show employees the importance of their contributions to the company's overall mission B) Create a survey to gather an understanding of how employees feel about the current company climate C) Conduct a focus group to gather detailed data on how employees are handling changes within the company D) Create a speech for the CEO to give to employees to encourage company cohesion, teamwork and continued perseverance throughout the pandemic

Correct Answers: B and C Both B and C are important methods of research to determine what the problems really are within the company, which will allow you the opportunity to develop an effective communications plan based on their concerns. KSA: Research Source: Public Relations Strategies and Tactics, Chapter 1, pg. 14.

You are the Communication Director for a mid-sized K-12 school district. The Superintendent is constantly questioned about Critical Race Theory being taught in the district's schools. You and the Superintendent agree there needs to be clear, consistent messaging to address the question. Which audiences should the crafted message be geared toward? Pick four. A) Investment/Financial B) Community C) Media D) Government E) Academic F) Employee G) Industry/Business H) Customer

Correct Answers: B, C, E, F Source: AP Study Guide, pg. 52

You work on the communications team of a large CPG brand and have been asked to create an earned media campaign to promote a new line of household cleaning products. To begin, you have decided to conduct research to determine which product attributes are most likely to secure earned media, attract consumer interest and drive sales. Which of the tactics below would be primary research? A) Review the press coverage of a competitor directly after a launch of a new product B) Schedule informal phone calls with journalists and influencers to ask about the drivers of their interest in a new product C) Conduct a focus group, allowing participants to try the product and respond D) Ask the ad agency that designed the new product advertising campaign for a recommendation E) Deploy an online survey to the target purchaser of the new product

Correct Answers: B, C, and E Objective: Researching, Planning, Implementing and Evaluating Programs

Your nonprofit organization is applying to open a group home for people with disabilities in a working class neighborhood. The community is against the home, fearing it will decrease property values. Your CEO fears the community board will reject the plan after the mounting negative publicity and asks your PR team to develop a plan to shift public perception. Choose 3 objectives for your plan. A) Write op-eds to local newspapers in the area of the proposed home before the community board vote B) Increase positive publicity by 25% prior to the community board vote in 6 weeks C) Host meetings with neighbors of the proposed group home D) Have the head of your residential department meet with 3 community board members who are against the proposal by a week before the vote. E) Ask 4 neighbors of your other group homes in the community to meet with neighbors of the proposed home within the next two weeks and discuss how their property values have not decreased and the benefits of living next door F) Meet with similar organizations about how they have changed public perception of group homes in the coming week

Correct Answers: B, D, and E Study Guide, page 24: Objectives focus on a shorter term than goals. Objectives are written after research on all publics is done. Objectives (1) define WHAT opinion, attitude or behavior you want to achieve from specific publics, (2) specify how much change you want to achieve from each public, and (3) tell by when you want to achieve that change. Objectives should be SMART.

You are the supervisor of a public affairs office for a governmental organization. Over the past years, your organization has developed a policy that requires the leaders of the major organizational units to at least listen to appropriate staff experts before deciding on a strategy. This is an example of which level of influence (choose one): A) Advisory B) Compulsory-Advisory C) Concurring Authority D) Consensus

Correct answer: B (Compulsory-Advisory). See Public Relations Strategies and Tactics (11th Edition) pp. 104-105. The Compulsory-Advisory concept requires line managers at least listen to the appropriate staff experts before deciding on strategy. According to the same text, the Advisory level is the lowest. Line managers have no obligation to take recommendations or even request them. Concurring Authority requires reviewing and approving materials and communications with external audiences. Consensus is not discussed in the text.

You are the Communications Director for a large university outside a major city. Following a virtual graduation, you are informed by students that they were not included in the commencement video, though they had submitted footage. The graduates say they were overlooked and embarrassed in front of their loved ones who gathered to watch them cross the stage virtually. The graduates ask the university to air a second commencement video that includes the students inadvertently left out. This would come at an exorbitant cost to the university. How do you advise administration to respond? A) Apologize and decline to remedy the situation B) Apologize and offer to include the students left out in next year's commencement ceremony C) Apologize and honor the graduates' request D) Apologize and offer to refund all commencement fees

Correct answer: C Rationale: As the trusted adviser to leadership, it is your responsibility to anticipate a major hit to the university's reputation once word gets out that graduates were not honored in the commencement video. As alumni, graduates are a major public and resource for the university in terms of development and mentorship, and recruitment. Though the commencement video will be expensive to edit, the goodwill garnered by graduates will far outweigh the potential cost to the university's reputation for not honoring their academic achievement. Source: EPR 11thedition, pg. 5 KSA: Leading PR function

The Chief Marketing Officer of your company, and your direct supervisor, directs you to develop a communications plan to launch a new product. She dictates that the plan should target male baby boomers who are considering retirement, but your company has done no primary research into this public's interest in the product or its category, so you have very little insight into their wants and needs. In fact, you've seen internal data that indicates that a similar, existing product is popular exclusively among elderly women. Which of the following should be your first move in preparing for the new product launch? A) Plan according to the CMO's direction and reflect on the target public's appropriateness in the campaign report after it has been executed B) Insist that the product launch be retargeted towards elderly women C) Conduct secondary research into various publics, including baby boomer men and elderly women and share the results with the CMO before commencing into planning D) Create a campaign plan that will appeal to any kind of public

Correct answer: C. KSA: Research (RPIE: Research, Plan, Implement, Evaluate model) Source: APR Study guide p. 23