IMC 390 Final Quiz answers

What type of feature tells us "how to use" a product or service in a new or innovative manner?

Application story

Which type of media kit includes multiple pieces of information in a variety of formats, such as text, photo, video, animation, etc.?

Digital Media Kit

Why should an organization carefully analyze the newsworthiness of the information and consider whether the topic lends itself to a fast-paced, action-oriented visual presentation, before producing a video news release?

A large amount of time and resources are required for the production process.

Which statement accurately contrasts a feature story and a news release?

A feature is longer and less time sensitive.

In marketing parlance, direct mail and ______ are frequently combined with public relations strategies and tactics to develop what are called "360-degree campaigns"

Advertising

A legislator proposed using a portion of the main city park as the site for a new government office. The city administration was to vote on the issue at the end of the month. A group of citizens opposing the proposal placed advertisements in the local papers that read, "Tomorrow your children may have to rely on YouTube to see a tree. Ask your representative to vote against the proposal." What kind of advertising is illustrated in this scenario?

Advocacy

What were previously known as weblogs?

Blogs

Diana is writing an op-ed on a current news issue that created controversy within national media circles and the public at large. In a certain section of the op-ed, Diana includes a few paragraphs highlighting her reasoning on the issue, evidence supporting her line of reasoning, and rounds off that section with an assortment of expert opinions. What is this section called?

Body of text

Ella doesn't want her company's website to be a place where visitors have to scroll through a linear document. She wants visitors to be able to easily navigate to different parts of the website and find specific content using links to indexed information. Which technique is Ella using?

Branching

People are attracted to particular business and organizational sites because of their interesting content and stories. What is this concept called?

Brand Journalism

What is a feature story written in a journalistic format?

Brand storytelling

A company recently launched a new offering as an extension to its existing telecommunication services. Its PR writer came up with a feature that briefly describes the benefits of the new service and explains how other businesses have already profited from it. What type of feature is the company using?

Case Study

Which type of feature story uses a third-party endorsement or testimonial to illustrate the acceptance of a particular service or product in the marketplace?

Case study

The managing director of an aluminum production company is writing an op-ed article on the steps his company has taken to minimize its adverse effects on the environment. Before he ends the article, he reiterates the main points from the article and lists steps that the reader can take to help protect the environment. What part of the op-ed is this?

Closing paragraph

Tracy works in the public relations department of a company that owns several chains of restaurants. Management asks her to develop a one- to two-page introduction about the company and its diversified businesses. What should Tracy prepare?

Company profile

Yahoo posted a special feature on the top 20 reliable cars of 2015. The article described the features and functions of each car that made the mark on Yahoo! News. What category of news story will this fall under, and why is it effective?

Content marketing; it is proven more effectual than traditional advertising.

Brawn & Brain is a chic café situated in a small town. The owner of the café wants better publicity and asks a PR firm to develop information about the café in various formats that can be distributed through social media. Which type of media kit is the firm developing and how is it helpful?

Digital; it is cost effective.

Samantha is launching a catering business targeted at households where both the husband and wife work. She creates a package that includes a letter introducing her business and its benefits, and inserts a brochure with the menu. Samantha also provides a reply card that the person can fill in and mail back to her. She sends this package out to one thousand people. What kind of package did Samantha prepare?

Direct mail

A small, start-up software company specializing in apps for mobile devices wants to tap in to the vast pool of talent in colleges by offering internships. Before starting their recruitment drive, which step would best serve the company's purpose, and why?

Distribute well-designed and attractive t-shirts that feature the name and logo of the company prominently; this would increase the visibility of the company among the student community.

Which term describes a situation where journalists and editors select features they consider newsworthy and that may interest their audience?

Earned media

Aaron Insurance came up with a series of ads that showed how easy it was to buy insurance and submit a claim with their company. The ads showed a small business owner whose vandalized store was restored with insurance money. It also highlighted the documents required to complete the processes easily, and featured actors who resembled ordinary people rather than models. What was the aim of the campaign?

Educate the public regarding the company's functions and processes

What can be described as the headline of a direct mail package?

Envelope

Donald writes the entertainment column and maintains its weekly calendar for a local news site. He hears that a new music club will open next month and hand out free CDs of the performers on the opening night. In order to verify details such as the name of the event, location, date and time, program, and sponsors, what does Donald need to look for?

Event announcement

A consumer durables company wants to update its website with information about some of its new products. The manager suggests that the details be prepared and posted in a question-and-answer format. What is this format called?

FAQ

Which of these concisely outlines the details about events, products, organizations, or almost any topic in a simple, straightforward way?

Fact Sheets

Emma works for Daffodils Cosmetics. She needs to generate media coverage for their new product that is launching at the end of the month. She sends her pitch to the editor of the city paper, and emails the next day to ask if he requires further information about the story. What has Emma done?

Followed up

What is an important tip that a public relations writer should follow to enhance a personality profile of a key executive?

Give the "essence" of the whole person

What kind of headline gives the crux of the story?

Informational

The website of a cookware company includes a blog where recipes are posted regularly. One of the posted recipes contained a typo that the company's blogger corrected the following day, after readers pointed out the mistake in the comments. The company was then surprised to see negative media attention about the mistake a week later, as multitudes of high-profile bloggers had posted critical reviews of the company's recipes in the meantime. What mistake did the company make?

It didn't monitor mentions of the company on other blogs.

Stuart is the PR representative of Tobias Inc., a brand new luxury goods designer and manufacturer. To build awareness of the Tobias brand, Stuart places an ad in magazines such as the New Yorker and National Geographic. The ad features one of the worker-owned and operated companies that supply the fabric Tobias Inc. uses in its clothing line. Why is this ad considered "public relations advertising"?

It informs the public of the company's ideals and social responsibility.

The Red Torade energy drink company approached a very famous sitcom about the possibility of product placements. The two parties agreed that Red Torade's products would be featured as props in every episode throughout the season for an agreed-upon price. What is the PR benefit of showing products on television shows?

It is a cost-effective way to promote the products.

What do many consumers and the media often call direct mail?

Junk mail

What is the key to a successful partnership between a public relations department and an advertisement agency when working together on a campaign?

Keeping communication channels open

"For most of us, computer programming isn't a simple task. Neither is flying an airplane. But for Harvard senior Michael Peters, learning how to do both wasn't all that difficult." What part of a feature story do the above sentences form, and what is its purpose?

Lead; to get readers interested enough to read the entire article.

Assignment editors rely on this type of publicity tool to learn about upcoming events and how they can cover them. What are these tools?

Media Advisories

________ are also known as press kits.

Media Kits

The PR team at GoodJuice writes an article on how well-prepared artificial fruit juices can help individuals lose weight. They buy space on a daily newspaper's website and the article is inserted and formatted to look much like a regular news article. What kind of advertising is GoodJuice using?

Native

________ media today has no geographical constraints because it is focused on needs, wants and interests, without any regard to the physical location of users.

New

Richard is a journalist who works for a news agency. He is asked to gather current information about Technomedics, a company he knows nothing about. He visits the company's website to learn more, and goes directly to the page that shows the company's news releases, photos, videos, annual reports, and other background information. What is this page called?

Online newsroom

Cramptons Inc. wants to create and publish a blog in order to interact easily with its customers and represent the official voice of the company. What are these types of blogs known as?

Organizational blogs

ABC Pharma, a pharmaceutical company, sent an exclusive feature on heart disease and the best cardiac centers in the United States to a large newspaper. The feature included the most common drugs used, the names of the drugs prescribed, and the latest diagnostic techniques. When the feature was published, it came with a tag line "Exclusive from ABC Pharma." What is this kind of placement called, and how did ABC Pharma manage to get an exclusive supplement?

Paid media; the company bought space in the publication.

Hayley works with a company that manufactures dental care products. When a new product is launched, she sends out a direct mail piece that addresses each recipient by his or her first name, includes their names throughout the letter, and refers to localized information such as nearby stores that carry the product. Which direct mail tactic did Hayley use?

Personalization

What is the process of selling a story idea to an editor through proposals?

Pitching

An educational institution decides to create digital promotional content that consists of an episodic series of audio, video, and PDF files for its students. These digital files can be delivered directly to audiences. What are these digital files called?

Podcasts

Mark wants to buy a new phone. He walks into a mobile store and asks the salesperson about a particular model he's been thinking about. The salesperson immediately hands Mark a paper that contains details such as the product name, brand, model number, price, technical specifications, features, etc. What type of document did the salesperson give Mark?

Product specification sheet

A public relations professional has just completed a storyboard outlining the visual and audio elements for a video news release. Which phase of creating a news release comes next?

Production

Items such as fact sheets, advisories, media kits, and pitches are called

Publicity Materials

For their campaign against bullying, the Mercy public hospital group produced announcements that include soundbites from celebrities describing their personal experiences, rather than just a nameless announcer. Stations were provided with both 30- and 60-second versions to choose from, to make it easier to fit the announcements into the broadcast. What type of publicity material did the hospital group create?

Radio PSA

A radio station asked listeners to call in and describe their favorite purchase at a nonprofit chain of thrift stores that benefits the homeless. At the end of the show, the callers whose answers were voted the best on the station's website were given discount coupons for the store. What is this public relations strategy called and what is its purpose?

Radio promotion; prize giveaways tend to increase the number of listeners, and the sponsor gets publicity.

There are five approaches to getting a news story placed on television. In which approach are the stories formatted by PR firms for immediate use, with minimum effort required by television station personnel?

Sending a video news release

CNN published stories about the dangers of second-hand smoking each day for a week. Every day, a new story highlighted several real-life instances in which people had been adversely affected by second-hand smoking. On the final day, CNN published the finding that children between the ages of 3-10, who had been exposed to second-hand smoke, have an increased risk of heart disease. What type of feature story is CNN publishing, and what is its purpose?

Survey and research study; it provides facts about life and work that readers can relate to.

Jonathan has always considered himself a better speaker than writer. Thus, when he has to pitch a story, he chooses to share it with journalists by talking to them rather than sending a written pitch. Which type of pitch does Jonathan prefer?

Telephone pitch

What is the top source of news for most Americans?

Television

________ is the infrastructure that makes it possible to have cheap, easy-to-use online publishing tools as well as instant communication via social networks and emails.

The Internet

A small restaurant company donates food to homeless people though its food trucks. The company's PR consultant began filming video to document these charitable activities, and wants to turn the clips into a regular series of promotions. What is one benefit to placing the videos on the company's website or YouTube channel?

The company can post new videos at any time, as soon as they finish producing them.

NextGen Phones was preparing to release their latest cellular phone. To promote interest in the new product, they first put up a set of billboards with photographs of people expressing surprise. After a couple of weeks, they replaced the images on the same billboards with a picture of the phone. A few weeks later, the company replaced the phone images with a photograph of a famous actor talking on the phone. What is the main disadvantage of using this type of advertising?

The high cost of buying billboard space

A county decides to publicize their spring festival celebrations with a community calendar announcement. The organizers of the event notified local broadcast outlets about the celebration by writing the calendar announcement themselves. What type of information did the organizers include in the announcement?

The same as for a media alert or advisory

The public relations personnel of Red Devils United, an amateur soccer club, sent a B-roll of their achievements in the previous season to a local television station. The club requested that the station broadcast the news that they would be representing their city in the National Minor League Soccer tournament. Why is a B-roll an appropriate way to package this news?

The television station has the flexibility to add its own narration or use just a portion of the footage as part of a news segment

To promote his hiking goods store, Travis wants to create a podcast series of audio tours for remote hiking locations. Why are podcasts a particularly ideal format for this promotional content, as opposed to a blog or website with streaming audio?

They can be downloaded while on the move, for listening in areas without internet access.

What news value is considered when a story corresponds with annual seasons, governmental rulings, new laws, social trends, etc., in order to secure successful radio placement?

Timeliness

When writing a video news release, why is it helpful to prepare the script using two columns?

To coordinate visual and audio elements

Which media is required to capture huge audiences for advertisers in order to produce high ad revenues?

Traditional media

Which type of signage includes the small posters placed in subway and commuter rail stations, the cards used in buses and rail cars, the highly visual ads often seen at bus stops, and the large ads on the sides and backs of buses?

Transit panels

Pixel Play is growing rapidly and needs to hire more staff. It is specifically looking to build a department to take care of creating its company website and making sure that it is optimized for search engines. What type of professionals is Pixel Play looking for?

Web designers

Process of planning and creating an attractive and easy-to-navigate website is called

Web designing

Brands4Us wants to launch an attractive page online where visitors can see their brands, prices, and make purchases electronically. What is this page called?

Website

________ are the most visible aspects of the World Wide Web.

Websites

The trade name given to a recording of a person with a good radio voice who reads an entire announcement aloud is a(n)

actuality

A key consideration when writing a radio news release is the need to

estimate its length in seconds.

The main purpose of a pitch is to convince others that a story is

newsworthy

Argo wanted to write an article in the local newspaper on a particular public discussion issue to which his organization was connected. Before starting to write, Argo verified his organization's stance on the issue. Argo was writing a(n)

opinion piece.

In public relations and marketing, advertising can be categorized as __________ media.

paid

A __________ is where a spokesperson conducts a series of round-the-country, one-on-one audio interviews from one central location

radio media tour

Susan wants to pitch her client's new product to a journalist in an email. In order to grab the attention of the journalist, she needs to write a catchy phrase as the headline of the email. What is this captivating phrase called, and why is it important?

subject line; it helps the pitch to stand out in a journalist's inbox.

A main difference between print and online advertisements is that with online ads,

text is secondary to graphics.