PR FINAL
Diversity and Public Relations
"Diversity is about an awareness of and sensitivity to the intersections of race, class and gender, about seeing linkages to other categories of analysis, including sexuality, age, religion, physical disability, national identity and ethnicity, and about appreciating the disparities of power that produce social inequities
Why is international PR important?
"Half of cross-border business ventures fail, largely because organizations routinely sacrifice cultural sensitivity and communication for adherence to business strategy and financial gain (Morosini, 2002)."
Building Relationships with Diverse Publics: locally
"The Hispanic population is projected to nearly triple, with one in three U.S. citizens of Hispanic background. Black citizens of the United States will become 15 percent of the population by 2050. Asian Americans will be about nine percent of all citizens. Nearly one in five citizens will be 65 years of age or older. These diverse groups have unique identities, shared experiences, distinct preferences for specialized media, and culturally developed organizations to which they belong and trust
International PR
"The practice and study of public relations across international boundaries and cultures." International PR involves public relations practices in... International organizations (e.g., the United Nations, the World Bank) • Intergovernmental relations (e.g.,diplomatic recognition, sanctions/embargoes) • Interactions among citizens of different nations (through tourism, arts, film/theater, sports).
Rise of social media
"go direct" - Immediacy - Flexibility - Ability to use TV attributes (e.g. sound, color, motion)
TWO LEVELS OF CR
(1) Basic, Arm's Length, Good Corporate Citizen -Support Causes -Facilities -Open houses -Holiday programs -Service on boards -Networking (2) Fabric of Community -Programs -Regular meetings, idea exchanges -Employee volunteer programs -Community research -Advisory board -Social projects -Make expertise available
**Different types of media**(be able to list three examples for exam)
- Paid Media - owned media - earned media
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY?:
-A social organism made up of all the interactions among residents and the organizations with which they identify; neighborhood, town, city, or state
WHO IS THE FIRST PUBLIC OF ANY ORGANIZATION?
-Employees (managers, administrators, secretaries) -Organizations must: Meet employees' individual needs, Stimulate employees' creativity, Strengthen employees' morale
CASE 3-1: SOUTHWEST AIRLINES X AIRTRAN
-FACTS ABOUT THE COMPANY: -Southwest Airlines Co. -Founded in 1967 -NYSE: LUV -Low-cost airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas -AirTran Airways -Founded in 1992 -was an American low-cost airline headquarted in -Dallas, Texas -December 28, 2014 (integrated into Southwest Airlines) -Southwest bought AirTran way back in 2011 for $1.4 billion -On February 14, 2013, Southwest Airlines announced that they had begun codesharing with AirTran. -2015—completed the integration -It was a lengthy four year process -Southwest merged with Airtran and worked to blend employee cultures. They used focus groups and evaluation and achieved cultural consistency on both sides.
five considerations should come into play in community programs: Participate or own
-If your reputation needs improving, working on projects with accepted partners who can use their reputation to pull yours up; if yours is good, projects you can own offer more benefits and visibility without any dilution
GOALS of studying cases
-Sharpen your skills in analyzing material (quantitative + qualitative) -Learn to use empirical evidence to support your claims -Improve your ability to listen and to communicate with others -Refute the points of others, using reasoned argument -Develop hypothetical solutions to problems -Examine the consequences of decisions
five considerations should come into play in community programs: Here versus there
-Should a program be based within the organization, or should it be an outside program? Should it take place on-site or off-site?
five considerations should come into play in community programs: Reaching opinion leaders
-What design will assure that this critical goal is met?
COMMUNITY AS A DESIRABLE PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK
-Work for everyone who desires it -The prospect of growth and new opportunities -Educational, cultural, religious, and recreational pursuits -Appropriate housing and public services -Provision for helping those lease able to help themselves -Pride and loyalty
Dominos pizza crisis 2009:
-crisis happened that went viral, dominos apoligized in effective way, dominos president did a full brand turn around to ensure their quality and service becomes much better to promise customers they take stuff like this seriously; Domino's sales up 14% in the first quarter of the campaign. US stock prices surged over 50% in the months following the campaign launch.
CASE 3-4: EMPLOYEE AMBASSADORS-KAISER PERMANENT MAKES THE EFFORT
-facts about the company: -Founded in 1945 -One of the largest not-for-profit integrated health-care delivery systems in the U.S. HQ in Oakland, CA. -To provide high-quality, affordable health-care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. -created an internal message architecture -ensure that leaders and communicators were speaking with one voice -engaged in video ethnography, following frontline workers with video cameras = > a n a l y z e t h e v i d e o f o r a n y o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o c o n n e c t w i t h e m p l o y e e s i n t h e i r n a t u r a l f l o w o f w o r k "Consistency, with customization for regional and local nuances, is key," "Making sure that everyone is talking about our organization and our brand with one voice is of paramount importance for team members to understand our business and deliver on our mission." -Diane Gage Lofgren, SVP and chief communications officer
crisis management
-process of strategic planning for a crisis or negative turning point that removes some of the risk and uncertainty from the negative occurrence Does not imply that an organization can manage external influences However, the response can be managed. To do so, the PR practitioner must understand - The public and political environment - The culture - Human nature
five considerations should come into play in community programs: Targeting
-which groups in the community must be targeted? -what behaviors need to be motivated? -what specific activities will lead to this motivation? -what information must be gathered and assessed before starting?
3 STRATEGIC LEVELS OF CR
1. Defensive: guarding against negative acts, or acts of omission 2. Proactive: being a leader in positive acts that appeal to key publics 3. Maintenance: finding ways to retain relationships
BEHAVIORAL MODEL:
1. Identifies behaviors-Awareness—creating a buzz via social media 2. Identifies publics-Latent Desire to Act—can be positive or negative 3. Identifies intermediary-Triggering Event—holiday, election day, noon 4. Identifies opinion leaders-Intermediate Activity 5.Ultimate Behavior
Here's what the media can do
1. Mass media influence is cumulative and long-term 2. Power is to make us aware (e.g. products, services, companies, ideas) 3. Concentrate on the negative
5 THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR SUCCESSFUL CR
1. Targeting (groups, behaviors, activities, etc.) 2. Participate or own 3. Here versus there (on-site or off-site) 4. "Official" versus employee volunteer activities 5. Reaching opinion leaders Successful community relations are planned, organized, and systematized
five considerations should come into play in community programs:
1.) Targeting 2.) Participate on own 3.) Here versus there 4.) "Official" versus employee volunteer activities 5.) Reaching opinion leaders
THE PERSUASION MODEL
1.Create dissatisfaction 2.Offer a viable option 3.Present the benefits 4.Model the desired behavior
ROLE OF PR IN CR
1.Issuing news of interest 2.Representing in volunteer activities 3.Giving donations 4.Counseling management on contributions of employees; arranging for use of facilities and equipment by community groups 5.Being an intermediary 6.Planning special events
USING TECHNOLOGY
Advantages: -Convenient information storage and retrieval -Quick way to give and get feedback -Reduced communication costs -Allows for collaboration Disadvantages -Impersonal -Quick (likelihood of misunderstanding) -Security -Receiver has to want to find it
CARROLL & MCCOMBS (2003) case
Amount of news coverage leads to Public awareness of the firm Amount of news coverage on particular attributes lead to Public define the firm by those attributes
OLD-TIME COMMUNITY RELATIONS
An extension of Employee Relations Employees would help create a positive image of the organization Also an attitude of hey, we're giving you jobs, taxes, donations, etc. What's wrong with that?
WAYS TO BOOST YOUR COMPANY'S BRAND
Audit your internal communications to ensure that they are consistent with your brand identity and promise. Ensure that new employees understand your brand identity and promise; new employees should be able to articulate what your company stands for and what makes you different Make sure that every employee understands how his or her job affects the customer experience. Regularly solicit opinions from your employees on new and better ways to deliver your brand promise.
CASE 7-4 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA: RIDING "RAT LADY" TO HALLOWEEN SUCCESS
BACKGROUND Opened in 1990 Owned by NBCUniversal building admissions during the traditional off-peak tourist periods Goal: create an extraordinary event to compel news media to cover the Halloween activities STRATEGY Realized that a traditional news release won't work Placed a newspaper ad to hire an outside Rat Lady Ad timing was critical—Fri-through Sunday Special post office box was established for applications to streamline the process RESULTS Created buzz Extensive worldwide media coverage AGENDA SETTING Frequency of media reports leads to Issue salience Tell people what to think about Basic assumption -Media do not reflect reality -Media filter and shape the reality (gatekeeping)
The Case of BP--Deepwater Horizon oil spill:
BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico erupted in April 20, 2010, soiling the shores of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas 11 killed, 17 injured largest oil spill in United States history April 21, 2010-October 1, 2010 - 127 news releases under the title, "Gulf of Mexico Response" created four "state response" micro sites on its website used social media controversial ad campaign launched in June 2010 featured apologetic CEO Tony Hayward in a coastal setting "We will get this done. We will make this right." Tony Hayward's PR Gaffes the CEO made a series of verbal gaffes that lacked empathy the spill was just a tiny drop in a "very big ocean" weekend yachting trip June 19th, 2010 July 27 (less than two weeks after BP capped the oil leak) the company announced that he would be replaced effective Oct 1.
Strategies for the 21st century of media relations
Build relationships face-to-face Make internal publics a priority Consider "going direct" Use accountable, focused and measurable programs Expand research
Continental connection flight 3407 case
Colgan Air flight 3407 in 2009 Killed 50 people 22nd most deadly crash of a commercial flight during the past 30 years a central information center was quickly established to ensure accessibility for the media quick response time, within one hour of the tragedy effective use of news media, the Internet and face-to-face communication
BENEFITS OF EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION
Delivering Customer Delight-Depends on employee satisfaction Speaking with One Voice-Requires shared values Fewer work stoppages, less absenteeism, higher productivity, fewer errors + symbolic benefits Employees have been called an organization's "ambassadors" because they represent the company within a large circle of family, relatives, and friends. If morale is low or if employees believe the company is not treating them well and fairly, that unhappiness will likely be reflected in their comments to others. Enthusiastic employees can enhance an organization's reputation within a community as a great place to work. This factor, in turn, generates more job applicant and enhances employee-retention rates.
Part of process of PR: Analysis and planning
Devise and package a strategy -Important factors: Time, budget Setting specific goals!:Identifying goals, Identifying target audience(s) or public(s), Creating a theme for the program/campaign
Handling Crisis
Don't ignore a trivial complaint -There's no such thing as a 'small' problem. -Blog, Twitter, and YouTube—things can spread very quickly
Part of process of PR: Evaluation
Examine how the above three steps affected your public, what to do next or to do differently -Monitoring -Measuring
5-STEP STRATEGY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Go Direct To Key Stakeholders Via Opinion Leaders Using Members of the Organizational Family On a Local Basis
Guidelines that have survived of media relations
Have a good working knowledge of the methods and technology of -gathering potential news -evaluating it -processing it editorially -putting it into the best format (e.g. print, broadcast) Generate good news Have a designated spokesperson -Make sure this person is as candid as possible -Continually educate this person - Advocate your employer's views, but make it newsworthy - Continuously educate and train employers and spokespeople on how to handle themselves when in contact with news media
Part of process of PR: Communication
How will the public be told? -Implementation of the PR plan Press releases, Newsletters, Blogging, Social media
five considerations should come into play in community programs: "Official" versus employee volunteer activities
If the latter, how will the organization get credit? Should employees be able to do some volunteer work "on the clock"?
COMMUNITY RELATIONS:
Institution's planned, active, and continuing participation within a community to maintain and enhance its environment to the benefit of both the institution and the community; Dynamic aspect of public relations
Building Relationships with Diverse Publics: globally
Internationally, public relations practitioners face even greater diversity, operating "across time zones, within different political, economic, and social systems and with varying media constraints" (Wakefield, 2008, p. 141). Practitioners seek relationships with multinational populations that differ in national income, literacy, religion, environment, poverty, technology, governance, and language. (Global Demographics, 2008)."
TWO-WAY SYMMETRICAL COMMUNICATION MODEL
Jim & Larissa Grunig (U of Maryland): -Uses negotiation, conflict-resolution strategies to effect change in the ideas, attitudes, and behaviors of both the organization and its publics for mutual benefit -Builds trust with publics through 2-way communication Traditional media and Social media working and communicating w one another
Developing expertise or competencies
Knowledge Diverse ethnic groups—an understanding of different cultures and ethnic groups Social/political/economic/historical framework Changing demographics Personal Attributes Flexibility: being able to adapt to a changing world Respect: an appreciation for differences in others Empathy: the ability to respect another person's culture and perspective
When in need of media relations
Launch of a new product/service Financial results Organization sponsored events Awards for the company Involvement in CSR activities
CASE 4-2: HOSPITAL CLOSING
MERCY HOSPITAL-DETROIT 1980s and early 1990s—health-care system in a financial crisis 1997: Congress passed the Balanced Budget Act—cuts beyond expectation Hospitals in financial troubles Mercy Hospital-Detroit Important anchor in this neighborhood Healthcare, security, employment, leadership, place for social interaction Early to mid-1990s, the hospital found it difficult to maintain its fiscal health Losses were supplemented by its parent company, Mercy Health Services (MHS) Dec. 1999—decision made to close the hospital The hospital was having financial troubles and had to close. It was an anchor for the low income community and it was a big deal for them to close. They educated the public and donated their property to the community and their closure was well recieved.
A MORE MODERN VIEW ON COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Organizations now know that they must have more than a general concern for the efficiency and adequacy of community services for themselves and for their employees. In other words, the organization needs to view itself as a citizen of the community. attracting new businesses generate the enthusiasm of volunteers in charitable, cultural, educational activities planning for the future
PUBLIC RELATIONS' ROLE
Providing the communications channel between employers and employee groups, is important on both sides of the relationship (p.23) Recruiting, want ads, orientations, tours, information kits Employee communications, bulletin boards, newsletters, training, surveys Rewards, awards, parties, etc. Work stoppage or termination (communications during a strike, news about benefits for retirees)
Cross-national conflict shifting
Public relations challenge in one part of the world affect the operations of an international corporation elsewhere around the world.
PROCESS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS: R. A. C. E.
Public relations is a four-step, continually-cycling process -Research, Analysis and planning, communication, evaluation
EFFECTIVE CRISIS MANAGEMENT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
Respond immediately to your public at the onset of a crisis. Be committed to maintaining open, two-way dialogue. Listen to your audience's concerns and place them over the concerns of the corporation. Be honest, transparent, open, and credible. Build a relationship with your public prior to a crisis. Be accountable before the public demands you be accountable. Be flexible and adaptable. Be human, authentic, and use compassion in all communications.
FACTORS AFFECTING NEWS COVERAGE
Size and age of organizations -Inc. 5000 -Fortune 500 - Proximity - Elites and celebrity
HINTS ON PREPARING CASES
Skim the case first. What are the broad issues? What are the key problems in the case? Make a list. Prioritize these problems. Develop a set of recommendations. Evaluate your recommendations vs. alternatives. Discuss your analysis with others in the class.
Types of Crises
Sudden crisis Smoldering crisis
RULES OF EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
Tell employees first Tell the bad news along with the good news Be timely Tell employees about things they find important Use media employees trust Goal: earning the trust of the employees
TRUST
The components (p.26) 1.Openness 2.Shared values 3.Consistency of words and actions 4.Appreciation 5.Feedback 6.Autonomy
PR THEORIES:
Theory: Application of knowledge that has been verified and confirmed to consistently "work" in consistent situations. -Can be generalized over a broad range of clients and issues -Increases efficiency -Cost/time effective
Need for International PR
To deal with challenges that multinational organizations face (e.g. show responsibility, operate legally and ethically). Social, economic, and political changes increase the need for organizations to communicate and support efforts in international settings.
CASE 4-1: ACC (AMERICAN CHEMISTRY COUNCIL)
Trade association for American chemical companies, based in Washington, D.C. Assistance in complying with laws and regulations, leadership training, developing skills and knowledge in the managerial, legislative, technical and communication areas Since 1990, the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) requires chemical companies to inform the stakeholders about the nature and potential dangers of the materials 1. Listen to and recognize the perceptions and fears of the public, especially neighbors of chemical plants 2. Own up to any performance problems 3. Take action to correct problems and address perceptions Proactive Response to Public Concerns: Responsible Care since 1988 RESPONSIBLE CARE TARGET AUDIENCES: •The chemical industry •Employees •Federal state and local officials •The media •The general public •Local and national interest groups •Supply chain customers ACC created "Responsible Care" as a way to ease the transition of a new chemical plant into a community.
The biggest misunderstanding of media relations
Underestimating... The role and power the media have The importance of the media to building public relationships Online advertising overtakes TV in 2016
STRATEGY AND PLANNING:
Understanding your organization's business, operations, culture and goals -Learning about the publics -Putting them together in a formal strategic plan -The substitute for a thoroughly considered response is a strategic plan that anticipates at least broad topics that are likely to arise.
Part of process of PR: Research
What is the problem? -Key elements: Client or organization, Existing problem, potential problems, opportunities, Audiences or publics How: Informal and formal research
The importance of trust in media relations
When reporters know they can trust a public relations practitioner they will -Cover the information our publics need to know -Give us a fair chance (or balanced reportage) when we're in the hot seat The fundamentals Media's mission is to inform audiences quickly, accurately and fully on matters that the audiences expresses an interest and matters that will affect them significantly Public relations' mission is to build relationships with all of an organization's publics
CAN CR BE THE CORE OF PR?
Yes; It sets the tone for what the organization stands for with its actions and behavior
crisis
a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome affecting the organization, company, or industry, as well as its publics, products, services, or good name. ex.) A product recall A plane crash A sexual harassment suit
owned media
any communication channel or platform that belongs to your brand (e.g. your website, social media channels, apps, magazines/brochures)
Paid media
anything that is paid for to drive traffic to owned media properties (e.g. print ads, Facebook ads, promoted tweets, TV ads, paid search)
Crises are characterized by these elements:
dangerous and can put the organization's employees, finances, reputation and even survival at risk public events that happen in full view of important stakeholders often escalate from an insignificant incident into a traumatic event failure to resolve a crisis can be a pivotal event in the future of an organization
Crisis communications:
dialog between the organization and its public prior to, during, and after the negative occurrence
CASE 7-2 SOCIAL MEDIA AND ACTIVISM
ex.) Leonardo DiCaprio's speech about environment and change.org "Change.org is letting nonprofits target potential donors in much the same way Google lets partners target customers through contextual advertising" Shows power of social media to move ahead of traditional media • If an organization is challenged, it needs to look carefully at the challenge to see if it has merit. If yes, then remedial action will reduce or eliminate the reason for the challenge and give the organization something positive to communicate to its stakeholders. • If the challenge is without merit, then the organization can use the new technology to defend itself, redefine the issue. But don't blame the messenger. ex.) Petition: Ben & Jerry's non-dairy ice cream -Media coverage -Owned media
earned media
when people talk about and share your brand, products and services, either in response to content you've shared or via voluntary means (e.g. retweets, Likes, online reviews, general word of mouth, bloggers writing about you)
Typical response patterns
• 1% Immediately favorable • 45% Leaning favorable • 8% Opinion leaders • 45% Leaning unfavorable • 1% Immediately unfavorable
Causes of Crises:
• Acts of God • Mechanical problems • Human error • Management decisions, actions, or inaction
Guidelines of handling pr crisis
• Anticipate the unexpected. • Do not speculate. Provide information about only what is known. • Train employees.
Crisis communications planning
• Who is on the crisis management team? • Where is the emergency operation center? • Where is the media information center? • How will you communicate with all stakeholders?
The Ideal Spokesperson
• articulate • honest • objective • confident • credible
