Week 8 - work on your research

G'day folks! As we're continuing our exploration of media relations this week and your situation analysis is due Wednesday, there is no blog assignment. We'll pick it up again in a week. See you in class. --Dr. Robinson

Generating news & media relations...

This week the focus of the readings is on media relations, including how an organization determines what is and is not newsworthy. After grading your previous blogs, there are three elements that are not always included, so this week seems like a good time to bring them to the fore: (1) comment on another student's entry, (2) include a link, and (3) refering to the text.

Your challenge this week as you reflect on your readings is to find a current issue being talked about in the media/blogosphere that illustrates what you found to be an important point or points from your text. You can take this from PRNews, prsa discussions, newspapers or any other source. Your entry should include the link to the article so that your peers & I can go there and check it out, and I hope you have time to read the other comments before posting yours so that you can build on each other's thoughts. Have fun looking for current examples!

Research as strategy & the role of PR

We didn’t have time for a lot of discussion of the role of research as a strategy and tactic with Dr Martinez, so we can explore that a little this week. In the last 24 hours, the PR newswires have led me to the two links in the next paragraph that use “research” as a newsworthy item. In the Center for Media Research’s statement “Most Americans Say Green Advertising is ‘Just A Marketing Tactic,’” they refer to an Ipsos Reid study conducted this spring on behalf of Icynene which found that seven in ten Americans either 'strongly' or 'somewhat' agree that when companies call a product "green" (meaning better for the environment), it is usually just a "marketing tactic." In an academic example, the USC Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center is asking for PR professionals to participate in the fifth Public Relations Generally Accepted Practices (GAP) Study.

Research is a tactic that I think sometimes can have real value as a way of building your credibility as a resource (not just a source) for the media, but it also has the potential to be superficial and abused. Given our brief discussion of ethics and research as strategy, what is your view of these two uses of research?

Your colleague, Yeonsoo, raised this question that I have paraphrased here for discussion: Actually do public relations companies at a high rate make their plan based on the results of research? Even though there are several creative ways to conduct low-cost pre/post tests, most public relations companies seem to rely on intuition based on experiences rather than empirical scientific methods. Last semester, a guest speaker's answer was they never conducted research for planning and most stakeholders regarded it as a time and money consuming process. Is this phenomenon just explained by a huge gap between practice and ideals?

Finally, to begin our discussion of the role of public relations in any organization, let’s start by discussing the function of public relations in general. Jonah Bloom in his AdAge column “Want to Restore Marketers' Faith? Embrace Agnosticism: Agencies Need to Stop Talking 'Integration' and Really Give Clients a Silo-Busting Solution” states that while we talk about integrating advertising and public relations, what we often get is a lop-sided plan that favors our training. This may not be the clearest column, but it does raise a critical question about PR in a world that increasingly favors integration, viral marketing and new media. David Strom in “Strategies to Succeed Online: The old ways of hiring a public relations firm and putting out press releases just don't cut it anymore”, also reflects on the changing world of the PR function. Thoughts?

Remember: you don’t have to address all of these discussion starters. You do have to refer to the readings, a current issue and your peer’s comments.

The PR Process

For this week, you will need to find your own current issue to include in your post. I encourage you to look for news at prsa.org or prweek.com or any other site that discusses issues related to the research, goals, implementation and evaluation phases of the PR process. The main objective is to provide your reaction to the readings for next week and include a link to a current issue or story.

Best,
Dr. Robinson

Let's reflect on theory a little longer...

This week we will be reflecting on the theories and processes underlying successful campaigns, especially public opinion and persuasion. I look forward to seeing how you use your readings and other information available on the Internet to address these current issues. You can respond to one or all of the following prompts. However, if another part of the readings caught your attention, go in your own direction and add a link for your classmates.

This week Wal-Mart announced the success of its new positioning that it launched in August. In the article “Wal-Mart rolling out new company slogan," Reuters explain the change in the slogan after 19 years. A slogan is a classic case of framing and positioning an organization based on the characteristics of the organization and publics. “The new slogan comes as Wal-Mart is incorporating more of an emotional tone into its advertising as it tries to boost sales at its U.S. stores.” Wal-Mart is a consumer-based organization, but you can reflect on the role of emotional and factual appeals in communications messages for any type of organization.

The Wal-Mart campaign also reflects the first part of the PR Process: Research. “The new ad campaign also highlights the results of new research it commissioned from Global Insight. The report said that as of 2006, the retailer saves American families $2,500 each year, up 7.3 percent from $2,329 in 2004.” What role does research have in the ideal setting and in real-world public relations campaigns?

For those who want to continue talking about ethics and how that relates to public opinion and corporate functions, check out “Pepsi CEO defines good work” in which Goodman reports on a speech by Indra Nooyi positing “performance with a purpose.” Indeed, “Being a good company in today's global world means more than having a strong financial performance, she said. Her definition includes cherishing employees and making contributions to improving public health and the environment.” How does corporate citizenship and social responsibility relate to public opinion? Is social responsibility just a trend or is it the future of corporate philosophy?

Where do ethics apply?

September is Ethics month for PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) and PRSSA (Student society of the same organization). As part of a discussion about ethics in our field, Susan Walton wrote a commentary for PR Tactics online called “1 a.m. ethics: Wrestling with those small, everyday choices that we face” in which she proposes that “Choosing between the easy thing and the right thing doesn’t always happen with the world looking on. Sometimes we make our most important ethical decisions at night when the only voice of persuasion is the whisper of our own conscience.” I thought it was intriguing that Walton challenged the traditional approach to a discussion of ethics that focuses on “the ‘big’ ethical decisions that could face us in the workplace”, such as covering up organizational wrongdoing and hiding the truth from stakeholders. What is your perspective on how ethics plays into professional conduct within the public relations and strategic communications field?

In chapter 5, Cutlip et al. state that public relations is built on the imperative of trust because “you trust the professional with information and access that often are withheld from even your closest friends and family…you entrust yourself and your possessions to the professional” (p. 145, 8th Ed.). How important is trust and credibility to a public relations professional?

Finally, an interesting question is why we should need an “ethics month” at all? Shouldn’t it be ethics year or none at all given the importance of ethical standards in any profession?

On a side note: if you are interested in reading further about PR History, then explore the PR Museum established in 1997 as the place to go to learn how ideas are developed for industry, education, and government, and how they have been applied to successful public relations programs since the PR industry was born.