Research & Evaluation

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that research is undertaken throughout all the phases of public relations practice. Research in public realtions must be done in three different stages, the first being inputs, which is done before formulating public relations activites and involves research into your organisation, your situation, the target publics, your proposed messages, and strategies. The next focus of research is output, which measures the activity generated by your actions and can be used to fine tune or redefine strategy but does not measure effectiveness. That is saved for the last focus of research which is outcomes, which measures the level of success your strategy/plan has achieved in terms of acheiving the criteria set out at the beginning of the planning stage. This research can then be used in the input phase of the next planning cycle.

Practitioners can undertake formal and informal research using either qualitative or quantitive methodologies of which there are many different techniques available such as surveys, mail, telephone, face-to-face and the internet.

The readings made me think more about public relations practice in that it emphasised that it is essential that comprehensive research is undertaken before formulating public relations strategies and plans. It makes sense, how can you know what tactics to employ, who your target publics are, or what are realistic objectives/goals without thoroughly researching beforehand?

The evaluation or research of outcomes also seemed like it would be essential for good practice, as knowing what worked in the past and ways in which you could improve or hone your skills at planning etc makes sense. I think that evaluation would be somewhat overlooked in PR practice as some practitioners would not have the time or financial resources to be able to undertake evaluation to the level that would prove most benefitial. This was outlined in a journal article I chose for the Annotated Bibliography assignment which studied practitioners attitudes towards evaluation. While all practitioners noted its worth, many said they were unlikely to undertake much evaluation at all due to time/financial constraints.

I commented on Kellie's blog this week.

Strategy & Tactics

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that tactics differentiate from strategy and planning in that they are the individual elements that make up a public relations strategy. What tactics are used depends on what the objectives of the overall strategy or plan are trying to achieve and whilst many campaigns will require the use of several tactics in conjunction with one another, it is by no means essential. Tactics which can be employed include controlled and uncontrolled tactics such as media relations, sponsorship, special events etc, all of which we have covered in previous week's readings.

The chapter on Strategy and Planning seemed really familiar when I read it and it turns out that I had already done so, in week 5! I guess we were made to read it again in order to get us thinking about our plans. So if you'd like to know what I thought about chapter 7, it is all in my week 5 blog. :)

The readings made me think more about public relations practice in that it emphasised the need for careful consideration of who your target publics are and using that to influence what tactics are employed in order to achieve the set outcomes. I would say that these two chapters will be referred to a lot in the coming weeks as my plan begins to take form.

I commented on Nic's blog this week:

cmns1290nicolemagriplis

Sponsorship & Event Management

I think the key points from the week's readings were that sponsorship and special events can provide opportunities for practitioners to gain good media exposure for their organisations and that in some cases both sponsorship and special events can be used in conjunction with one another to enhance the outcomes. While sponsorship can be an expensive tactic, it is a case of high cost, high reward if handled the right way.

Another point that I found interesting was the need for organisations to be wary of ambush marketing. The case study of Qantas ambushing Ansett's sponsorship of the Olympics reminded me of the journal article I found on the subject of sponsorship for the annotated bibliography assignment. It studied the awareness that was generated for brands who sponsored the Adelaide Grand Prix. It noted that in some instances, simply by being the leader in their respective product market, a brand could be seen to unwittingly 'ambush' a competitor’s sponsorship of an event. When the public was surveyed regarding which company sponsored a specific section of the grand prix, Castrol received nearly as many responses as Shell, which was the official sponsor. I guess a similar case could be made for Qantas and Ansett, although in this case study Qantas could be seen to be undertaking several deliberate 'ambush' tactics.

Event management was shown to be a tactic which probably requires the greatest attention to detail of them all. There are several reasons for holding events and these include gaining media coverage, product demonstration, entertaining of clients and revenue generation. In order to gain media coverage etc practitioners must be creative and extremely well organised.

The readings made me think more about public relations practice in that it detailed the processes which you must go through when attempting to gain sponsorship of an event you are running and also detailed things PR practitioners need to consider when propositioned with a request for sponsorship. The reading made clear that event management required great attention to detail and extensive planning and while it sounded quite stressful I can imagine that the successful completion of event you had planned/managed etc would be extremely satisfying.

This week I commented on Abby's blog:

http://cmnsabbyhallett.blogspot.com/

Writing for the Media

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that it is very important to form healthy working relationships with journalists in order to have success in media relations. Getting to know the individual preferences of journalists regarding the way they are contacted and what is sent to them will ensure that journalists will look out for your information rather than dreading seeing it pop up in their inbox. Another point raised in the readings was the disparaging attitudes amongst journalists when it comes to public relations. Whilst some are very positive and seemingly grateful for the work practitioners do, others were suspicious of pr motives and held fast to old stereotypes.

The readings made me think more about public relations practice in that it reinforced the notion that you really have to be a people person and on the ball in regards to keeping media relationships maintained in order to have success in this field. It also made me realise that a lot more goes into media relations than just sending out a media release to every media outlet you can think of. Practitioners need to target specific media in a much similar way to what they do in targeting their external and internal publics/stakeholders etc.

See Steve, I told you it would all be revealed in due time, don't you feel enlightened? haha

I commented on Laurie's blog this week.