TITLE:STCO 357-PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PROMOTION TACTICS
1: Introduction
Definition and Importance of Public Relations (PR)
Public relations (PR) is the management of various relations by which an org applies wilful influence
over target publics to achieve organisational objectives. This area comprises several related activities
that are associated with the notion of image making and reputation management for an organization.
The primary tools through which information is spread among PR practitioners are media relations,
social media, events and internal communication. Its purpose is to have a positive impact on the
opinions of the society, address the emergencies and make sure that the organization’s message is
confident and coherent.
PR is more crucial in the current connected world than ever before and this must be understood by
every organisation. Public relations is strategic communication that creates trust with the
stakeholders this is to enable the customers, employees, investors and other individuals to make
informed decisions. PR is the key in building organizations, which become stronger due to a proper
strategic plan to defend them in occasions of negative information. Moreover, PR also helps an
organisation to differentiate itself from its counterparts since every organisation’s motive is to
captivate the target audience. This means that through influencing the public and controlling the
public relations, PR plays a role in supporting general organization achievement and longevity.
Overview of Promotion Tactics
Promotion strategies are particular techniques applied to increase demand for, and thus use of,
goods, ideas, or services. These techniques compose the critical element of the business promotional
mix which can also be called the promotional mix and contains advertising, direct marketing, sales
promotion, personal selling, and public relations.
Advertising is communication that occurs through media paid for by the sponsor to reach numerous
people; it utilizes components such as television, radio, and magazine and even Internet. Direct
marketing is a method that focuses on the chosen target groups; it includes e-mailing, mailing, and
telephoning. Sales promotions provide the consumer with reasons to make a purchase or take an
action immediately through the use of symbols of promotions including discount, coupons and issue
of a challenge. Personal selling is one-on-one salesmanship between a salesperson and a buyer
although its ultimate goal, like all other sales promotions techniques is to make a sale.
Public relations is one of the promotional tools, which concerns the communication activities
between an organization and the public. PR differs from advertising since while the latter is paid for
and gains control over content, the former uses the concept of earned media and organic content.
Some of the PR strategies include public relation announcements, media invitations, publicity staking,
publicity events, publicity endorsements and publicity sponsorships. Through the use of these
strategies, PR ensures that public opinion is swayed, the reputation of any given company or
organization is protected and that brand recognition is achieved in a cost effective manner unlike in
the case of advertising.
The findings show that PR and promotion strategies belong to the same domain and both are crucial
for an efficient marketing campaign. Though PR concentrates more on the creation of a favourable
image and the management of relations, promotional strategies are used to encourage an immediate
response. Combined, produce a multiplied influence that can greatly contribute to the improvement
of an organization’s brand image within a market space.
2: Historical Background of Public Relations
Early Forms of Public Relations
, public relations in its conception form dates back to the ancient world. The factor of rhetoric and
skillful speaking was considered as valuable in Ancient Greece and Rome. Men of authority and poetry
employed discourses, and disputations and written documents in an attempt at shaping public
opinion as well as demoralizing the populace into supporting political and military campaigns. For
instance, Roman emperors and Greek statesmen always used s exclusive proclamations and giant
structures to announce their authority and credibility to the people.
The aim of this paper is to examine the use of various forms of communication by the Catholic
Church in Medieval Europe to keep the masses in check. Clergy would preach and distribute
pamphlets and Bibles as a way of reminding people about the Church’s authority. This period also saw
propaganda, although it may not be as developed as it is today, being used by the Azerbaijanis. The
monarchies or religions required artworks or literature to support their stances and to influence the
opinions of the people.
Another considerable early application of public relations strategies was recorded during the
American Revolution. In this period, individuals such as Thomas Paine and his work “Common Sense”
were able to use written english and primary written communication to mobilize support for, in this
case, independence from Britain. All these early practices laid down the foundation of what was to
become a more professional and long-term form of public relations that characterized the later part
of the 20th century.
Evolution of PR through the Decades
Historically, public relations can be said to have proper recognition in the management professions
from the late nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century, as with the industrial
revolution and the development of the mass media. The term public relations was used for the first
time by Dorman Eaton in 1882 and he stressed upon the ethical responsibility of public relations
practitioners. However, one person who worked most actively on the establishment of PR as a distinct
field was Ivy Lee, who is now considered one of the pioneers of the occupation. The first presidential
edict from Lee was the “Declaration of Principles” that he released in 1906, which pushed for honesty
in information disseminated to the public by businesses. This approach was adopted due to the
industrial age skepticism concerning key business entities notably with relation to strikes and lack of
public trust.
A PR pioneer of the 1920s and 1930s was Edward Bernays Many elements of PR are related to
Bernays’s efforts. Bernays incorporated elements of psychological and sociological theories into public
relation stressing the role of media and propaganda. Serving clients to the likes of big shot
corporation and political personalities proved that strategy management in communication does
work in terms of changing the actions of the people.
The profession finally evolved to mid-20th century career professed through the setting up of PR
firms and organizations. The public relations profession has been formally established since the
Second World War through the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) that was established in
1947 with ethical code and standards of practice. After the World War II, the consumer society was
launched and PR was assumed the function of advertising products and brands. The coming of the
Television increased the extent and influence of PR campaigns.
Technological development that started in the last decade of the 20th century extending to the early
years of the 21st century shifted the practice of public relations yet again. From the technology
aspect, particularly, from popularity of Social Networks and usage of the Internet the new types of
communication and interaction were created by using such notion as real time. PR specialists were
able to change some of the ways of constructing the Internet image, the communication with other
participants of the Internet communities and the coverage of the fast evolving events.
Key Figures and Milestones in PR History
There are several important leaders as well as moments that define the profession of Public Relations.
Hence, Ivy Lee can be regarded as the pioneer of modern PR, as he paid much attention to the
possibility of public openness and ethical conduct in relations with the public. Cunningham’s work
with some of his clients such as the Pennsylvania Railroad and John D. Rockefeller established new
standards of corporate publicity.
Edward Bernays is also known as the father of public relations, he introduced the scientific methods
in the field and included the elements of psychology and sociology into his work. The campaigns he
carried out for his clients, such as Procter & Gamble and the U. S government advocated how PR can
changed people’s opinions and action on the social setting within a short span of time. Still, one of the
classic works that initiated this line of thinking was Bernays’ book Crystallizing Public Opinion,
published in 1923.
What is more, one can distinguish Arthur W. Page who was the vice-president of public relations for
AT&T during 1927-1946. Page stressed on values such as corporate responsibility which are part of
the guidelines of ethical practice in the corporate communication profession as espoused by the
Arthur W. Page Society.
Some of the historical events in PR include; the formation of PRSA in the same year (1947) that set
some basic standard and a code of ethic on PR. Two important shifts in the recognised history of PR
are evident, namely the introduction of Internet within the nineties and the introduction of Social
Media within the new millennium.
The following is a chronology of major events and public relations pioneers that helped shape the
field of public relations as it is today. Ethical values, effective communication and technology remains
critical to the development of PR to future.
3: Fundamentals of Public Relations
Definition and Core Principles
Public relations (PR) can be described in the context of the communicative process that aims at
creating relationships with the benefits to both the organization and its key publics. Such definition
highlights the need for an organization to develop goodwill between it and the customers, fellow
employees, shareholders, media, government, and the public in general. The objectives of PR include
image building, reputation management and information dissemination for the sake of the
organizations’ objectives and principles.
PR is based on such key values as ethical conduct, openness, and planning. Ethical aspects are critical
in PR as it is the only way that ensures information taken to the public is accurate and true.
Transparency is the act of sharing of information’s either good or bad and explaining them to
members of the public. In this process, long-term and short-term objectives of the organisation
concerning the communication strategies and goals, to whom it has to communicate and through
which channel is the most important. They help the PR specialists provide and develop strategies as
well as campaigns that will get a positive response from the target audience as well as meeting the
planned goals.
Key Components of PR
Public relations can be divided into several specific function that sum up the main activities aimed at
controlling and improving the organizational image. These components are media relations
community relations crisis management CSR and internal communications.
Media Relations: Media relations engage the identification of proper contacts among the journalists,
editors, and other media channels. The objective is to obtain favorable attention and control the
organization’s representation in the media. This is done through, special announcements, media
relations, press releases, and formal meetings, and interviews. Media relations show the general
public the right perception to adopt while third party endorsement provides credibility.
Community Relations: This concept is related to the management of relations with the members of
the community. This includes having a relationship with the leaders of that particular community and
being an active participant in every event that takes place in the society or support any initiative that
may be taken in the society. Community relations is a strategic way that enables an organization to
foster goodwill and strongly establish the aspect of social corporate responsibility.
Crisis Management: Even it is a subcategory of public relations or PR discipline, crisis management
plays a big role in an organization should inadvertently be placed in an undesirable situation that
could deter potential clients and partners. The activities involved in this factor include; crisis
communication planning, spokesperson, and communication with stakeholders during the
development of the crisis. An organization can minimize harm by creating and following good
strategies in crisis management so that it can rebuild its reputation.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Corporate social responsibility is therefore the process that
facilitates management of effects that the organisation has on society and this include doing the right
thing, being an environmental organisation, and interactions with the society. PR has the ability of
participating in getting out any CSR initiatives undertaken by the company to the public, hence
guaranteeing that people are abreast with the support the organization is extending towards noble
social and environmental causes.
Internal Communications: Internal communication mainly targets an organization’s human resource
in a bid to entertain and educate them. This includes business communication where information in
the organisation is shared, maintaining of healthy relations within the work place, and ensuring that
all employees in an organisation are in tuned with the organisations culture and vision. Internal
communication is important since efficient implementation leads to positive changes within the
organization, civil servants’ morale, and productivity.
Differences Between PR and Advertising
Nonetheless, PR as well as advertisement are subcategories of the larger category of IMC that
performs different functions, utilizes varied approaches, and yields different results. In realizing these
differences, organizations are in a better position to integrate both practices within the achievement
of their communication objectives.
Objectives: PR is mainly aimed at creating and sustaining the favorable image and managing the
relations with different people and organizations. PR, therefore, emphasizes the principles that seek
to gain the audience’s trust and believability with proper and ethical messages. whereas, the
advertising concept is to sell products and services and to create an urge among the consumers to
purchase the product or access the service immediately. The aim of the advert is to make the target
group buy or use the commodity or service that the advert is selling.
Methods: PR uses other people’s media and non-purchased content in the dissemination of its
messages. This entails matters such as press releases, media articles, social media, and events. Public
relations practitioners strive to achieve media coverage by using a system of intercommunication.
Promotion relates to paid media where the key media tools include; Television and Radio, Newspaper
and Magazine, Internet and Social media. This is because the buying of space and time through which
the advertisers place their messages gives the organisations an opportunity to get to their target
clients directly.
Outcomes: The effects of PR are usually evaluated based on the benchmarks of reputation and brand
image and perception by the stakeholders. Effective PR efforts will bring good publicity, increase
people’s confidence in an organization, and increase the credibility of an organization. The effects of
advertising are usually evaluated by certain parameters like turnover, frequency of visits to the
company’s website, and other conversion statistics. Advertising is more about making quick sales and
getting tangible returns whereas PR aims for gradual change that will make the public have a better
perception of a certain company.
Concluding, PR and advertising are the instruments of an extensive marketing system which
effectively implements the conceptions and notions. PR lays the platform for clients by creating trust
and credibility; on the other hand, advertising creates awareness and motivates the consumers to act.
Altogether, they form the coherent concept of dealing with communications that correspond to the
purpose of an organization.
4: Public Relations Strategies
Media Relations
Media relations refer to the fostering of working relationships with target media members inclusive of
journalists and editors, with a view to achieving favorable media placement and control the
organization’s media profile. This strategy is essential for educating the public, lobbying public opinion
and, in general, increasing credibility of the organization. Some of the activities involved in this
process when involving the media are writing and sharing of press releases, conducting of press
conferences, developing of briefings and media interviews as well as other executives in the
organization.
Media relations entail the ability to appreciate journalists and their outlets and know the type of
work they prefer and their deadline. Public Relation specialists also need to be able to come up with
good interesting stories for the media, and for the public good, and newsworthy. It needs to be
stressed that media professionals should be trusted since a good relationship with them yields better
and uniform coverage. Furthermore, preparation of media messages for spokespeople assists in
guaranteeing that they know how to convey the organization’s messages and respond to media calls
professionally.
Community Relations
Community relations are managing the interaction between the organization and those in the
community. Finally, this strategy focuses on the information that reflects the organization as a
concerned member of a society. Community relation includes functions such as supporting local
initiatives like fairs, contributing to charity organizations, contributing time in volunteering, and
participating in social projects within the community.
Public relations ensure good rapport with the members of the community hence ensuring the
organization has a good image. It proves that the organization has something more than self-
organizational interests and that it contributes to the formation of the community. This tends to
enhance the consumers and stakeholders support from the local market. Further, there can be seen a
positive correlation between strong and efficient community relations and company crises, as the
community is most likely to side with an organization that it considers as a responsible member of
society.
Crisis Management
Another important strategic area of PR is crisis management which implies preparation of an
organisation for various adverse situations potentially harmful to the organisation. A crisis can be
defined as management of an occurrence such as a recall, a scandal, disaster, and cyber-attack. The
overall goal of managing the difficult situation is to minimize the harm, shield the organizational
image, and rehabilitate the stakeholders’ confidence.
A good crisis management plan consists of the worst contingencies that may occur, how to address
them, the preparation of the public relations personnel, and to keep communicating with the
stakeholders. This means that during a crisis, proper action has to be instituted as soon as possible
and once a certain course of action has been initiated, everyone has to be informed and the
subsequent steps have to be consistent. The announcement releases the correct and timely
information as a way of countering its opponents and other people who spread fake news. The
evaluation of response and change management is undertaken with the view of building the ability of
the organization in regard to the effective handling of any other occurrence in the future.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
This means that CSR is an idea whereby a company assumes a role of being responsible and getting
involved in appropriate activities for the improvement of the society and sustainability of the natural
resources. Some of the activities that fall under the CSR include reducing on the emission of
greenhouse gases, on the welfare of workers regulating on the funding of education, healthcare, and
charitable activities.
CSR remains an integral element of the modern PR strategy and agenda because the skills for
enhancing the organization’s image are among the most effective for establishing credibility with the
stakeholders. That is why the communication of CSR initiatives is important as the specifics provided
by such information would enable anyone in the organisation to prove that the enterprise is
concerned with social and environmental problems. This can be done through communicating
sustainability, and through operating, reporting and leading it through the company’s public relations
department mainly through sustainability reports, social networking sites, NGO’s and other
departments of the company. Hence, CSR is an approach that, when integrated into firm’s strategic
management as a strategic imperative, can yield sustainable stakeholder value in the process too.
Internal Communications
Internal communications are concerned with the pro-active identification and management of
messages and relations within an organization for the purpose of creating and reporting corporate
employee awareness. This strategy is critical for promoting a healthy work culture and increased
employee engagement besides ensuring the employees are fully dusted in the organization’s vision
and missions. By establishing internal communication, employees get a chance to be informed on
various aspects touching on the business.
Some of the important activities under internal communication include, internal newsletters, online
intranet portal, management speaks to the employees, and management-employee feedback
sessions. Openness and integrative communication is relevant because they foster trust and meaning
engagement of the employees. Another crucial culture that is fostered in the organization is
acknowledging and rewarding employees’ accomplishments. Thus, the internal communication
directly correlates with the higher levels of employees’ satisfaction and reduced turnover, therefore,
contributes to the achievements of organizational objectives.
5: Promotion Tactics in Public Relations
Press Releases
Public relations’ press releases are official statements provided to the media in reference to particular
organizational activities and changes which may include product release, mergers, events or any
activity that may be deemed newsworthy. They are still, in essence, one of the key PR instruments
designed for getting media attention and, therefore, raising public awareness. The significant parts of
a press release contain the headline part, the summary of the news, the quote part, and the part,
with contacts.
Press releases are also only good if the press release writer considers the newsworthiness of the
stories he/she is writing. PR practitioners have to make sure that the information availed is timely,
pertinent and would be of interest to the designated audience. Moreover, it is within the framework
of the standard journalistic text and offering unambiguous and interesting texts with strictly factual
information that make an article more likely to be picked up by the media. As for the press releases
they can also be sent to journalists in the form of email newsletters, with the help of PR distribution
services, or directly on the organization’s website and social networks.
Media Kits
Media kits or press kits are informative material containing collected data for journalists and
members of the media. They offer historical information of an organization or firm, its offerings and
leading executives. Media kits are press kits that contain press release, factual data, brief profile of
the company or person, photographs, preview videos, and any other information that can help the
media in reporting a story.
They are most important during product launch, events or any major announcement since they are
convenient to the media providing all the required information in a single package. This means that
PR specialists have an important role of providing journalists with materials that will present
unambiguous message and simplify the journalistic work. They can be delivered in a tangible form
during a specific event, or posted digitally in what is known as press center at the organization’s web
site.
Publicity Stunts
Publicity stunts mean an act, which is creative, and more often than not, outrageous, incidents or an
event staged with the motive to lure the media. It can emerge in various actions starting from the
dance, mass action to the records and the celebrities. The idea behind a publicity stunt is therefore
needed to catch the attention of the public as well as popularize a given brand, product or even a
cause.
Often publicity stunts are magnificent or ludicrous depending on how ludicrous they are, how related
they are, and how they are completed. A good publicity stunt is as effective as it has the tendency of
capturing the attention of the public as well as the media resulting to coverage and boosting the trend
of social media platforms. However, it is pertinent to ensure that the stunt conveys the appropriate
message of the organization because the negative effects of the misuse have highly affected the
reputation of any organisation. Risk and contingency assessment should always be included in the
planning phase of a publicity stunt.
Event Sponsorships
Event sponsorships are legal agreements between an organization and an event where the
organization contributes to the funding of the event or by offering products and/or services and in
return, the organization is recognized as the sponsor of the event. They can include; games or sports
events, music concerts, business/academic meetings/conferences, fundraising dinners/Dances,
church meetings/organization meeting/ and many more. Thus, sponsorships allow the organization to
get access to the targeted groups as well as raise the recognition of the organization, owing to the
positiveAttributeName=paid attention to the affiliation.
Thus, sponsorship of events should be well selected based on the right event that matches that of the
organization. Thus, along with selecting appropriate sponsors, PR specialists need to coordinate the
sponsorship contracts that will convey real values, such as logos, participation and the rights to
designate certain events. Also in the area of the sponsorship, other elements such as enhancing the
pre-event advertising, organizing on-site activities, and follow-up after the event could improve the
sponsorship and guarantee the organisation is recognised.
Influencer Collaborations
Leveraging is a process of working with other people who have a large following in the social
networks or any other platform. The following influencers can be useful in directing an organization’s
followers to buy their products, use their services or support their message. Promoting can be done in
different ways and it may involve direct paid partnerships with influencers and other related persons
that contain posts and reviews, competitions, and even jointly created posts.
It can also be stated that the identification of the appropriate influencers plays an essential role in
the effectiveness of these initiatives. Some of the risks that PR professionals need to contemplate for
the contracted influencer are things like; audience demographics, modulate of engagement,
genuineness, and compatibility with organizational standards. To make sure both partners are
benefiting from the collaboration and the goals are met, it is crucial to state the objectives, rules and
expectations. The evaluation of the results of influencer campaigns and their interaction with the
target consumer audience allows assessing the efficiency of the campaign’s initiatives and impressions
per conversion.
6: Digital Public Relations
Role of Social Media in PR
More organizations are also using the social networks as public relations tools due to the availability
of the direct, two-way communication between the organization and members of the public. These
include Facebook, twitter, Instagram, linked in, tik tok among others that any organization can use in
disseminating news, directly communicating with the stakeholders and/or creating communities of
the consumers. The modality of social media allows PR professionals to obtain impresses as well as
sentiments analysis of viewers at the same time.
Thus, it can be concluded that social media plays a very important role when it comes to the relative
brand awareness and the brand image perception. Especially in the frequently posting pictures,
videos and or in responding to comments that are made on their wall, organization can develop a ‘fan
base. ’ Another benefit of using social media is in the management of the crisis say when an
organization has had an unpleasant issue to deal with, it can avail corrected information and maybe
contain the repercussions to its image through social media. It also grows the engagement floor and
reach in the use of hashtags the live streaming, collaborations among other Influencers across the
social media platforms.
Besides, SM analysis also serves to obtain knowledge about target audience and their actions
concerning SM and the wants and needs a PR specialist might deem valuable while working on
necessary strategies and messages. This rational approach is very useful and relieves PR campaigns
and pour a lot of colour into meaningful and powerful communication.
Online Reputation Management
ORM can be defined as the practice of controlling the current and future presentation of an
organisation’s reputation, and of monitoring changes in this area in cyberspace. Therefore, due to the
open provision of so much information and data, the management of one’s own image becomes
challenging and, at the same time, has never been as crucial as it is today. ORM strategies are thus
targeted at maintaining the right visibility of information/informational items as well as moderating
the impact of wrong information.
Thus, the basic aspects of ORM include monitoring, two-way communication with customers and
stakeholders, the management of negative post, and the promotion of positive post. Google Alerts
and the general social media monitoring, and review management allow a PR professional to know
what people are saying about the organization. Friendly and prompt replies to the negative comments
or any other negativity can be turned into a positive message indicating the businesses’ ability to
provide good service.
It also covers the timely preparation and dissemination of good and quality news that would help in
portraying the image of the organization properly. These are articles, blogs which include a press
release, and case studies, as well as customers’ testimonials. It is understood that there are occasional
negative items within the context; however, the organisations require posting positive and other good
stories and quality information on their official websites.
Content Marketing Strategies
Content marketing as a strategic concept is aimed at the development and provision of informative,
useful, and pertinent content to the target audience. In the process of PR, content marketing can
include creating and distributing any type of content that may include blogging, article writing, video
sharing, infographics, podcasting and social media content to convey the business’s message and in
the process interact with the public.
Every good content marketing plan requires the identification and the understanding of the target
market. PR specialists finally create work which focuses in these areas and disseminates useful
information and solutions. Apart from enabling the audience to develop a trusting relationship with
the organizations, high-quality content also facilitates audience engagement and sharing, thus
increasing the organizations’ reach.
Content marketing also goes hand in hand with SEO since it entails the use of keywords and the
development of Search Engine friendly contents. Fresh and interesting content on the organization’s
website and blog is optimal for SEO and generates organic traffic. Also, content development and
sharing involving industry specialists and key opinion leaders can increase the level of visibility and
expertise in a certain field.
SEO and PR
SEO and PR are related in the context of the online environment, and they include increasing the
website’s popularity. It is vital to understand that SEO aims at modifying web content in a way that
the given piece of content is positioned higher on the list of SERP; thus, it will be more easily available
to users, who are in search of the diverse information. The integration of SEO to PR strategies
improves on the visibility of the organization’s content on the internet.
In terms of the keyword use and research, keyword application turned out to be an important
component of both SEO and PR strategies. Matching and using terms in a press release, blog article,
or any other relevant content guarantees that whatever is written will be relevant with what users are
looking for. This enhances the possibility of the content to be ranked on search engine results hence
getting organic traffic.
Another important component of SEO is the backlinks or inbound links from other genuine websites.
Public relations initiatives to get press coverage, posts, and promotion on trustworthy web properties
result in the attainment of suitable backlinks that assist the organisation to rank higher in search
engines. Also, the development of contents, which people would like to share with others, allow for
the acquisition of natural backlinks from different websites, thus improving the overall SEO results.
There are also other more technical areas of SEO which also relate to PR practice, such as, web
speed, mobile optimizations and metadata, among others. Optimizing the tech of the Organization’s
digital platforms positively impacts the Organization’s consumer ease and ranking by search engine.
Indeed, by incorporating SEO principles into PR campaigns, organizations are in a position to optimize
the communication channels and hence reach out to the intended audiences with heightened impact
in relation to the set communication objectives.
7: Case Studies
Successful PR Campaigns
1. Dove's Real Beauty Campaign
The Dove Real Beauty Campaign is considered as the most memorable PR campaigns of the 21st
century which also originated in 2004. The strategy of ads was to identify perceived controversy,
which means that Dove wanted to revolutionize stereotypical perceptions of beauty associated with
thin and light skinned models and include as many real women of different sizes and colors in its ad
campaigns. There were videos, billboards, and social media posts that were meant to jack up
women’s confidence by telling them to appreciate their bodies as they are.
This could explain why this particular type of campaign had worked as it appeals to the emotions of
the target group and is of interest to the majority of people. Many women can relate to the message
that Dove sent out since they were made to feel powerless by society’s beauty ideals. In this case, not
only was the brand image being promoted through targeting a social issue but the company also
benefited from a higher market share. The campaign received much print and airtime, favourable
viewership, as well as improved stock sales.
2. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
The best known PR campaign was completed in 2014 the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The campaign
entailed a person pouring some ice water on his/her head and shoulder, recording and sharing the
film on social sites, and nominating friends and acquaintances to complete the same with the added
provision of donating to ALS Association. The campaign got popular and famous personalities,
sportspeople, and normal people joining the campaign and sharing the message.
Thus, simple, viral, and social media-based nature of the campaign can be considered as the major
components of the success in the context of the given campaign. That has been a great way people
used to create awareness and at the same time help in supporting ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
financially. The challenge directly helped to gather over $115 million for the ALS Association and
boosted the disease awareness to the global level. It was a good example of how using content
written/conveyed by users, turned social networking into a force for rallying support behind a cause.
PR Failures and Lessons Learned
1. Pepsi's Kendall Jenner Ad
Recall Pepsi Co’s scandalous advert that featured Kendall Jenner in 2017 that sought to show unity
and support for the black lives matter movement but was a complete flop that was regarded to
trivialize the whole issue. The ad showed Jenner going from a photoshoot to protest and de-escalating
a conflict with the police by giving them a Pepsi. Pepsi mass produced it in days The backlash was
immediate, many accused Pepsi of using serious social issues as marketing ploy.
Thus, it is clear that when handling social issues, companies should be sensitive and considerate
when handling such issues. Companies need to constantly guard that the messages being put out are
real and not insensitive to sensitive social issues. Pepsi made a mistake not leasing enough scrutiny of
the advertisement and consulting with different stakeholders.
2. The Overbooking of United Airlines Passenger Removal
An iconic PR nightmare United Airlines experienced in the year 2017 involved the ejection of a
passenger from a flight because the flight was overbooked. The high-profile hooliganism that was
recorded and posted on the social networks led to anger and significantly tarnished United’s
reputation. Instead of so, the initial reaction of the company when responding to the complaint was
defensive and the employees expressed no empathy which worsened the situation.
The main message that could be derived from this episode is timely, honest, and sensitive crisis
communication. The fact that United did not act quickly and express their regret added to the
problem and created more controversy. Thus, relevant crisis communication can be focused on the
victims and can express real emotions such as regret and guilty. Moreover, compliance departments
ought to audit and enhance organizations’ guidelines and procedures to avoid such occurrences.
Analysis of Contemporary PR Strategies
1. Nike's "Dream Crazy" Campaign
A famous case of bad publicity in PR that happened in the year 2017 was the United Airlines when
they dragged a passenger off a flight due to being oversold. The severe cases of hooliganism that were
identified and followed by the uploads on the social networks caused anger and a notable
deterioration of the United’s image. Whereas, its response when the issue was highlighted by the
client was unprofessional to say the least because the company’s representative seemed to be on the
defensive and the employees were showed no compassion which aggravated the problem.
Thus, the main message of this episode which can be derived by the viewers is pertinent,
straightforward and culturally appropriate management of crises communication. Since United did
not do that and instead waited to discharge their statement of regret, it exacerbated the situation
and stirred more fury. Therefore, relevant crisis communication can be targeted at the victims and
can convey genuine feelings like regret and guilt. Furthermore, compliance departments should also
audit and recommend the improvement of organizations’ standards and policies to evade such
incidences.
2. LEGO's Sustainable Materials Initiative
Because of the high levels of environmental preservation LEGO took in 2018 a stand by stating that it
would make use of Green material in all products and packages by the year 2030. This included having
put aside reasonable capital that would be employed in creation of new and sustainable ways of
producing the plastic. Such communication activities included informative and precise data on LEGO’s
condition and result, inclusive of partnership with the environmental nonprofit organizations.
On the same order, LEGO’s approach helps to answer the second research question because it shows
that sustainability remains an important part of Modern PR strategies. Today’s customers are
insistent on the companies having concern with their impact o the environment Customers are
demanding for companies to have an awareness of the environment impacts by their existence.
Consequently, while solving the problem of sustainability, LEGO will enhance its image, thus catering
to the current stakeholders’ needs. Taking into account all the information presented in this paper,
LEGO seems to be quite a good example of the corporate sustainability due to the company’s
transparency and an inspiring cooperation with the employees.
The above case analyses give a clear picture of the essence of the PR campaigns in question, the
efficiency and inefficiency of the executed plan, or the lack of it, the best practices of PR in today’s
world and how they may be useful in today’s society and different communication media.
8: Measurement and Evaluation of PR Efforts
Metrics and KPIs for PR
In this respect, the appraisal of efficiency of the activeness of an organization public relation is central
in evaluating the return on investment from PR campaigns that are dear to the interest of the
organization. Measured goals: Thus, objectives are essential in establishing whether PR has achieved
the set objectives through the employment of KPIs and metrics. Some of the tangible practical
techniques for the measurement of PR in relations to media include: Media clipping; general
impression; response rate; tone and number of website hits.
Media Coverage: This measure defines the amount of media that is being communicated or reaching
a business or only getting across to it. The counts of articles, comments and references in the press
are presented distinguished in the positive, neutral, and negative feelings, and the PR practitioners
monitor such counts. Therefore, it can be concluded that both the nature and the timbre of the
coverage do influence the feeling toward the specified entity detected online.
Audience Reach: This KPI indicates the number of potential viewers, probably can be affected by the
PR activity, for instance, the readers of the published materials, the followers of the profiles etc. The
measure of the audience reach determines the potential of the drivers, and the effectiveness of the
attained strategies of target audiences attract-in, and the efficiency of the peculiar communication.
Engagement Rates: The indication of the people towards the placed PR contents on social media is
depicted from the likes, share, comment, Click through rate and so on… At the same time, high
engagement proves that the content is more relevant to the target group and help in getting the
response.
Sentiment Analysis: This has more to do with assessing the fremd and latent attitudes toward
coverage in all the media and in society. Thus, the opportunity for the sentiment analysis option to
predict possible challenges that may occur in practice or great concern regarding a specific topic or
event among the population is useful for PR specialists in their work. This one involves the application
of NLP to determine whether the coverage is positive, negative, or just containing an analysis that
does not lean to either side.
Website Traffic: The nature of such changes can, therefore, be quantified within the web site visits
thus helping one in the ability of assessing the PR campaigns that are done. More values rising when
there is a press release or the time when an article is posted by the media regarding the
organisation’s services clearly points toward the expanding horizons of the organisation and thus
growing RI.
Tools and Techniques for Measuring PR Success
Thus, the PR activity and its outcomes can be assessed with the help of general tools and methods.
They are aimed at helping the practitioners to collect information, analyze them and present them to
another set of practitioners in format of a report for them to take action or change strategies.
Media Monitoring Tools: The existence of certain tools such as Meltwater, Cision, and Mention
assists the PR specialists in the media monitoring process, assessment of the coverage and even the
sentiment impacts present within it. These tool have the potentiality of finding out the impression
that the public including the media has about the organization and they produce reports which are
handy for future planning.
Social Media Analytics: PR tools that can be used by PR teams are Hootsuite, Sprout social, and
Google analytics, which enable the firms to monitor the activity of the social media accounts and to
assess overall interaction with the viewers. These insights go a long way in improving the social media
strategies other than improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the contents shared on the various
social media platforms.
Surveys and Feedback Forms: Through the survey of the stakeholders as well as the customers and
employees of the organization, one can get qualitative information on the PR campaign that has been
conducted. Knowledge, realization and predispositions can be assessed by questionnaires particularly
when referring to the organization and its initiatives.
Web Analytics: Us of web analytics for instance the google analytics to assess the traffic, users’
activity, and conversions in the organisations website. The analysis of such indicators opens the
possibility to determine the efficiency of PR campaigns in attracting more visitors.
Reporting Dashboards: Both single and cumulative measures especially those usually depicted in
reporting dashboards enable the PR personnel to assess the level of performance over the specified
time frame. The type of design that has been chosen can include different processes that may involve
sorting the data through various particular dashboards and making instant decisions on the real-time
information.
Importance of Feedback and Continuous Improvement
Thus, the assessment is one of the prominent areas of this communication discipline as it offers the
information about the impact of the PR actions and changes required to make. Using the approach of,
seeking changes by going out in the market to seek the feedback of the stakeholders, audience, and
the team enhances the power to accept changes.
Stakeholder Feedback: In practising questionnaires, interviews or conversation in detail, it is among
the responsibilities of the PR employees to perceive and experience the campaigns or programs of the
organization. Sometimes, it assists public relation to determine some accomplishment that has to be
applauded or some disadvantage that has to be dealt with in the subsequent public relation crusades.
Crisis Response: In the course of the crisis, the information that is available with the various
stakeholders proves quite informative. The notion about response of the organisation can also serve
as a valuable source for providing additional information in terms of management of the crisis
communication and enhancing the organisational preparedness.
Iterative Improvement: Staying on top of this change means that PR activity should be evaluated
periodically for effectiveness and/ effectiveness and adjustments to strategies and tactics need to be
made periodically. It is useful for the PR teams to know as from the performance indicators and
feedbacks, which among the strategies used are good and which among them needs some changes
once in a while.
Benchmarking: It is equally important to compare the performance with benchmarks, other
competitors, etc. , so that there is a logical substantiation for analyzing PR success. Benchmarking
basically means comparing one’s organization with another and it can play a significant role to identify
the competence and inefficiency of that particular organization.
Therefore, what is crucial to making the public relations’ quantitative measurement and
communicating its value succeed is the evaluation, the proper metrics, the efficient tools, and the
focus on feedback and learning. Hence, operating in these aspects will facilitate development of PR
strategies and enhancement of relationships with the intended audience.
9: Challenges in Public Relations
Ethical Issues in PR
Indeed, ethical dilemmas remain a growing issue in public relations because practitioners are required
to arbitrate between a number of ethical dilemmas regarding their organizations. Another of the key
questions significant for ethical evaluation of PR activities is the issue of transparency. PR
professionals are responsible for dealing with information release which always presents some moral
issues as to what information to release and at what time. Honesty in relation to a firm’s activities
especially when the information to be released might be negative is a key feature of ethical PR.
Another ethical issue is this situation is misinformation. This can be by making strategically
exaggerated claims or falseness or skipping some essential facts which are important. Being employed
in PR, people have to serve their employer while, at the same time, it is their duty to be informative to
the public. Moreover, conflicts of interest are also evident when public relations practitioners prefer
personal or clients’ gains than upholding ethics, and hence, integrity is at risk.
PRSA has a clear code of ethics that seeks to assist those in the practice to uphold the right
standards; this shows why it is important to follow ethical standards in the practice of public relations.
They also enhance the PR profession standing and rebuild the faith of stakeholders and audiences in
the profession on matters regarding the organization or the govt.
Dealing with Negative Publicity
This is an influential challenge that PR corporations encounter since unfavorable information can be
as a result of product recall, scandals or unpalatable media reports. Hence, the management of
negative publicity has to be assertive and strategic in formulation. One should start by promptly and
openly replying to meet the client’s complaint to prevent circumstances from worsening.
Public relations management is a critical component of organizations, and negative publicity is among
the areas with documentation of effective crisis communication plans. These plans target detailed
action, key messages and persons to ensure there is unity in responding to the issue. When it comes
to PR the following needs to be realized: PR professionals have to admit the problem; accept the
blame where required and inform the audiences about corrective action being taken. Such an
approach can certainly be useful in keeping the consequences of such acts minimal, as well as in
rebuilding the public’s trust.
Effective communication with the stakeholders and the media also plays a major role during a crisis.
In order to give timely information to people and control the flow of false information, it is possible to
give regular updates and be available to answer questions. Moreover, the post-crisis management
strategy supplements communication efforts in rebuilding the reputation of the firm by
communicating changes and lessons learned.
The Implications of New Media on Television
Technological changes and also change of consumers’ needs and behavior, have led to changes in the
media systems. This is some of the changes that PR professionals have to meet while developing
different strategies to ensure they are up to date. Social media, digital media and the influencer
marketing methods have therefore changed the way organizations interact with the market.
Thus, one of the primary problems is in managing all of the various modern means of
communication. PR practitioners need to decide where their target publics are staying and which
media will be influential in impacting them; this maybe through traditional media, social media, blogs,
or Podcasts. This is because it involves an understanding of the audience, their tastes and patterns of
use, a characteristic that is constantly dynamic and thus needs to be studied.
Furthermore, the criticism crest in flow ratio hours means that public relation specialists need to
apply persistence to the changing occurrence and trend. This speed of information flow may prove to
be as much a boon as a bane, hence the need to keep all PR and communication teams on their toes.
Moreover, the diffusion of deceptive information, or ‘fake news’, can be considered a relevant
difficulty. It becomes the challenge of the PR professionals to engage in efforts in countering fake
news, in encouraging the use of accurate news sources, and in seeing to it that their organization’s
message is relayed accurately in media. This involves creating goodwill and earning the embrace of
these people so and so the next time they are reporting a story or recommending a credibility then
they turn to the organization.
In sum, ethical dilemmas, negative comments, and media transformations in public relations present
many difficulties that can be managed only strategically and ethically by PR specialists. If these
challenges are well handled, an organization becomes strong and can handle other issues that may
arise thus having a good reputation and building trust with their investors.
10: Future Trends in Public Relations
Technological Advancements Impacting PR
Technological developments are significantly revamping public relations at a very high rate. The
trends are seen in digital communications, social media, and data analysis affecting how PR specialists
come up with their plans and targets and interact with their publics. One such trend is that there has
been heightened focus on integrating narratives into multimedia including but not limited to videos,
podcasts, graphics organizations are thus communicating their messages in more appealing to the
audiences.
Another significant improvement is the observation that PR specialists have gained better access to
analytics tools that allow evaluating the outcomes of their efforts. These tools help one understand
how the audience interacts with media and the various metrics regarding engagement hence
informed decisions. Consequently, the PR strategies can be modified and fine-tuned over a period,
especially where feedback is being received in real-time together with detailed performance analytics.
Moreover, there is evidence that automation tools are likewise being applied in PR with this, PR
activities that were time-consuming before, including media monitoring and content distribution, are
slowly being done with the use of automation, efficient reporting is also part of the list. This
technological advancement helps PR teams to spare much time on the planning and creativity process
of PR taking little time on paperwork.
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence in PR
Artificial intelligence (AI) is integrating as a change in public relations; as a result, improving various
facets of PR operations. Media monitoring is now performed through AI technologies, while media
sentiment analysis as well as targeting specific audiences is done with the help of AI technologies. For
instance, AI solutions can be used in the assessment of the sentiment and the trends regarding the
public opinion based on the information shared with social media and the corresponding online
platforms, thus offering potential input for PR activities and campaigns.
Social media and customer service also have their practices involving requests and interactions with
the organization’s clients through chatbots and artificial intelligence-enabled virtual assistants, which
increase customer engagement and response. These technologies help PR practitioners to keep
stream with their target audiences by having proper and timely interactions.
Moreover, AI can help in producing the content or at least help to collect the best pieces of
information. For instance, AI can analyze the audience’s preferences and actions , which allows the PR
teams to create meaningful content that will interest the viewers. Thus, the future trends in pr
activities will be based on the use of artificial intelligence and the application of these technologies
will expand.
Future Predictions for the PR Industry
Therefore, it can be concluded that social changes and consumers’ expectations, along with the
development of new technology, will impact the public relations industry in the future. One such
prediction is that of concentrating on the authenticity and openness of the social networks. Indeed, as
more consumers continue to be sophisticated and expecting more than mere company interrupts,
there will be the general need for organizations to embrace the need to cultivate authentic
communication alongside ethical communication so as to actually engage the consumers.
However, the trend of purpose-driven branding would be impacting the PR strategies also in business
growth further in the future. Observations show that organization’s communication messages should
integrate social responsibilities and sustainability because of the changing consumer perception who
prefer to embrace brands with social responsibility. This trend will call for PR practitioners to
specifically build communications strategies that not only market a product but also communicate the
company’s ethics and contributions toward society.
Moreover, a higher role of analytics in PR will result in a greater use of metric systems in PR work.
Thus, the application of data will become even more relevant as PR specialists are to focus on drive,
analytics, and results while considering the shifts in audience preferences. With the improvements in
the technology, communication with the help of advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning will be
far more accurate and efficient.
Therefore, embracing technological enhancements, embracing the themes of ‘realness,’ and being
socially accountable are the aspects of the future public relations industry. One has to understand
these trends in order to remain relevant and efficient in the age of constant changes.
11: Conclusion
In this coursework, various angles of public relations (PR) and promotion strategies have been
discussed with focus on their importance in defining organizational image/communication plans and
strategies. First, we described the meaning, history and theoretical concepts of PR, the changes of the
field during the decades. Each of the PR tactics under discussion: media relations, community, crisis
management, and CSR was discussed along with its relevance for building effective PR-stakeholder
relations.
Furthermore, we analyzed the detailed activities related to the PR promotion techniques that include
the use of the press releases, media kits, publicity stunts, event sponsorship, and collaborations with
influencers for boosting visibility. This was also pointed to the emergence of Digital PR where issues to
do with social media, online reputation management, content marketing and SEO are very vital in
modern PR practices. Moreover, the comparison of successful and failed public relations campaigns
stressed the changes and best practices of the modern approach to public relations.
The Importance of Integrating PR and Promotion Tactics
There is a need to synchronize PR and promotion strategy since they impact son communication
success. This way, the audience receives a single and easily comprehensible message that strengthens
the brand’s image and story. This research shows that cooperation of PR with promotion is an
effective way to impact the audience, reach the goal of credibility and popularity of an organization.
However, an integrated strategy allows an organisation to take advantage of each tactic and its
characteristics. For instance, while PR relies on the concept of relationships and trust, promotional
strategies are directed on the generation of immediate awareness. This way, the combination of
these initiatives allows for long-term planning and focus, not only on the short-term goals but also on
the indication of brand loyalty and brand reputation.
Also, the coordination of PR and promotion means enhanced health campaign assessment and
determination of their effectiveness. The application of shared measures and KPIs will also reveal a
comprehensive picture of the communication initiatives and plans to improve communication
strategies in future. The combination of both tactics therefore results in the development of more
effective campaigns, which are also relevant to its target market.
Final Thoughts on the Future of Public Relations
Thus, it is possible to note that the development of the public relations industry will be influenced by
the tendencies related to the further technological development, new consumer qualities and the
shifts in the society’s values. Authenticity and transparency are the key factors which will also
influence the PR activity since organizations are attempting to embrace the audiences.
Moreover, the shifting of the pace of generating and processing data through artificial intelligence
shall enhance the collection and analysis of data to allow the PR workers to develop strategies that fit
the target markets. Firstly, referred to as purposeful branding and secondly, technological integration
will be at the center of the future public relations.
In conclusion, the broad prospects of PR development are equally full of opportunities and threats.
Therefore, change-oriented, ethics-based, and flexible PR experts can become invaluable to their
organizations and organization clientele. It will also be imperative for professionals to follow the
integration of PR and promotion tactics in order to thrive in this terrain while creating sustainable
positive results in the future years.
