Week 11 Critique

This week i critiqued Michaela's blog. It can be found here.

Week 11 Blog - Research and Evaluation

Research and evaluation…..after doing much research this week I’ve evaluated that PR students are happy to be finally finishing their public relations blogs. Chapter 6 highlights the increasing importance of research in public relations. The text argues that management is concerned with accountability. Organisational budgets invested in public relations activities must be justified, monitored and accounted for, often with the prospect of achieving funding for future products depending on the cost effectiveness of the previous campaign. The text sited Seitel who adds weight to this argument, he stated “management requires more facts and statistics from PR professionals to show that their efforts contribute not only to overall organisational effectiveness but also to the bottom line.” I found this interesting in that it provides an understanding of how practitioners can achieve and persuade management to allow them to pursue campaigns.

In saying this, the text argues that research should be undertaken at all stages of public relations – in that it makes practitioners accountable for the decisions they make. Research in public relations is used to identify the requirements for a communication program to assist in establishing that program, to check progress and to evaluate the effectiveness as such the text argues that research needs to be ongoing and throughout this research three components are essential. These being inputs, outputs and outcomes. Inputs are those that provide information into the initial planning phases of the communication process. Outputs are the research that is undertaken during the development and implementation stages of a strategy. And outcomes are the research that is conducted at the end of a communication process.

While these are noted in the text as being the stages of research that should be undertaken in a PR campaign the text states that public relations practitioners must be aware of the range of methodologies, available and the ones that will be most appropriate in the planning and development. The text noted that methodologies may be quantitative or qualitative, formal or informal. And the chosen method of research is only limited by the imagination of the practitioner – a concept stretched across the field as the same has been stated for tactics, event management, campaigns etc. While the text covers a long list of the various research methods available to practitioners, including surveys, mail, the internet, focus groups and testimonials, I did not find any of them unfamiliar or uncommon today and therefore there was no need to cover them in this blog, rather just mention they do exist.

The final aspect of this chapter that I found interesting was regarding the ethical considerations that must be considered in research and evaluation in public relations. The text states that “the practitioner must be conscious of coercion, dishonesty, hurtful manner and manipulation of data to meet any other ends than the stated objectives or hypothesis”. For this reason I find it important to note the standards/guidelines that the text provides for practitioners. The text states that the practitioner must:
Give full disclosure of the research procedure
Make sure results are accurately reported and distributed freely and widely
Keep respondent information confidential
Do not promise clients or sponsors what cannot be delivered
Do not harm

This concludes the blogging component of introduction to public relations course. In saying this it has all come together neatly, what I take from this is that the practitioners ability to maximise their success, achieve goals, is only limited by their imagination. The tactics they choose, the research methods they may take depend on the practitioner – there is no set of guidelines that will guarantee a practitioner success, they can only be wise as to the decisions they make and be aware of the options and opportunities available to them.

Week 10 - Critique

This week i critiqued Alex's blog you can find his blog and my critique here.

Week 10 - Strategy and Tactics

This weeks readings discussed the relationship between strategy and tactics. The text highlighted that while these are often used interchangably by students - and while the two are "inextricably linked" it is important to understand the differences between the two and how they fit together. Strategy has been covered in the readings and was blogged about in week 5 - however it would be naieve to ignore it through this weeks readings and therefore shall be discussed in regards to its relationship with public relations tactics.

The text states that there is no guarenteed set of tactics that will ensure the successful implementation of a PR campaign. Once again success relies on the analytical and creative ability of the practitioner and the creative ability is limited only by the practitioners imagination. The text emphasises (as state above) that tactics must relate back to strategy - they are the link between how it is executed or delivered to target audiences. Therefore i will highligh a key point from week 5's readings that a strategic PR campaign is proactive, careful and as always in PR planning is needed to maintain direction and focus.

I found it important to note that tactics can be broken into two major groups controlled and uncontrolled. the text sites that controlled are those that the practitioner maintains control of EVERY aspect, from message creation to crafting the final distribution. For example advertising. On the other hand uncontrolled tactics are those that can be altered or even blocked. For example media release - or the creation of a media release - i nthis case as to whether the material is used at all liew only with a news gatekeeper. I found it most interesting regarding this that the impact of a piece of editorial distributed by uncontrolled means will generally have a higher impact then that of an advertisement. However after considering this for some time this is not difficult to see why. In regards to the delivery of communication the text states that it is critical that practitioners consider this as being of key importance.

In conclusion the text argues that best practice communication relies on consistency and this extend beyond messages to design and production, as these to sends impressions particularly relating to the professionalism of the organisation.

References:

Allert, J and Zawawi, C. (2004). Strategy, planning and scheduling. In Johnston, J., & Zawawi, C. (Eds.), Public relations: Theory and practice.(2nd ed.)(pp.169-197). Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.

Hudson, M. (2004). Tactics. In Johnston, J., & Zawawi, C. (Eds.), Public relations: Theory and practice.(2nd ed.)(pp.169-197). Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.

Week 9 Critique!

Hey this week i critiqued Abby's blog you can find it here.

Blog Week 9 - Sponsorship and Event Management

This week’s readings considered sponsorship and event management. The text states that the larger the event the more likely it is to require some form of sponsorship often requiring the two tactics to be used together.

Sponsorship was listed as being the purchase of specific rights and benefits associated with an event, organisation or individual. When an organisation enters into a sponsorship deal they expect a return. Most interestingly the text explored the idea of emerging organisational partnerships in regards to sponsorship and stated that these “true partnerships” are seen as being the direction in which the industry is heading.

The text details the importance of being able to write a sponsorship proposal – and as seen from last weeks readings being able to write for a variety of mediums is very important in the field of public relations. When writing a sponsorship proposal the text provides a number of helpful hints. It states that when writing a practitioner must consider the motives and goals of the target audience – and a generic sponsorship document will not generate support.

When writing an organisation is most interested in what’s in it for them but the practitioner must be comprehensive about what is being offered and therefore the following should be included: a covering letter, information regarding the background of the event, sponsorship benefits, pictures of past events and specific request of what you are asking from the organisation.

The text explored some the key aspects of event management and stated that the sky is the limit or the practitioner’s imagination is! The text argues that through successful event can achieve a large number of public relations goals and objectives. The text states that reasons for staging an event include the generation of media coverage, creating a platform for product demonstration, corporate/client entertainment and revenue generation.

In regards to media coverage I found the following quote from Ryan and Lemmond very interesting, “cynical consumers are zapping commercials and ignoring printed ads and are more receptive to the editorial message. The “third party endorsement” allows advertisers to sell a new product while enveloping the commercial message in a credible environment.”

I found this weeks readings very interesting – it built on knowledge of the field – providing tactics and what not that will be used in the day to day business of public relations. Once again it highlighted the importance of good writing and planing skills, whilst developing the fabric that is this broad arena.

References

Boyd, S. (2004). Sponsorship and event management. In, Johnston, J. & Zawawi, C. (Eds). Public relations: theory and practice. (2nd ed).( pp. 345- 374). Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.

weeek 8 - and another critique!

This week i also critiqued Kellie's blog you can find this here.