Public Relations and Framing the Message

Chapter 11

Source: Columbia Pictures/PF

Source: Courtesy of Peace Corps. Reprinted by permission

Public Relations Changes Perception

Public Relations

• Public relations: the entire range of efforts by an individual, an agency, or any organization attempting to reach or persuade audiences

• Social and cultural influence is immense.• Convinced many American businesses of the value of

nurturing the public

• Most significant impact has been on the political process.

Press agentsAdvanced client through hype and stunts

Railroad Press agents

Early Developments in Public Relations• Modern PR Agents - Ivy Lee

• Contained damaging publicity fallout for Rockefellers during Ludlow Mine Massacre

Early Developments in Public Relations

• Modern PR Agents• Edward Bernays

• The father of modern PR• Taught the first class in • public relations in 1923

The Practice of Public Relations

• 2,900 PR firms worldwide, including 1,900 in the U.S.

• Growing academic field since the 1980s

• By 2010, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) had nearly 10,000 members, 284 chapters at colleges, universities

The Practice of Public Relations

• Writing Press Releases

• Managing Various Media Requests

• Staging Special Events

• Dealing with Internal and External Publics

Approaches to Organized Public Relations

• $13.6 billion in PR revenue in 2009 for the WPP Group• Burson-Marsteller

• 138 offices in 81 countries• Clients include Sony, Coca-Cola, and IKEA.

• Hill & Knowlton• 70 offices in 40 countries• Clients include Johnson & Johnson, Starbucks, and Nestlé.

Figure 11.1

The Top 4 Holding Firms, with Public Relations Subsidiaries, 2010

Performing Public Relations

• PR involves providing a multitude of services, including publicity, communication, public affairs, issues management, and government relations.

Propaganda

Performing Public Relations

• Conduct research to focus message

Performing Public Relations

•Convey message• Done through press releases• Video news releases (VNRs)• Public service announcements (PSAs)

Difference Between A Press Release and A News Story

Video news releases (VNRs)

Public service announcements (PSAs)

Performing Public Relations (cont.)

• Media relations

• Promote a client by securing publicity or favorable coverage in the news media

• Crisis Management

• Recommend advertising to clients when it seems appropriate

Performing Public Relations (cont.)

•Special events• Raise the profile of corporate, organizational, or government

clients

Performing Public Relations (cont.)

•Psuedo-event: any circumstance created for the sole purpose of gaining media coverage

• E.g. 7-Eleven “Kwik-E-Marts” used to promote The Simpsons Movie, 2007

Performing Public Relations (cont.)

• Community and consumer relations• Designed to sustain goodwill between its clients and the

public

• Government relations and lobbying• The process of attempting to influence lawmakers to support and vote for an organization’s or industry’s best interests

Being Green?

Public Relations Adapts to the Internet Age

• Web sites are the home base for PR efforts.

• Clients of PR professionals can interact with audiences via social media (Twitter, Facebook, blogs).

• PR still needs to control messages.• Firms have edited company Wikipedia entries, paid bloggers

to promote products.

Public Relations during a Crisis

Public Relations during a Crisis

• PR firms must help companies handle a public crisis or tragedy.

• Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 was benchmark for how April 2010 BP oil spill was judged.

• BP’s PR mistakes included multiple underestimations of damage done and the CEO’s lack of empathy.

Tensions between Public Relationsand the Press

• Flacks• PR people who insert themselves between their clients and the

press

• Sources of conflict• Facts brought to light by journalists are spun by PR people.• PR people block access to important officials.• Agents promote advertising as news.• Bigger agencies are able to secure a disproportionate amount of

coverage for their clients.

Shaping the Image of Public Relations

• PRSA Member Professional Values

• Advocacy• Honesty• Expertise• Independence• Loyalty• Fairness

Public Relations and Democracy• Politicians hire PR firms to improve their images.

• Richard Nixon

• PR campaigns that result in free media exposure raise questions regarding democracy and the expression of ideas.

• Journalists need to become less willing conduits in the distribution of publicity.