Research Techniques 94 • Scientific Sampling Methods 99
• Reaching Respondents 100
Planning: The Second Step 103
Approaches to Planning 103 • The Eight Elements of a Program Plan 103
PR Casebook Zumba and Komen Party in Pink to Support Breast Cancer Research 108
Summary 111
Questions for Review and Discussion 111
Tactics | Master Class Are Traditional Ways of Doing Research Still Valuable in the Age of Social Media? PRWeek 112
6
Communication and Measurement 115
An Interesting Campaign for a “Most Interesting” Beer 115
Communication: The Third Step 116
The Goals of Communication 116 • Making Sure the Audience Receives the Message 118 • Making Sure the Audience Pay Attention to the Message 119 • Making Sure the Message Is Understood 120 • Making the Message Credible 121 • Making the Message Memorable 122 • Making Sure the Audience Acts on the Message 124
Social Media in Action Facebook Friends = Brain Power? 126
Measurement: The Fourth Step 127
Objectives: A Prerequisite for Measurement 127 • Measurement and Evaluation Status 128
Measurement of Message Exposure 128
Media Impressions 130 • Internet Hits 130 • Advertising Equivalency 130 • Systematic Tracking 131 • Information Requests 132 • Cost per Person 132 • Audience Attendance 132
Measurement of Audience Awareness, Attitudes, and Action 132
Audience Awareness 132 • Audience Attitude 133
• Audience Action 133
PR Casebook “Don’t Be That Guy” Campaign Fights Binge Drinking 134
Summary 135
Questions for Review and Discussion 135
7 Public Opinion and Persuasion 137
Going Green: Everybody’s Doing It 137
What Is Public Opinion? 138
Public Opinion Is a Moving Target 138 • Public Opinion Is Powerful 140
Opinion Leaders as Catalysts 140
The Role of Mass Media 143
Agenda Setting 144 • Framing 144
The Role of Conflict 146
PR Casebook Handguns in America 147
Persuasion in Public Opinion 148
The Uses of Persuasion 149 • Persuasion and Negotiation 149
Social Media in Action Persuading Citizens to Join the U.S. Army 150
Factors in Persuasive Communication 151
Audience Analysis 151 • Appeals to Self-Interest 153
• Audience Participation 154 • Suggestions for Action 154
PR Casebook Macy’s Strives to Activate Millennials 321
Corporate Sponsorship 321 • Viral Marketing 323
Environmental Relations 324
Corporate Philanthropy 325
Summary 327
Questions for Review and Discussion 327
16 Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism 329
Internal and External Expectations Shape Tourism PR in Egypt 329
Public Relations in Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism 330
Promoting a Personality 331
Social Media in Action Celebrities Thrive and Crash in 140 Characters 334
Promoting an Entertainment Event 335
The “Drip-Drip-Drip” Technique 335 • Movies and Television 335
Acknowledgments
We’d like to thank the many reviewers who offered us their invaluable suggestions on how to improve this new edition of the THINK Public Relations
Bill Brewer, Miami University
Ovril Cambridge, Ohio University
Terry Hapney, Marshall University
Kirk Hazlett, Curry College
Andrew Lingwall, Clarion University
Robert O’Gara, Point Park University
Mary-Jo Popovici, Monroe Community College
Many people have contributed to the production of this book. The authors wish to express our deep appreciation and admiration to development editor Erin Mulligan, in particular, who provided excellent editing and worked very closely with us on the manuscript and format. We also salute the continuing support of our editor, Ziki Dekel. Other individuals at Pearson who deserve our thanks include Kristy Zamagni and Katy Gabel, project managers at PreMediaGlobal, Carolyn Arabascio at PreMediaGlobal, who arranged all the photo permissions, and Megan Hermida, editorial assistant. We also wish to thank our respective spouses—Marianne, Marilyn, Sharon, and Tony—for their love and patience during the many nights and weekends we spent at our keyboards updating this new edition.
DENNIS L. WILCOX
GLEN T. CAMERON
BRYAN H. REBER
JAE-HWA SHIN
About the AUTHORS
DENNIS L. WILCOX, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of public relations and past director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at San Jose State University, California. He is a Fellow and accredited (APR) member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), former chair of the PRSA Educator’s Academy, and past chair of the public relations division of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Dr. Wilcox has written six books and is the lead author of Public Relations Strategies and Tactics and Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques . His honors include PRSA’s “Outstanding Educator,” the Xifra-Award from the University of Girona (Spain), an honorary doctorate from the University of Bucharest, and awards from the Public Relations associations of Serbia and India. He is active in the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) and a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, a group of senior communication executives. Dr. Wilcox regularly consults and gives lectures to students and professionals in Asia, Europe, and South America. dennis.wilcox@sjsu.edu
GLEN T. CAMERON, Ph.D., is Gregory Chair in Journalism Research and founder of the Health Communication Research Center at the University of Missouri. Dr. Cameron has authored more than 300 articles, chapters, award-winning conference papers, and books on public relations topics. A popular lecturer internationally, Dr. Cameron has received AEJMC’s Baskett Mosse and PRSA’s Pathfinder awards for career achievement. The University of Missouri has honored him with the 21st Century Corps of Discovery Lectureship, which is given once each year by a globally recognized campus scholar. Dr. Cameron’s ongoing public relations experience includes his management of more than $42 million in external funding of health public relations projects from sources such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, Missouri Foundation for Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S Department of Defense, and Monsanto. camerong@missouri.edu
BRYAN H. REBER, Ph.D., is associate professor of public relations at the University of Georgia, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Dr. Reber teaches courses that offer an introduction to public relations, management, writing, and campaigns. On the graduate level, he teaches classes in topics including management, persuasion, campaign research, and public opinion. His research focuses on public relations theory, practice, pedagogy, and health communication and has been published in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Health Communication, Public Relations Review, and Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Dr. Reber regularly presents his research at national and international academic conferences. He is the co-author of two books: Gaining Influence in Public Relations and Public Relations Today: Managing Competition and Conflict. Dr. Reber worked for 15 years in public relations at Bethel College, Kansas. He has conducted research for the Sierra Club, Ketchum, and the Georgia Hospital Association, among others. reber@uga.edu
JAE-HWA SHIN, Ph.D., Mph, is associate professor in the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Shin is recognized as a prolific researcher in the field of public relations, and has co-authored Public Relations Today: Managing Conflict and Competition. Her articles often appear in journals such as the Public Relations Review, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Science Communication Journal , and Journal of Communication in Healthcare. Dr. Shin is an active presenter at national and international conferences. Her research areas are public relations theories, strategic conflict management, agenda-building process, and health communication. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in public relations, conflict/issue/crisis/risk management, campaigns, theories, and research methods, and is the faculty co-advisor for the USM chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America and head of the public relations sequence for the School of Mass Communication and Journalism. Prior to teaching at the University of Southern Mississippi, she worked as the public relations director for the Korea Economic Research Institute of the Federation of Korean Industries. jae-hwa.shin@usm.edu
The Challenge OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
As the chapter-opening scenario illustrates, the challenge of public relations (PR) is multifaceted. A public relations professional must
have skills in written and interpersonal communication, research, negotiation, creativity, logistics, facilitation, and problem solving.
“
Individuals who seek a challenging career at the center of what’s happening in modern organizations will find public relations to their liking. Owing to the variety of tasks— ranging from brochure layout to focus groups and polling data analysis—and the chance
to work for clients and companies across the gamut of profit, nonprofit, and government sectors,
more and more people like Cierra are choosing the field of public relations every year.
CNN.com lists “public relations specialist” as one of the top 50 professions for job opportunity and salary potential. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts “much faster than average” growth for the public relations profession. Between now and 2018, the BLS predicts a very healthy 24 percent job growth in the field.
think
Which skills make PR professionals successful?
Public relations specialists are concentrated in large cities, where...communications facilities are readily available and where many businesses and trade associations have their headquarters. Many public relations consulting firms, for example, are in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
”
Global SCOPE
Public relations is a wellestablished academic subject that is taught throughout the world. Large numbers of students around the globe study public relations as a career field. In the United States, more than 300 universities have sequences or majors in public relations, and approximately 100 European universities offer studies in the subject. Many Asian universities are offering new graduate and undergraduate public relations programs—from India to Singapore to China. Student demand is increasing dramatically.
While the U.S. dominates the public relations market, The Holmes Report (holmesreport.com), an annual agency industry listing, reflects the global power of PR. Agencies in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the UK
China’s economy has been increasing at the rate of 8 percent annually. The public relations industry is sharing in this growth. The China International Public Relations Association (CIPRA) reports there are now 20,000 practitioners in the country and annual spending on
“By geography, India and Korea are on fire. By sector, tech is hot and so is digital. I haven’t been this excited about the market in a long time.”
Alan VanderMolen, Edelman’s Asia-Pacific President
The public relations field is most extensively developed in the United States, where organizations are projected to spend almost $8 billion annually by 2013 on public relations, according to estimates by Veronis Suhler Ste-
were among the top 50 agencies in 2011 according to income, which ranged from $531.5 million to $21.8 million among those top agencies.
Alan VanderMolen, Edelman’s Asia-Pacific president told AdWeek that he envisions growth of 23 percent in Asian revenue in the next five years. Major growth is occur-
public relations has reached $2.2 billion.
Other Asian nations, such as Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and India, are rapidly expanding their freemarket economies as well, which creates a fertile environment for increased public relations activity. Latin America and Africa also
PR, Advertising, and Marketing Combine Forces to Change the Reputation of “Junk” Food
A S YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER, public relations shares qualities with, but is distinct from, advertising, marketing, and journalism. However, public relations often joins forces with these professions to educate key publics. That’s the strategy that the public relations firm Ketchum and wordof-mouth and social media marketing firm Zócalo Group adopted in an award-winning campaign for Frito-Lay.
Frito-Lay was concerned that snack foods like its Lay’s potato chips, Fritos and Tostitos corn chips, and SunChips multigrain chips suffered from the “junk food” label. They wanted to educate “influencers” about the healthy ingredients in Frito-Lay products. Ketchum and Zócalo conducted pre-campaign research and found that 92 percent of people said the most powerful influencers in purchase decisions are family, friends, and experts. The research also showed that only 30 percent of influencers believed that Frito-Lay offered healthy snacks. A focus group identified “good fats/simple ingredients” as the most convincing message in shifting influencers’ perceptions. Frito-Lay had removed unhealthy trans fats from its snacks years ahead of the competition, according to Ketchum’s situation analysis. And products like Fritos had simple ingredients—“corn, corn oil and salt—that’s it.” The message was good but it wasn’t enough; to make sure that consumers did not think the company was trying to promote chips as health foods, Frito-Lay also consulted with nutrition experts and developed educational materials about smart snacking.
To communicate their message about Frito-Lay’s ingredients and smart snacking, Ketchum and Zócalo identified nutrition, health, and food experts as prospective influencers. They also reached out to bloggers and online “brand fans.” Educational roundtables were held at national conferences attended by influencers—the Society for Nutrition Education
and the American Dietetic Association. Booths were set up at blogger conferences, including the Healthy Living Summit and the SocialLuxe Lounge. Direct mail was employed to distribute new product “sneak peeks” to journalists, bloggers, and health professionals. Similarly, brand fans were sent “fan packs.” In both instances, educational materials were included in the packages.
These same influencers—journalists, bloggers, and health professionals—were invited to production plants to see the food being made firsthand. Registered dietitians representing grocery chains were hosted at a two-day workshop to determine how best to get the good fat/simple ingredients message into their stores.
Online resources included YouTube videos featuring a Frito-Lay chef offering recipe and chip pairings. SnackSense. com and LicensetoSnack.com were developed as centers for product information and snacking research.
At the conclusion of the influencer campaign, 90 percent of the health professionals who were reached by the program became Frito-Lay advocates. Plant tours resulted in 130 participants tweeting or blogging about what they learned. Thirteen hundred brand fans signed up to be evangelists for the brand. Each fan boasted an average following of 10,000 people.
In this innovative and successful campaign, traditional public relations tactics like media relations and educational activities such as plant tours were paired with word-of-mouth marketing by brand fans and health experts to create a synergy that raised the reputation of Frito-Lay snacks from junk food to sensible snack. In 2011, Ketchum, Zócalo, and FritoLay won a PRSA Silver Anvil for the campaign.
1 What publics were identified as “influencers” in this case? Do you think some would be more influential than others? If so, why?
2 Which tactics in this PR Casebook would you identify as public relations and which as marketing?
3 What research was conducted? How was research essential to a successful campaign?
The public relations process also may be conceptualized in several steps. The PR Casebook example from page 8 is detailed in the steps outlined here in this figure.
The Steps of The Public Relations Process in Action.
In Step A, Frito-Lay used primary and secondary research to identify media trends and determine how to reach influencers— journalists, bloggers, and health professionals. During this process, the company essentially conducted a situation analysis— obtaining feedback from the target public, looking at what media were currently reporting on in its industry, examining past campaigns, and performing other forms of research.
APublic relations is a cyclical process. Feedback leads to assessment of the program, an essential element of project refinement and development.
PR professionals at FritoLay used research and analysis to obtain insights into a problem from numerous sources, including comments from consumers and and experts.
In Step B, public relations personnel used the research results to establish objectives, which led to strategy development and recommendations to management. This is the adviser role of public relations.
The PR team analyzed these inputs and found that educating brand fans, nutrition experts, and journalists was essential and recommended different ways to do this in the campaign.
BIn Step C, after management made its decisions, public relations personnel fully developed the Snack Sense and License to Snack campaign, including defining measurable objectives, strategies, and tactics; a timeline; a budget; and evaluation guidelines.
Based on company protocol, the PR team developed Frito-Lay’s multifaceted campaign and secured approval from management.
In Step F, the company undertook post-analysis and adjustment of the public relations program. The cycle was then repeated to solve related aspects of the problem that might require additional decision making and action.
The PR campaign was evaluated in terms of attitude change and behavior among the target publics—nutrition experts, journalists, and brand fans to assess the effectiveness of the communication program and make any necessary adjustments.
In Step E, the effectiveness of these actions was measured by the percentage of attitude change, number of positive blog posts and tweets, and success of brand fans in influencing their friends and family.
In an effort to capture both informal and formal feedback about the communication process and its impact, Frito-Lay closely monitored consumer and expert attitudes.
In Step D, the program was executed. Frito-Lay set up booths at blogging conferences, held workshops for dieticians, sent educational materials and product samples to journalists and brand fans, created YouTube content, developed educational web sites, and more.
The PR team executed a program of action called the communication step. For the Frito-Lay campaign, the communication step included inviting experts to workshops, targeting brand fans online, and showing the production process.
LEVEL ONE LEVEL TWO
HOW PUBLIC RELATIONS DIFFERS FROM journalism
Writing is a common activity of public relations professionals and journalists. And both go about their jobs in many of the same ways: They interview people, gather and synthesize large amounts of information, write in a journalistic style, and produce good copy on deadline. In fact, many reporters eventually change careers and become public relations practitioners.
This has led many people, including journalists, to draw the incorrect conclusion that there is little difference between public relations and journalism. For these misinformed people, public relations is simply being a “journalist-in-residence” for a non-media organization. In reality, despite sharing techniques, the two fields are fundamentally different in scope, objectives, audiences, and channels.
Scope
Public relations, as stated earlier, has many components, ranging
The channels that public relations professionals employ may combine mass media outlets— newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. They may also include direct mail, pamphlets, posters, newsletters, trade journals, special events, and messages shared via blogs, social media networks, or websites.
from counseling to issues management and special events. Journalistic writing and media relations, although important, are only two of these elements. In addition, effective practice of public relations requires strategic thinking, problem-solving capability, and other management skills.
Objectives
Journalists gather and select information for the primary purpose of providing the public with news and information. Professors David Dozier and William Ehling state that in journalism, “communication activities are an end in themselves.” Public relations personnel also gather facts and information for the purpose of informing the public, but their objective is different. Public relations communication activity is a means to the end—a way of managing competition and conflict in the best interests of the practitioner’s employer. In other words,
the objective is not only to inform, but also to change people’s attitudes and behaviors so as to further an organization’s goals and objectives. Whereas journalists are objective observers, public relations personnel are advocates. Harold Burson, chairman of the Burson-Marsteller public relations firm, makes the following point:
To be effective and credible, public relations messages must be based on facts. Nevertheless, we are advocates, and we need to remember that. We are advocates of a particular point of view—our client’s or our employer’s point of view. And while we recognize that serving the public interest best serves our client’s interest, we are not journalists. That’s not our job.
Audiences
Journalists write primarily for a mass audience—readers, listeners,
think Why is it important that journalists remain objective?
or viewers of the medium for which they work. By definition, mass audiences are not well defined. A
journalist on a daily newspaper, for example, writes for the general public. A public relations professional, in contrast, carefully segments audiences based on various demographic and psychological characteristics. Such research allows public relations messages to be tailored to audience needs, concerns, and interests for maximum effect.
Channels
Most journalists, by nature of their employment, reach audiences through one channel—the medium that publishes or broadcasts their work. Public relations professionals use a variety of channels to reach their target audiences.
China has the fastestgrowing public relations market in the world. The country, with more than 1.3 billion people, now has approximately 20,000 public relations practitioners and 3,000 public relations firms. Among them are a host of international public relations firms in residence, whose presence reflects China’s emergence as a major economic power.
b t w …
The Economist reported that in 2010, public relations revenues rose 33 percent to $242 million. The China International Public Relations Association (CIPRA) estimated even higher revenues, and the industry continues to experience doubledigit growth every year. The growth of Chinese public relations began to take off in the early 1990s as the country started to develop a market economy. Its gross domestic product (GDP) has rapidly expanded in recent years, and the central government has given a boost to the public relations industry by initiating significant mass media reforms, which in turn have resulted in a friendlier environment for business news and product publicity.
China also has joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has led to more public relations
activity by international companies that are competing fiercely for customers around the globe. The biggest development, according to The Economist, is the soaring demand for public relations among Chinese companies as they actively seek local consumers, foreign investment, and international outlets for their goods.
Undoubtedly, China’s public relations practitioners will become leaders in the practice of digital public relations. Blogger Chris Lee of planetcontent.co.uk, reported on a statement by Ogilvy PR officials in 2011 that there are an estimated 470 million Internet users in China, and half of those access the web on mobile devices. Lee notes that China is the only Asian country in which people typically have more online than offline friends. Trust in Internet sources is high—45 percent of Chinese trust online reviews, and trust in bloggers is “huge,” according to Lee. Microblogging is popular, Lee writes, and you can say more in 140 Mandarin characters than you can in 140 English-language characters. This all suggests a potentially receptive audience in China, ready for digital, social media, and online public relations campaigns.
