Ah, here we are at the crossroads once again...no wait, it's the end of the line rather than a crossroad..haha
Anyway, this chapter connects to me very personally as it talks about the perspective of Public Relations of the Asian nations and culture in comparison to the state of affairs we see in the Western countries. Talking about locality always gets me jumping around - call it patriotism or the want of showing off Singapore to friends everywhere, issues pertaining to Singapore always had a soft spot in me heart.
Hence, the disagreement, from the readings, that PR in Singapore IS still for the sole purpose of government propaganda.
Well, let's talk about the state of PR in the Asian context first, shall we? I agree with the readings that there is still work to be done if Asia was to match up to the standards that is in place within the Western nations now. However, a different strategy has to be employed within Asia if we were to rise up and fulfill our potential as Asians are naturally conservative and respect authority.
Not saying that the Western culture don't do both of those, but a comparison of public reaction to PR campaigns of a similar context is probably enough to gauge the differences in tolerance level between the two culture.
As mentioned earlier in my blog post about PR ethics, the mailbox-vandalism PR stunt that Singapore Post undertook earlier this year, in promotion of an arts event related to the Youth Olympics Games 2010, received island-wise criticism and distaste. So much so that the CEO of SingPost had to offer an apology at a media conference to appease the Singapore citizens.
Compare that with the Marc Ecko stunt where they appeared to "vandalise" Air Force One - it turned out to be a staged PR stunt as the plane was a private jet which was designed to look like AF1 - and the difference in opinions was drastic. Americans wow-ed at the stunt, offering praise and amazement at the ability to pull off such an act and even having it on tape. After the viral marketing hype wore down and the true nature of the campaign was revealed, there was backlash nor stone-casting. They still revered it as a creative concept of PR, unlike their Singaporean counterparts.
All in all, improving the state of PR affairs in Singapore is not just a matter of casting away our culture and traditions. These 2 aspects makes us unique compared to others and we shouldn't case it away. Rather, we should tweak strategies that are successful in the States and finetune them to work in the Asian culture.
With that said, I think it's about time Asia slowly open up to being more receptive in new ideas too ;) - we could use abit of humour and creativity in our lives, otherwise life will just be plain boring...
Terence, for the final time....OUT!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Week 10 - The one where Terence analysed the pros and cons of New Media
Society, as we know it, is totally a different place from the generations of yesterday. Heck, I don't have to go back so far...the generation of today is ALREADY the equivalent of Back To The Future when compared to my childhood.
Back then, I was an avid fan of Transformers and G.I Joe while also eating, sleeping and breathing football. Nowadays, kids will be lucky to even get out of the house to go have a ball of a time at the playground within their vicinity as all they can think of is the INTERNET, COMPUTER games and FACEBOOK.
Gone are the days where friends will call each other up, setting a date out for coffee to catch up or kids to meet neighbours at the playground and potentially being best friends for live. Now, it's all about chatting on Windows LIVE Messenger or Skyping across the world to online friends they've made throguh multiplayer games.
Such is the prominence of the Digital Age that the term New Media got coined. New Media consists of media technology that is linked to the one biggest development since the early 1990s - The Internet.
People are staying connected to each other, no matter the geographical locations, through social-networking websites like Friendster or Facebook while others are sharing daily happenings lin their lives with the world unknown through blogs and Twitter.
It isn't just normal people who are getting involved with the Internet. Organizations, it seems, are slowly getting into the act in line of upgrading their PR policies.
With changing times, newer tactics are required to engage with the publics and stakeholders of organizations and what better way than the global platform that everyone is on? Public Relations is heavily based on an open-ended communication/feedback system and a system such as the Internet will allow organizations to create greater opportunitiues for participation and consultation between key stakeholders and the organization.
Locally, Starhub is one of the leading lights of organizations taking the initiative to engage its customers through forms of New Media. One of the major telco companies in Singapore, Starhub registered itself on Twitter, a micro-blogging website, to allow itself to directly address rants and complaints from Singaporeans who have a tendency to log on to Twitter to let fly their frustrations at Starhub's Internet service, or rather the lack of it.
An important aspect of Public Relations management and execution is that responses to crisis be as immediate as possible so as to reassure the stakeholders that the organization is on top of it. New Media is certainly helping organizations bridge gaps like this with countries such as Singapore and the United States enjoying proliferation of Broadband-on-Mobile like services through smartphones such as the iPhone and Blackberry phone models.
If technological advances have the potential to transform the ball park of communication between organizations and its publics and key stakeholders, shouldn't we be embracing this as a new age of PR management?
Back then, I was an avid fan of Transformers and G.I Joe while also eating, sleeping and breathing football. Nowadays, kids will be lucky to even get out of the house to go have a ball of a time at the playground within their vicinity as all they can think of is the INTERNET, COMPUTER games and FACEBOOK.
Gone are the days where friends will call each other up, setting a date out for coffee to catch up or kids to meet neighbours at the playground and potentially being best friends for live. Now, it's all about chatting on Windows LIVE Messenger or Skyping across the world to online friends they've made throguh multiplayer games.
Such is the prominence of the Digital Age that the term New Media got coined. New Media consists of media technology that is linked to the one biggest development since the early 1990s - The Internet.
People are staying connected to each other, no matter the geographical locations, through social-networking websites like Friendster or Facebook while others are sharing daily happenings lin their lives with the world unknown through blogs and Twitter.
It isn't just normal people who are getting involved with the Internet. Organizations, it seems, are slowly getting into the act in line of upgrading their PR policies.
With changing times, newer tactics are required to engage with the publics and stakeholders of organizations and what better way than the global platform that everyone is on? Public Relations is heavily based on an open-ended communication/feedback system and a system such as the Internet will allow organizations to create greater opportunitiues for participation and consultation between key stakeholders and the organization.
Locally, Starhub is one of the leading lights of organizations taking the initiative to engage its customers through forms of New Media. One of the major telco companies in Singapore, Starhub registered itself on Twitter, a micro-blogging website, to allow itself to directly address rants and complaints from Singaporeans who have a tendency to log on to Twitter to let fly their frustrations at Starhub's Internet service, or rather the lack of it.
An important aspect of Public Relations management and execution is that responses to crisis be as immediate as possible so as to reassure the stakeholders that the organization is on top of it. New Media is certainly helping organizations bridge gaps like this with countries such as Singapore and the United States enjoying proliferation of Broadband-on-Mobile like services through smartphones such as the iPhone and Blackberry phone models.
If technological advances have the potential to transform the ball park of communication between organizations and its publics and key stakeholders, shouldn't we be embracing this as a new age of PR management?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Week 9 - The one where Terence navigated through a crisis with his reputation intact
The PR practitioner in this day and age probably has the most unenviable job scope in the world - upkeep the reputation of their clients/organization in the eyes of their publics AND help fix a broken reputation when a crisis or scandal erupts through the company and tears the initial public impression of the organization/client up into pieces.
In the readings, the quality of relationships between an organization and its key stakeholders was defined as the determinant of an organization's reputation and I couldn't agree more. A good reputation is crucial for a company if it wants to do well. This is where the PR practitioner comes in - he/she has to:
Once a good relationship is established between the publics and the company and belief in the organization sky-high, profits will eventually soar through the rising engagement of services and usage/purchases of products from the organization etc.
However, there is a saying that goes along the lines of "A crushed piece of paper can never go back to its original, un-crumpled state" and this is certainly the same for reputation / image.
The 2nd part of this weeks' readings focused on Crisis Management and this is the chapter that probably interested me the most, beating the Media Relations chapter hands down.
Crisis is defined in the dictionary as an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending; usually one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome. Usually an unpredictable event that could potentially trigger the start of the end of an organization, it has to be dealt with as soon as possible with as much finesse and grace as possible in order to ensure minimal damage to the organization's public image.
The readings revealed, through a study back in 2005 by Farmer and Tvedt, that 27% of organizations WILL NOT make it through a crisis when it hits them YET many of them remain unperplexed by the possibility.
Toyota Motors was chided in some quarters for not acting fast enough in light of the recent safety scandal which saw the recall of millions of Toyota cars due to malfunctioning accelerator pedals and brake systems. Akio Toyoda, the president of the company, maintained radio silence for a few days despite calls from the public everywhere, from Washington to Ontario to Timbaktu even, for a response from the company.
Thankfully, Toyoda acted relatively quickly after his radio silence, coming out to apologize for the company's oversight on a QC problem like this. While it was not an instant reply from Toyoda, which was even preceded by a reply from the deputy vice president, analysts reckon it was still enough to salvage some pride and keep Toyota's reputation intact amongst the global motoring population.
I personally felt that Toyoda, along with recent shamed celebrities such as Tiger Woods and Jack Neo, should have come up with a response, at the very least if an apology is unavailable yet, as immediately as the analysis backstage can possible allow.
Why a response at the very least? That's because it shows that the organization's willing to take responsibility (NOT akin to taking the blame for the mistake/scandal....yet!) and make amends to it. Stakeholders and publics love to see the organization assume responsibility as it will go to show that they understand the severity of the situation and will start making repairs to the relationship between the 2 parties that had been spoilt by the scandal.
To conclude, the Toyota recall scandal has proven that a crisis happens to any organization, regardless of size and stature, and that there is an urgent need to have a rescue plan for anticipated crisises. This is essential as executive bigwigs will no longer have the luxury of time once a scandal hit and the faster a response, the more minimal damage can be..
Onwards to the age of New Media!
Terence....OUT!
In the readings, the quality of relationships between an organization and its key stakeholders was defined as the determinant of an organization's reputation and I couldn't agree more. A good reputation is crucial for a company if it wants to do well. This is where the PR practitioner comes in - he/she has to:
- help to ensure that the needs of stakeholders are understood and met
- encourage consistency in delivering positive results on promises
- help to articulate and frame messages that organizations want to deliver
Once a good relationship is established between the publics and the company and belief in the organization sky-high, profits will eventually soar through the rising engagement of services and usage/purchases of products from the organization etc.
However, there is a saying that goes along the lines of "A crushed piece of paper can never go back to its original, un-crumpled state" and this is certainly the same for reputation / image.
The 2nd part of this weeks' readings focused on Crisis Management and this is the chapter that probably interested me the most, beating the Media Relations chapter hands down.
Crisis is defined in the dictionary as an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending; usually one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome. Usually an unpredictable event that could potentially trigger the start of the end of an organization, it has to be dealt with as soon as possible with as much finesse and grace as possible in order to ensure minimal damage to the organization's public image.
The readings revealed, through a study back in 2005 by Farmer and Tvedt, that 27% of organizations WILL NOT make it through a crisis when it hits them YET many of them remain unperplexed by the possibility.
Toyota Motors was chided in some quarters for not acting fast enough in light of the recent safety scandal which saw the recall of millions of Toyota cars due to malfunctioning accelerator pedals and brake systems. Akio Toyoda, the president of the company, maintained radio silence for a few days despite calls from the public everywhere, from Washington to Ontario to Timbaktu even, for a response from the company.
Thankfully, Toyoda acted relatively quickly after his radio silence, coming out to apologize for the company's oversight on a QC problem like this. While it was not an instant reply from Toyoda, which was even preceded by a reply from the deputy vice president, analysts reckon it was still enough to salvage some pride and keep Toyota's reputation intact amongst the global motoring population.
I personally felt that Toyoda, along with recent shamed celebrities such as Tiger Woods and Jack Neo, should have come up with a response, at the very least if an apology is unavailable yet, as immediately as the analysis backstage can possible allow.
Why a response at the very least? That's because it shows that the organization's willing to take responsibility (NOT akin to taking the blame for the mistake/scandal....yet!) and make amends to it. Stakeholders and publics love to see the organization assume responsibility as it will go to show that they understand the severity of the situation and will start making repairs to the relationship between the 2 parties that had been spoilt by the scandal.
To conclude, the Toyota recall scandal has proven that a crisis happens to any organization, regardless of size and stature, and that there is an urgent need to have a rescue plan for anticipated crisises. This is essential as executive bigwigs will no longer have the luxury of time once a scandal hit and the faster a response, the more minimal damage can be..
Onwards to the age of New Media!
Terence....OUT!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Week 8: The one where Terence managed PR effectively
While PR practioners might not be just a mouthpiece for organizations when it comes to addressing their publics ad stakeholders anymore,they still play an important role in helping to manage the organization/client's, well, Public Relations...for the lack of an alternative word.
As such, gone are the days when companies can just make decisions and expect their publics to go along with it. Today, it is more likely the publics calling the stakes on the organizations rather than the other way around.
Public opinion is essentially the lifeblood of a company. Failure to maintain and improve on current impression can lead to a fatal end for the organization. This week's readings introduced a very good way of facilitating relaions between the organization and their publics - the Systems Theory
Originally developed from the study of biological systems, the Systems Theory has a few variations to it but point back to the same logic all the time - that the need to rely on constant interaction and exchanges between environments and organizations is vital, in order to facilitate the achieving of objectives and targets that will benefit the organization and ultimately, benefit the environments surrounding the organization too.
There are many forms of opinion exchanges organizations must take note of, particularly:
Community Engagement will probably be best applied with an example from football. The main fanbase of football clubs are usually the citizens who're staying in the city that the clubs "represent" - bearing the name of the cities in their names and having their deep history steeped within the city. An example will be my favourite football club, Newcastle United, who has seen its fair share of PR disasters in the past year.
Newcastle United were an established Premier League club back in 2007 when Mike Ashley bought over the club from its previous owners. The Magpies, as the football club are affectionately known, is the pride and joy of the city. On matchday Saturdays, the whole city will literally slow down as thousands of fans make its way down to St. James Park to watch Newcastle's home games.
Such was the support for the Magpies that Ashley, when he just bought the club, made an effort to go down to the ground level and interact with the fans at pubs and watering holes on matchdays to curry favours and establish good relations.
All was looking rosy until 2009 when the manager of Newcastle United, Kevin Keegan, left the club, citing broken promises from the board of directors. As Keegan was a fan favourite, the fans and city took unkindly towards Ashley's silence. For reasons unknown, Ashley remained tight-lipped about this entire saga even though fans were clamouring for an answer. Unable to face the pressure, he went on to put the club for sale claiming that "I didn't mean for all this to happen".
Fast forward to 2010 and Newcastle has been mismanaged by Ashley and his regime while also suffering relegation from the Premier League. Even though Ashley has taken off the club for sale due to the lack of serious interest from outside, he's still disliked, to say the least, by the citizens and fans of Newcastle simply due to his mismanagement, lack of PR skills and for throwing the club into the mess it's in right now.
If he had come out immediately after the Keegan saga to explain their position (for additional info, Keegan went on to sue the club for breach of contract and through the court hearings, explicit details about the scandal was revealed, showing Ashley and co to be in the wrong), Mike Ashley would probably not have had to put the club for sale and withdraw funds from the club totally, potentially allowing the caretake manage to strengthen the football team and maybe even avoiding relegation.
Because of a simple factor - lack of communication and engagement with the community - Ashley has incurred the wrath of fans who even sent death threats and forced him to not attend games at St. James Park anymore.
Hah, ok that might have been a long story (even longer for non-football fans) but that, I feel, is the best case study to emphasize Community Engagement
On to the next reading then..
Terence....OUT!
As such, gone are the days when companies can just make decisions and expect their publics to go along with it. Today, it is more likely the publics calling the stakes on the organizations rather than the other way around.
Public opinion is essentially the lifeblood of a company. Failure to maintain and improve on current impression can lead to a fatal end for the organization. This week's readings introduced a very good way of facilitating relaions between the organization and their publics - the Systems Theory
Originally developed from the study of biological systems, the Systems Theory has a few variations to it but point back to the same logic all the time - that the need to rely on constant interaction and exchanges between environments and organizations is vital, in order to facilitate the achieving of objectives and targets that will benefit the organization and ultimately, benefit the environments surrounding the organization too.
There are many forms of opinion exchanges organizations must take note of, particularly:
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Community Engagement
Community Engagement will probably be best applied with an example from football. The main fanbase of football clubs are usually the citizens who're staying in the city that the clubs "represent" - bearing the name of the cities in their names and having their deep history steeped within the city. An example will be my favourite football club, Newcastle United, who has seen its fair share of PR disasters in the past year.
Newcastle United were an established Premier League club back in 2007 when Mike Ashley bought over the club from its previous owners. The Magpies, as the football club are affectionately known, is the pride and joy of the city. On matchday Saturdays, the whole city will literally slow down as thousands of fans make its way down to St. James Park to watch Newcastle's home games.
Such was the support for the Magpies that Ashley, when he just bought the club, made an effort to go down to the ground level and interact with the fans at pubs and watering holes on matchdays to curry favours and establish good relations.
All was looking rosy until 2009 when the manager of Newcastle United, Kevin Keegan, left the club, citing broken promises from the board of directors. As Keegan was a fan favourite, the fans and city took unkindly towards Ashley's silence. For reasons unknown, Ashley remained tight-lipped about this entire saga even though fans were clamouring for an answer. Unable to face the pressure, he went on to put the club for sale claiming that "I didn't mean for all this to happen".
Fast forward to 2010 and Newcastle has been mismanaged by Ashley and his regime while also suffering relegation from the Premier League. Even though Ashley has taken off the club for sale due to the lack of serious interest from outside, he's still disliked, to say the least, by the citizens and fans of Newcastle simply due to his mismanagement, lack of PR skills and for throwing the club into the mess it's in right now.
If he had come out immediately after the Keegan saga to explain their position (for additional info, Keegan went on to sue the club for breach of contract and through the court hearings, explicit details about the scandal was revealed, showing Ashley and co to be in the wrong), Mike Ashley would probably not have had to put the club for sale and withdraw funds from the club totally, potentially allowing the caretake manage to strengthen the football team and maybe even avoiding relegation.
Because of a simple factor - lack of communication and engagement with the community - Ashley has incurred the wrath of fans who even sent death threats and forced him to not attend games at St. James Park anymore.
Hah, ok that might have been a long story (even longer for non-football fans) but that, I feel, is the best case study to emphasize Community Engagement
On to the next reading then..
Terence....OUT!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Week 7 - The One where Terence learnt that Strategies and Tactics weren't just confined to soccer.
Strategy is defined in the dictionary as a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result. In the world of PR, it is no different with strategies needed to ensure the best possible outcome for the organization in its message conveyance to its stakeholders.
Usually done right at the start, during the planning process of a campaign, a strategy helps to map out the best possible methods and variables in achieving the main objective of the client/organization.
Two aspects of obtaining a great strategy are:
Whether it be planning events for the student body in the polytechnic or utilizing the soldiers under me to execute the best tactics to help my battalion win the war, SMART and SWOT plays a huge part.
SWOT assess the possibilities and limitations of a campaign while SMART helps to ensure that a plan does not veer too far off the designated path while.
A SWOT analysis is particularly important as subsequent steps further on in the execution process might have to be based on this analysis, done at the start of a campaign.
In the readings, it is said that a strategy is developed through analysing the results of thorough research.
A wise man once said "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."...as such, strategy is particular important in ensure proper planning and due diligence is done in the execution of a successful PR campaign.
Onward and Forward to the next class...
Terence..OUT
Usually done right at the start, during the planning process of a campaign, a strategy helps to map out the best possible methods and variables in achieving the main objective of the client/organization.
Two aspects of obtaining a great strategy are:
- SWOT, meanwhile, is known as Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and is usually used in analysis of a PR campaign.
- SMART, or rather, Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Results-orientated and Timeframe, is a set of measures implemented into the objectives-planning.
Whether it be planning events for the student body in the polytechnic or utilizing the soldiers under me to execute the best tactics to help my battalion win the war, SMART and SWOT plays a huge part.
SWOT assess the possibilities and limitations of a campaign while SMART helps to ensure that a plan does not veer too far off the designated path while.
A SWOT analysis is particularly important as subsequent steps further on in the execution process might have to be based on this analysis, done at the start of a campaign.
In the readings, it is said that a strategy is developed through analysing the results of thorough research.
A wise man once said "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."...as such, strategy is particular important in ensure proper planning and due diligence is done in the execution of a successful PR campaign.
Onward and Forward to the next class...
Terence..OUT
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Week 6 - The one where Terence debated against Media Relations....
That's right, I sold my soul to the devil this week. I debated against Media Relations being the focus of PR campaigns........no wait, *feels around his body*, my soul is still here..IT'S NOT GONE!!
Media relations is defined as the focus on interaction between organizations and the mass media in hope of promoting their policies, practices and products to the general public in a positive and credible light. In today's day and age, media relations has grown to a stage where there is a common platform that has a very broad outreach - the Internet.
Coupled with elements of traditional media such as print media and the broadcast industry, organizations now have more options to choose from with regards to self-promotion. Such avenues includes a well-written media release, news conferences and maybe an exclusive story to a single media outlet.
With that said, the most important factor in all of this is a proper media strategy. Running around without a plan is akin to a headless chicken - slowly but surely, meeting a fatal end. News coming from the organization needs to be tailored to suit the region they're based in, otherwise it's as good as a dud.
My personal belief, however, is that there's more to improving relationships between organizations and their key stakeholders than just going through the media and broadcasting a message/advertisement or writing a media release.
As I learnt in an earlier lecture, there are other ways that are effective in strengthening bonds between an organization and its publics. For instance, experiental marketing is a fantastic way to showcase an organization's products and practices. While this method demands the best and only that from the organization, it at least pushes the company to strive for the limits in ensuring customer satisfaction and in turn, a better PR image amongst the public. At the same time, customers will be attained through the free trial of products/practices while old customers will feel the desire of the organization to connect and hence reach out themselves.
People believe in the personal touch - if they feel someone reaching out to them, they're more likely to recipocrate and reach back out. Instead, if they feel someone's telling/forcing something down their throats and years, they're not going to be very receptive about that.
However, having said that, I feel that media relations and the personal touch should work together hand in hand with regards to promoting and improve the PR of an organization. Media Relations ensures that the organization is able to reach out to a larger group of audience, regardless of the end result. Personal methods like experiential marketing can then come in to help 'seal the deal' ;)
Terence...OUT!
Media relations is defined as the focus on interaction between organizations and the mass media in hope of promoting their policies, practices and products to the general public in a positive and credible light. In today's day and age, media relations has grown to a stage where there is a common platform that has a very broad outreach - the Internet.
Coupled with elements of traditional media such as print media and the broadcast industry, organizations now have more options to choose from with regards to self-promotion. Such avenues includes a well-written media release, news conferences and maybe an exclusive story to a single media outlet.
With that said, the most important factor in all of this is a proper media strategy. Running around without a plan is akin to a headless chicken - slowly but surely, meeting a fatal end. News coming from the organization needs to be tailored to suit the region they're based in, otherwise it's as good as a dud.
My personal belief, however, is that there's more to improving relationships between organizations and their key stakeholders than just going through the media and broadcasting a message/advertisement or writing a media release.
As I learnt in an earlier lecture, there are other ways that are effective in strengthening bonds between an organization and its publics. For instance, experiental marketing is a fantastic way to showcase an organization's products and practices. While this method demands the best and only that from the organization, it at least pushes the company to strive for the limits in ensuring customer satisfaction and in turn, a better PR image amongst the public. At the same time, customers will be attained through the free trial of products/practices while old customers will feel the desire of the organization to connect and hence reach out themselves.
People believe in the personal touch - if they feel someone reaching out to them, they're more likely to recipocrate and reach back out. Instead, if they feel someone's telling/forcing something down their throats and years, they're not going to be very receptive about that.
However, having said that, I feel that media relations and the personal touch should work together hand in hand with regards to promoting and improve the PR of an organization. Media Relations ensures that the organization is able to reach out to a larger group of audience, regardless of the end result. Personal methods like experiential marketing can then come in to help 'seal the deal' ;)
Terence...OUT!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Week 5: The one where Terence learnt a new word - Schlep
In the world of Public Relations, Research and Practice might be two totally-different entities but it seems that they both share a connection that is more than meets the eye - a connection that intertwines them into each other's weaving.
I personally share the view of Ron Kawalilak, director of Strategic Development and Corporate Affairs of the Department of Environment and Conservation in Westrern Australia, when he shared his beliefs in PR at the start of the readings: that it's ok to have lost out if the strategy was not the best one to navigate the situation at hand BUT a cardinal sin to have lost out if the wrong strategy was employed due to a lack of understanding / appreciation of the situation.
How does the above-mentioned example of research in PR combine with the conventional PR practice? Quite simply, both involves the target audience of the organization and agency - the general public.
Research, I feel, is probably the most important element inside a PR campaign. Never mind the strategies and efficiency of tactics for if research on the objective is not carried out properly, those two factors wouldn't even matter.
A wonderful example I can think of is the Great Schlep movement initiated by Barack Obama's cabinet while he was running for presidency against Senator John McCain. The state of Florida was earmarked by many to be a crucial foothold in winning the elections and at a certain point of time, McCain was leading the polls there with 65% of votes.
The PR agency that Obama contracted, Droga5, did their research with the objective of winning the Florida polls and concluded that if Obama were to win the state, he'd have to convince the Jewish-majority population there to vote for him, considering they were against African-American candidates................
Research might be the most important tool in a PR campaign but a failure to properly execute the idea/intent through will spoil the great work the statistics team has done prior to this.
In the readings for Public Relations Practice, the role of a PR practitioner required traits such as:
Staying with the Great Schlep, Droga5 did a fantastic job in understanding Florida's voting demographics and pinpointing the Jewish community there as the scale-tipper. While knowing that the Jews in Florida won't support an African-American candidate for presidency, Droga5 was quick to establish the grandchildren of the mainly-elderly Jewish population as the key component of persuasion as they were part of the Gen Y batch who bought into Obama's 'Change' campaign.
As such, Droga5 initiated the Great Schlep movement and with the help of comedian Sarah Silverman, a pro-Obama Jew herself, got through to Jews all over the nation, who holds the same belief for Mr Obama , to fly down to Florida and convince their grandfolks that CHANGE/Obama is good for the country.
Needless to say, the rest is history as Obama took Florida from right under the shoes of Senator McCain and went on to win the presidency.
It's a Catch-22 situation of sorts in the world of PR - Research can't be as effective without the existence of PR Practices while the latter wouldn't even survive if proper research wasn't carried out. ;)
Terence....OUT!
I personally share the view of Ron Kawalilak, director of Strategic Development and Corporate Affairs of the Department of Environment and Conservation in Westrern Australia, when he shared his beliefs in PR at the start of the readings: that it's ok to have lost out if the strategy was not the best one to navigate the situation at hand BUT a cardinal sin to have lost out if the wrong strategy was employed due to a lack of understanding / appreciation of the situation.
How does the above-mentioned example of research in PR combine with the conventional PR practice? Quite simply, both involves the target audience of the organization and agency - the general public.
Research, I feel, is probably the most important element inside a PR campaign. Never mind the strategies and efficiency of tactics for if research on the objective is not carried out properly, those two factors wouldn't even matter.
A wonderful example I can think of is the Great Schlep movement initiated by Barack Obama's cabinet while he was running for presidency against Senator John McCain. The state of Florida was earmarked by many to be a crucial foothold in winning the elections and at a certain point of time, McCain was leading the polls there with 65% of votes.
The PR agency that Obama contracted, Droga5, did their research with the objective of winning the Florida polls and concluded that if Obama were to win the state, he'd have to convince the Jewish-majority population there to vote for him, considering they were against African-American candidates................
Research might be the most important tool in a PR campaign but a failure to properly execute the idea/intent through will spoil the great work the statistics team has done prior to this.
In the readings for Public Relations Practice, the role of a PR practitioner required traits such as:
- An understanding of the big picture and why an issue or a public is relevant for an organization
- The ability to uncover the real issues or problems to be resolved and the outcomes to be addressed
- An understanding of the importance of relationships and the skills to build and strengthen relationships and dialogue.
- The skill set to create and implement the communication solution.
Staying with the Great Schlep, Droga5 did a fantastic job in understanding Florida's voting demographics and pinpointing the Jewish community there as the scale-tipper. While knowing that the Jews in Florida won't support an African-American candidate for presidency, Droga5 was quick to establish the grandchildren of the mainly-elderly Jewish population as the key component of persuasion as they were part of the Gen Y batch who bought into Obama's 'Change' campaign.
As such, Droga5 initiated the Great Schlep movement and with the help of comedian Sarah Silverman, a pro-Obama Jew herself, got through to Jews all over the nation, who holds the same belief for Mr Obama , to fly down to Florida and convince their grandfolks that CHANGE/Obama is good for the country.
Needless to say, the rest is history as Obama took Florida from right under the shoes of Senator McCain and went on to win the presidency.
It's a Catch-22 situation of sorts in the world of PR - Research can't be as effective without the existence of PR Practices while the latter wouldn't even survive if proper research wasn't carried out. ;)
Terence....OUT!
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