Public Relations

What is public relations?

• “Public relations is a management tool for leaders in business, government and other institutions to establish beneficial relationships with other institutions and groups”

Four steps necessary for PR

• • First, identify your publics--your existing relationships Second, evaluate the relationships using research

• Design policies to improve the relation ships • Implement the policies – “enlightened self interest”

Role of public relations in a democracy

• • A way for public to speak its desires & interests to organizations A way to achieve mutual adjustments between institutions and groups • • • A safety valve for freedom An essential element to keep us informed Can help activate social conscience of organizations where we work

Origins of public relations

• • • • • • • Moguls in trouble Vanderbilt social Darwinism Ivy Lee Rockefeller Ludlow Massacre Philanthropy

Public relations on a new scale

• • • • • World War I George Creel--Creel Committee World War II Elmer Davis--Office of War Information Corporate giving – Minneapolis--5% club – United Way campaigns

• • • • • Freud’s nephew WWI Creel Comm.

1923

Crystallizing Public Opinion 1955 “Engineering of Consent”

Social responsibility

Edward Bernays

Structure of public relations

• • • • • • Arthur Page at AT&T PR as a management function External relations Internal relations Media relations PR agencies

• • • • • Publicity & promotion Lobbying Political communication Image consulting Financial PR

PR services

• • • • Fundraising Contingency planning Polling Events coordination

PR and advertising

• • • • Both persuade through mass media PR shapes org policy Sells points of view and images PR tries to influence media to tell its story a certain way

Integrated marketing communications

• • • • Hot new buzz word.

IMC--attempts to coordinate advertising as a marketing tool with promotion and publicity of the sort that PR experts can provide.

Ad agencies move into PR Overlap in institutional advertising

Media relations: crisis management

• • Open media relations – Tylenol case history Proactive media relations – Persian Gulf

Steps in Tylenol case

• • • Halt Tylenol manufacture & distribution Remove Tylenol from stores Launch massive ad campaign to exchange Tylenol for safe product • • • • Staff press center 50 PR experts for media & consumers Ordered internal co. investigation Full cooperation with gov’t investigators Tamper proof pkg.

Proactive media relations

• • Crisis management – seize leadership on a story Persian Gulf war – Pentagon spokesman with Defense Sec’y & Chiefs of Staff – Lots of news briefings

Adversarial media relations

• • General Motors 1954 severed media relations with

information boycott

Mobil oil’s Herb Schmertz attacked media critics – Use of paid advertising, ‘advertorials’ – Use corporate reps to tell Mobil’s side – Respond to any media criticism of oil industry

Professionalization of PR

• • • Tarnished image – PT Barnum “Huckster” – “whitewashing” – “Flaks” – “public information,” “public affairs,” “corporate communication” departments Standards,certification, accreditation Professional associations