We have covered a wide array of topics in this blog over the last few months. Anything and everything PR related, we talked about it. From core PR fundamentals to Crisis Communication to PR for many different areas of business and everything in between. Our intention was to educate you and give you a resource that you can look back on whenever you need to, and we hope you will be able to utilize our articles in your future endeavors.
Public Relations is essential to every area of business. It is the frontline of your company. Reaching your audience, branding to them, social media practices, dealing with crisis and legal issues and many more areas; this is the part of the business that everyone will see. That is why it is so important, and we hope that we conveyed that to you through all of our previous blog posts.
PR is for everyone. It is something that everyone should have at least some knowledge in, not only the Marketing and Public Relations majors but also any major that interacts with business or communication. In the ever-changing world of business, you never know what will come up or what you will have to do. Things like knowing who your audience is and what they want will not only help you market to them but also help you understand what they need and want. Being able to stay on brand with your company while interacting online and otherwise is another area that everyone can benefit from.
All of this information is great, but how do these concepts translate over to the real-world? We covered that for you. Case studies of real business problems can only help with your understanding. Case studies of concepts, social media, and crisis situations cover some of the biggest areas of Public Relations and we have that resource for you.
Lastly, thank you to all who have read and interacted with our blogs. We appreciate all of you who use us as a resource. We learned just as much from this as we hope you did. If you have any Public Relations questions or want to read our other blogs, don’t hesitate to check out our Blog Home Page! We covered a multitude of topics and probably have an answer to the questions you have. Thank you again from all the PR Warriors and we hope you learned something; we know we did.
So, after following our course blog and learning about Public Relations, perhaps you’re thinking: Where can I pursue a Public Relations degree?
Well, we have one recommendation: take a look at Wisconsin Lutheran College! We can tell you firsthand, Wisconsin Lutheran College provides an excellent education within Public Relations.
We’re writing this blog for our Practice of Public Relations course, a class through which we put our public relations knowledge to the test by working with real-world businesses and creating public relations materials for them. In the process of working with real businesses and writing this blog, we have gained some incredibly valuable public relations experience that will prepare us for success in our respectivecareers.
In addition to offering Practice of Public Relations, Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Public Relations major offers a range of courses, including Principles of Public Relations, Principles of Marketing (as marketing and public relations professionals often work in close proximity with one another) and Writing for Mass Communication. Through the assortment of classes offered within the Public Relations track, Wisconsin Lutheran College ensures students receive a well-rounded education to prepare them for successful careers in Public Relations.
If you’ve enjoyed our blog thus far and want to continue to learn more about Public Relations and potentially pursue a career within the field, we highly recommend you consider applying to Wisconsin Lutheran College for a quality and comprehensive education. If you’re wanting to learn more specifics about Public Relations at Wisconsin Lutheran College, take a look at WLC’s current Public Relations offerings. Additionally, you can request additional information from our Admissions team today!
If you are a sports fan or at least watch an occasional game, you’ll understand what I mean when I say that different sports franchises have very unique fan bases that they cater to. Whether you’re watching a Big 10 conference college football game or a Dodgers-Padres series from Major League Baseball, every fan base contributes a unique atmosphere to each game-day experience.
The reality is, without their fan bases, sports franchises would not exist. Loyal and die-hard fans will stick by their team through the highs and lows of exhilarating victories and crushing defeats. One question remains to be answered though, how does a fan base react when their team does something that they don’t agree with and how does the franchise respond to their fanbase’s frustration?
My analysis is going to take you overseas to Europe where 12 of the biggest football clubs in European football dealt with somewhat of a crisis. Various clubs from the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, and the Italian Serie A attempted to form a break away competition called the European Super League to try and take attention away from the UEFA Champions League. Many fans and commentators saw this as an attempt by rich clubs to simply make more money and take attention away from the Champions League, which is regarded as the highest level of competition in European football. The main issue fans had with the proposed Super League is that it would effectively end the principle of qualification every season, which the Champions League was built on. Every season, the Champions League has rearranged groups of clubs based on whoever qualified for that season. The Super League wanted to keep the same teams every season in a very exclusive manner that kills competition for league spots.
Reaction from the various club’s fan bases was nearly unanimous in condemnation of the idea mainly because the league would attempt to limit competition for qualification, promotion, and relegation, which are all key elements of European football. It only took a matter of two days for plans to completely change course once fans reacted.
One club after another, each team that was supposedly involved as a “founding member” of the European Super League pulled out of the proposition due to negative backlash from their fan base and the sports world as a whole. Most of the clubs issued some kind of apology statement to their fans to try and fix any ill-will that was being harbored.
These European clubs realized that their proposed business expansion did not please their fans and decided to respond accordingly by pulling out of the proposed Super League. This story goes to show just how important public relations are in the sports world because one wrong decision can leave a long-lasting wound amongst supporters. Most of these clubs were able to backtrack their decision to join the breakaway league, but some fans may still have a bitter taste in their mouth.
Hershorn, G. (2021, April). Producer Scott Rudin and his Tony win [Digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1993947%2Fproducer-scott-rudin-is-a-symptom-of-hollywoods-toxic-culture%2F&psig=AOvVaw1BYfH0u1OiY2JqX_jgt3TP&ust=1618882748744000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCMjfxr2WifACFQAAAAAdAAAAABAK
The Situation
On April 7th 2021, the Hollywood Reporter released an exclusive article about Scott Rudin, an extremely successful producer in the entertainment and Broadway industries. Rudin is accredited with winning 17 Tony Awards along with Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and the success of several long running Broadway shows. Multiple ex-employees have started to come forward and share their experience working for Scott Rudin Productions. One of Rudin’s former executive coordinators, Caroline Rugo, spoke of several accounts where Rudin exhibited threatening behaviors’ such as throwing his laptop, a glass bowl, and other objects at or near people. Ryan Nelson, Rudin’s executive assistant from 2018-2019 recalled, “Every day was exhausting and horrific.” More and more people are starting to come forward with similar allegations and experiences.
The Solution
In response, Actor’s Equity Association, the union for professional actors in theatre, issued a press release about the need for harassment-free workplaces for the arts. The statement did not include Rudin’s name, but rather re-affirmed the zero tolerance for harassment and promised to do all they can to hold people accountable in the workplace. Many members of Actor’s Equity and employees of Broadway were upset on behalf of the victims at the lack of commitment and effort to explicitly name Rudin in the release. Members are demanding for Rudin to be placed on the “Do Not Work” list (primarily used following failed contract negotiations between the union and producers or theatre companies).
Following this outcry from Broadway performers and workers, Actor’s Equity released a statement calling on Rudin to release employees from non-disclosure agreements. The same day the press release came out, Scott Rudin announced that he would be taking a step back from his Broadway productions. Rudin continued by stating,
“My roles will be filled by others from the Broadway community and in a number of cases, from the roster of participants already in place on those shows. Much has been written about my history of troubling interactions with colleagues, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly. I am now taking steps that I should have taken years ago to address this behavior.”
Rudin declined to comment on the specifics of his future involvement with shows, financial implications, or on the specified steps he promised to make towards personal change. Even despite this promise, members of Actor’s Equity are planning a march on April 22nd to Rudin’s main offices and other prominent locations. Members are demanding that Scott Rudin be removed from the Broadway league, donate a large sum of money to BIPOC run theatres, and be placed on the Actor’s Equity Association’s “Do Not Work” list. While this is a public relations issue for Actor’s Equity Association, Scott Rudin and his reputation are tied to it as well.
The Course of Action
From a PR perspective, the allegations against Scott Rudin were plentiful, specific, and concrete. Rudin’s reputation is in need of major damage control with the opportunity to turn things around. The statement Rudin released was fairly vague, to the point, and what one could expect from someone who is apologizing in the public eye. It took Rudin several days to respond with a statement after the initial article was released. This level of seriousness is one of a crisis, wherein he and his team should have reacted in a more timely manner. Even though he released a statement, he did not address any other changes other than that he will be “taking a step back.” While it may give some peace of mind to know that Rudin will no longer be involved in his Broadway engagements, it does not specify how or what that will look like for people directly involved.
One way his statement could be improved is to state specifically what steps he is taking to change his behavior. Rudin can say he will change all he wants, but a plan of action would be more convincing to the public. The Actor’s Equity members and their demands bring a new dynamic to the situation. It would be wise of Rudin to adhere to these demands by donating to the BIPOC organizations in lieu of his commitment to alter his abusive habits. His brand of being a cutthroat, successful, overbearing producer might need a shift if he wants to keep his company alive. A re-structuring of employee relations, external communications, and issues management would also serve his company well.
Can you remember the joy of attending special events before COVID-19? We were able to socialize with our friends and event goers without physically distancing or wearing masks. We didn’t have to worry or consider the risks of hosting and attending events. The world of event planning and attending was different, and it has drastically changed over the past year.
You might have been looking forward to concerts, weddings or conventions that have unfortunately been postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic. It has truly become a touch and go system as the CDC makes changes to recommendations for events and gatherings. Though regulations have been preventing us from gathering together in normal capacities, this hasn’t stopped the event world from moving into a new normal.
Though we are currently practicing physical distancing, there are still things you can do to acknowledge and support special events and occasions that are important to you. One of the easiest ways to do this is through hosting or joining a virtual event. For example, the performing group, AJR, put on a virtual concert for their fans as the pandemic cancelled their touring plans. This interactive experience allowed access to different camera angles that guests could control during the concert. Though it’s not the same, virtual events like this one give us back some enjoyment in attending special events during a pandemic, while also trying to keep people safe.
Some organizations are pushing their creativity and bringing back events from the past to support important causes. Some organizations have gotten back into virtual radiothon events. Radiothons are on-the-air radio campaigns that often last 24 hours or more, designed to raise money for non-profit organizations. For example, Key 103, and 106.9 The Eagle have joined together to sponsor an event supporting cancer research. All proceeds from the event benefit the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life. It’s important that organizations continue to come up with these types of events, especially to raise money for important causes.
It’s important that when planning events during a national pandemic, you keep the CDC’s regulations and best practices in mind. Though we can’t participate in large special events like we once had, there are opportunities to still try to make the most out of uniting together, physically distanced in-person. Event planners should especially consider implementing strategies to maintain healthy environments in the following areas of events:
Cleaning and disinfection
Ventilation
Water systems
Modified layouts
Physical Barriers and guides
Food services
Overall, it’s important that we have event planners and attendees pushing for the success of both online and physically distanced events. We want everyone to be able to enjoy special events regardless of their format. One day we hope that things can return to normal, but for now, we need to put our support in all events affected by COVID-19.
Next week, we will start to dive into how public relations effects different industries, particularly the Fine Arts.
Public relations is a communication process that is strategic. The strategy can help companies reach its target audiences; however, there are some legal issues that can arise through some of the strategies or tactics. Companies sell products to their publics through services, speeches and photos. There are ethical and legal standards that a PR professional should know when using these tactics and strategies. In the field of PR, one must know the laws and regulations to prevent potential lawsuits to the company. There are a lot of legal and ethical issues in the workforce; however, we will be discussing a couple in this blog.
First Amendment
Knowledge of the First Amendment is important for any business, politician, athlete or citizen. The First Amendment provides the freedom of speech, press, religion, the right to general assembly and petition. The First Amendment allows professionals in PR the ability to communicate with the public openly without the need to go to the government for approval. There are boundaries to the Amendment and should be viewed as a responsibility as much as it is a right.
Copyright law
Since the field of PR is revolved around content, it is important to have knowledge of copyright laws. Professional artists, writers, and photographers copyright their material to protect it. Copyright is different from plagiarism. Plagiarism allows people to use the works of others correctly while copyright deals with unauthorized sharing and copying of materials. In the Constitution, copyright can be found in Article I, Section 8, which gives Congress the ability to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Creativity and Innovative ideas can thrive under copyright protections because it causes people to come up with new ideas.
Works that are copyrighted can still be used by those who do not own the material; however, permission must be granted by the owners of the material or work.
Defamation
Defamation is an act or statement that is made to intentionally harm another person and their reputation. This should be avoided by any business, politician, or public figure because it can lead to lawsuits. Once you get sued for defamation, your name and company will be the one that is ruined. If a person or company is liable for defamation, it can be detrimental especially if it is a private citizen filling the lawsuit because private citizens have a lower bar to hurdle to prove. They only need to prove that the statement(s) published are factually wrong, that it damaged them, that the statements referred to them and that someone is responsible for the statements. Finally, they would need to prove that the individual who made/published the statements were negligent.
Next week we will be delving into crisis communication case studies to show how to deal with a crisis in the field of PR!
The business you work for just let you know that there has been a financial crisis and they have to let go of 20% of all employees. You have 1 hour before the media holds a press conference and interviews you as a representative of the company. What are you going to do?
Crisis communication is a field of public relations centered on effectively managing inevitable risks and crises within an organization. Emergency situations are a frequent occurrence for established and large businesses and require proper preparation, management and effective communication. PreparedEx is an online resource that publishes articles, podcast episodes and emergency simulations to help companies build crisis resilience through preparedness exercises. Their team is composed of crisis communication experts that have real-life public relations experiences dealing with emergency situations. There are 3 aspects of crisis communication that PreparedEx discusses on their website; crisis preparedness, crisis management, and crisis resilience. First, we will start by briefly explaining 5 of the most common types of business crises as described on PreparedEx.
A personnel crisis is when the personnel or stakeholders of a company are caught engaging in illegal activities or unethical behavior. An example of this might include using racial slurs or sexual assault.
Technological Crisis
When a company has malfunctioning, compromised or vulnerable software this is called a technological crisis. This includes any cyber attacks on company data.
Financial Crisis
A financial crisis occurs when a business accumulates debt or experiences significant losses. These crises can happen internally and externally through insider-trading, poor finance management or decreased sales.
Natural Crisis
A natural crisis is 100% external and unavoidable and caused by natural disasters. This includes flooding, earthquakes or disease pandemics.
Organizational Misconduct Crisis
An organizational crisis is when company managers make a decision on behalf of the company without considering the negative consequences to stakeholders. This may include withholding information from customers, making false promises about products, or taking bribes.
In preparation for some of these crises, PreparedEx recommends that companies establish crisis teams to divide the tasks that come with emergency situations. Crisis preparedness also involves identifying risk factors to the company. What problems are most likely going to arise? Injuries, natural disasters, fraud? Lastly, PreparedEx has exercises that simulate different crises for businesses to practice their public relations skills.
For crisis management, PreparedEx provides podcasts about the most common challenges about managing emergency situations. They urge business owners to share critical information with their internal and external publics at the proper times using the proper channels. PreparedEx pushes response effectiveness, monitoring the crisis will maximize a company’s power to manage any situation.
Crisis resilience is the process a company goes through to recover their reputation and brand after a crisis. PreparedEx covers crisis resilience that explores operational, community and reputation recovery.
PreparedEx has hundreds of other topics relating to crisis communication. Here are just a few examples of other crisis communication resources they offer public relations professionals!
No matter what generation you are, social media is virtually unavoidable. Social media is essential for organizations to thrive among all generations and can be used to enhance business to public relationships through creativity, content sharing and online engagement. Today, we will be discussing one of the most successful social media campaigns of our generation and dissecting the effectiveness of digital storytelling through the Chipotle Mexican Grill scarecrow case study.
Chipotle is a popular, American, fast food restaurant known for its fresh and organic ingredients. In 2013, the company launched an award-winning ad campaign, short film and mobile app with messages condemning the consumption of processed foods. The company successfully communicated to their followers online the negative environmental and health consequences of eating industrially grown and genetically altered foods.
The campaign, film and game feature a scarecrow that is meant to educate the viewers about the pollution, soil erosion and unsustainability of industrially food production. The scarecrow is shown working in a factory that is controlled by giant, robotic crows and they control all the industrially grown foods. How did this harsh message become a viral sensation? Chipotle used these 3 different public relations techniques to effectively communicate their brand qualities over social media. Chipotle used social media to turn a fast food restaurant into an environmentally conscious brand and advocate for the planet.
Technique #1 We first have to recognize that social media is by nature conversational. Nearly all social media platforms have a method for company-user interaction, this is typically done through comment sections. Successful campaigns will engage their audiences and use the individual conversations online to create a community and build relationships. Chipotle was successful with this campaign because they used all the PARC principles for success. Participatory: They interacted with their online community and did not intimidate them with sales messages. Authentic: They held genuine conversations about real issues and did not force attitudes. Resourceful: They provided their online community with useful, helpful information and used that to earn trust. Credible: They built a trustworthy reputation on the important environmental issues and acted as a source of knowledge on the matter. Technique #2 Social media is designed to be a source of entertainment. The Scarecrow film and mobile game were used as entertainment through digital storytelling. Chipotle made their story resourceful, immersive and interesting which is one of the central features of social media.
Technique #3 The ultimate goal of Chipotle’s 2013 social media campaign was to create offline engagement with the company. Offline engagement leads to increased company sales and positive brand associations. The offline interaction led Chipotle to win two Grammy awards, 12 million views on YouTube and lead conversations about the impact of industrialization and the environment.
These techniques require patience, dedication and honest communication. As a business, it is necessary to have a presence on social media. To excel as a public relations representative in this field, however, you need to consider the impact of audience engagement, digital storytelling and offline interaction and act on behalf of your company’s target public on social media.
In a world where almost everyone is obsessed with technology and can’t help but check their phone every five minutes, everything said online can and will be used against you at some point. In the public relations world, you want to use the platform that you have to promote inclusive and engaging content that won’t be taken in a controversial manner.
Whether you’re working for a company with their social media department or just promoting your own page, you need to be careful and conscious of your content.
The first key to success is choosing the right channels to promote content on, depending on your target audience. You need to be aware of how the content will be received and interpreted by your key demographics.
The next step is planning ahead and having a schedule of when you’re going to post or promote content. Coordinating your posts with other current events is often a smart way to engage your audience and enhance feedback. Planning out an editorial calendar is a great way to know what needs to be posted along with how often content should be shared.
In order to keep your audience intrigued, you will need to vary your content and be creative. Sometimes being random, funny, or straight-up out-of-the-box with your content will make your target audience remember your page and keep them engaged.
Finally, analyze feedback and participation. You aren’t going to hit a home run with every post you promote. The best way to learn what works and what doesn’t is to analyze how many people saw your post and interacted with it. This is a great way to learn what works and gains positive attention from your audience.
We currently live in a digital world, whether we like it or not. Social media is how a lot of people get their current news and information. Practicing good habits online is a great way to establish a brand to build on.
Clear-cut writing online that defines the purpose of posting is essential for any company or business to perpetuate. Using language that is understandable and providing explanation to all things discussed or posted is how one connects with their audience according to how they structure their communication. All communication is different but should come across the sender to receiver with a message that has a purpose and chronologically can be followed if chosen to do so. Every successful Public Relations officer should be aware of how to promote media relations and keep intact their internal message(s).
Online publishing for media relations is the cornerstone for all positions related to public relations. As PR is just a marketing tool communicate expertly drafted messages to a target audience that has the ability to promote success or inhibit failure at a cost of poor marketing and preparation. The internet has made the human race accustomed to having short attention spans. Meaning that whatever piece of content is written it must be to the point and created with genuine inspiration.
Simplified steps that make online publishing effective and clear:
Keep information disclosed short and simple. No person wants to read or put in more effort than is necessary. Therefore, keeping pitches and writings to the intended point(s) driven will help create a more productive writer.
Every topic or lead must be eye-catching. Humans have short attention spans and only give energy to things they deem insightful to oneself. Writing a creative and to the point lead/topic will help bring in the anticipated target audience and will make the read more enjoyable.
Support claims with evidence. Making a message convincing is crucial when trying to create a good reputation and being credible when writing. Without being credible with factual information the message may fall through and cease to connect to the target audience.
Proofread all content. It is of the highest importance to not put out content that may contain run-on sentences, grammar errors, and inaccurate information. Proofreading will add a degree of professionalism to one’s writing that will make the writer more credible as one shows their educational background with one’s writing skills.
Understand target audience- Knowing one’s demographic in which they want to see be intrigued by the content being published is crucial for success. Keeping them engaged and interested in the material will help the messages come across much more adequately.
