Tag: Public Relations

Categories
Uncategorized

Wrapping Things Up

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.

Categories
Uncategorized

Sports PR

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. 

Categories
Uncategorized

Special Events in a National Pandemic

©2020 Grace Limousine, LLC, All Rights Reserved

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.

Categories
Uncategorized

Learning Crisis Communication with PreparedEx

©2019 Preparedex, LLC, All Rights Reserved

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.

5 Different Types of Business Crises

Personnel Crisis

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!

Categories
Uncategorized

Social Media Case Study

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.

Interested in learning more? You can read more about this social media case study in Social Media for Public Relations: Lessons from Four Effective Cases by Ilhem Allaguia and Harris Breslow.

© (2013) Chipotle [us]
Categories
Uncategorized

Best Social Media Practices for Public Relations

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. 

Categories
Uncategorized

The Value of Planning

Project Planning and Delivery: 6 Steps to Get Work Done Faster - Blog | Planview

Warren Buffett, successful business tycoon, once said, “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” This quote focuses on the value of planning because motivated communicators take the time to strategically plan for themselves and others. Planning is the foundation that helps us project our objectives and achieve our goals. There are many important resources that discuss the value of planning, but we want to focus on Presspage, a strategy and planning resource that has good tips to guide us through the steps of a good plan.

This website is selling a service, but we’re not profiting from sharing it. However, it does have great information for determining the important elements of communication planning. We might not always have to go into grave detail about each of these elements in every plan, but they can help keep us on track to meet our goals. This website goes into detail of each step, in hopes to help you create an organized method of planning.

Why should you care about planning?

When we have a planning process, we’re better equipped to prepare for the future. Planning helps us foresee any calculated mishaps. Of course, we’re going to have to deal with surprises, but we can at least have an action plan if something does go wrong. Planning also teaches us how we can stay on schedule. Just like we have deadlines in school, we’re going to have deadlines in the workplace as well.

We’ll now guide you through the step by step process of planning.

Step 1

The foundation of our plan starts with the situation, which explains exactly why we’re planning in the first place. We wrote this blog in order to inform COM students about the value of Public Relations topics.

Step 2

The next step is understanding our audience, which has the biggest retention for COM students. Whether we’re writing or speaking, we always have to think about our audience. We even planned this blog with a specific audience in mind.

Step 3

Once you’ve figured out the first two elements, you can move on to your goals & objectives. Goals are what you want to accomplish overall, and objectives are specific outcomes that utilize the SMART method – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, & Time-bound. When we planned to promote our blog, one of our goals was to create awareness for Public Relations. Our specific objective would be to get 15-20 engagements on our blog over the semester.

Step 4

We can then use strategies to achieve our objectives and tactics to support the strategies. Essentially, strategies explain why, and tactics explain how. One strategy for our blog promotion was to use print media to attract students to interact with our blog. The specific tactic was to post flyers in buildings on campus.

Step 5

Another element is the calendar/timetable, which details specific tasks and due dates for when we want to achieve the goals and objectives of our plan. Our blog calendar focuses on what each person is doing and when it’s due. Each blog posted was specifically planned.

Step 6

Budgets are another element of plans but depending on the situation they won’t always be necessary. This part of the plan ensures that you have all the required resources for achieving your goals. If we were to have a budget for this blog, it might be focused towards our social media strategies where we would possibly buy paid advertisements.

Step 7

The final element is evaluation. Once we’ve completed our plan, this step will tell us how successful we were in achieving our objectives. At the end of the semester, we intend to evaluate the success of our blog by reflecting the objectives of our plan.

Lasting Thoughts

Overall, it’s important to be aware of the resources we can utilized while planning for assignments, weekend plans, and especially for our futures. If we can understand how to plan well, we are setting ourselves up for success in all aspects of our lives. Thoughtful and well-researched planning strategies are invaluable to our roles as communication professionals.

Next week, we will dive into a case study on the topics of audiences/publics, branding, and planning. This case study will lay out exactly how these three PR topics work well together in any organization.