k a m u s s m a n Strategic Communications Planning Matrix (each step)

Gantt charts j o r d a n j k e s l e r

Primary message

Secondary message

Calendar and Budget

Demographics

s h a n t e l . f a l l i n g s t a r l e e s a _ a l l i s o n

Psychographics K a s s i

Self-interest

Influentials

C N e w b y Strategy

Tactic

Channel

T h u e y a l M i c h e l l e s t e e l e 0 9

Absolute ethics

Situational ethics and Utilitarian approach

Virtue approach

k o b u g i 1

PRSA

IABC

Professional associations

Licensing

M a r b i a n

Copyright

Trademark

B w h i t y 1

Libel and Defamation

Invasion of Privacy

V a u n a l y n

Liability P i g l a c 2 0 0 4

Accreditation

Issue management

Risk communication

D w z r d 9

Crisis

Crisis management

E l d e r p i t y C j w a r d 6

Crisis planning

Annual report

FTC

SEC

C h e l s m 8 8

IPO R o g e r b r o u g h

Sarbanes-Oxley

FDA

BATF

B r e s h w a b

Investor relations

Plant/facility tours

L i f e i s g o o d 1 8 3 0

Corporate social responsibility

Philanthropy Activist groups K t s m i t h 2 2

Quantitative research

Qualitative research

Informal research

j e n n y . c h r i s t e n s e n 8 9 @ g m a i l . c o m

Formal research

Primary research

E l i s a b e t h b u c k

Secondary research

Reputation audit

K r s h m t

Census M i n i m o z a r t 0 8

Regulatory agencies

Semantic noise

Triggering event

B l o n d e s t a r f r e a k

Copy testing

Advertising equivalency

l a r s e n s e t h @ g m a i l . c o m

Environmental scanning

Focus groups

k i m m i . o r t o n @ g m a i l . c o m

Piggybacking MBO Symmetrical communication Asymmetrical communication

Hook

Gatekeepers

Communication audits

Pilot testing

The strategic communications planning matrix approach to solving communications problems or challenges

The four questions that form the heart of the planning process of the matrix Goals and objectives Characteristics of objectives Public profiles Publics and messages s c o t t b l i c k f e l d t @ g m a i l . c o m

Message exposure, dissemination, acceptance

Attitude change and behavior change

s c o t t b l i c k f e l d t @ g m a i l . c o m s c o t t b l i

s c o t t b l i c k f e l d t Effective use of language and writing @ g clearly and understandably m a i l . c o m

Believing the message

m p a l b r i g h t @ h o t m a i l . c o m

Remembering the message

Acting on the message

m p a l b r i g h t @ h o t m a i l . c o m m p a l b r i g h t @ h o t m a i l . c o m

The five-stage adoption process

Characteristics of media

m a r k d . l a r s o n @ h o t m a i l . c o m m a r k d . l a r s o n @ h o t m a i l . c o m

Controlled and uncontrolled media

m a r k d . l a r s o n @ h o t m a i l . c o m a o r t o n 2 3 @ h o t m a i l . c o m

Strategies and Tactics

Selective perception

Evaluation Criteria and Tools

Results measurement

a o r t o n 2 3 @ h o t m a i l . c o m a o r t o n 2 3 @ h o t m a i l . c o m

Measuring production, exposure, awareness, attitudes, action

s t e e l e 3 6 0 @ g m a i l . c o m

s t e e l e 3 6 0 Message production, penetration and @ audience action g m a i l . c o m

Reasons/justification for doing research in PR

s t e e l e 3 6 0 @ g m a i l . c o m

Research using library and online databases

Different kinds of interviewing in research

Questionnaire construction

The four-step RACE process

Media uses and gratification theory

Professional codes of conduct and advantages and disadvantages Steps toward professionalism Ethics in dealing with news media Core values of the PRSA Code of Ethics Ethics at four levels: personal, organizational, professional and societal Wilsons six rules for ethical conduct Reputation management and image restoration

The role of issue management in dealing with activism

Cycle of conflict and its phases

Communicating during a crisis

Tim Coombs continuum of crisis strategies Exxons crisis response

Possible legal problems facing companies

Libel and defamation Fair comment and truth as a defense against libel Copyright and trademark law Lawyers and public relations people

RESEARCH: 1. Background: Primary and secondary research with information on the industry, external environment, product or program, market situation, and current trends in opinions and attitudes. Also need demographic and psychographic data to help determine potential publics. 2. Situation Analysis: This is two paragraphs. The first is the current situation and a description of the challenge or opportunity based on research. The second paragraph is about any possible problems or difficulties. 3. Core Problem/Opportunity: One sentence about the main problem and potential consequences if the problem is no addressed. Action Planning 4. Goal and Objectives: The goal is a one sentence statement at the end, and it does not need to be quantifiable. 5.Key Public and Messages: Key publics include a description of audiences. Need to identify five elements: 1.) Demographic and psychographic profile 2.) Motivating self interests 3.) Status of current relationship with organization and issue. 4.) Third party influentials and other opinion leaders. 5.) What objectives they will help you accomplish. Messages are public specific and appeal to the public's self-interest. You need primary and secondary messages. 6. Strategies and Tactics: Strategies are a way to send a message to a public through a certain channel to motivate action. Each public may need more than one. Tactics are tasks required to support each strategy. You will have several tactics for each strategy that will convey a message through the channels. 7. Calendar: Should be done with a time-task matrix like a gantt chart. Scheduling the tactics and organizing. 8. Budget: Should be organized by public and strategy. specific cost for each tactic. Also shows where donations and sponsorships come in. Need a sub total for each strategy and public. Communication is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project." Class: The primary messages are like small sound bites that motivate a given public to do what you want them to do. Appeal to their self-interests. Book (Matrix): The message strategy is in two parts. The first part involves the development of primary messages that resemble sound bites. The primary messages encompass what you are trying to motivate the public to do and include a short self-interest appeal. For example, in a campaign regarding children's nutrition, one primary message might be: "Healthy adults come from healthy children. Ensure your child's healthy future with a diet rich in fruits and vegetables today." The number of primary messages for a key public will depend upon the number of tasks (objectives) you have set for that particular public. Typically, a public will have two to four primary messages. Context: Basically, the primary messages are short, motivating messages that quickly appeal to the self-interest of the audience. Class: These messages focus on facts and statistics that support the primary message. Book (Matrix): The second part of the message strategy is secondary messages. These messages contain all the facts, statistics, case studies, examples, testimonials, appeals and other information to support the primary message. Context: The secondary messages are all about supporting the primary messages. Whether it be through facts or testing or testimonials, the secondary messages should prove that the primary message is a true claim.

Last steps in the strategic planning process Calendars and budgets should be organized by public. Why? : to make it easier to see how much the strategy and tactics will cost for that particular public. Consider the timing when scheduling an event. Figure out how much funding is available before setting the objectives.

classify people by gender, income level, education, ethnic background, and age. Helps determine what type of decisions people will make and what their self interests are. classifies people by lifestyle, attitudes, and beliefs. Helps determine what kind of decision maker someone is in 1.What motivates someone to act Innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards. Pg. 187 relation to the Rogerss research. 2. Self interest is the something in return Some of the basic appeals to self interest include: Power, respect, wellbeing, affection, wealth, skill, enlightenment, physical and mental vitality 3. Basically, when you are deciding on messages, strategies, and tactics, you have to know what will motivate your public to act. 1. Influentials are the ones most likely to sway your publics opinion 2. I did not find anything in the book 3. When you are planning to reach a public, you can work through influentials, they can also be opinion leaders. For example, for a teacher, and influential could be: the PTA, other teachers, State government, Administrators, etc.

Part of the Action/Planning step in the RACE process. They identify approaches to send messages to each public through specific channels in order to motivate action. Usually, multiple strategies are required for each public. They also: 1.Identify which public you are trying to reach 2. Identify what you are trying to achieve by reaching them 3. Identify what channel is best to get a particular message to a particular public to accomplish the specified purpose. (Pamphlet) Two strategies from our class campaign: 1. To motivate teachers to attend the Sera open house through the workplace Part of the Action/Planning step in RACE process. They are communication tools and tasks required to support each strategy. Strategies have a number of tactics designed to convey key messages to a specific public though the communications channel outlines in the strategy. Requires creativity to break through all the information clutter aimed at that public. Class campaign Tactics (part of the two strategies listed above) 1. School newsletter announcing Sera open house, email from principal, invitation, video 2. Group rate coupon, tour of Sear theater, entertainment, free stuff with advertisement (pencils, stress balls) , calender of events,

The situationalist believes that each decision is based on what would cause the lesat harm or the most good. This is also often called the Utilitarian Approach. This concept was advanced by John Stuart Mill who believed the ends could justify the means as long as the result benefited the greatest number of people

n the book p. 73 - an approach to ethics - the Golden Rule-- love your neighbor as yourself or "treat others as you would like to be treated" - assumes that people will achieve their highest potential if they practice good virtues In class (11/3) - values of society are changing but we need to practice good virtues anyway - don't give up more important things in order to get temporary gain - others will watch us as LDS to see if we live up to our values In context - always strive for integrity in everything In the book p. 75-76 - largest public relations organization in the world - headquartered in New York City - 22,000 members, 110 chapters, 19 professional interest sections - publishes periodicals Tactics and The Strategist p. 78 - has a code of ethics p. 85 - established an accreditation program

In class (11/3) - we discussed ethics in public relations and referred to PRSA's code of ethics as an example - accreditation verifies that someone is a credible PR person In context - ethical codes provide guide for us in PR but our personal standards should be higher than the organization's (International Association of Business COmmunicatiors) 2nd largest organization Mission: "Provide lifelong learning opportunities that give IABC members the tools and information to be the best in their chosen disciplines 15, 000 members in 70 nations. Members encouraged to be truthful, accurate and fair, a code based on professional communication principle that not only use legal and ethical tactics but are sensitive to values and cultures. Class:There was nothing said that specifically related to this term besides what was said about the PRSA and the IABC - and there are separate terms for those. Book: Professional Organizations have done much to develop the standards of ethical, professional public relations practice and to help society understand the role of public relations. Examples of these organizations include the Public Relations Society of America, the International Association of Business Communicators, and the International Public Relations Association Context: These organizations or associations exist to offer explanation to the public what the role of public relations Licensing1. In order to get your PR license a PR professional may take rigorous examinations and test of personal integrity to be called a "Public Relations Counselors." Advocates for PR professionals to get a license say that it will 1. help define the practice of PR 2. establish uniform educational criteria 3. Set the uniform professional standards 4. Protect clients and employees from impostors. 5. protect qualified practioners from unfair competition from the unethical and unqualified, and it will raise the overall credibility of public relations practitioners. *At this time though you do not have to get a license, instead you get accreditation. 2. This is the only thing I wrote down about licensing... Licensing speech is a first amendment violation

1. Copyright means- protection of a creative work from unauthorized use. Copyright does not protect ideas, but only the specific ways in which those ideas are expressed. -Knowledge of copyright law is important from two perspectives: 1-what organizational materials should be copyrighted and how correctly to utilize the copyrighted materials of others. - Under current law, a work is automatically copyrighted the moment it is "fixed" in tangible form. *Pages 308-312 talk about copyright laws on specific subjects, such as, photography, internet material, etc. I don't know how specific we would need to know these. 2. We just talked about this in class on Thursday and I'm not sure if she was done telling us about it! -As PR practitioners we need to be extremely aware of the copyright laws and what we can use and when we can use it. It would look bad if we were infringing on those laws, so we need to be fully aware of these laws. 3. This applies because in our profession we will be using a lot of different written material and other sources like that, so we need to be aware of any laws that we might be breaking. Trademark 1. A trademark is a word, symbol, or slogan that identifies a products origin. Coca-Cola is the worlds most recognized trademark. Using trademarks: (1) Trademarks are proper adjectives and should be capitalized and followed by a generic noun or phrase. (2) Trademarks should not be pluralized or used in the possessive form. Saying American Expresss credit card is improper. (3) Trademarks are never verbs. Saying The client Express Mailed the package violates the rule. 2. said she would discuss it during class on Tues Nov 10 Libel and Defamation 1. Traditionally, libel was a printed falsehood and slander was an oral statement that was false. Today, there is little difference in the two, and the courts use defamation as a collective term. Defamation is any false statement about a person (or organization) that creates public hatred, contempt, ridicule, or inflicts injury on reputation. Private citizen usually have more success winning defamation suits than do public figures or corporations. Public figures (government officials, entertainers, political candidates, etc.) require an extra test of whether the statement was made with actual malice. Corporations are also considered public figures to some degree. 2. She reiterated that defamation is used over libel because with the Internet, it is hard to distinguish between libel

Invasion of privacy: p. 304-306. Employees of an organization are protected from invasion of privacy in employee newsletters, photo releases, product publicity and advertising, and media inquiries about employees. Keep newsletter focused on the organization and do not print anything that would embarrass anyone. Must have a signed photo release for advertisements, but otherwise a person gives "implied consent" when posing for a picture if they are told how it will be used. Employers should only give news reporters basic info such as confirmation that the person is an employee, their title and job description, dates worked. Liability: p. 328. Take steps to protect the organization from liability and possible lawsuits at plant tours and promotional events. For plant tours, plan for logistics, work disruptions, safety, and staffing. For open houses, arrange for liability insurance, hire security, have medical personnel on hand, and make contracts with vendors Accreditation Program o ffort to improve standards and professionalism in PR around the world practitioners voluntarily go through a E process to be certified by a national org (written and oral exam, work portfolio) o RSA 1st org. to establish an accreditation program (in 2003: candidate has to take a preview course, complete a P readiness questionnaire, and show a portfolio of work to a panel of professional peers before taking the written exam 2-5 hrs). Candidates who pass earn the credential APR (Accredited in PR). 20% of PRSA membership earn APR. oIABC, PRISA oSome group are beginning to require continuing education as a prerequisite for professional certification.

oIdentifying and addressing issues of public concern that affect the organization. oProactive planning and systematic approach to 1) predict problems, 2) anticipate threats, 3) minimize surprise, 4) resolve issues, 5) prevent crises. oRequires 2-way communications, formal environmental scanning, and active sense-making strategies. oVs. crises management (reactive) oPR counselors W. Howard Chase and Barrie L. Jones (among 1st practitioners to specialize in issues management) define issue management in 5 steps:

See Bader Rutter matrix (images do not pull up on this document) if you need me to email it to you let me know 1. Any communication an organization gives to reduce risk for affected publics and for employers. Risk to public health, safety and the environment are extremely important to PR. Efforts to reduce or deal with risks is least disruptive in the long run and results in less public outrage. Can minimize adverse effects of risks on publics but also reduces the risk to the organization itself. When risk communication fails, it results in a crisis for a company. 2. Professor Wilson: Risk communication is part of the strategic phase and is aimed to reduce the risk of crises for an organization. It helps protect a company from possible litigation should an incident occur. 3. This is part of the Conflict Management and Issues Management part of public relations and is an important tool in helping to avoid crises for an organization. 1. "a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome affecting the organization, company, or industry, as well as its publics, products, services, or good name" (262). There is a crisis if any of the organization's stakeholders perceive one. Not all crises are unexpected. The top three triggers for a crisis are financial irregularities, unethical behavior, and executive misconduct. 2. Professor Wilson: An especially important function of Public Relations is dealing with crises that occur. PR practitioners should be familiar with strategies to prevent, handle, and deal with consequences of crises. 3. Crises are issues that public relations people focus on preventing through several strategies and should be associated with the conflict and issues management of public relations.

A Crisis is a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome affecting the organization, company, or industry, as well as its pu By planning ahead of time and putting effort into preparing for the worst, the worst doesnt seem that bad when it +comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year +intended to give shareholders and other interested persons information about the company's activities and financial performance (In U.S. a more-detailed version of the report, called a Form 10-K, is submitted to SEC) +Annual reports often include chairman's report, CEO's report, auditor's report on corporate governance, mission statement, corporate governance statement of compliance, statement of directors' responsibilities, invitation to the

jurisdiction to determine that advertisements are not deceptive or misleading (deal w/ product news releases/other other forms of product publicity (videos/brochures)) +Lanham Act makes anyone liable who helps make false/misleading representation in any advertising +Some words that trigger FTC interest are authentic, certified, cure, custom-made, germ-free, natural, unbreakable, perfect, first-class, exclusive, reliable. +Companies who violate FTC guidelines can sign a consent decree (means company admits no wrongdoing but will SEC: change advertising claims. The company may be fined by the FTC) Stands for Securities and Exchange Commission, this federal agency closely monitors the financial affairs of publicly traded companies and protects the interests of stockholders. Regulations that the SEC has include the Fair Disclosure Regulation, which requires publicly traded companies to broadly disseminate material information via a news release, Webcast, or SEC filing, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which came as a result of the Enron and Worldcom financial scandals. The Sarbanes-Oxley Acts purpose is to increase investor confidence in a companys accounting procedures. CEOs must now personally certify the accuracy of their financial reports. Three concepts of the SEC that are pertinent to PR: (pg. 319) 1. Full information must be given on anything that might materially affect the companys stock. 2. Timely disclosure is essential 3. Insider trading is illegal. Initial Public Offering, when a company goes public with stock.

Sarbanes-Oxley: Matrix--Nothing. Class notes--Governed by SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission)--requires CEO's of major corporations to confirm the validity of financial information released to stock-holders and the general public Context/Teacher--Examples included ENRON, TYCO and other major corporations who've had fraudulent claims brought against it regarding financial misstatements. Enacted after ENRON scandal (2003?). FDA: Matrix--Nothing. Class notes--The Federal Drug Administration--basically we as communicators have to occasionally deal with this regulating agency to ensure we abide by rules set up by it so as to not cause problems and abide by the law. Context/Teacher--She simply mentioned it and it's just one of the many organizations to be aware of. Example used in class: natural food stores can't use medical claims to back it's products.

I could not find anything in the book about this, so from the Internet BATF stands for The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms * Another major component of keeping a companys health and wealth is communicating with shareholders and prospective investors. Investor relations (IR) is at the center of that process. The goal of investor relations is to combine the disciplines of communications and finance to accurately portray a companys prospects from an investment standpoint. * Individuals who specialize in investor or financial relations are the highest paid professional s in the PR field.

Should not be taken lightly, should consider the following -Logistics -possible work disruptions as groups pass through -safety -amount of staff required -Must be well marked route with trained tour guides -The following should also be kept in mind as possibilties -arranging for extra liability insurance -hiring off duty police and security -making agreements for food vendors A policy that would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby businesses would monitor and ensure its adherence to law and ethical standards A policy that would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby businesses would monitor and ensure its adherence to law and ethical standards -Businesses would embrace responsibility for the impact of their activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, and all stakeholders. -Businesses would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public the donation of funds, products, and services to various causes. Public relations departments handle corporate charitable giving. It is used to build relationships, increase employee and consumer loyalty and serve public interest. Class: Can be formal and informal Numbers, statistics, scientifically random, probability Book: Polls and survey using highly precise scientific sampling methods Based on randomness and large number of respondents Random sampling everyone in the audience has an equal or known chance of being selected for the survey Sample size 250-500 will give accurate data Percentage of error should be around 10 percent or lower

- Context: This is part of the research part of the matrix

- Class: Cannot be generalized Personal interviews, focus groups Can be both formal and informal - Book: Good for probing attitudes and perceptions, assessing penetration of messages and testing messages. Content analysis the systematic and objective counting or categorizing of information; often used to measure the amount of media coverage and the content of the coverage Interviews intercept interview, convenience polls, purposive interviewing Focus groups informal research procedure that develops qualitative info rather than hard data Copy testing read or view material in draft form to test for clarity and understanding Ethnographic techniques observation of group and individual behavior - Context: This is part of the research part of the matrix

TEXT BOOK 1. Focus groups are formally defined as informal research because it produces qualitative information rather than hard data. Focus groups try to promote conversation and discussion to find a conclusion. Another form of informal research is role-playing. This is when a public relations professional takes on the role of a public that an organization deals with. This is helpful on gaining insights on the strengths and weaknesses of an organization. (Pages 138-139) 2. Dr. Wilson talked briefly touched on informal research. She said that an example of informal research is "the hat trick" which is when you go out on the street and talk to people randomly. 3. Informal research is typically from a sample that is not represented and lacks a systematic process. Formal Research 1. Formal research produces results that are highly precise. Making sure that the sample is random and is large is important in order to represent the population as a whole. Random sampling is an example of formal research. (pages 139-140) 2. Dr. Wilson explained that formal research follows the rules and guidelines. It is organized research. It's main goal is to effectively represent a population as a whole. 3. Basically Formal Research is more carefully and thoughtfully constructed than informal research. It is very specific

1. New and original information generated through a research design that is directed to answer a specific question. ex. in depth interviews, focus groups, surveys and polls. 2. She basically just discussed it with us and stressed the importance of doing research. 3. Research is the first step in the RACE process. 1. Uses existing information in books, magazine articles, electronic databases, and so on. Secondary Research is the first of the three broad approaches to research. (The other two are qualitative and quantitative.) 2. She said that most of our research will be secondary research. It saves time and resources. 3. Research is the first step in the RACE process.

(p.267-268) reputation is the track record of an organization in the public's mind. Reputation audits are research techniques that can be used to assess and monitor an organization's reputation. The media offers some guides to this, such as the Media Reputation Index (MRI). PR professionals are faced with tracking and dealing with issues, conveying risks to publics, managing crises as they arise, and apologizing when all the efforts to manage conflict have fallen short. this is a type of research method. it can be either primary or secondary. It is usually done over a long period of time every few years by a government agency. The results are wide-spread and offer general demographic information. * Security and Exchange Commission (SEC): closely monitors the financial affiars of publicly traded companies and protects the interess of stockholders. Three concepts most pertinent to PR: 1) Full info must be given on anything that might materially affect the company's stock; 2) Timely disclosure is essential; 3) Insider trading is illegal. * Federal Communications Commission (FCC): involved in licensing of radio and television stations, allocating frequencies, and ensuring that the public airwaves are used in the public interest * The Food and Drug Administration (FDA): oversees the advertising and promotion of prescription drugs, over-thecounter medicines, and cosmetics. Any person or firm who causes the misbranding of products through the dissemination of false info may be liable. News releases must provide fair balance (risks as well as benefits), be clear about limitations of drug, and must be accompanied by supplementary product sheets or brochures that give full prescribing info. * Equal Emplyment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): ensures that workers are not discriminated against on the basis of their religion, ethnic background, gender, or even their English skills. When technical and bureaucratic jargon is delivered to a general audience; interferes with the message and impedes the receiver's ability to understand it

Patrick Johnson came up with the concept that public relations practitioners should think more about what behaviors they were trying to motivate in their publics, rather than on the information that is being communicated. This basically means that public relations practitioners should find an event that will cause people to act the way they want them to act. An example would be the launch of the iPhone or a book like Harry Potter, which triggered people to actually go out and buy those things. 138 180 181 Copy testing is a method used to make sure that the information one wants to get across is suitable for their target audience, meaning that what one particular audience may be able to understand, another might have no idea what it means. Another example would be that maybe to a more elite audience, something might be offensive, but another audience might find that material to be just fine. So, copy testing is used to make sure that the publics they need to get information to are able to understand it and not be offended. The most widely known readability formula is by Rudolph Flesch, and also by Barr, Jenkins, and Peterson. Both are based on aerage sentence length

Advertising Equivalency is often an issue that is raised in connection with Media Content Analysis studies. Basically, advertising equivalency is a means of converting editorial space into advertising costs, by measuring the amount of editorial coverage and then calculating what it would have cost to buy that space, if it had been advertising. Environmental scanning is a process of gathering, analyzing, and dispensing information for tactical or strategic purposes. The environmental scanning process entails obtaining both factual and subjective information on the business environments in which a company is operating or considering entering. There are three ways of scanning the business environment: * Ad-hoc scanning - Short term, infrequent examinations usually initiated by a crisis * Regular scanning - Studies done on a regular schedule (say, once a year) * Continuous scanning (also called continuous learning) - continuous structured data collection and processing on a broad range of environmental factors

a type of qualitative research, are used to help identify attitudes and motivations of important publics. Another purpose of focus groups is to formulate or pretest message themes and communication strategies before launching a full campaign. Focus groups usually consist of 8-12 people who represent the characteristics of the target audience, such as employees, consumers, or community residents. During the interview, a trained facilitator uses nondirective interviewing techniques that encourage group members to talk freely about a topic or give candid reactions to suggested message themes. the setting is usually a conference room, and the discussion is informal. A focus group may last one or two hours, depending on the subject matter. Research cannot be summarized by percentages or even projected onto an entire population. Nevertheless, focus groups are useful in identifying the range of attitudes an opinions among participants. also called omnibus surveys): an organization "buys" one or two questions in a national survey conducted by a national polling firm. Advantages: An organization pays much less to participate in such a poll than to conduct its own survey and firms such as Gallup or Harris have the skill and organization to do a survey properly and efficiently. Management by objective. There is nothing about it in the book and all she said about it in class was enough to define the term. She also said it was Time Warner's business objective.

In Book: see p. 230-237 Clarity, good timing, in context, audience participation, emotional appeals... These are important ways for messages to "hook" publics to get them to act. In Class: People are motivated by self-interest. In PR the "hook" in a message is what appeals to a public's self-interest. It motivates them to act on on the message. In Context: Need to remember to keep people's self-interests in mind when creating messages. 1- The entire communication activity of an organization should be evaluated at least once a year to make sure that every primary and secondary public is receiving appropriate messages. David Hilton-Barber of PRISA wrote "The most important reasons for an audit are to help establish communication goals and objectives, to evaluate long-term programs, to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to point up any areas which require increased activity." pg 208 It is an analysis of all communication activities and is the best time to conduct focus groups, telephone calls, etc. 2- Once a year a company will look at the different methods they have used to get their communication out. They look at the methods that they have used and they also look at if their message was conveyed in the way that they wanted it to be.

Under step 5 of the Matrix, Key Publics and Messages on p. 4, there are 5 elements to identify: 1. demographics/psychographics, 2. self-interests, 3. Status of current relationship with the organization, 4. influentials, 5. objectives they will help you accomplish. Message exposure, dissemination, and acceptance: Public Relations firms will gather information from various forms of media, whether it is a small company that gives one staff member the responsibility to gather information by reading a newspaper, or a large company which uses monitoring services to gather information from television newscasts, local and national talk shows, internet chat groups, podcasts, blogs, and so forth. The Public Relations firm Burrelles/Luce claims it can monitor 40 million blogs, 16,054 Web news sources, 10,355 daily and non daily newspapers, 7,893 magazines and trade journals, and 926 TV and cable stations. Monitoring service National Aircheck monitors 8,000 hours of news talk radio each week. President Rob Wexler of the firm told ODwyers PR Report We should be able to tell someone within 10-15 minutes where and when theyre being talked about. The purpose of all the electronic research done is to find out how many media stories are generated by a program or campaign. The Tyson Foods fight against Hunger campaign generated 260 stories online, and in print and broadcast. The Cranberry Marketing Committee educated the public health professionals on the health benefits of cranberries with 184 media stories. Media impressions determine how many people have been reached through different media channels. The number of audience members (20 million) for example, will determine the media impressions. Auditing organizations determine these audience sizes for radio and television stations. Media Impressions are also estimated by other potential outlets that may allow people access to the channel who are not subscribers (like many people in 1 house reading a newspaper for 1 subscriber, or co-workers reading the paper of an office subscriber). So there may be 130,000 media impressions, but with 4 household members who read the paper, there now results 520,000 media impressions. Frito-Lay, for example, made the announcement to swap cottonseed oil for sunflower oil and generated 175 million impressions, including 93 million television news impressions, 11 million impressions for an audio news release, and 13 million print media impressions. Media impressions are used in advertising to document the penetration of a particular message. On the internet, media impressions are measure by the number of visits to a particular website. Purple Moon is one such software developer that measures media impressions on the internet, which used its programs to drive traffic resulting in 700,000 visitors in the first 6 months and an average of 6 million impressions per month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 540,000 visitors and 50,000 materials downloaded on its site in its efforts to increase awareness on autism. The U.S. Potato Board reported visits to PotatoHeadQuarters.com of 7000+ of people researching the health benefits of potatoes with the assistance of Fleishman-Hillard. Longwood University reported a 185 percent increase in to its website after its efforts to recruit more students. The value of message exposure is measured in the same way that advertising costs are. This is called Advertising Equivalency (AVE). A news article in a publication is charged similarly the way an ad is due to the space it takes up. News stories are believed to have greater credibility, and because of that, are sometimes charged as much as 3 to 6 times more than ads. Cranberry Marketing Committee, and its public relations firm, Publicis Consultants, used a

Attitude change and behavior change: Another key component of the communication process is source credibility. Perception is reality, and if the audience perceives that a source is credible, than that source is a credible source for that audience. Organizational spokespersons have the challenge of encounter difficulties because they already have a bias with key publics. Many people believe that if a large organization, particularly a business, is accused of wrongdoing, then they are not to be trusted. This is why companies look to outside sources, like celebrities or other experts, as representatives who can deliver their message. Sources that are deemed to not be credible may share credible information, but the audience may accept the information without accepting the source. On the flipside, sources that are deemed to be credible that share certain information have the influencing power enough to where people will have changes of information based on what they say. The context of a message is important also, because it is a reflection of an organization that practices what they preach. A bank that spends thousands of dollars to reflect being friendly must have friendly employees. The irony of certain messages shows through at times. At one press conference conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the message was about the importance of buying American and commemorative coffee mugs were passed out with print on the bottom which read Made in China. Other obstacles to the believability of messages include the predispositions of an audience, which can be characterized by the old saying Dont confuse me with the facts, my mind is already made up. This goes along with Leon Festingers theory of cognitive dissonance, which says that people will not believe a message contrary to what they believe unless information is given by a communicator which causes them to question their beliefs. Dissonance can be created by making the public aware that circumstances have changed. Secondly it can be created by updating the public on recent developments, and thirdly it can be made by using an unexpected spokesperson, such as a credible source to key publics. Involvement is the last factor regarding how publics process messages. Audiences of high involvement are those who are directly affected by an issue, or who have high stakes, or interest, or concern for a particular issue. These audiences pay greater attention to logical argument and detail. Then there are audiences of low involvement, who simply appeal to the message due to factors like an attractive spokesperson, humor, or the number of arguments given. Those with low involvement appeal to the message due to its presentation rather than about the actual issue at hand. Remembering a message is important for key publics, and the best tool for helping in the retention of a message for key publics is repetition. Messages are repeated because not everyone sees or hears a particular message at the same time. Audiences may read a newspaper or tune in to the television at different times during the day. Repetition helps to remind an audience of the message repeatedly and assists in the deterioration of opinion change if the source is highly credible. Repetition is necessary because it helps reinforce the actual message. Repetition can also help an audience become educated on an issue and understand something better to the point where resistance or apathy may decrease. It is necessary to repeat the message because the noise or all of the distractions during a

Effective use of language and writing clearly and understandably: Communication is the act of transmitting information, ideas, and attitudes from one person to another, and can only take place if the sender and receiver have a common understanding of the symbols to convey a particular message. Words are the most commonly used symbols. Messages do not always translate clearly, however. Communication effectiveness depends on factors such as education, social class, regional differences, nationality, and cultural background. Communication effectiveness encounters difficulties in a global economy. A greater amount of diversity in the workforce brings communication challenges as well. One study shows that 85 percent of new entrants into the workforce are now white women, immigrants, African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asians, for most of which English will be a second language. The challenge is now upon the industry to understand cultural differences. The goal will be to communicate messages in the simplest form possible. Studies show that 42 percent of American adults are on the lowest level of literacy, and one in eight employees read at no better than a 4th grade level. The key to producing effective messages is to match the nature of the audience and their level of literacy. For example, the Illinois Public Health Department wrote a rap song to increase AIDS awareness to lower income, poorly educated groups known as the Condom Rag. However, the song was cancelled by elected officials who were offended by it. This is one example of the dilemma in creating messages that both management can agree with and that an audience can relate to. The goal is to create messages that will effectively reach an audience and help management to understand what an audience wants. The key, once again, is to keep messages simple. Rudolph Flesch, along with Barr, Jenkins, and Peterson formulated models for readability which indicate that the longer and more complex a sentence is, the lower the readability is (Im assuming that you are all intelligent people). The Cloze procedure was implemented by William Taylor, and measures readability by having test subjects read passages where every fifth or ninth word is removed. Their ability to fill in the missing word can determine their familiarity with the pattern of the words, and a general understanding of messages. Symbols, acronyms, and slogans are a way to quickly convey a simple and clear message. The world is full of well known symbols: the Christian cross, the Jewish Star of David, the sword of the American Cancer Society, the Mercedes Benz star, the Nike swoosh, and the apple of Apple Computer. The concept of symbol recognition is known as branding, which corporations spend considerable time and money towards so that their name can become well known and recognized. Acronyms are words formed from the initials from other words, such as the Group Against Smokers Pollution, or GASP; the Juvenile Opportunities in Business (JOB), and political organizations such as the National Organization for Women (NOW). Acronyms are used for simplistic purposes. AIDS is used instead of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or UNESCO instead of United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Slogans are a way to shorten a broad concept. Dont Leave Home without it is associated with American Express, as is The Ultimate Driving Machine with BMW. The priceless theme has been used extensively by MasterCard over the years in its marketing process.

Depends on source credibility. New articles more credible than advertisement. Because of difficulty gain credibilities, companies use respected outside experts and celebrities for messages. Influencers of credibility: 1-Sleeper effect people will separate source from information from a company. 2-Context action must match the message 3-Predispositions cognitive dissonance theory people won't believe information against their believes unless new information causes them to question their beliefs. 4-Involvement public's interest in the issue (what is said vs. who says it)

Message must be repeated often because: 1-Message not heard by everyone at same time 2-Reminds audience 3-Helps audience to remember 4-Increases chances of penetrating indifferent or resistant audience During message repeat important info several times Use multiple communication channels Acting on the Message Ultimate purpose of message is to motivate action Adoption process: 1-Awareness (of idea or product) 2-Interest (to learn more) 3-Evaluation (whether it meets their needs) 4-Trial (experimentation with it) 5-Adoption (uses product on daily basis) Affectors of adoption process: 1-Relative advantage (over idea it will replace) 2-Compatibility (with existing values) 3-Complexity (of understanding or using it) 4-Triability (able to try it) 5-Observability (can see others do it) Approaches to innovation: 1-Innovators (eager for new ideas) 2-Early Adopters (opinion leaders) 3-Early Majority (pragmatists) 4-Late Majority (give into peer pressure) 5-Laggards (traditionalists) Where information comes from in each step: Awareness: mass media, especially TV commercials, radio, direct mail, etc. Interest: mass media, especially in-depth articles Evaluation, Trial, and Adoption: peers have more influence than mass media. This is why Word of Mouth campaigns became popular, which is done through opinion leaders.

aware of idea or product, interest - seeking more info , evaluation - person sees how it meeds their needs and wants, trial - person tries it on experimental basis and finally adoption - begins to use on a regular basis

Controlled media - you decide when and how the message is delivered (advertising) -Uncontrolled Media - someone else decides how the message is delivered (Public Relations)

how we view our reality based on cognitive bias as well as our attitudes and beliefs.

Results oriented criteria are easiest to evaluate. To identify criteria, restate your objectives in terms of success, and then identify the method or tool for measuring that success. Each objective should be converted into a criterion with a method for measurement identified. Measuring tools are the same kind of tools you used previously in research (surveys, sales records, event attendance) This information then becomes the background and research for future communications effort. more indepth information found in matrix 38

measurement of what you achieve against your objectives through production, message exposure, audience awareness, attitude, action, and supplemental activities. In the end it can enhance performance and evaluate whether your goals have been met. For more indepth look at pages 210-211

Measuring production: A quantitative measurement of to account for the actual production of the PR agent by counting the number of news releases, feature stories, photos, and letters are actually produced. Measuring message exposure: Is measured through the complilation of print and broadcast mentions. Through media impressions, or the potential audience reached by a certain medium, they measure how much exposure the message is receiving. Hits on the internet also show the buzz the message is creating, and can measure the exposure by counting the number of downloads of related material. AVE or Advertising Equivalency measures the value of message exposure. It uses the price of what an advertisement would cost if ran in its place and applies that value to the value of the PR story. Some people double or triple the price saying that a PR story is more valuable than advertisements. Systematic Tracking uses new technology to store the data of media placements and can account for many variables. Other measurements include, ROI and Audience attendance. Measurement of awareness: Measured through survey research to determine if the audience understood the message and benefitted them. Measurement of Attitudes: Can be evaluated through benchmark study, measuring the opinions of the audience before during and after the PR campaign. Measurement of Audience Action: Is measured through the affect the campaign has on the company or organization, for example, increase in sales or the election of a candidate. Message production, penetration and audience action: Messages must be constructed with all the research and objectives in mind. They must be tailored to get the recipients attention to produce the desired action. Penetration depends the amount of the desired audience is reached. The more clear and less distorted the messages, the more effective they will be in penetrating its desired audiences. Audience action: The success of a message is in its effect on the recipient. Time is needed for one to adopt a new idea or product. Word of mouth campaigns are being used more often to take advantage of peer influence and

Research is the groundwork of PR. It is used in every phase of the communication process. Decisions for the company cannot be made if not properly informed, and without research most campaigns would be a waste of money and would most likely fail every time. The more effective the research process is, the more effective the public relations process will be.

-intercept interview (also called convenience polls b/c of its easiness to conduct): short interviews 2-5 min with people in a shopping mall or at a mtg. Considered unscientific/unreliable but gives an organization some sense of current thinking/exposure to certain key messages -purposive interviewing: in-depth interviews which get more comprehensive information; interviewees are carefully selected based on their expertise, influence, or leadership in the community. -focus groups: helps identify attitudes/motivations of important publics. Pretests message themes/communication strategies before launching a full campaign. Nondirective interviewing techniques which encourage group members (8-12) to talk freely about a topic or give candid reactions to suggested message themes. Develops qualitative info rather than hard data. Identifies range of attitudes/opinions among participants. (many focus groups conducted Pg. 141-144 -Carefully consider wording: make the words used a matter of semantics -Avoid loaded questions: questions are "loaded" when they are intentionally skewed to generate a predictable response. Advocacy research in public relations is key. -Consider timing and context: polls and surveys should be conducted when the organization isn't in the news or connected to a significant event that may influence public opinion. Companies use benchmarking which is the use of software programs to track and monitor a client's reputation. -Avoid the politically correct answer: some companies use courtesy bias which is designing questions that tend to elicit the correct response. Respondents tend to choose answers that they think are politically correct in these situations. Try to avoid politically correct answers by making questionnaires confidential and anonymous. -Give a range of possible answers: provide answer choices that cover a range of opinions, do not give yes or no questions because they don't do a very good job at examining respondent's perceptions and attitudes and instead use answers such as strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree.

1. Book talks about this in a little different terms (1. Research 2. Policy Formation 3. Programming 4. Communication 5. Feedback-->Program assessment and adjustment--->back to the beginning) However, I think Professor Wilson will mostly pull test questions from the matrix (she wrote it :) 2. The notes are simply a re-explanation of the matrix. --Research--all data and information about campaign necessities done here --Action PLANNING--a formula for achieving desires objectives (focus on planning) --Communication--Preparing the messages to the key publics selected along the appropriate channels and effective strategies. --Evaluation--What was done right/wrong and what could be done better (although it should be continually used throughout the process so no time is wasted in strategic development) 3. Professor Wilson wants to make sure everyone knows this. I would recommend reviewing more in-depth notes * Audience= individuals who demand something fromt he communication to whch they are exposed, and who select those that are likely to be useful to them. * The communication process is interactive * Communicator wants to inform and persuade * The recipient wants to be entertained, informed, or alerted to opportunities that can fulfill individual needs * Theory assumes that people make highly intelligent choices about whch messges require their attention and fulfill their needs. If true, PR must tailor messages that focus on getting the audience's attention

- Scan the environment to look out for any activist movements that might affect your organization - Activists are at the fringe, but can become more mainstream with time (such as environmental activists) - Have to negotiate with them in order to truly manage issues and protect your organization from future crises - Example from class: Dao Chemical and environmentalists created environmentally-friendly processes even before the environment became a concern among everyone, avoided future issues such as having to conform to * Put the public first * Take responsibility. An organization should take responsibility for solving the problem * Be hones. Don't obscure facts and try to mislead the public * Never say, "No comment." A Porter Novelli survey found that nearly two-thirds of the public feel that "no comment" almost always means that the organization is guilty of wrongdoing * Designate a single spokesperson * Se up a central information center * Provide a constant flow of information. When information is withheld, the cover-up becomes a story * Be familiar with media needs and deadlines * Be accessible * Monitor news coverage and telelphone inquiries * Communicate with key publics

make sure your company is not violating trademarks or copyrights; or if your company has either one of those, you must be on the constant look-out to make sure your trademark/copyright is not misused. -also, if a company violates any laws set by government agencies and commissions, the company is in danger of being fined or licensing may be taken away. -this is true for commissions such as the FTC, that regulates advertisements and public news releases on products. if the documents or ads do not meet all the requirements, the company will be fined. * Defamation: any false statement about a person (or organization) that creates public hatred, contempt, ridicule, or inflicts injury on reputation. * "Defamation" used as a collective term for "libel" and "slander" * Libel suit if it can be proven that: false statment was communicated through print, broadcast, or electionric Criticism about a good or service done with "honest purpose and lack of malicious intent.

mpany, or industry, as well as its publics, products, services, or good name. Perception is reality----it doesnt matter what you say, its what is seen that c

. Perception is reality----it doesnt matter what you say, its what is seen that creates the peoples opinion. risisexperts.com found out the 14% of the cri C

s opinion. risisexperts.com found out the 14% of the crisis were unexpected. The remaining 86% were smoldering crisis or ones that the organization w C

oldering crisis or ones that the organization was aware of a potential business disruption long before the public found out about it . Also mismanagement

blic found out about it . Also mismanagement caused about 76% of the crisis. While many organizations have plans for crisis, there are a lot that duck an

ve plans for crisis, there are a lot that duck and deny serious problems that eventually will ignite and cost them millions of dollars and lost management t

hem millions of dollars and lost management time. When people believe that because nothing has gone wrong, nothing will go wrong, they court disaster

ong, nothing will go wrong, they court disaster. you always have to have a plan. 9% of Fortune 500 companies reported that a business crisis is inevitab 8

anies reported that a business crisis is inevitable.