Communications

3368
PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC
RELATIONS
The PR Planning Process: Step 1

Agenda
1. Exam
2. Break

3. Housekeeping
4. The PR Planning Process
sues
5. Next week

Be thinking about your case study

general area
case study of your choosing? or
help in selecting one?

How were you able to relate a PRrelated situation to a systems,

communication model or public
opinion perspective in your blog
assignment?

Questions about last week?

The PR Planning Process

STEP ONE: DEFINING PUBLIC RELATIONS
PROBLEMS

Systems theory helps define two types of PR practice

Reactive

Proactive

Functionary

Functional

Flying by the seat

of your pants

Applied social and

behavioral science

The Four-Step
Public
Relations
Planning
Process

Evaluation
How did we do?

Situation
Analysis
Whats happening
now?

Implementatio
n
Putting the plan in
action.

Strategy
What should we do
and say? Why, how
and when?

Step 1: Defining the

Problem

Situation
Analysis
Assessment
Research
Whats happening
now?

Step 2: Planning and

Programming

Strategy
Planning
Analyze
What should we do
and say? Why, how
and when?

Step 3: Taking Action

and Communicating

Implementation
Action
Communicate
Putting the plan in
action.

Step 4: Evaluating
the Program

Evaluation
Assessment
Evaluate
How did we do?

Its more complicated than it looks

because the process is continuous,

cyclical, and dynamic.
A little like this.

Research
The systematic gathering of information to
describe and understand situations
check out assumptions about publics and public
relations consequences
reduce uncertainty in decision making
The scientific alternative to intuition.
The foundation of effective public relations practice.

The Benchmarks Model

Preparation

Time 1

Implementation

Time 1a

Time 1b

Before

During

Define problem
Formulate strategy

Use research to monitor progress

Adjust strategy
Fine-tune tactics

Impact

Time 2
After
Measure and
document impact
and effectiveness

Research
is critical to PR practitioners role as
environmental scanners
issues managers
involves
fact-finding
listening
asking and being prepared to listen
is a method of structuring systematic listening into the
communication process

Listening
the process of receiving, constructing meaning from and
responding to spoken or non/verbal messages
70-80% of our waking hours are spent communicating.
Listening is 45% of communication.
Opposing ideas passing each other across one-way
channels doesnt count as communication.
A failure to listen is a failure to communicate
often leading to purposeless pseudo-communication on
non-existent issues to unaffected publics.

Defining a PR problem
begins with a judgment that something
is wrong or could be wrong
could be better
needs to be addressed
uses the organizations mission, vision and goals as
benchmarks
Goal states serve as a basis for determining what needs
to happen.

1. Problem statement
A concise description of the situation
Written in the present tense
Whats happening now?
no will, should or could
Describes the situation in specific and measurable terms
What is the source of concern?
Where is this a problem?
When is it a problem?
Who is involved or affected?
How are they involved or affected?
Why is this a concern to the organization and its publics?
Does not imply solutions or place blame

Only 5% of new graduates join the

alumni association during the first
year after graduation.
This low rate results in lost contacts
with ex-students, inability to gather
follow-up information and reduced
support for the school.

Polls indicate that 47% of Americans

agree with proposals to break up the
major oil companies into separate,
competing business units.
Public support for this measure is
influencing a growing number of
members of Congress to support such
legislation.

2. Situational analysis
A collection of what is known about the situation,
providing needed background and detail

Internal factors
organizational procedures and policies
perceptions and actions by key internal players and
publics
history of the organizations relationship to this
issue
communications audit

2. Situational analysis
External factors (positive and negative)
Stakeholder analysis
o Who are the key stakeholders in this issue?
o What is the organizations current relationship with this public?
o How do organizational goals, decisions, policies, procedures,
actions affect this relationship?
Information issues
o How much do people use information in the problem situation?
o What kinds do they use or seek?
o How do people use information?
o What predicts information use?
o Why is often left out.
Programs are more effective when they respond to stakeholder
needs, not the organizations.

2. Situational Analysis

Weaknesses

Strengths

SWOT

Opportunities

Threats

SO strategies
build on
organizational
strengths to take
advantage of
opportunities in the
external environment

ST strategies
build on
organizational
strengths to counter
threats in the external
environment

WO strategies
attempt to minimize
organizational
weaknesses to take
advantage of external
opportunities

WT strategies
attempt to minimize
both organizational
weaknesses and
threats in the external
environment

Research
You cannot practice public relations today
successfully or effectively without research.
begins with a clear statement of the problem
two categories
informal
formal

Informal Research
exploratory in nature

does not allow the researcher to generalize to a larger audience,

but gains in-depth understanding of the client, object, or product
seeks in-depth understanding of particular cases and issues,
rather than generalizable statistical information, through probing,
open-ended methods such as depth interviews, focus groups and
ethnographic observation
Dictionary of Public Relations Measurement and Research, 3rd edition, 2013

qualitative rather than quantitative methodology

assumes qualitative (affective) analysis of the data
reflects inductive, rather than deductive, reasoning

Informal Research
Methods of informal research
Personal contact and observation
acquiring firsthand knowledge in the trenches
trade shows
stockholder meetings
meetings with media editorial boards
Key informants or key communicators
selecting and talking to opinion leaders and knowledgeable
experts
representatives key publics in a particular situation
opinions may not reflect those of less-informed people

Informal Research

Focus groups
structured approach to gathering data from a group (usually 612)
can result in open, spontaneous discussions and uncover
unexpected attitudes and opinions
relatively quick turn and inexpensive
needs a well-trained moderator
online community networks can utilize much larger groups
Community forums
public hearings
town hall meetings
community engagement meetings
pseudo-participation
participation

information-only

consultation

full

Informal Research
Advisory committees and boards
ongoing feedback measure
effective for increasing interaction, participation and indepth discussion of issues
organization must be sincere about input and guidance
Ombudspersons
investigate and solve problems
can facilitate feedback and awareness of issues
may be perceived as protecting the organization and its
policies
may actually be protecting the organization and its
policies

Informal Research
Call-in phone lines
instant information, feedback, monitoring
self-selected group giving feedback
have been largely replaced by websites
organizations still monitor incoming phone calls
Mail and email analysis
tends to skew to the critical
helpful in spotting, anticipating and addressing problem areas
can prompt personal responses
Social media and other online sources
Internet and social media monitoring detects whats being said
tap into and be part of rapidly expanding interactive communication
channels

The downsides of informal research

represents the opinions of generally self-selected
samples
provides information, not data
Results cannot be used to make inferences about a
larger population.

Formal Research
research methodologies that allow the researcher to apply
data to a larger audience
follows scientific or social scientific method
deductive, rather than inductive, in nature
often fails to gain in-depth understanding of the client,
object, or product
Dictionary of Public Relations Measurement and Research, 3rd edition, 2013

quantitative rather than qualitative methodology

Formal Research
uses objective measures
designed to gather data from
an entire population or group (census)
a representative portion of a population (sample)
yields information that describes issues and trends within
established ranges of accuracy and tolerance for error
helps practitioners make accurate statements about publics
based on evidence drawn from scientifically representative
samples

Formal Research
Methods of formal research
Secondary analysis and online databases
utilizes existing data
census data and other government statistic
national opinion poll data (Nielsen, Gallup, Roper, Harris)
state and municipal agencies
university research
news organizations
data published in research journals
online data bases

Formal Research
Content analysis
method of objectively determining what is being reported
in the media
more systematic approach than random scanning
no measure of what is read or heard, nor how audiences
react to content
provides insight into what might be on the public agenda
in the future

Formal Research
Surveys
systematic queries of the population under study
various forms
o mailed
o in-person
o telephone
o online
o longitudinal studies (trend and panel surveys)

Mail surveys

In person

Telephone

Longitudinal

Online

Panel Studies

relatively
inexpensive
greater anonymity
can choose when to
answer
no interviewer bias
access to
respondents
unavailable by
phone

no control over
return
low response rate
response may not
reflect a statistically
valid sample
lack of control over
conditions
no opportunity to
clarify questions
availability of

higher response
rates
greater flexibility in
dealing with
respondents
more control over
conditions, order of
questions
can observe and
record non-verbal
responses
higher cost
respondents reaction
to interviewer
greater
inconvenience for
respondents
difficulty of contacting
and reluctance
possibility of
interviewer bias

faster
more cost-effective
greater anonymity
for respondents

difficulties in sample
selection
difficulties in
reaching
respondents
possibility of
interviewer bias

very inexpensive
extremely fast
respondents accessed
via email
survey instrument
accessed via a URL
extremely easy to
prepare data

obtaining sampling
frames and emails
junk mail filters
low response rates

survey the same

sample throughout a
study
track changes and
processes
panel mortality
panel sensitization

Trend Studies
uses different samples
from the same
population to track
changes in public
knowledge, opinion or
behavior
eliminates the
problems of mortality
and sensitization

Questions about last week?

Next week
Guest speaker
The Public Relations Process, Step 2: Planning
and Programming
Read Chapter 12 in text
Check Blackboard by Wednesday for reading
update
PR blog #5 is due

This weeks blog

Take a look at a current situation with a public relations
dimension and summarize it as a problem statement
(text, pp. 244-45). Then expand on the problem
statement with a brief situational analysis, based on as
much information as you can find. Internal/external
factors and/or a SWOT analysis are possibilities.