What is Public Relations? Dispelling the Myths and Restoring Reality

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What is Public Relations? Dispelling the Myths
and Restoring Reality

• Ami Neiberger, APR

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Common Myths about Public Relations

• You need a PR degree to do it.
• You have be an eloquent writer to do PR well.
• The media hate PR people and they hate getting
  press releases.
• PR people answer to money not to ethics.
• Spin doctoring, flaks, etc.

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Basic Definition

• Public relations is the management of
  communication between an organization and its
  publics.
• We are all involved in and connected to public
  relations. Even the aliens among us!

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Don Bagin - Its Good Work

• In its broadest sense, public relations is good
  work, publicly recognized. There is no secret
  formula. Public relations is simply a group
  itself saying by its actions and services This
  is who we are, what we think about ourselves,
  what we want to do and why we deserve your
  support.

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The PR Moral Manifesto for Charities and
Nonprofits

• Thou shalt overcome neurotic humility about
  promotion.
• Thou shalt get thy head out of the clouds.
• Thou shalt remember that people love to give and
  give to love.
• Thou shalt not give up.

• Thou shalt ask at every opportunity for promotion
  of good works.
• Thou shalt believe that one person or idea can
  make a difference.
• Thou shalt not be afraid to think big.

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Characteristics of a Good 4-H PR Program

• It is planned. There is a written plan in
  existence consisting of objectives and
  strategies.
• There is two-way communication between the
  organization and its key publics, both internal
  and external. Listening is important!
• Honesty is the cornerstone of educational public
  relations.

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Four-Step PR Process

• Research
• Planning
• Communicating
• Evaluating

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Research

• Pinpoint whos behavior we want to change or who
  we want to influence.
• Mounting a PR effort without even some basic
  research is like jumping out of a plane without a
  parachute.

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Research Questions

• Who are the key audiences we want to influence?
• What perceptions are prevalent among those
  audiences now?
• What sources of information do those audiences
  use now?

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Communicating

• Implementing the PR plan through the goals,
  strategies and tactics identified.

• Newsletters
• News Releases
• Signage
• Speeches
• Themes
• Celebrations
• Special Programs

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The Seven Cs of Communication

• Credibility
• Context
• Content
• Clarity
• Continuity and Consistency
• Channels
• Capability

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Evaluation - During the Campaign

• Formative evaluation is attempted throughout the
  campaign to determine if the messaging has the
  desired effect.

• Question-gathering
• Small focus groups to test concepts.
• Taking the temperature of how the campaign is
  received.

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Evaluation - After the Campaign

• Summative evaluation is conducted when the
  campaign is over and the result is known. Try to
  learn from both mistakes and success.

• Post-campaign surveys.
• Number of media hits during the campaign.
• Focus group research.

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Basic PR Plan Outline

• RESEARCH
• IDENTIFY PROBLEM
• PUBLICS - note who is key
• OBJECTIVES - short term and long term
• STRATEGIES - explain using audiences
• IMPLEMENTATION - Message, Tools, Spokesperson
• EVALUATION

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Basic PR Plan (shorter)

• Mission
• Goals
• Objectives
• Strategies
• Tactics