PR 32:

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• PR 32
• Communications Planning
• Class 5

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Review

• Situational Analysis
• Crown Investments Corporation
• Notice the similarities between a management
  report and a communications strategy

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Lifesaving Society

• What do they do?
• Best known for training lifeguards
• Also provide lots of other services ranging from
  vocational training to boat safety to pool safety
• Only organization in Saskatchewan that
  specializes in water safety and rescue.

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Lifesaving Society

• Their vision to become the water safety and
  rescue specialists in Saskatchewan.
• Challenge to communicate that vision to members,
  general public, media, etc.
• Situational analysis to determine their ability
  to achieve this vision.

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Lifesaving Society

• Strengths programming power
• Weaknesses who are they? Name confusion
  (RLSC), limiting slogan, provincial/national
  materials
• Opportunities long-time key volunteers
• Threats how would other water safety service
  providers react?

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Lifesaving Society

• Core issue An image problem
• Solutions
• Proper branding
• New slogan
• Media relations training

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Audience

• I wish I had done a better job of communicating
  with my people. If people understand the why,
  they will work for it. I never got that across.
• Roger Smith, Former Chairman, General Motors

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Audience

• Other terms used include publics and
  stakeholders.
• From a communications perspective, an audience is
  a subset of a public.
• In most cases common sense is all you need to
  define your audience.

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Audience

• Regina Health District
• Goal to promote vaccination program for children
  under 2
• Pregnant women
• Women with children under 2
• Medical professionals who treat young children

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Audience

• ABC Company
• Goal To sell a CD-Rom program on home
  improvements for do-it-yourselfers
• Home renovators
• Computer users

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Audience

• Segment them like markets are segmented
• Break down into smallest segments possible
• Start with lots of segments and then combine
  them
• List them in order of importance

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Audience

• Markets and publics
• Markets are the people who purchase your goods
  and services. Publics are broader. You can ignore
  markets but not publics.

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Segmentation

• Ways to segment your publics
• Managers/supervisors versus employees
• Organizational membership
• Geographically
• Demographically

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Segmentation

• XYZ Company wants to close down its Tisdale
  office and relocate staff to Saskatoon office.
• Sample Audience Breakdowns
• Supervisors in Tisdale and Saskatoon offices
• Hourly paid employees at both offices
• Key business/civic leaders in Tisdale
• Trade and industry publications

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Segmentation

• Sample audience breakdown
• Business unit leaders at headquarters
  responsible for implementing relocation
• Managers and front-line supervisors in the units
  targeted for relocation
• Non-union hourly paid employees in the units
  targeted for relocation
• Key management employees who responded
  negatively to relocating to Saskatoon
• Employees in areas of greatest redundancy

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Developing Messages

• Messages can be confusing!
• Budapest Hotel Lobby The lift is being fixed for
  the next day. During that time we regret that you
  will be unbearable.
• Japanese Hotel Room Cooles and heates If you
  want just condition of warm in your room, please
  control yourselves.
• Acapulco Hotel The manager has personally passed
  all the water.

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Developing Messages

• Even if sender and receiver speak the same
  language and live in the same country, messages
  can be misunderstood.
• Communications can be impacted by education,
  social class, regional differences, nationality
  and cultural background.
• Global organizations also face cultural
  differences, literacy rates and other factors.

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Developing Messages

• Messages should be developed from the overall
  message and emerging themes. The best message
  answers the question Whats in it for me.

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Developing Messages

• Ways to improve your chances of being understood
• Use symbols
• Use acronyms
• Use slogans
• Avoid jargon

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Developing Messages

• Avoid cliches and hype words
• Avoid euphemisms
• Avoid discriminatory language
• Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!

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Developing Messages

• Remember that your communication plan should
  incorporate ways of listening to key audiences as
  well as developing messages for them. Your plan
  should include goals that establish, maintain and
  develop good relations with those key
  audiences/stakeholders.

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Developing Messages

• Messages to reduce perks in your organization
• DO Try to scale back perks without eliminating
  them entirely.
• DONT Allow employees to learn about cutbacks
  through the grapevine.
• DO Ask employees which perks are the most
  important.
• DONT Make cuts that only affect lower-level
  staff.
• DO Explain the cutbacks in a business context
  that is understandable.
• DONT Assume cutting perks is a way to make up
  for other problems.

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Summary

• The message section should contain
• an audience-specific variation of the main
  message that surrounds a business issue a
  message specifically targeted to this key
  audience/stakeholder
• Allow for a dialogue

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In class assignments