Is It All Noise What Matters in Public Relations

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Is It All Noise? What Matters in Public
Relations

• Information, Meaning and Noise Series
• Center for Science and Society
• Bryn Mawr College
• March 25, 2004

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• Testing the Noise Theory
• Entertainment/Arts/Fashion
• Politics
• Manufacturers
• Nonprofits

• Public Relations
• Definition
• Goal
• Measurement

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The Noise Theory All Publicity Is Good
Publicity
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Theory All Publicity Is Good Publicity

• Entertainment/Arts/Fashion Industry Standard
• Yes
• Lowest common denominator
• Outlandish behavior as marker of creativity and
  means to end
• Celebrity gossip
• Low-level scandal
• Repentance and forgiveness
• Exception allegation or conviction of heinous
  crime

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Theory All Publicity Is Good Publicity

• Politics Standard
• Yes and No
• Conflict is good for voters and the media
• Allegations of bad anything are damaging because
  they sow seeds of doubt
• The higher the office, the less likely the holder
  will apologize for mistakes
• A difference between politics and public
  relations the role of ethics
• Effects of cumulative damage

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Theory All Publicity Is Good Publicity

• Manufacturing Standard
• Yes and No
• Product introduction
• Product failure or serious side effect
• How corporations handle disasters varies widely

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Theory All Publicity Is Good Publicity

• Nonprofit Standard
• No
• Public good trumps all
• Higher-education presidents are perceived as most
  credible leaders in U.S.
• Cannot afford to squander reputation
• The more selective the institution, the more
  selective the media in which the institution
  wants to be seen

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Defining Public Relations

• Not marketing
• An exchange a quid pro quo transaction
• Narrow public customer, consumer or client, not
  all publics
• Truth telling and stretching

• "Public relations is the management function that
  identifies, establishes and maintains mutually
  beneficial relationships between an organization
  and the various publics on whom its success or
  failure depends." Cutlip and Center, Effective
  Public Relations

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Defining Public Relations

• Not advertising
• Payment
• Complete control of message and placement
• Truth telling and not (bait and switch, going out
  of business, etc.)
• Not publicity merely information transfer
• Not just media relations although that's most
  visible piece

• "Public relations is the management function that
  identifies, establishes and maintains mutually
  beneficial relationships between an organization
  and the various publics on whom its success or
  failure depends." Cutlip and Center, Effective
  Public Relations

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Defining Public Relations
"Public relations is the management function that
identifies, establishes and maintains mutually
beneficial relationships between an organization
and the various publics on whom its success or
failure depends." Cutlip and Center, Effective
Public Relations

• Two key elements of the definition
• Large number of publics
• Our success depends on them.

• Therefore
• Reputation is everything.
• Ethical imperative Tell the truth, and do the
  right thing.

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The goal of public relations is behavioral change.

• Moving the meter
• Quality, not quantity, of media relations
• Coverage in desirable media about topics
  important to the organization
• Avenues of media coverage and preferred mode
• Our targets are influencers of prospective
  students, potential or current donors and opinion
  leaders
• Prospective students are mainly indirect targets
  in media relations.
• The competition

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How public relations tactics help reach
prospective students

• Media relations teen magazines, Web sites,
  College search publications
• BMC Web site messages, organization and design
• Communicating the positioning statement

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Measuring the Effectiveness of Public Relations

• Meaningless
• Number of releases
• Number of impressions the clip book
• Number of event attendees

• Meaningful
• Qualitative and quantitative research to measure
  opinion before and after change
• Message recall
• Comparison to competitors
• Moving the meter influencers take action
  recruit or make a gift

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Is It All Noise? Emphatically no.

• What Matters in Public Relations

Healthy relationships with all publics on whom
our success depends Bringing about desired
opinion and behavioral change Telling the truth
and doing the right thing