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PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MASS COMMUNICATION - II:Audience targeting

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Introduction to Mass Communication ­ MCM 101
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LESSON 36
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MASS COMMUNICATION - II
Specialization
In this chapter we will continue our discussion on various other areas of public relations and mass
communication. As is the case with most areas of studies and practices PR has also been categorized into
different sections with each section having its own characteristics and business value.
The specialization in PR is the case in view here.
Specializations
·  Property development & real estate PR
·  Retail sector PR
·  Agricultural PR
·  Food service PR
·  Health care PR
·  Technology/IT PR
·  Public affairs PR
·  On-line PR
·  Financial/investor relations
·  Not-for-profit PR
·  Crisis communication PR
All these categories are managed by experts who specialize in their relative fields.
A number of specialties exist within the field of public relations, including:
·  Crisis management
·  Reputation management
·  Issue management
·  Investor relations and labor relations
·  Grassroots PR (sometimes referred to as Astroturf PR)
Methods, tools and tactics
Public relations and publicity are not synonyms. Publicity is the spreading of information to gain
public awareness in a product, service, candidate, etc. It is just one technique of public relations as listed
here.
Audience targeting
A fundamental technique used in public relations is to identify the target audience, and to tailor
every message to appeal to that audience. It can be a general, nationwide or worldwide audience, but it is
more often a segment of a population. Marketers often refer to economy-driven "demographics," such as
"white males 18-49," but in public relations an audience is more fluid, being whoever someone wants to
reach.
In addition to audiences, there are usually stakeholders, literally people who have a "stake" in a given issue.
All audiences are stakeholders, but not all stakeholders are audiences. For example, a charity commissions a
PR agency to create an advertising campaign to raise money to find a cure for a disease. The charity and the
people with the disease are stakeholders, but the audience is anyone who is likely to donate money.
Sometimes the interests of differing audiences and stakeholders common to a PR effort necessitate the
creation of several distinct but still complementary messages. This is not always easy to do, and sometimes ­
especially in politics ­ a spokesperson or client says something to one audience that angers another audience
or group of stakeholders.
Press conferences
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A press conference consists of someone speaking to the media at a predetermined time and place.
Press conferences provide an opportunity for speakers to control information and who gets it; depending
on the circumstances, speakers may hand-pick the journalists they invite to the conference instead of
making themselves available to any journalist who wishes to attend.
It is also assumed that the speaker will answer journalists' questions at a press conference, although they are
not obliged to. However, someone who holds several press conferences on a topic will be asked questions
by the press, regardless of whether they indicate they will entertain them, and the more conferences the
person holds, the more aggressive the questioning may become. Therefore, it is in a speaker's interest to
answer journalists' questions at a press conference to avoid appearing as if they have something to hide.
But questions from reporters ­ especially hostile reporters ­ detracts from the control a speaker has over
the information they give out. For even more control, but less interactivity, a person may choose to issue a
press release.
Press releases
The typical press release announces that the statement is "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" across
the top (some may instead be embargoed until a certain date), and lists the issuing organization's media
contacts directly below. The media contacts are the people that the release's issuer wants to make available
to the media:
Five "Ws and an "H" There are 6 vital facts to convey in the first paragraph of a release to ensure that it
doesn't end up in the bin.
·  Who
·  What
·  When
·  Where
·  Why
·  How
A press release is a written statement distributed to the media. It is a fundamental tool of public relations.
Very often the information in a press release finds its way verbatim or minimally altered, to print and
broadcast reports.
The text of a release is usually (but not always) written in the style of a news story, with an eye-catching
headline and text written standard journalistic inverted pyramid style. This style of news writing makes it
easier for reporters to quickly grasp the message. Journalists are free to use the information verbatim, or
alter it as they see fit. PR practitioners research and write releases that encourage as much "lifting" as
possible.
Since press releases reflect their issuer's preferred interpretation or positive packaging of a story, journalists
are often skeptical of their contents. The level of skepticism depends on what the story is and who's telling
it. Newsrooms receive so many press releases that, unless it is a story that the media are already paying
attention to, a press release alone often isn't enough to catch a journalist's attention.
With the advent of modern electronic media and new technology, press releases now have equivalents in
these media, video news releases and audio news releases.
A new kind of press release--"optimized" for the Internet
The advent of the Internet has ushered in a new kind of press release known as an optimized press
release. Unlike conventional press releases of yore, written for journalists' eyes only, in hopes the editor or
reporter would find the content compelling enough to turn it into print or electronic news coverage, the
optimized press release is posted on an online news portal. Here the writer carefully selects keywords or
keyword phrases relevant to the press release contents. If written skillfully, the press release can rank highly
in searches on Google News, Yahoo or MSN News (or the many other minor news portals) for the chosen
keyword phrases.
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Readers of optimized press releases constitute far more than journalists. In the days before news search
engines, a press release would have landed only in the hands of a news reporter or an editor who would
make the decision about whether the content warranted news coverage. Although the news media is always
privy to online press releases in the search engines, most readers are end-users. Optimized press releases
circumvent the mainstream media which is formerly--but no longer--the gatekeeper of the news.
Lobby groups
Lobby groups are established to influence government policy, corporate policy, or public opinion.
These groups purport to represent a particular interest. When a lobby group hides its true purpose and
support base it is known as a front group.
Astroturfing
Creating an artificial "grassroots" movement is known as astroturfing. A typical example would be
the writing of letters to multiple newspaper editors under different names to express an opinion on an issue,
creating the impression of widespread public feeling but being controlled by one central entity.
Spin
In public relations, spin is a, sometimes critical term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in one's
own favor of an event or situation. While traditional public relations may also rely on creative presentation
of the facts, "spin" often, though not always, implies, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics.
Politicians are often accused of spin by commentators and political opponents, when they produce a
counter argument or position.
The term is borrowed from ball sports such as cricket, where a spin bowler may impart spin on the ball
during a delivery so that it will curve through the air or bounce in an advantageous manner.
State-run media in many countries also engage in spin by selectively allowing news stories that are favorable
to the government while censoring anything that could be considered critical. They may also use
propaganda to indoctrinate or actively influence citizens' opinions.
Other
·
Publicity events or publicity stunts
·
The talk show circuit. A PR spokesperson (or his/her client) "does the circuit" by being
interviewed on television and radio talk shows with audiences that the client wishes to reach.
·
Books and other writings
·
After a PR practitioner has been working in the field for a while, he or she accumulates a list of
contacts in the media and elsewhere in the public affairs sphere. This "Rolodex" becomes a prized
asset, and job announcements sometimes even ask for candidates with an existing Rolodex,
especially those in the media relations area of PR.
·
Direct communication (carrying messages directly to constituents, rather than through the mass
media) with, e.g., newsletters ­ in print and e-letters.
·
Speeches to constituent groups and professional organizations; receptions; seminars, and other
events; personal appearances.
The process of public relations
Experts Scott Cutlip, Allen Center and Glen Broom describe the public relations process in four
steps (1994).
The first step is "Defining Public Relations Problems," usually in terms of a "situational analysis," or what
public relations professionals call a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).
According to them this should answer the question, "What's happening now?"
The next step in the public relations process is "Planning and Programming," where the main focus is
"strategy," Cutlip, Center and Broom argue that this step should answer the question "What should we do
and say, and why?" The third step in the public relations process is "Taking action and Communicating,"
also known as "Implementation;" this step should answer the question "How and when do we do and say
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it?" The final step in Cutlip, Center and Broom's Four-Step Public Relations Process is "Evaluating The
Program," making a final "assessment," which should answer the question "How did we do," this is where
public relations professionals make a final analysis of the success of their campaign or communication.
People who are professionals in public relations use different methods for analyzing the results of their
work such as focus groups, surveys, and one-on-one interviews. These same methods are used in defining
what medium of communication will be used in the process of strategy and what tools will be used in
relaying the message, such as press releases, brochures, Web sites, media packs, video news releases, news
conferences and in-house publications.
Politics and civil society
A tactic used in political campaigns is known as "defining one's opponent". Opponents can be
candidates, organizations and other groups of people.
Managing language
If a politician or organization can use an apt phrase in relation to an issue, such as in interviews or
news releases, the news media will often repeat it verbatim, thus furthering the message. Recent examples
include: "death tax" for estate tax, "racial preferences" for affirmative action, "faith-based" instead of
religious, "climate change" for global warming, and "partial-birth abortion" for pro-choice.
Entertainment and celebrity
Celebrities tend to be fans of the dictum "any publicity is good publicity". If a celebrity says or does
something embarrassing, he or she will often turn it into a strength and make it part of his or her "image."
This tactic is used just as much with favorable situations as much as with unfavorable ones.
Branching out ­ to live through PR
As Oscar Wilde is supposed to have said, the only thing worse than being talked about is not to be
talked about at all. Many celebrities seem to take this truism to heart, because when their popularity (and
income) wanes, they take on new projects that attract media attention. Considering that a celebrity's
celebrity is a brand unto itself, many celebrities are under constant pressure to "reinvent" themselves, as a
prophylactic against obscurity.
A current trend among American celebrities is the transformation of musicians, comedians, and almost
every other sort of performer into children's book authors. Madonna, Jay Leno, Billy Crystal, Ricky Gervais
and several other celebrities have recently written children's books, accompanied by much media coverage.
A more traditional way of branching out is the celebrity restaurant. This is especially common among
professional athletes, whose time in the spotlight is often limited by the physical demands of their jobs.
Basketball player Michael Jordan opened a restaurant in Chicago, and singer Britney Spears opened an ill-
fated eatery in New York which closed a few months later.
Male celebrities like Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and Charlton Heston seem to gravitate toward politics,
although some female celebrities, such as Susan Sarandon and Barbra Streisand, also become strong political
voices.
Younger female celebrities on the other hand are often drawn into the fashion world. Hotel heiress Paris
Hilton recently announced that she was starting her own line of jewelry, and Jennifer Lopez has started a
line of clothing. And fading star Elizabeth Taylor launched a fragrance called "White Diamonds" several
years ago, bringing renewed interest from the media. Britney Spears also kept herself in the public eye when
she had her secretive marriage to Kevin Federline Although neither topic has to do with her career,
audiences seemed to be just as intrigued to know about her personal life.
Ethical and social issues
Many of the techniques used by PR firms are drawn from the institutions and practices of
democracy itself. Persuasion, advocacy, and education are instruments through which individuals and
organizations are entitled to express themselves in a free society, and many public relations practitioners are
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engaged in practices that are widely considered as beneficial, such as publicizing scientific research,
promoting charities, raising awareness of public health concerns and other issues in civil society.
One of the most controversial practices in public relations is the use of front groups--organizations that
purport to serve a public cause while actually serving the interests of a client whose sponsorship may be
obscured or concealed. The creation of front groups is an example of what PR practitioners sometimes
term the third party technique--the art of "putting your words in someone else's mouth." PR Watch, a non-
profit organization that monitors PR activities it considers to be deceptive, has published numerous
examples of this technique in practice. Critics of the public relations industry, such as PR Watch, have
contended that Public Relations involves a "multi-billion dollar propaganda-for-hire industry" that
"concocts and spins the news, organizes phony 'grassroots' front groups, , and conspires with lobbyists and
politicians to thwart democracy."
Current issues in ethical and social arenas have been brought to the attention of people from all strata of the population when it
was found that more than one journalist with a platform had received money from a Public Relations firm for espousing a
certain point of view.
Public relations in fiction
·  Absolutely Fabulous (1992 - 2004) is a British sitcom written by and starring Jennifer Saunders with
Joanna Lumley.
·  Absolute Power (2000 - ) is a British comedy series, set in the offices of Prentiss McCabe, a fictional
public relations company in London.
·  Wag the dog (1997), an American movie about a PR-consultant (Robert De Niro) that teams up with
a movie-producer (Dustin Hoffman) to cover up a presidential sex scandal by creating a fictional
war to divert the media.
·  Thank You For Smoking (1994), an American satirical novel by Christopher Buckley, about a shyster
PR-Consultant/tobacco-lobbyist (Nick Naylor) during the 1990s. It was later adapted into a movie
of the same title in 2006.
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Table of Contents:
  1. MASS COMMUNICATION – AN OVERVIEW:Relationships, Power
  2. EARLY MASS COMMUNICATION AND PRINTING TECHNOLOGY
  3. SEVEN CENTURIES OF MASS COMMUNICATION – FROM PRINTING TO COMPUTER
  4. ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION AND EARLY COMMUNICATION MODELS
  5. COMMUNICATION MODELS – GRAPHIC PRESENTATION OF COMPLEX ISSUES
  6. TYPES AND FORMS OF COMMUNICATION:Inter personal, Combination
  7. MESSAGE – ROOT OF COMMUNICATION I:VERBAL MESSAGE, Static Evaluation
  8. MESSAGE – ROOT OF COMMUNICATION II:Conflicts, Brevity of Message
  9. EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION:Helping Out Others, Relaxation
  10. COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE:Enculturation, Acculturation
  11. LANGUAGE IN COMMUNICATION:Polarization, Labeling, Static meanings
  12. STEREOTYPING – A TYPICAL HURDLE IN MASS COMMUNICATION:Stereotype Groups
  13. MASS MEDIA – HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:Early analysis on manuscripts
  14. EMERGENCE OF PRINT MEDIA AROUND THE WORLD:Colonial journalism
  15. TELEGRAPH DOES MIRACLE IN DISTANCE COMMUNICATION TELEX AND TELEPHONE ENTHRALL PRINT COMMUNICATION
  16. TYPES OF PRINT MEDIA:Newspapers, Magazines, Books
  17. PRESS FREEDOM, LAWS AND ETHICS – NEW DEBATE RAGING STILL HARD
  18. INDUSTRIALIZATION OF PRINT PROCESSES:Lithography, Offset printing
  19. EFFECTS OF PRINT MEDIA ON SOCIETY:Economic ideas, Politics
  20. ADVERTISING – HAND IN HAND WITH MEDIA:Historical background
  21. RENAISSANCE AND SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION: ROLE OF PRINT MEDIA:Science
  22. RECAP:Elements of communication, Books, Printing, Verbal Message
  23. MEDIA MANAGEMENT:Division, Business section, Press
  24. IMAGES IN MASS COMMUNICATION – INVENTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY:Portrait photography
  25. MOTION PICTURES – A NEW WAY IN MASS COMMUNICATION-I:Definition
  26. MOTION PICTURES – A NEW WAY IN MASS COMMUNICATION (Cont...):Post-Studio Era
  27. FILM MEDIA IN SUBCONTINENT AND PAKISTAN-I:Accusations of plagiarism
  28. FILM MEDIA IN SUBCONTINENT AND PAKISTAN (II) & ITS EFFECTS:First Color film
  29. PROPAGANDA:Types in another manner, Propaganda in revolutions
  30. RADIO – A BREAKTHROUGH IN MASS COMMUNICATION:What to broadcast
  31. EFFECTS OF RADIO ON SOCIETY:Entertainment, Information, Jobs
  32. TELEVISION – A NEW DIMENSION IN MASS COMMUNICATION:Early Discoveries
  33. TV IN PAKISTAN:Enthusiasm, Live Broadcast, PTV goes colored
  34. EFFECTS OF TELEVISION ON SOCIETY:Seeing is believing, Fashion
  35. PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MASS COMMUNICATION - I:History, Case Study
  36. PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MASS COMMUNICATION - II:Audience targeting
  37. ADVERTISING BEYOND PRINT MEDIA:Covert advertising
  38. IMPACT OF ADVERTISING:Trial, Continuity, Brand Switching, Market Share
  39. MEDIA THEORIES:Libertarian Theory, Social Responsibility Theory
  40. NEW MEDIA IN MASS COMMUNICATION:Technology forcing changes
  41. GLOBALIZATION OF MEDIA:Media and consumerism, Media centralization
  42. MEDIA MERGENCE:Radio, TV mergence, Economic reasons
  43. MASS MEDIA IN PRESENT AGE:Magazine, Radio, TV
  44. CRITICISM ON MEDIA:Sensationalize, Biasness, Private life, obscenity
  45. RECAP:Legends of South Asian Film Industry, Radio, Television, PTV goes colored