Public Relations and Corporate Advertising Chapter 20 with Duane Weaver

Public Relations - defined …focuses on communication that can foster goodwill between a firm and its many constituent groups: customers, stockholders, suppliers, employees, government entities, citizen action groups, and the general public. O’Guinn, Allen, Semenik, 4E, p. 699

Today’s PR Today’s major brands tend to be born with publicity, not advertising, whereby advertising is used to maintain brands and PR is used to establish brands. As per: “The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR”.

PR and Damage Control PR can provide damage control from bad publicity. E.G.: Intel, Pentium Chip…flaw in floating point calculations producing errors to the 5 th and 6 th decimal place. –PR 1: so insignificant that a flaw once in 27,000 years IBM counter…once very 24 hours, stop shipping intel PCs Every major newspaper and even Dilbert laughed at Intel publicly –PR 2: Intel admitted division problem and offered free chip to anyone experiencing the problem “$475 M replacement program” E.G.: Pepsico and syringe in can –PR 1: Pepsico considers 100% recall, yet FDA suggests not necessary –PR 2: Pepsico enlist FDA to go on camera with Pepsico to defend manufacturing process –PR 3: Pespico catches woman on film inserting a syringe in a can of pepsi after purchase PR often reactive, but can be planned and proactive

PR Objectives Promote Goodwill –Image building, industry events, community activities… Promote a Product or Service –Press releases, events, brand news, increase public awareness Prepare internal Communications –Disseminate information and correct misinformation to maintain employee support Counteract Negative Publicity –Damage control function Lobby –Deal with government officials and pre-empt pending legislation Give Advice and Counsel –Assist management positioning on public issues, prepare employees for public appearances, and help management anticipate public repsonses.

PR Tools Press Releases Feature Stories Company Newsletters Interviews and Press Conferences Sponsored Events Publicity (unpaid media exposure) Buzz Marketing – seeding the media Viral Marketing – consumers marketing to consumers via blogs, newsgroups, etc…

Basic PR Strategy Proactive –Guided by marketing objectives, publicizes brands and company, offensive approach to PR. 1.PR Audit – looking for +ve newsworthy aspects of a firm 2.PR Plan – identifies objectives and activities 1.Current Situation Analysis 2.Program Objectives 3.Program Rationale 4.Communications Vehicles 5.Message Content Reactive –Driven by outside influences to the company, problem solving based, defensive approach to PR. 1.PR Audit – same as above (provides ammunition to react) 2.Identification of Vulnerabilities – recognize areas where firm has weaknesses so as to be prepared for controversy, discussion.

Corporate Advertising …not intended to promote a specific brand, rather…intended to establish a favourable attitude toward a company as a whole. TYPES: –Image: Majority of corporate advertising is Image. Enhance overall image amongst constituents: consumers, employees, and general public. –Advocacy: Establish corporation’s position on important social, political, ore environmental issues. –Cause-Related: Features the firm’s affiliation with an important social cause.

ETHICS SUPERSIZE ME and Ethics.