THE OBJECTIVE IS CHANGE  In practical terms, PR objectives are to do with specifying what changes need to be made in an organization’s relationships with its publics, to further the solution of business problems and the exploitation of business opportunities.

The seven objectives of change 1. A main requirement: to cause changes in awareness. Because without that there can be no other change, except by accident. In some cases, increasing awareness may be sufficient. 2. In other cases, however, it is not lack of awareness that causes the problem. Sometimes an organization is faced with a suspicious, skeptical public: a public that is quite aware enough. In such a case as this, what is needed is to improve public knowledge. 3. Increased knowledge can lead to better understanding and this is important because PR is about explaining each side to the other. Some organizations know the importance of this objective. One of their guidelines develop with customers and suppliers a continuing and satisfactory relationship leading mutual confidence. That confidence flows from understanding.

The seven objectives of change 4. Better understanding will usually lead to a shift in perception. A customer survey by direct mail was exercised by the British Gas. Only four questions were asked. i.The first asked how the customers felt about the company’s activities, such as attending to leaks, gas bills, etc. ii.The second:what most pleased the customers about the service. iii.The third asked what was most irritating. All these were not really about the services being provided but about how the customer perceived them. iv.The fourth question gave the game away. “if you had to pick one which we could do which would most improve your view of our service, which would it be?” Not to improve the actual service, but to improve the customer’s view of it. No doubt the British Gas learned enough from the survey to enable it to change the customers’ perception, a perfectly reasonable objective, as far as it goes. 5. From that clearer perception belief should flow.

The seven objectives of change 6. The marketing plan of an organization may call for public relations support in developing customer preference and brand loyalty. To do this is to bring about a change in attitude. Many tracking studies are about changes in attitude – political polls, for example – which may or may not lead to action. 7. The most important (and the most difficult to achieve), is the objective of changing behaviour. Whatever the changes to be accomplished, campaigns could be seen as either mainly preventive or mainly remedial:  If preventive PR, the timescale is likely to be long;  If remedial, things may have to be made to happen nor quickly.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES  The long-range way of looking at objectives is for their strategic value.  Any business organization needs to address itself to a limited number of general areas of objectives. (Peter Drucker.)  Four such areas, in no particular order of importance, are: 1.Market standing. 2.Innovation. 3.Worker performance and attitude. 4.Public responsibility.

Innovation  Faced with prevailing multi-complex employment problems, a scheme was launched with the following four clear objectives: 1.To create awareness of the scheme and establish a broad level of understanding of its aims among key sectors of the population. 2.To encourage support from sponsors and potential sponsors (who were, of course, one of the key sectors). 3.To give the long-term unemployed the opportunity to be aware of the existence of the scheme. 4.To find a suitable name for the scheme.

Worker performance and attitude  Organizations do not have objectives.  Only people have objectives and unless the corporate objectives of a business are compatible with the personal objectives of the individuals working in it, they cannot be sustained.

Worker performance and attitude  Organizations do not have objectives.  Only people have objectives and unless the corporate objectives of a business are compatible with the personal objectives of the individuals working in it, they cannot be sustained.

SYSTEMATIC MANAGEMENT APPROACH  OBJECTIVES: What specific results do we aim to achieve? What changes do we want to bring about?  STRATEGY: What are the crucial decisions we have to make to attain our objectives?  PROGRAMS: Which methods and media will we use? How? When?  RESOURCES: How many people do we need? How much money? What services and materials? What will we actually get?  RESPONSIBILITY: Who is going to do what? On whose authority?  ANALYSIS: What precisely are the problems to be solved? And the opportunities to be seized?  EVALUATION: How well did we do? How do we know?  ACCOUNTABILITY: Who is answerable for what was done?

PR AREAS: Financial and Corporate Government affairs Marketing Communication Internal Communication Community Relations

ANALYSIS and AUDIT  A communications audit is “A broad scale, loosely structured research exercise, which examines the effectiveness of communications within organizations and between organizations and groups outside.”

ANALYSIS and AUDIT: 3 stages process 1.Information gathering : identifying and collecting data and information on attitudes and trends, by means of internal and external interviews against a common topic menu. 2.Strategic analysis : weighing all options and choosing the most appropriate alternative strategies to be articulated in a “preferred strategy matrix”. 3.Communications program : putting the chosen option (s) into effect after spelling out a communication strategy, program, action plan and timetable. 1.

AUDIT: ADOPTS 1.Advantages 2.Disadvantages 3.Opportunities 4.Problems 5.Time Factor 6.Stakeholders  1,2: inward looking.  3,4: outward looking.  5: applies no matter which way you are looking.  6: is the reason for the other five. 1.Advantages 2.disadvantages 3. Opportunities 4. Problems

Review: STAKEHOLDERS  Whatever other purposes an organization may have, it must also have the purpose of serving the interest of all its stakeholders – that is, all the people affecting the organization and affected by it.  Not all of equal importance.  Before an ADOPTS analysis, it is first of all necessary to identify and rank the stakeholders.  Depend on who and where you are. There can be no standard list.  Although some stakeholders – e.g. customers – are bound to occur on pretty well in every list.  Only you can decide who your stakeholders are, but: your organization cannot choose its own competitors.  ADOPTS analysis is not about program targeting or getting coverage.  It is about meeting the needs of stakeholders.

SETTING OBJECTIVES  It should clearly be understood that there are no big differences between objectives, aims and goals. These trigger the question do they matter? Definitely.  A goal is an actual destination, an aim is somewhat less definite and more of a hope that you are going in the right direction. Objective is a slightly more elaborate form of the word object which expresses the idea of point to be aimed at.  Therefore an objective embraces the ideas of both aim and goal.

SETTING OBJECTIVES  It should clearly be understood that there are no big differences between objectives, aims and goals. These trigger the question do they matter? Definitely.  A goal is an actual destination, an aim is somewhat less definite and more of a hope that you are going in the right direction. Objective is a slightly more elaborate form of the word object which expresses the idea of point to be aimed at.  Therefore an objective embraces the ideas of both aim and goal.