BMI 3C Marketing PUBLICITY & PUBLIC RELATIONS

PUBLICITY Publicity is media coverage of a business that not paid for by the business It’s therefore up to the media to determine if the portrayal is positive or negative Some examples of good publicity include: the donation of money to charity, sponsoring major events in the community, or reaching out to individuals in need Some examples of negative publicity include: safety hazards, environmental disasters, offensive product designs Celebrities market their images as a product, so they too can have positive and negative publicity Positive publicity for a celebrity: hospital visits, charity appearances Negative publicity for a celebrity: arrests, changes to appearances

PUBLIC RELATIONS In order to manage publicity, companies have public relations departments or hire outside agencies Public relations departments deal with four types of publicity: media relations, lobbying, corporate publications and crisis management

MEDIA RELATIONS Media relations is a crucial component of public relations PR departments have a database of important media personnel, both locally and nationally, they can contact directly to help communicate the desired message Messages are usually transmitted through press releases that are ready to print or can act as the basis for all articles Press releases can be about anything positive the company is doing (such as personnel changes, stock issues and charity actions) Press kits are also prepared for the media consisting of pictures, biographies and backgrounds, pre-designed print ads, TV commercial clips, pre-done interviews and key talking points PR can also lead to press conferences If the press is paid to be there in quantity, it’s called a PRESS JUNKET.

LOBBYING Politics is an important part of doing business Legislation can benefit or harm the business’ ability to conduct business in the marketplace Benefits include: trade agreements, reclassification of products, declaring products essential services, laws to protect trademarks and copyright Drawbacks include: trade restrictions, licensing, allowing generic versions to make the product easier to get Lobbyists work to pressure government officials to vote for legislation the way the company wants them to vote Lobbying includes campaign contributions, information packages that demonstrate the benefits and put down the drawbacks to show the product as favourable Notable lobbying groups include: the National Rifleman’s Association (NRA), the Motion Picture Association Of America (MPAA)/Recording Artists’ Association of America (RIAA)

CORPORATE PUBLICATIONS Two principle publications produced by corporations: BROCHURES and ANNUAL REPORTS Brochures are sent to potential customers to encourage their patronage Annual reports are sent once per year to investors to keep them aware of the corporation’s status — where they stand financially, what their successes have been over the previous year, and what their anticipated growth and profit shall be the following year Annual reports count as positive public relations because they emphasize the positive aspects of the company to encourage potential investors to put their money into the company Brochures count as positive public relations because they advertise the most positive aspects of the company and its actions

CRISIS MANAGEMENT Crisis management is a necessary component of public relations Crisis management is needed when bad things happen and the company needs to limit the negative feelings potential customers will have of the company and its products Public relations people will work to minimize the impact in the eyes of the consumer, switch focus from the impact to the response and its positive reaction, and then will work to make the company appear as a positive influence in the marketplace in order to bring back consumer confidence Product recalls to avoid further negative stories in the press are a prime example of good crisis management

PUBLICITY IN THE NEWS What types of publicity are you seeing in the news today?