For your 7th blog entry, briefly outline the steps to both a typical advertising campaign and a PR campaign.
Then, and this is the fun part, pick one of the two (PR or advertising) and briefly write up what you would do if you were the director in charge of a new campaign for Diet-Pepsi (advertising), or Exxon-Mobil (PR).
In other words, step-by-step, indicate what you would do...
Post your blog reactions as comments here.
Jack
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Mr. Powers I emailed you the blog entry because it was too big.
ReplyDeleteIf I was the director in charge of a public relations campaign for Exxon Mobil…
ReplyDeleteWell, the first thing I would ask them is how they felt about the controversy over their alleged pollution, which is what typically comes to mind when people think of Exxon Mobil. I’d also look into how many people still remember the incident where they accidentally dumped their gasoline into the ocean, killing many sea creatures. I would investigate to see how many people are boycotting them (and I already know that some people are). I would look at their profits and their losses over the years and determine their circumstances before and after the disaster. I would also want to find out whether or not they could have prevented that disaster. I would look to see if another one is in danger of happening. I would also look back on the time when they raised their gas prices after Hurricane Katrina and figure out whether that hurt or helped them. I would also want to know if their competitors have better reputations
I would plan on promoting their image based on the evidence I found, and whether or not they feel their management strategy needs to be reformed. If they decided they wanted to truly repent for their actions that caused all this environmental damage, then I would try to help them find words to express it and highlight any efforts made to promote environmental protection. However, if they wanted to put it aside, I would focus on their other attributes. But, if they wanted to clear themselves of those responsibilities I would, based on the evidence I found, either present it as it is (if it can make them look better), or manipulate it to make them look wrongfully accused. My objective would be to make them look the way they want consumers to see them. I would also evaluate the risks of tampering with evidence and the rewards and odds of clearing their name. Based on my planning, I would advise them to take a particular position, but still let them make the final decision.
I would make sure that commercials for their product were played on Fox News and ABC radio, in between segments of Rush Limbaugh’s show. Their conservative audience should respond well to suggestions that their company policies and actions are actually good for the environment. In order to make them appeal to the left, I might promote their image in more subtle ways. Like, instead of having commercials for them on CNN, I might use product placement. I would also use product placement in movies and television shows of all kinds. I would focus on their product’s performance and successes, and avoid referencing environmental issues in the liberal media because it would likely fall on deaf ears.
I would then evaluate the people’s reaction to my campaign and to Exxon Mobil’s recent practices. I would look at their profits and I would do surveys as to how people found their service. I would ask if they thought the price was worth it. I would ask how satisfied they are as compared to their experience with other gas companies. Adjustment to my approach would be made on the basis of this feedback.
A public relations campaign involves four stages…
ReplyDeleteStage 1: INFORMATION GATHERING may be achieved by looking at organizational records, trade journals, or reference books. These are all valuable sources of data. What we learn from the information obtained is crucial to what needs to be done next.
EX: If an automobile company needs to reorganize and shut down plants in order to shift production to another country, the PR director will need to use information to answer the following questions in order to maintain a positive image of the company:
How much money can the company save by reorganizing?
Exactly how many workers will be transferred?
Will the company help find new jobs for the workers who will be unemployed?
Will the company’s image be hurt in other areas outside the United States?
Stage 2: There are two types of PLANNING. One type is strategic. The other type is tactical. Strategic plans articulate what the long-term goals are. Tactical plans are the steps towards achieving the long-term goals.
There are many tasks involved in planning. Among them are framing the objectives, considering the alternatives, assessing the risks and benefits, and much more. The model by which most successful planning is done is called MBO (Management by Objective), in which use of resources promotes achievement of a specific goal.
Stage 3: COMMUNICATION is when the PR personnel decide which media channels are most appropriate for sending their message to the various types of audiences they are trying to reach. For example, if they want to reach a serious audience they’ll want to be talked about on serious news shows, either in the reports or on the commercials during the news hour.
Stage 4: EVALUATION is when the PR people evaluate whether their tactics helped reach their objective. They figure this out by doing polls, conducting surveys, having meetings and panel discussions, and analyzing all audience responses. Audience responses can also be determined by the profits of the company.
An advertising campaign involves six phases
Phase 1: Choosing a marketing agency: Research is done to figure out who the target audience should be, the marketing objective, the appropriate price for the product or service, and the advertising budget. The product or service is then positioned to one or multiple segments of the broad market with the objective of setting it apart from its competition without changing the product.
Phase 2: Selecting the main appeal or theme: A concept or expression, (such as “Wow” in Microsoft, is created to be the theme or appeal put on display to spark a person’s interest.
Phase 3: Translating the ads into various Media: Putting the ad into a format that fits certain types of media, whether it is TV commercial or print ad.
Phase 4: Producing the ads: Ads can be produced as a Radio or TV commercial. They are usually written and directed in a creative way, despite the fact that they have a marketing agenda. They can also be made as newspaper ads.
Phase 5: Buying space and Time: This phase is just watching to see what the ad does for the company in terms of popularity.
Phase 6: Executing and Evaluating the Campaign: Research and analysis is done to determine whether or not the ad worked in the company’s favor or not.
PR- 1) The information you gather is the core of your PR campaign. There are a myriad of research methods you can use, depending on what you’re doing. These various sources include questionnaires, interviews; research from books, published journals, and the Internet. 2) The current situation with regard to your campaign should be clearly defined through the information you have gathered. This might include the status of the organization in the market, its finances, or public opinion. Planning involves both strategic plans or your long-terms goals and tactical plans or the means by which you intend to accomplish what you want. You must be able to define your objectives or what you hope the final product of your campaign will be. They should be specific, measurable in an evaluation, achievable and realistic given your current resources, and done in a timely manner. 3) The communication channels & media must be selected, for how you choose to deliver your message is an integral part of a PR campaign.. Communications channels carry the messages to the target audiences. Channels take many forms and there is an infinite list of possibilities. Sample channels include TV, radio, newspapers, and websites. Sample media technologies include ‘human’ (face-to-face), ‘presentation support’ (powerpoints), ‘static display’ (bulletin boards, posters, pamphlets), ‘telecommunications’ (telephone), and ‘computer mediated’ (blogs, e-mail). 4) Reviewing all specific elements is important. It requires the final results to be compared against the initial objectives of the campaign, and they must be analyzed critically in order to discover which parts of the campaign proved to be successful and which did not.
ReplyDeleteAdvertising- 1) The first phase includes doing a significant amount of research that will allow you to identify your target audience. It is important that you understand their mindsets and attitudes, and what their needs are to successfully relate your advertisement to the specific target. It is necessary to look closely at who the organization is serving, which leads to identifying and profiling specific audiences to target with a communications initiative. The reason for taking the time to look closely at your audience is that this kind of background information is essential in choosing the most effective ways to communicate with the audience. Here you need to determine your message and objectives regarding budget. Your message should be two-fold; informative and persuasive. 2) This phase requires creativity on your part. To reach your desired objectives, you must figure out what your message is and how to frame it so that is sparks your audience’s interest. 3) After selecting the main appeal or theme, you must decide how you will translate it into the various media. Your concept has to be formatted into actual media, such as putting the ad in print or in a TV commercial. 4) Decide whether to produce your ad via the radio, a television commercial, or in a newspaper or magazine. They are produced in an organized and descriptive fashion (radio ads include scripts, sound effects, and music; TV commercials use a detailed storyboard as the basis for communicating the message; print media experiments with positioning ad elements on a rough layout before implementing the final draft. 5) Specify times to take stock of progress in completing communications plan. The marketing department seeks to buy time in the mass media they have found to be most effective for their target audience. Testing reactions to measure how effective the ad is helps minimize mistakes. Here you may determine strengths and weaknesses, and identify obstacles. You have the opportunity to consult with communications technical assistance advisors and create/ implement new approaches for success. 6) It has been determined that your ad is effective and will serve its purpose. Research and analysis is performed to see if the ads really had the desired effect on sales. Post-testing is the best way to see if the impact of the message has reached its highest potential.