PUBLIC OPINION

1
PUBLIC OPINION

• Chapter Five

2
What is Public Opinion? Like shifting
sandspublic opinion is subject to change.
3
Public Opinion is the aggregate of many
individual opinions on a particular issue that
affects a group of people.
4
Public Opinion is comprised of three main areas

• Attitudes
• Opinions
• Actions

5
Attitudes are evaluations people make about
specific problems or issues. Attitudes can be
based on many characteristics such as background,
culture, education, knowledge, class, ethnicity
and religion.

6
Opinions are the expression of an attitude on a
particular topic.
7
In your own opinion, what is the most over
publicized issue in the media?Is your opinion
shared by others?
8
When opinions become strong enough, they lead to
actions expressed either verbally or
behaviorally.
9
Changing Attitudes or Behaviors

• The task of the public relations practitioner
  often involves attempting to change attitudes or
  behaviors.
• This task requires research into target
  audiences, understanding their attitudes, issues,
  monitoring public opinion, and using
  communication tactics aimed at change.

10
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

• Which need/level would be used if you were doing
  a feature story in an employee relations
  publication aimed at keeping worker accidents
  low?

11
Exercise Questions

• What graphic images could accompany your story
  that would encourage positive change?
• What could you do to encourage support of working
  safely?

12
Persuasion and Public Opinion
13
Persuasion

• Change of attitude or opinion
• Using Evidence

Facts Personal Experience
Emotions Appeal to you
14
Persuasion

• Organizations try to reinforce favorable opinions
  and attitudes
• Change or neutralize unfavorable opinions and
  attitudes
• Monitor opinions and attitudes and bring issues
  forward

15
Influencing Public Opinion

• In order to influence public opinion
• Identify opinions
• Target publics
• Understand communication and the laws of public
  opinion

16
Laws of Public OpinionHadley Cantril

• Opinion is highly sensitive to important events
• Opinion is determined more by events than words
• At critical times people become more sensitive to
  the adequacy of their leadership.

• Once self interest is involved, opinions arent
  easily changed.
• People have more opinions and are able to form
  opinions more easily on goals than on methods to
  reach those goals.
• If people in a democracy are provided with
  educational opportunities and access to
  information, public opinion reveals a hardheaded
  common sense.

17
Corporate Reputation and Image

• Corporate reputation and image
• take time to build favorably.
• Important to long-term success of the
  organization
• Over time, the organization must operate
  responsibly to ensure its positive nature

18
Issues confronting image and reputation

• Ethical lapses
• Closed communication
• Lack of sensitivity
• Legal problems

19
Question

• Recently, there have been some issues that have
  tested organizations with regard to their
  reputation and image. Can you name any?
• Clue Print Media

20
Question

• Some organizations are able to restore their
  image and reputation. Can you name any?
• Clue Corporations

21
Questions

• What could an organization do to rebuild its
  image and reputation?
• How would an organization go about improving or
  rebuilding its image and reputation?
• Are there some organizations that fail to rebuild
  image and reputation?