PUBLIC RELATIONS 101:

1
PUBLIC RELATIONS 101

• GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT

2
WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS?

• The practice of managing the flow of information
  between an organization and its publics

3
What is Public Relations?

• A set of management, supervising and technical
  functions that foster an organizations ability
  to strategically listen to, appreciate and
  respond to those persons whose mutually
  beneficial relationships with the organization
  are necessary if it is to achieve its missions
  and values.

4
What is Public Relations?

• A management function that focuses on two-way
  communication and fostering of mutually
  beneficial relationships between an organization
  and its publics.

5
What is Public Relations?

• The management of communications between an
  organization and its publics informed by R-A-C-E
• RESEARCH
• ACTION
• COMMUNICATION
• EVALUATION

6
PR CAN BE USED TO

• Give an organization or individual exposure to
  their audiences
• Build rapport, understanding and acceptance with
  employees, customers, the media or the general
  public
• Evaluate public attitudes and help management
  keep informed and responsive to public opinion

7
PR CAN BE USED TO

• Defines and emphasize the responsibility of
  management to serve the public interest
• Helps management keep abreast of and effectively
  utilize change and anticipate trends

8
THE GOALS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Building product awareness
• Enhancing a companys reputation
• Developing, maintaining and protecting a
  companys image
• Making a company stand out from the crowd
• Showing a company in a positive light, no matter
  what

9
THE GOALS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Managing crises that threaten a company or a
  products image
• Supporting marketing by building product and
  company image through publicity
• Providing information
• Stimulating demand
• Re-enforcing the brand

10
ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

• PR is often considered a highly credible form of
  promotion because it capitalizes on the influence
  of a third party the media.
• The media is more often seen as
  independent-party sources that are unbiased in
  their coverage when inclusion of the story naming
  the company or its products is not based on
  payment (advertisement).

11
Advantages of Public Relations

• A positive story about a new hotel or attraction
  in the business section of a newspaper may have
  greater impact on readers than a full-page paid
  advertisement.
• The business story would more likely be
  perceived as an impartial perspective from the
  media.

12
Advantages of Public Relations

• PR objectives can often be achieved at lower
  costs than other promotional efforts, e.g.,
  advertising

13
DISADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Little or no control over whether a message will
  be delivered (published/broadcast) or where it
  would be placed (page 999)
• Wrong spin/misquotes
• Taken out of context
• Bumped for more critical breaking news
• Truncated severely

14
COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY

• A basic principle in communicating effectively is
  KISS
• KEEP
• IT
• SIMPLE
• STUPID

15
Communicating Effectively

• Forget the big words you just learnt
• Avoid the long-winded, complex sentences
• Write like you speak, conversationally its far
  more engaging

16
CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Radio
• Television
• Internet

17
CHOOSING THE RIGHT CHANNELS

• IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
• DEVELOP YOUR KEY MESSAGES
• CHOOSE YOUR TOOLS

18
KEY PUBLIC RELATIONS TOOLS

• Media Relations
• The core of PR, media relations includes all
  efforts to publicize the company or its products
  to members of the press TV and radio,
  newspaper, magazine, newsletter and internet

19
KEY PUBLIC RELATIONS TOOLS

• Work with media to place stories
• Pitch stories to media
• Develop press kits with relevant information
• Develop audio or video news releases
  (pre-recorded features may be included in
  newscasts)
• Email press releases regularly - fillers often
  come in handy

20
MEDIA TOURS

• A new hotel/attraction/product can be
  successfully publicized when launched with a
  media tour.
• This makes for multiple hits in all media
  radio, TV, Cable, Internet, magazines

21
E-NEWSLETTERS

• You can capture names and addresses of
  guests/ potential guests and send them an
  e-newsletter on a regular basis.
• Newsletters can also be sent to the trade
  publications, news media, etc.

22
SPECIAL EVENTS

• These can run the gamut from receptions and
  dinners to Food Festivals, themed events
  Easter, Mothers Day, etc.

23
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• Speaking at industry and community events,
  conventions, meetings, provides an avenue to
  promote the property/attraction to potential
  customers and networking opportunities (CHA
  Marketplace, JAPEX, etc.)

24
SPONSORSHIPS

• Sponsorship does not have to mean big bucks.
  It can be in kind, including human resources,
  meeting space.
• Use it to help build goodwill and brand
  recognition by associating with an event or group.

25
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

• Communicating regularly with employees is
  important in keeping employees informed about the
  company and its products.
• It also empowers them to complement
  PR/Marketing initiatives since they are in the
  know and can spread the word/correct
  misconceptions at various levels.

26
EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

• You can use a variety of means to communicate
  with employees
• Intranet
• Email
• Online and print newsletters
• Meetings
• Retreats

27
COMMUNITY RELATIONS PHILANTHROPY

• Fostering good relations with key audiences
  includes building strong relationships with your
  regional community by
• Implementing programmes supportive of the
  community in sports, the arts, education, etc.
• Donating product for community events and
  charitable fundraisers.

28
COMMUNITY RELATIONS PHILANTHROPY

• Effective community relations can
• Help a company weather bad publicity or a crisis
• Protect against bad will

29
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Until recently most public relations activity
  involved person-to-person contact between PR
  professionals and members of the media.
• New trends are developing, mostly driven by
  internet technologies, that are becoming new
  media outlets.

30
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• They include
• Voicing Opinion
• The web in addition to being a vehicle for
  advertising, delivering information and
  e-commerce, now serves as a platform for people
  to voice their opinions, via

31
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Blogs (short for weblogs) are an important
  communication tool for public relations as they
  facilitate broad discussion.
• In-house blogs can report on happenings
  within the company
• Public blogs allow you to post information
  about the company and to receive customers
  feedback (hopefully positive) on your
  products/services.

32
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Blogs take word of mouth to another level,
  exposing customers to the impressions and
  experiences of people they would not normally
  come into contact with or ever meet.

33
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• RSS Feeds
• An important trend for delivering company
  information through an internet technology known
  as Really Simple Syndication (RSS) which makes it
  easy for people to know when new content is
  posted to a website.
• Content providers such as news sites, corporate
  websites, blogs, etc., create RSS documents that
  provide basic details of new content and links to
  full content

34
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• RSS Feeds
• The technology allows anyone who links to the
  RSS feed to instantly receive details of the
  content. This is proving especially useful to
  journalists who see RSS as a convenient way to
  acquire information especially if they follow a
  specific industry and can identify specific
  information on websites to monitor.
• By subscribing to relevant RSS feeds they
  have information delivered rather than spend time
  searching .

35
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Podcasting
• The emergence of Apple iPod and other digital
  audio players has significantly altered how
  people listen to music by allowing easy download
  of desired songs.
• But the use of audio players is not limited
  to music downloads.
• Podcasting is emerging as a quick and easy
  way to send out audio news releases and other
  promotional material.

36
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Publicity is about getting the media to
  mention the name of your hotel/attraction/
  product.
• For years internet marketers have focused on
  getting their company/products listed in the top
  rankings in search engines.
• SEO involves concerted efforts and specific
  techniques to attain higher rankings

37
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Just as PR people can use methods to affect
  coverage within traditional media, optimizing a
  website can work to influence results in search
  engine by using techniques that allow a website
  to fit within ever-changing search engine
  ranking criteria.
• SEO can help obtain good placement in
  third-party media
• outlet (search engine).

38
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• The Written Word
• Since public relations often involves trying
  to reach large groups of people, the method most
  often used is the printed word. This includes
• Press Releases
• Articles and Features
• Speeches
• Newsletters

39
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• The Press Release
• Written communication should always be
  developed in a user friendly format which meets
  the needs of the consumer.
• In developing a press release, remember that
• Readability enhances message effectiveness
• You need to grab the audience and hold their
  interest

40
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• The Press Release
• Make it snappy and provide all the relevant
• information Who, What, When, How
• Keep it relevant, in good taste, fresh
• Provide necessary background/explanation

41
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• Feature Articles
• Lighten up that lead
• Add more details, quotes, etc.

42
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• The Broadcast News Release
• Dont just distribute the press release developed
  for the print media to the electronic media
• Unless its earth shattering news, no broadcast
  news release should exceed 1 minute
• Tell the story quickly in the first two or
  three sentences.

43
TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

• The Broadcast News Release
• Use simple language
• Round off numbers and statistics
• Precede quotes with attribution and avoid direct
  quotes unless you have sound bytes

44
WINNING THE PR MEDIA GAME

• Why did the newspaper publish an article about
  my competitor and not my fabulous story?
• How come they are so lucky?
• Luck is not part of a winning PR formula.

45
WINNING THE PR MEDIA GAME

• All media houses receive hundreds of faxed,
  delivered and electronic press releases daily.
  You stand out when
• You pitch a unique story what is different
  about your business
• You get it professionally done. Poor grammar,
  spelling errors, an absence of writing skills,
  incorrect facts, no compelling storyline spells
• FILE 13

46
WINNING THE PR MEDIA GAME

• Make accessing you/more information, easy
• Ensure your website is updated and in sync with
  your press release
• Provide contact points Tel, Fax, Email
• Develop a relationship with the reporters/media
  house, treat them like professionals
• Target the right desk

47
THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE

• The Jamaican and Caribbean media landscape
  today is the media professionals dream.
• Jamaica
• 18 Radio Stations
• 4 TV Stations
• 10 Cable Stations
• 4 Daily Newspapers
• 4 Weekly Newspapers
• Several quarterly/bi-monthly magazines (Business
  Suite, Buzz)
• Trinidad, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua
  burgeoning media corps

48
THE MEDIA FRIEND OR FOE

• However familiar you are with a journalist,
  never forget that he/she is a news hound.
• Your off the record, dont repeat this
  or between you and me may all be forgotten in
  the crunch for a news scoop. So beware.
• Be careful in an informal setting when you
  are relaxed to guard against developing company
  secrets, individual indiscretions, etc.

49
WATCH WHAT YOU SAY

• BECAUSE
• You can be mis-quoted
• Words can be taken out of context
• The receiver can genuinely misunderstand you
• You might not be precise enough and so not say
  what you actually mean to say.

50
IN DEALING WITH THE MEDIA

• Do prepare
• Be yourself
• Be open and honest (within reason)
• Be concise
• Be careful in humour
• Dress for the occasion
• Dont assume he/she is out to get you

51
IN DEALING WITH THE MEDIA

• Dont expect everything you say to be noted
• Take charge
• Dont say no comment without an explanation and
  apology
• Stop

52
WHEN IN DOUBT WRITE IT DOWN

• The written word is the best record possible
• Makes mis-quotes difficult if not impossible
• Prepared texts tend to be more concise/precise

53
MAINTAIN GOOD MEDIA RELATIONS

• Dont play favourites. Well, not obviously
• Give ample notice in writing and follow up by
  telephone
• Choose a convenient time for your target and send
  information to those unable to come
• Choose a comfortable venue and ensure you are
  prepared for all who come
• Say Thank You.