Lecture four delivered March 11th 2011 to University College Falmouth Journalism and PR students as part of module PR3005: Global PR and Intercultural Communication
1. SO WHAT DO PUBLIC RELATIONS PEOPLE ACTUALLY DO?
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Notes de l'éditeur
AMBASSADORS - UN Ambassadors including Audrey Hepburn, CHARITY CONNECTIONS: BITC survey 86 consumers say when product and price are equal they would buy a product associated with ‘a cause’.61% would change retail outlet for same reason. 86% have more +ve image of company ‘doing something to make the world a better place’. LEVER BROTHERS Called Persil’s support of Funfit scheme for 3-11 years ‘enlightened self –interest: a combination of a worthy cause and an opportunity to target heavy detergent users scuh sa the parents of young children.’ TRENDS Move away from donating money for product purchase (e.g. Daddies Sauce donating 1p to NSPCC for every bottle sold in 1995; Tesco donating 10p for first 50,000 cartons of New Covent Garden soup sold to homeless charity b/c connection between soup and homelessness etc.) to Cause Related Marketing (developing relationship between company and charity e.g. British Gas £5m deal 1999 to support elderly people during winter and provide insulation and energy conservation advice including heating day centres, lunch clubs and advice line). DILEMNAS Whether to take money from ‘dodgy’ companies, e.g. US-based children’s clothing company launched a scheme supporting Oxfam but had to be abandoned b/c some clothes produced by under-age workers in sweat shops in the south. Red Cross took £250,000 from Nestle January 2000. Reported in headline ‘Does your charity take dirty money?’. Charity Commissioned advises not to take from organisations promoting the problems you’re trying to solve e.g. cancer charities cannot take from tobacco co.s but Crisis can b/c their homeless people smoke.
(Best Low Budget Campaign PRide Awards 2003) Austin Mitchell MP for Grimsby and fish industry supporter Coverage included 19 regional stations, Trade press, question in Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Evaluation £6,000 budget generated 33m ‘opportunities to see’ worth £109,000 ATTENTION GRABBERS aka ‘teasers’ E.G. sending journalists brown paper bags for ‘bad hair days’ to promote hair care products E.G. actual toy double decker bus to Guinness Book of Records launch. E.G. Cadbury’s projection of its WHISPER chocolate brand onto St Paul’s Cathedral. E.G. EasyJet booked ten seats on inaugural flight of competitors’ GO plane and handed out promotional materials. E.G. Judd Lander, Music PR trying to get client’s single into Radio One’s playlist floated up in a helium balloon to the meeting (5th floor BBC building) and threw in the single. It got on the playlist.
CASE STUDIES have credibility, longevity, focus on people, bring life to dull stories e.g. Prologic Computer Consultants (providing MIS to fashion industry). Dry as dust. Used Paul Smith and Mulberry’s examples to bring to life benefits - use pictures too. COMPETITIONS AND PROMOTIONS: BRITISH AIRWAYS: Win free flights on Concorde to America for £10 to change UK public attitude following £1bn Business Efficient Programme that BA was motivated by profit only Identified 10 years after privatisation as ‘hook’ and Concorde as ‘pride of the nation’ to offer flights on Concorde for ten days starting on 10th year anniversary (Feb 11th 1997) Phone lines opened by Kenny Dalglish main telesales centre Newcastle Internet access on BA website; press packs to national and regional; press pics of bigwigs in BA alongside telephone number painted on plane fuselage; ads in papers RESULTS: half million calls in three hours; 3/4 m in hour up to switchboard being opened; 5,000 people logged onto website; TV news at 10pm covered first winner. More than 30m callers worldwide called for tickets. The Sun, Daily Mail and London Evening Standard bought tickets for readers’ offers.Overall favourability rating 81% HOOVER DISASTER: Free flights to America promotion 1992 - two free flights to USA for customers spending more than £250 on Hoover products. Research suggested 50,000 people would respond: more than 200,000 did. Couldn’t produce enough Hoovers. People rose up. European division sold off in 1995 as a result of never recovering.
PHOTOS +ve British Airways 1st and business class lounges: Bob Ayling Chief Exec photocall holding a razor with nothing on but a towel PHOTOCALLS warning weather, no other bigger story breaks, paper forgets to turn up, picture editors think it’s ‘old hat’ and don’t come ROADSHOWS good to explain complex products/services/issues. Gains feedback from consumers/clients. Time intensive, demanding, involve heavy travel, preparation and presentations SURVEYS e.g. Nescafe’s of whether the line ‘Do you want to come in for a cup of coffee’ means just that, or not. Warning: be clear about what you want to achieve with the survey. -ve could cost between £1,000-15,000 using market research organisations Useful for media quiet times e.g. summer hols, post christmas etc. WEBSITES To promote products/issues, attract new consumers, retain customers/communities of practice e.g. US ARMY Communities of Practice presentation
PHOTOS +ve British Airways 1st and business class lounges: Bob Ayling Chief Exec photocall holding a razor with nothing on but a towel PHOTOCALLS warning weather, no other bigger story breaks, paper forgets to turn up, picture editors think it’s ‘old hat’ and don’t come ROADSHOWS good to explain complex products/services/issues. Gains feedback from consumers/clients. Time intensive, demanding, involve heavy travel, preparation and presentations SPONSORSHIP Personal enthusiasm and pretension can overcome common sense. Reduce costs by providing goods not cash. SPONSORSHIP different to advertising b/c of third party. Word association FLORA London Marathon; LLOYDS-TSB Five Nations Rugby; BOOKER prize for literature; CORNHILL INSURANCE english test cricket. Annoying mini-dramas before sponsored broadcast programmes, e.g. wine??? Needs to be a natural connection and local constituency BT Global Challenge BROAD AWARENESS SA PUBLIC : 144 print/on-line articles (109 in sports publications, sport and news sections of leding dailies incl 10 front page articles); 33 TV spots incl 21 prime time news items, 34 radio inserts. Reached estimated 10m through TV, 12 m through print POSITION AS BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY LEADER : 27 articles in leading business titles; 8 in technology related media. SAFE MEDIA INTERVIEWS ; no coverage that was critical or alluded to BT’s uncertain future in South Africa (had just proclaimed that there would be no more investments in Africa in the ‘foreseeable future’ and 2nd round of telecomms franchises about to be launched. SURVEYS e.g. Nescafe’s of whether the line ‘Do you want to come in for a cup of coffee’ means just that, or not. Warning: be clear about what you want to achieve with the survey. -ve could cost between £1,000-15,000 using market research organisations Useful for media quiet times e.g. summer hols, post christmas etc. WEBSITES To promote products/issues, attract new consumers, retain customers/communities of practice e.g. US ARMY Communities of Practice presentation
PR people need journalists, but journalists also need PR people. The key to a fruitful symbiotic relationship is to capitalise on what the other can give you.
BRAINSTORM WHAT MAKES NEWS WITH STUDENTS…. The marketplace is noisy and crowded. IN the public sector alone in UK: 180,000 registered charities 115 universities 500 NHS trusts 400 Regeneration organisaitons 2000 Housing Association 468 Local Authorities 29,449 schools 1000 Quangos
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