I think the two key points to remember from this week's readings are the importance of planning for a crisis and crisis management tactics.
Crises can come in many forms. Be it a takeover bid, product tampering, natural disasters or terrorists attacks, they come unexpectedly. Like they always say, expect the unexpected. I am sure most of us can still remember some crises of recent years like the SARS outbreak which hit Asia, the Mad Cow disease scare which affected Europe and the bird flu epidemic which hit china hard. The Singapore government handled the SARS outbreak well, in fact it was handled so well that the government received praise. Not only was the public not in a state of panic, they were informed well enough on how to handle SARS. On the contrary, China was lambasted for trying to hide the truth from the populace; China handled the situation very poorly.
When the crisis hits, it will be too late to control much of the backlash that will happen. Therefore it is important to plan for a crisis prior to it happening. Just like a building having backup generators in case if a power failure, an organisation needs to have contigency plans.
Many of the tactics of crisis management should already be in place if the crisis does hit. So the bottomline is to be prepared.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Post 8 Typical PR Program
I think the two key points to remember from this week's readings are well,everything we have learnt so far and how a typical PR program is like.
What can I say? The typical PR program is somewhat like what we have been taught thus far. It sort of refreshes my memory, going through everything that has been covered and lumping all of the information together. Since we have to do a PR campaign for our final project, I must say that this article has been extremely useful to me. I would definitely use it as a guide when i undertake my final project.
The entire campaign should be roughly like this - setting goals and objectives, preliminary research on target audience, planning and tactical approaches and then implementation of the plan. While the plan is being carried out, research should continue on how to improve said plan and lastly, research should be carried out on how to improve future campaigns.
The article also showed us the importance of corporations investing in public relations. As shown over the past weeks, good public relations makes for good business and of course good business leads to money. Any money is good money.
I am grateful that I have the chance to read this article because I totally feel that it would be useful to me in future. Hey, I might want to go for a career in public relations someday! I mean, look at Tanya Wilson and the company she works for. Cool!
What can I say? The typical PR program is somewhat like what we have been taught thus far. It sort of refreshes my memory, going through everything that has been covered and lumping all of the information together. Since we have to do a PR campaign for our final project, I must say that this article has been extremely useful to me. I would definitely use it as a guide when i undertake my final project.
The entire campaign should be roughly like this - setting goals and objectives, preliminary research on target audience, planning and tactical approaches and then implementation of the plan. While the plan is being carried out, research should continue on how to improve said plan and lastly, research should be carried out on how to improve future campaigns.
The article also showed us the importance of corporations investing in public relations. As shown over the past weeks, good public relations makes for good business and of course good business leads to money. Any money is good money.
I am grateful that I have the chance to read this article because I totally feel that it would be useful to me in future. Hey, I might want to go for a career in public relations someday! I mean, look at Tanya Wilson and the company she works for. Cool!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Post 7 Sponsorship and Event Management, Research and Evaluation
I think the two key points to remember from this week's readings are the benefits of sponsorship and the importance of research in PR.
There are many community events which require corporate sponsorship to function. Usually the organisers of such events do not have the funds to hold big scale events like races. For example, every year, there is a marathon organised by the Singapore Sports Council. The Singapore Sports Council have sponsors like Standard Chartered and Adidas. The agenda of the Singapore Sports Council is to promote a healthy lifestyle. Standard Charted funds the event while Adidas provides the sports gear and clothing. The marathon is known as the Standard Chartered Marathon. The agenda of Standard Charted and Adidas is to promote their brand's image. Corporate sponsorship is a very effective strategy for PR. It is able to enhance the image of an organisation without being too blatant.
Research and evaluation are very important. It is pivotal to know the demands, needs, opinions and misgivings of the target audience as they are the ones to generate profit. Then the research has to be evaluated so that a proper plan can be made and ideal tactics be used. There are a few kinds of research that can be done. Research on target audience, so that a plan can be formulated will be the first step. Then as the plan is put into action, research can be done so the plan can be improved. Last but not least, the aftermath research can be done to find out how effective the campaign was as reference for future endeavours.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Enough said.
There are many community events which require corporate sponsorship to function. Usually the organisers of such events do not have the funds to hold big scale events like races. For example, every year, there is a marathon organised by the Singapore Sports Council. The Singapore Sports Council have sponsors like Standard Chartered and Adidas. The agenda of the Singapore Sports Council is to promote a healthy lifestyle. Standard Charted funds the event while Adidas provides the sports gear and clothing. The marathon is known as the Standard Chartered Marathon. The agenda of Standard Charted and Adidas is to promote their brand's image. Corporate sponsorship is a very effective strategy for PR. It is able to enhance the image of an organisation without being too blatant.
Research and evaluation are very important. It is pivotal to know the demands, needs, opinions and misgivings of the target audience as they are the ones to generate profit. Then the research has to be evaluated so that a proper plan can be made and ideal tactics be used. There are a few kinds of research that can be done. Research on target audience, so that a plan can be formulated will be the first step. Then as the plan is put into action, research can be done so the plan can be improved. Last but not least, the aftermath research can be done to find out how effective the campaign was as reference for future endeavours.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Enough said.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Post 6 Business Tactics and PR
I think the two key points to remember from this week's readings are the various tactics available to the PR practitioner and the importance of PR in business.
There are several tactics available to the PR practitioner. Newsletters, memos, written notes and posters are but a few of the options. All of the above mentioned are effective methods of public relations. However, all of them are in a controlled environment. They are employed by the PR practitioner as a means of communicating ideas and getting feedback. Some examples of uncontrolled PR are media releases and interviews. However, it may not be a bad thing. Controlled PR and uncontrolled PR when used together can be a very powerful tactic and may be used to channel strong messages to the intended audience.
PR in business is extremely important because essentially, organisations are about making money. Organisations make money from clients, so it would be common sense to keep the clients happy so that more money can be generated from them. The clients would feel honored that their needs and misgivings are being taken into consideration, so most organisations have a feedback system where the clients can give their thoughts and an Information Centre where they can retrieve information. Of course PR is not limited to information providing and problem solving but that discussion is for another time.
I agree with the readings wholeheartedly. As I said in my first post, I was once part of StarHub and I witnessed the various tactics used and the importance of PR in business.
There are several tactics available to the PR practitioner. Newsletters, memos, written notes and posters are but a few of the options. All of the above mentioned are effective methods of public relations. However, all of them are in a controlled environment. They are employed by the PR practitioner as a means of communicating ideas and getting feedback. Some examples of uncontrolled PR are media releases and interviews. However, it may not be a bad thing. Controlled PR and uncontrolled PR when used together can be a very powerful tactic and may be used to channel strong messages to the intended audience.
PR in business is extremely important because essentially, organisations are about making money. Organisations make money from clients, so it would be common sense to keep the clients happy so that more money can be generated from them. The clients would feel honored that their needs and misgivings are being taken into consideration, so most organisations have a feedback system where the clients can give their thoughts and an Information Centre where they can retrieve information. Of course PR is not limited to information providing and problem solving but that discussion is for another time.
I agree with the readings wholeheartedly. As I said in my first post, I was once part of StarHub and I witnessed the various tactics used and the importance of PR in business.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Post 5 Community Relations
I think the two key points to remember from this week's readings are social capital and the importance of community relations.
Many studies have revealed the relationship between employee communication and job satisfaction and productivity. Big organisations tend to have hundreds to thousands of employees and each and everyone of them plays a part in the company's image. Hence it is crucial to pay attention to the welfare and needs of the employees. As previous examples have shown, they have been many cases where disgruntled employees tamper with the company's products. The initial outcome may not be severe but the result might be a tarnished reputation and as we know, goodwill is very important for businesses.
As mentioned above, big organisations have more employees and that means that together with their family members and friends, they make up quite a large number of people. So it is pivotal that this group of people receive positive experiences working in the company. With their good experience, they would say good things about the company to their family and friends and so on. Having so many goodwill ambassadors would definitely be good for the organisation.
There are a few ways that the organisation can communicate with the employees. Newsletters are there to inform the employees about changes. Memos may be written for a quick exhange of ideas . Awards may also be given to reward employees for their hard work.
I agree wholeheartedly with the readings. It is definitely important for the employees to feel that their welfare is being taken into consideration and that the higher management takes into account how the decisions will affect those below them.
Many studies have revealed the relationship between employee communication and job satisfaction and productivity. Big organisations tend to have hundreds to thousands of employees and each and everyone of them plays a part in the company's image. Hence it is crucial to pay attention to the welfare and needs of the employees. As previous examples have shown, they have been many cases where disgruntled employees tamper with the company's products. The initial outcome may not be severe but the result might be a tarnished reputation and as we know, goodwill is very important for businesses.
As mentioned above, big organisations have more employees and that means that together with their family members and friends, they make up quite a large number of people. So it is pivotal that this group of people receive positive experiences working in the company. With their good experience, they would say good things about the company to their family and friends and so on. Having so many goodwill ambassadors would definitely be good for the organisation.
There are a few ways that the organisation can communicate with the employees. Newsletters are there to inform the employees about changes. Memos may be written for a quick exhange of ideas . Awards may also be given to reward employees for their hard work.
I agree wholeheartedly with the readings. It is definitely important for the employees to feel that their welfare is being taken into consideration and that the higher management takes into account how the decisions will affect those below them.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Post 4 Ethics
I think the two key points to remember from this week's readings are the importance of ethics in public relations and the movement towards genuine professionalism.
Currently, public relations practitioners face a few challenges:
Reliabilty - Public relations practitioners are trusted and are required to provide accurate information to the public. However, it is so just so easy to disseminate misleading information.
The CEO - As a public relations practitioner, one is only as good as one's CEO allows one to be. Every decision made requires the CEO's approval.
Discrimination - There is prejudice wherever you go. Gender, race, language, religion and appearance are just some of the discrimination issues faced.
Ethics - How ethical is it to promote an inferior product?
There are three basic ethical systems. They are deontology, teleology and Aristotle's Golden Mean. Deontology is basically about morals. As we are all different, the system relies on self-discipline of the public relations practitioner. Because to err is human, the decisions made can be infulenced by culture and background. Teleology is outcome-based. Advocates of this sytem believe that the outcome is more important then anything else. Aristotle's Golden Mean is generally "for the greater good". One's decisions are made based on what is best for the majority. This system seems like the most ethical system.
Also the PR practitioner has four major roles. They are the role of counsellor, advocate, corporate monitor and corporate conscience. It is important to remember that one must not just folllow blindly what the customer asks, one must ensure that one advises the customer on the most ethical approach.
Currently, public relations practitioners face a few challenges:
Reliabilty - Public relations practitioners are trusted and are required to provide accurate information to the public. However, it is so just so easy to disseminate misleading information.
The CEO - As a public relations practitioner, one is only as good as one's CEO allows one to be. Every decision made requires the CEO's approval.
Discrimination - There is prejudice wherever you go. Gender, race, language, religion and appearance are just some of the discrimination issues faced.
Ethics - How ethical is it to promote an inferior product?
There are three basic ethical systems. They are deontology, teleology and Aristotle's Golden Mean. Deontology is basically about morals. As we are all different, the system relies on self-discipline of the public relations practitioner. Because to err is human, the decisions made can be infulenced by culture and background. Teleology is outcome-based. Advocates of this sytem believe that the outcome is more important then anything else. Aristotle's Golden Mean is generally "for the greater good". One's decisions are made based on what is best for the majority. This system seems like the most ethical system.
Also the PR practitioner has four major roles. They are the role of counsellor, advocate, corporate monitor and corporate conscience. It is important to remember that one must not just folllow blindly what the customer asks, one must ensure that one advises the customer on the most ethical approach.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Post 3 Media Relations
I think the two key points to remember from this week's readings are the importance of establishing good relations between the PR practitioner and the media and the various tools that are available to the PR practioner when handling the media.
Media Relations. What is it? Basically it is the relationship between the PR practitioner from a given organisation and the media. It is an extremely important relationship as the media is a very powerful ally. The media can "make or break" an organisation.
Media relations is also an excellent PR tactic. There are many ways to go about using media relations as a PR tactic. First of all, there are press conferences. Press conferences are an good way to establish a good relationship with journalists. This "we care" attitude stands to sit well with the media. There are also media releases. However, one must be careful with the language written. One certainly does not wish the media to receive the wrong message!
That being said, the relationship between media and PR practitioner is largely uncontrolled. Also, trying to establish this rapport with the media is no easy task. Besides having good writing and interpersonal skills, one must also have any eye for detail. The PR practitioner needs to know how the media functions in order to "understand the media". Only then can the PR practitioner adapt to the changes in the media and plan the strategy and tactics more effectively.
Media Relations. What is it? Basically it is the relationship between the PR practitioner from a given organisation and the media. It is an extremely important relationship as the media is a very powerful ally. The media can "make or break" an organisation.
Media relations is also an excellent PR tactic. There are many ways to go about using media relations as a PR tactic. First of all, there are press conferences. Press conferences are an good way to establish a good relationship with journalists. This "we care" attitude stands to sit well with the media. There are also media releases. However, one must be careful with the language written. One certainly does not wish the media to receive the wrong message!
That being said, the relationship between media and PR practitioner is largely uncontrolled. Also, trying to establish this rapport with the media is no easy task. Besides having good writing and interpersonal skills, one must also have any eye for detail. The PR practitioner needs to know how the media functions in order to "understand the media". Only then can the PR practitioner adapt to the changes in the media and plan the strategy and tactics more effectively.
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