Ok so not long to go now before we have finished our blogging for this subject….I guess that so far I am still not sold on where the PR function should lie in an organisational structure and I must say that this week’s reading haven’t really helped. I have previously written a blog on strategy which you can find in week four (I think), so this week’s blog is primarily related to chapter 8 – tactics.
This chapter gave an insight into the options that PR practioners have at their disposal when creating and delivering a PR message and suggests that there is no one correct method but PR practioners need to utilise tactics that best suit the desired strategy and objectives. Johnson & Zawawi (2004) allude to the growing importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
It made me think about PR in that…it outlined the options available to PR practioners in the delivery of their message. It was a pertinent time to read this particular chapter given the debate topic last night because it provided such a broad range of the options which seem to suggest that the press release, at least in it’s traditional sense, isn’t as effective as it once was. The chapter also explained why choosing the right tactics is important given the media fragmentation and media clutter that has meant consumers are becoming more dissociated with traditional PR tactics (Robinson, 2006).
Johnson & Zawawi also discuss the Internet as a tactic to deliver messages. I think that this is of questionable use given it is subject to manipulation (i.e Wikipedia). The use of ‘new media’ has become more prominent in this day and age as PR practioners attempt to deliver messages to consumers who are time poor and ‘tune-out’ from company advertisements. The other points made about using celebrities to endorse products provide good insights and I am especially thankful that the authors mention ‘fit’ between the message and the celebrity, something that I mentioned critical in last week’s blog re: sponsorship. Sponsorship and events also get another mention this week as a tactic available to PR practioners.
It also made me think about campaigns that use a variety of tactics to get their message across. The most obvious is government – the text makes mention of the GST, but their has also been the recent Work Choices legislation and upcoming election campaigns will no doubt flood our mailboxes, T.V. screens and Internet websites with political messages.
I think the most important part of the readings were…. if I can borrow a quote from Johnson and Zawawi, I felt that the most important part of the tactics reading was “…that public relations professionals need to be aware of operating in a world which high-level regulations, lawsuits, watchdogs and corporate governance influence the choice of tactics, their content and how they are implanted,” (Johnson & Zawawi, 2004, p199).
PR practioners, in deciding on the tactics or methods used to achieve the desired strategy, need to discover how best to reach the desired publics and given the fragmentation of audiences this isn’t an easy task. The other important part from the reading is the need for consistency across branding, it is important given the media clutter that organisational messages are easily identifiable and associated with the appropriate organisation..
Reference
Johnston, J. and Zawawi, C. 2004, Public relations: theory and practice. 2nd edition. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin
Robinson, D. 2004, Public relations comes of age, Business Horizons, 49, pp247-256
This week I commented on Emma's blog, my comment can be found at http://cmns1290emmamurphy.blogspot.com/2007/09/week-10.html
5 comments:
Hi David,
I agree with your point that practitioners have a wide variety of tactics at their disposal. I too believe in the importance of the decision making prior to choosing tactics. Research into the success of certain tactics is necessary in order to determine whether or not the tactic is suitable for the campaign.
I hadn’t thought of your point on consistency. This was useful in drawing my attention that numerous different tactics in a campaign, might not be the key too success. What might work on the other hand is a few quality tactics clearly expressing the messages of a campaign.
Your blogs are very reflective rather than informative which is useful.
David
Consistency is a key issue and underlines the importance of brand management, positioning and reputation for organisations. You can understand the importance that the University of Newcastle attached to refreshing recently its branding and rolling it out across all of its pr and marketing materials.
I think I may have noted before that where the PR function is located within an organisation will be dependent on the organisation itself, on its vision and mission, on its purpose, on its function.
Taegan is right. You make sense of the readings for you, draw out a number of important points and think about how these points may impact on any future practice.
I'm glad you adressed the readings this week in relation to our debate topic David. You're point about new media and the growing need/ demand for its utilisation in the public relations realm today rings very true as I research our debate topic about blogging. I agree that although they are seen as foundational tactics, media relations devices such as media releases are becoming less effective. However I wouldn't go so far as to say they have become redundant. Although we can make a strong case for blogging as a representative of new media and its effective role in PR tactics today, I personally feel it is important to use traditional tactics for their intrinsic worth- Not everybody interacts with new media.
I feel what your have taken from the readings was highly thoughtful (as Teagan and Steve have pointed out). I found the point about re-evaluation of tactics the most important as a campaign is likely to be less effective without critiquing existing tactics in consideration to target publics and their reception to the tactics being applied.
Hi David,
I must say it is refreshing to hear a voice of dissent. I agree that, while this chapter did highlight some key issues for me, it failed to clear my head from the ever present cloud of confusion.
I also appreciated your point about media releases. Coming into this course I thought they were going to be a major feature in Public Relations. Now I am beginning to believe i was misinformed.
See you next time,
Nicole.
Hi David
While I agree the web is open to manipulation, and media realeases are not "essential", I think it is still important to consider them as a tactic for any campaign (I know you didn't say NOT to use them, just to be careful when using them).
Different tactics will be useful for different campaigns, so maybe we need to keep an open mind about what tactic to use and when to use it.
You provide great blogs by adding your own opinion rather than simply summarising the chapter. You always raise valid points and question comments you don't agree with. Great blogging.
Kell
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