From: Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning.  Christians, Clifford.  2001. 

I agree with the above statement, corporations that give to charity need to be recognized.  The public is favorable towards those organizations that give more, even if they only appear to be giving more to make the corporations look good.  If corporations were not allowed to gain recognition for their donations, charities would not benefit from significant amounts of needed donations that they get now.  The recognition that corporations receive in society is an important moving factor when it comes to giving to charity.

For example, Home Depot helps Habitat for Humanity by donating materials from their stores to build homes.  Home Depot is promoting its own products and be recognized for its donations at the same time.  Home Depot should want to receive credit for its product use because it is the one contributing money from its profits.  I do think this is strategically thinking, but for good reasons.  Many people care about Habitat for Humanity and while Home Depot most likely cares, too, I am sure they know how good donating to the cause will make them look.

Another example is of Exxon/Mobile.  This company donates large amounts of money to help protect tigers and their environment.  Exxon’s corporate logo features a tiger.  Although the corporation is supporting its logo through its association with tigers, the cause it is donating to is in the end good.  If both the charity and the company can benefit by the company’s donation, both parties win.  Once again, this is definitely strategic giving.  I really doubt Exxon/Mobile truly cares for tigers.  Exxon/Mobile is looking out for the reputation of the company.

A final example is JCPenney.  JCPenney is a company that donates to charity.  JCPenney supports non-profits organizations like the American Red Cross and DECA.  In addition to giving money to these organizations, JCPenney has a charity of its own.  The JCPenney Afterschool Fund is a charitable organization committed to providing children in need with access to after school programs that inspire them to be smart, strong, and socially responsible.  During the year, the JCPenney Afterschool Fund’s Round-Up program invites customers to round-up their purchases to the next whole dollar and donate the difference to the Fund.As I said before, this is strategic giving.  JCPenney is looking out for the reputation of the company, while still helping children.

A creative commons license is a voluntary copyright law with a set of copyright options that say how others can use a work.

These options include:

*Attribution

*Share Alike

*Noncommercial

*No Derivative Works

Three reasons why PR people should use a creative commons license for content they distribute are:

1. PR practitioners can create publicity by allowing others use their work. PR practitioners never know when someone can pick their organization’s message and use it in a new creative way that could end up profiting the organization. Creative Commons licenses are used to serve as a simple, free way to avoid lawsuits and other legal issues when creating documents using copyrighted material.

2. PR practitioners can create strong client relations. It’s beneficial to treat customers are PR practitioners would like to be treated.. Proper use of these copyright laws would  help support a good client-agent relationship. With a strong relationship with a client, PR practitioners would be able to promote themselves better. 

3.  PR practitioners will be contributing to the public’s need  for information. Our Society has constant access to information, and allowing work to be used openly allows PR practitioners to share content quickly, where as copyright does not allow other people to use the content until the copyright expires.

1. Facebook –Almost every person in the western hemisphere has a facebook page.  It is a social networking site and can be very helpful in promoting an organization.  If a company has an event coming up, PR practitioners can add all of the contacts on their facebook page to the event.  A facebook page can also be created by a PR practitioner to send out invitations to the upcoming PR event.  Some organizations have created a fan page , such as the Richmond chapter of the ASPCA.  Also, a status update can keep page followers up-to-date about an event.

2. Twitter –Twitter is new to the world of social networking.  Twitter allows anyone to post a  short update whenever they can through out the day. The 160 character limit makes it great for quick and to the point information updates.  An organization can take advantage of this by having a PR practitioner post positive information about the organization through out the day.

3. YouTube – YouTube is a video sharing website in which users can upload and share videos.  YouTube makes it possible for anyone with an Internet connection to post a video that a worldwide audience can watch.  This is a excellent tool for PR practitioners to use.  When a crisis happens, a video can change the way people think about an organization.  Like when the CEO of Dominos’ Pizza made a video after the “nasty” pizza video was uploaded to YouTube.  He wanted people to know that  was not the way Dominos’ Pizza made their food.  It made pizza lovers feel better that the company over all.

4. Blogs – Many successful organizations have blogs, including the ASPCA and Coke-a-Cola.  They are a great way to get a organization’s thoughts out about a conflict or crisis.  People are able to get more in depth information from blogs than from any other social media online tool.  The future of blogging as a PR resource tool lies in using it successfully.  PR practitioners should not rely on blogs alone.  They should include links to give more in-depth information, so people who are interested about the blog’s topic can check out other sources.  This also shows readers that the blog is not just someone’s opinion; it has facts to back it up.

5. PRWeb – It is a site where PR practitioners can post news and press releases.  This site is very useful because it helps PR practitioners reach millions of people by sending news releases immediately.

1.Determine responsibility for the crisis (who is at fault?).

2.Provide honest information to the public.  (The truth and nothing but the truth!)

3. Take corrective action to deal with the crisis.  (What should we do now?)

An example of PR during a crisis would be the 1982 Johnson and Johnson Tylenol tampering case.  In this case, bottles of Tylenol were poisoned.  Johnson and Johnson determined that the tampering was done by someone outside the company.  Although Johnson and Johnson was not responsible for the tampering, the organization recalled the Tylenol and issued alerts to the public.  The company took another action by placing safety seals on all future products to prevent a crisis like this happening again.

In the case of Johnson and Johnson, the crisis did benefit the organization.  By recalling all of its Tylenol and creating safer seals on its products, Johnson and Johnson helped to keep its clean image.  A crisis can be good for an organization.

A PR practitioner does not solve the crisis; he or she helps deal with managing the crisis.  A PR practitioner is responsible for evaluating, strategizing, and coming up with plans to resolve the crisis.  In other word, a PR practitioner is like a human brain. It sends messages to tell the rest of the body what to do.

 The Uses and Gratifications Theory gives an individual audience member the power to control which messages they take in and what ones they do not.  The audience influences the media and then the media changes its messages to fit the audience.

The Agenda-Setting Hypothesis states that the media does not tell people what to think; instead, it tells them what to think about.  The media doses not try to persuade the audience to think one way or another.  It simply presents the most important messages and then the audience can choose whether they want to accept the messages or not.

The difference in the two is the Uses and Gratifications Theory is focused on an individual’s connection to a message. The Agenda-Setting Hypothesis focuses on the media’s influence on the messages that are presented to the audience.

Even with the differences, these two theories still share a common trait.  They both associate an audience to a message.  The Agenda-Setting Hypotheses supports the media’s ability to show the audience the most important messages.  The Uses and Gratifications Theory supports the actions of the audience when they make the choice to hear the message or not.  

 Finally, the role of PR practitioners is important to both theories.  In the Uses and Gratifications Theory, the role of PR practitioners is to supply information and messages to the media through the public.  The Agenda-Setting Hypothesis’ role for PR practitioners is behind the media. PR practitioners feed information and messages into the media and then the media presents the messages to the public.

Situation

Membership for the PRSA has been decreasing over the last few years. Some believe this is because the PR profession  has a lack of credibility within the USA. PRSA Communications Director, Shelby Dayvault, and her team want to generate more credibility for the PR profession, and for the organization as a whole.

 Goals

To generate national credibility for the PR profession by informing public relations practitioners and prospective practitioners.

Objectives

1. To Increase awareness of the PR Profession
2.  To distribute 300 newsletters to local PRSSA chapters by December 31, 2009
3. To Increase PRSA membership by 30%.

Target Audience

1. Present and prospective PRSA members
2. Current and future PRSSA members
3. Public relations practitioners.
4. Users of public relations.
   

Strategies

1.  Use the appeal of the profession to capture major publics’ interest.
2.  Spread the word of the profession though face-to-face contact
3. Change feelings of discontent with high fee cost to become a member of the PRSA

 Tactics

1.  Increase awareness of the PR profession by sponsoring free workshops. Each workshop will talk about what is PR and why it is needed.
2. Send 300 flyers to local PRSSA chapters, so they can hand them out and spread the word about the PR profession. Each flyer  will give major information about the PR profession and the free workshops.
3. Increase PRSA membership by 30% by cutting the membership fees in half until December 31, 2010.
4. The PRSA  will create  media kits and press releses, send them to the newspapers and telvision stations.

Calendar

• 18 months for entire campaign.
• Four months for research and planning.
• Five months for preparing  media kits , etc.
• Nine months of scheduled events and news releases.

Budget

The  budget  for this  plan is $300,000  and will be uses for 18 months

 Evaluation

At the end of the 18 months, PRSA will hope to  improve awareness of the PR profession and see a 30 %  increase in its’ membership. A survey will be conducted, that included new and old members of the PRSA, to see if the flyers or the free workshops made any diffence.

This plan will work in creating more credibility for PR, because it is about informing at the ground level.  Starting at the local chapters and moving out is a major way to get the word out about the profession. If people are educated on the local level, he or she with not question the credilibily of PR.  

(Disclaimer:  This blog is for a class assignment)

PRSA Hampton Roads Virginia

In today’s competitive job market, companies are looking for only the best to hire.  Talent, job experience, and dedication are major pluses when a candidate is evaluated for a position.  When it comes to   a career in public relations, smart employers should give particular consideration to applicants with an Accredited in Public Relations (APR) credential.

Currently there are only 5,000 public relations practitioners around the world with this voluntary certification. If an accreditation can make a difference in one’s job, why is the number of certified PR practitioners so low?

Accreditation is rarely heard of, if at all, outside the world of public relations.  Other jobs like teachers and nurses have to be accredited, why not public relations practitioners?  Having APR behind one’s name, shows that he or she has a high level of understanding in the field of public relations.  It means that public relations practitioners exhibit the desire to succeed in his or her career.  According to Matt Kucharski, Senior Vice President of Padilla Speer Beardsley, “[Accreditation] means that I actually understand and can apply the underlying principles that are important to building successful public relations programs – I’m not shooting from the hip or making it up as I go along.”

How can the PRSA make accreditation in public relations more visible  and important to business leaders?  Simple, require all public relations practitioners to be accredited.  Doctors  have to take boards before he or she can really work in a field.  Public relations practitioners should have to do the same.  This will also cut down on people being over looked for jobs; everyone would be  on somewhat of the same level.

 Another way would be for the PRSA and business leaders to make a list on how accredited public relations practitioners would add value to an organization. Since PR practitioner are  bound to strict ethical guidelines, accreditation would show that  he or she  is  committed to be honest and truthful in his or her career.  This list could be put on any organizations’ websites as well as the PRSA website.  Public relations practitioners, looking for a job ,would be able to know the benefits of being accredited.

 A final idea would be that the PRSA post an APR seal on any PR firms’ offices with accredited public relations practitioners.  This would let clients know that the practitioners at an accredited firm can demonstrate skills and knowledge to complete whatever is thrown his or her way.

APR should be required for all PR practitioners because, it  is a mark of distinction for public relations practitioners who demonstrate a  commitment to the profession and to its ethical practice.

Photo from Heidi Sullivan

Public relations is a career that is full of opportunity.  However, it is not an easy job.  The following are five important skills a PR practitioner must have in order to have a long and successful career.

1. Have Good Communications Skills in both Writing and Public Speaking

Being able to communicate with clients, both verbally and in writing, are required for every PR job.  They are a must if you want to make it in the world of public relations.  Write as much as you can, as often as you can.  PR practitioners have to be able to tell a story, change someone’s point of view, or attract a person to a product or service.  Good communication skills will help any PR career survive and prosper.

2. Be Social Media Savvy…In Fact, Be Media Savvy All Around

Be informed!  Read newspapers, watch television!  Know what is going on in the world, not just in your own backyard.  Also, be able to use current social media efficiently.  Be able to communicate though blogs, message boards, and social networks like Facebook.

3. Be Able To Think Critically!

Think on your toes!  You will be given many problems, sometimes all at once, that have to be fixed.  Having good critical thinking skills will help sort though the mess.

4. Be Creative!

As Taco Bell would say, “think outside the bun.”  Show your boss, co-workers and clients the real you.   Sometimes creativity is all you have. Take the American Heart Association (AHA)  for example. As a nonprofit organization, it has  a set amount of money for events and promotions. As a PR practitioner, you have to be creative. You have to also be able to brainstorm and develop story ideas for your  client’s  causes, issues, products and/or services.

5. Have A Personal Interest In PR, It Is Your JOB!

Love the work you do, or at least like it.  If you do not believe in the final outcome you are trying to come to, who will?  Enjoy coming to work everyday.  PR is different from other careers.  Most of the time, PR is not a 9 to 5 job.  Reporters may call you after work or on the weekends to get information for stories.  It calls for you to do many different jobs, like talking to a sport client , writing press releases for the governor, or cleaning up a  company’s crisis.  

Here is a few more tips from a real PR practitioner.

  PR is a job with many different branches; including,  government, nonprofit, corporations, agencies, and individual consultants.  You just have to take your time, research, and you will find the right job.

Credit photo to ASMSU

 Public relations should not be ranked below marketing and advertising.  It should not be put above them either.  They should stand together, but as different entities.  Each department can feed off each other’s ideas to help an organization as a whole.  They complement each other like the ingredients in a salad.  A person can eat a salad without salad dressing, but a salad is always better with all of the fixings.  So, any organization will run better if it has all of its components: public relations, marketing, and advertising.

Yes, marketing and advertising do target the consumer. Public relations can also target the consumer.  Take cigarettes companies and their public relations team, they have to target the consumer who smokes  cigarettes and get he or she to buy its company’s brand. The major difference is that public relations deals with many different publics, such as suppliers, resellers, competitors, investors, employees and their families, and the community in which it does business,  not just consumers.

According to Dennis L. Wilcox, author of Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques, public relations helps marketing by “paving the way for sales calls.”  Also, public relations helps to enlarge an organization’s advertising and marketing dollars through press releases about the organization and its products and/or services (19).

Advertising and public relations can be considered parts of the marketing process.  In their own way, public relations and advertising involve getting the word out about an organization or its product or service.  For public relations, that can be through press releases, speeches, and special events.  While on the other hand, advertising uses newspapers, magazines and the Internet.

Another difference is marketing is mostly tied to sales.  Public relations and advertising are about changing opinions and letting publics know about issues, products, or services.

Advertising and marketing can be used as “communication tools” in public relations.  While, public relations activities, like making press releases and planning events, can help advertising and marketing campaigns (17).  Even with their differences, they still can work together as a whole.

Any organization that hopes to thrive in the business world should have all of these.  And, one should not be held higher than the other one.  As I said before, they compliment each other.  If organization X wants to market a new product or service , it should put ads in newspapers and on the Internet. It should also use public relations by sending out a press release.  If possible, have a special event showcasing the product or service. 

Public relations, advertising, and marketing should not be ranked by which is better or consumed by one under an “umbrella.”  They should be separate in an organization, but still be able to help each other when there is a need.

Work Cited

Wilcox, Dennis L., and Glen T. Cameron. Public Relations Strategies and Tactics. 8^th ed.  Boston: Pearson Education, 2007. Print.