CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Focus On Asian Public Relations Management

Asia, like many regions all over the world, has its own set of systems, beliefs and cultures which is unique to it. What does this have to do with public relations practice? The answer is: application. In all of my previous blog entries, I have covered a whole spectrum of public relations theories, practices, case studies and examples.

Several times, I have listed out what should and what should not be done when doing PR.

However, one must remember that none of this is set in stone. A campaign that has worked for someone else may not necessary work for you. A campaign that has worked for you before may not necessarily work again. Everything is dependent on many factors such as time and situational aspects. In this case, we are discussing regional/geographical and most importantly, cultural factors.

Let's use the case study of a campaign mascot for example. A cute, round pig dressed in a brightly-coloured outfit may be suitable for promoting a related product in the USA or Australia. But doing that in countries such as Malaysia or Indonesia where Islam is the dominant religion is highly unacceptable as the pig is seen as a "dirty" creature and has many negative connotations.

In the end, it all comes down to research and professionalism.

Before venturing and conducting any form of PR in a region or country that the agency has not previously accessed, background research and analysis is of utmost importance. The better your understanding of the local culture, customs and practices, the easier it will be to reach out to whichever target audience your company or client may be targeting.

To end of, here is a video of the popular Russel Peters who takes a lighthearted look at different cultures and behaviors.

CHAPTER TWELVE: New Media And Public Relations

With the advent of the internet and other new media platforms like podcasts, many new and creative avenues are opened up for PR agencies to run their campaigns. Many advertising and PR agencies now consider the internet as one of the main media channels to conduct campaigns. In fact, through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, entire campaigns may be run online without the need for physical events.

While some might argue that an "online experience" will not be able to rival "real" experiences, there are several advantages that an online PR or advertising campaign may have when compared to running an actual, physical campaign or event.

COST

As significantly less physical resources and manpower are needed, costs can be cut from these areas. Approaches such as VIRAL MARKETING can even be done for free. Although this technique has been used even before the advent of the internet, the viral process which helps to build brand awareness is multiplied through the network capabilities of the internet. Videos on Youtube, for example, cost very little to manufacture. Yet, they have the potential to generate large amounts of publicity.

This is a funny viral video discussing viral marketing.

REACH

As mentioned previously, the internet is a global platform. A physical event held on a single day at a single location can only reach a certain number of people. However, a single website has the potential to reach billions of viewers all over the globe. The video below is an advertisement by a company that believes in the power of marketing/advertising through the internet.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter also offer many opportunities for companies to conduct PR campaigns. However, with all the advantages these sites offer, one has to be aware of the disadvantages as well. The video below takes a candid look at what plus and minus points an individual may have when using Facebook. Although the video addresses more of personal issues that users may experience, some of these issues will be similar to challenges faced by PR companies who are trying to utilise these online platforms.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Engaging WIth The Media

Media relations is one of the most important - if not THE most important aspect of public relations. The connections and relationships that a PR practitioner has with contacts from the media plays an extremely crucial role in an organisation's public relations. This is heavily due to the role of the media.

PR practitioners can develop campaigns and spin beautiful stories about their company or their client, but in the end, the media is the one that will publish those stories and articles. Journalists and writers will write these stories in any way they or their company want. Simply put, if a journalist hates you, all the hard work you've put into your PR plan and campaign will go down the drain as far as the papers, magazines, TV and radio are concerned.

"JOURNALISTS ARE YOUR BEST FRIENDS."

This would be a good code to live by as a PR practitioner. Journalists and editors have needs and requirements that they have to fulfill as well. By having good relationships with these people and knowing their needs, it would be much easier for a PR practitioner to get a release or campaign covered. When trust is established between the two parties, it creates an ideal win-win situation where both - PR practitioner and journalist - get what they want.

Updating your contact list is also important in maintaining these relationships. Calling up a journalist only to find out that he is currently a ballet dancer shows that the PR practitioner lacks professionalism. Another important aspect that practitioners MUST know is how a newsroom operates. This will allow the practitioner to know the exact person he or she needs to contact. Knowing the reporting structure also allows for the bypassing of unnecessary communication channels.

The bottom line is, a PR practitioner must have good relations with media people in order to do their job well. It's not just a matter of making his or her job easier. It is what a professional PR agent should do.

CHAPTER TEN: An Issues-Crisis Perspective

Crisis management is an important aspect of public relations. One of the jobs of a PR practitioner would be to manage and address crises.

A crisis can be defined as an extremely uncertain event to which the causes and effects are unknown. However, it is usually a major occurrence and may lead to negative outcomes for the organisation, its reputation, the industry, the public and even society as a whole. In a nutshell, it is something which poses a great threat to the company or organisation. Crises can be divided into several broad categories placed along an X and Y axis: External economic attacks: - Extortion - Bribery - Boycotts - Hostile takeovers Megadamage: - Environmental accidents Psycho: - Terrorism - Copycats - On-site/off-site sabotage - Kidnappings - Sexual harassment - Rumors External information attacks: - Copyright infringement - Loss of information - Counterfeiting - Rumors Breaks: - Recalls - Defects - Breakdowns - Operational errors - Poor security Crises also have a life cycle of sorts which can be divided into four main stages. At each stage, the form and level of management required to handle the crisis differs. Phase One: DETECTION If a crisis can be detected at an early stage or at best, identified before it even develops, it can easily be prevented. If a potential major crisis is stopped at this phase of its development, chances are that it won't even grow big enough to be classified as a "crisis" per say. Phase Two: PREVENTION Once a crisis has been identified in Phase One, measures can be implemented to prevent the crisis altogether. If the crisis is imminent, steps can be taken to minimize any damage that the crisis might bring. Phase Three: CONTAINMENT This is the most intense stage of the crisis where management is the most important. The crisis is already happening. Prevention is already impossible. The task of the PR team is not to handle the crisis as best as they can while minimizing damage caused by the issue. Phase Four: DAMAGE CONTAINMENT The aftermath. Damage has already been done. The only thing left to do is to prevent the damage from spreading even further. This is where all the legal procedures take place, after the actual crisis itself. The PR team will need to tread carefully when handing the media, government inquiry and such. Phase Five: RESOLUTION This is when the media concludes and publishes the entire story. The who, what,when, where and how are released to the public. If the PR team has screwed up the first four phases, there is nothing much that can be done here.

CHAPTER NINE: Strategies To Proactively Manage Activity

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

Without a properly thought-out strategy for any PR campaign, it would most likely lead to failure. This chapter is closely linked to the previous chapter on public relations research. In fact, PR research is crucial in coming up with a suitable strategy for a PR campaign. Research (RECAP) As previously discussed, proper research allows the PR team to come up with a good campaign strategy. Both internal and external research comes into play here. Internal research includes the evaluation of past campaigns to see what worked and what did not, taking into account factors that led to the success or failure of those campaigns. External research involves things like surveys and other forms of market research. The aim is to find out more about your target audience, their needs, the best ways to gain their attention and so on. Analysis and Identifying Publics and Audiences There would be no point in conducting huge amounts of research if the results of those studies are not analysed. The findings of your research - the numbers, data, facts and figures need to be tabulated and interpreted. Questions like "What do these numbers mean?" and "What does this finding suggest?" need to be answered. Also, this would be where SWOT (Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses and Threats) analysis comes in. SWOT analysis is important in the strategy-making process and it highlights areas which will need to be looked into when formulating the strategy. This would also be the time to clearly identify the target audience of the campaign. This will allow the PR practitioner to consider the different ways of informing or communicating with the target demographic. This knowledge is crucial when deciding strategies and tactics for the campaign. Goal-setting Based on the results of the analysis, the PR practitioner/team can then begin setting realistic goals for the upcoming campaign. The setting of goals and objectives allows the PR practitioner to develop a series of possible methods and strategies to reach that goal. Throughout the entire process, external parties like other departments in the company may be called in to provide inputs. Goals may continuously be modified and refined. By the end of the entire goal-setting process, the campaign should have a clear goal as to what it intends to achieve. Setting the Strategies The aim of a PR campaign is to create a meaning and to let your audiences understand and receive that meaning the way it was intended to be received. Therefore, when constructing a strategy for a PR campaign, it is important to keep these meanings in mind. There probably will never be a single straight-forward route to take when developing a strategy. There will always be options. Here is a case study of the strategy adopted by Porter Novelli (a PR company) when launching the DVD of Pixar's Finding Nemo. Firstly, they have established that the target audience for their campaigns would be children between 3 to 11 years of age. The have also realised that although their targets are the children, the actual consumers doing the spending would be their parents. The strategy that Porter Novelli decided to adopt in the end was to use education as a platform for publicising the DVD. Also, the "underwater" theme was also an important aspect of the strategy as Finding Nemo was a film about the adventures of a fish, which takes place almost entirely underwater. Tactics - Implementation of Strategies After coming up with the strategy, steps have to be taken on how to put those plans into actions. These steps are known as tactics, which is basically the implementation of the strategies that have been developed. Going back to the case study of the Finding Nemo DVD launch, some tactics adopted by Porter Novelli was to implement a "Back To School With Nemo" programme which was targeted at school teachers. A kit was provided which included:

• Finding Nemo name badges for kids to wear on their first day of school


• Ocean ideas for the classroom (activities and decoration ideas)


• Great Barrier Reef information and activity sheets


• Flash cards with ocean animals


• Certificate template


• Finding Nemo book & poster


• A feedback form

This move was in line with the strategy of using education to promote the DVD.

Also, going in line with the underwater theme that was proposed as a strategy, the PR company had a media launch at the Melbourne Aquarium.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The final phase of the PR campaign would be to monitor public responses to the campaign and to measure and evaluate the level of success of the campaign. This material can then be used as research for future PR campaigns.

CHAPTER EIGHT: Reputation Management - A Driving Force For Action

When we discuss the issue of reputation management and corporate image, it ultimately boils down to this element known as corporate brand and identity. According to Olins (1978), corporate identity can be described as a physical manifestation of an organisation's corporate personality. This includes - but are not limited to - symbols, crests and logos. Corporate identity can be divided into three components.

COMMUNICATION

This is what companies say about themselves and market themselves through the various communications channels like television, radio, the internet and even outdoor events. PR and marketing can fall under this category.

BEHAVIOUR

In order to build a strong corporate identity, a company has to walk the talk. The actions and measures taken by an organisation to live up to the image it has communicated to the public determines the strength of that organisation's corporate image. This is arguably the most important component of the "corporate identity mix".

SYMBOLISM

This is where all the logos and symbols come in. Nike's trademark "swoosh", Adidas' three stripes, the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Panda are some examples of solid logos that have been successfully etched into the minds of the public through effective marketing and PR.

_________________________________________

Different companies have different ways to branding themselves. Some, like Nike and Adidas, use symbolism more than anything else. Others, like The Body Shop, actively invest time and resources into their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and aim to build their brand name through actions. One interesting example of how an organisation has branded itself would be the case study of the Virgin Group.

CHAPTER SEVEN: PR Management in Organizations

Wow. Another long and detailed chapter loaded with information. It goes to show the sheer volume of variables and factors that go into how public relations work in an organization. So far, in most of the previous chapters, we can observe how public relations work with regards to the relationships between a company and its publics or consumers and even the relationships between two companies.

So for this chapter, I would like to zoom in and focus on one aspect of PR known as internal relations.

Public relations not only needs to deal with a company's consumers and shareholder, but to it's employees as well. A Ferrari is only able to produce so much power and torque if all the internal components of the car's engine work perfectly with one another. Using this analogy, we can clearly see how important the relationship between a company and its employees is.

The whole concept of internal communications can be summed up into three main categories.

Organisational Culture

"Culture is made up of shared values, symbols, meanings, beliefs, assumptions and expectations that organise and integrate a group of people who work together"

Grunig & Dozier, 2002

The culture of an organization is usually developed by its founders or leaders and is internalised by its staff and management. It affects how things are done in the organization, how people work and how the company itself operates in general. For example, Google has an extremely participative and innovative company culture which gives a lot of autonomy to its employees.

However, due to the fact that any organisation is made up of so many unique individuals, conflicts are inevitable. This is where the PR department can come in and resolve these conflicts. The role of PR practitioners here can be to solve conflicts, reinforce organisational mission and vision and internally promoting the company culture of an organisation.

Understanding Employees' Needs

As I have mentioned earlier, employees are what make up the compnay, so it would be in the best interest of any organisation to keep its employees happy. In order to do this, the company must understand the needs and feelings of its employees.

Each individual employee is different. As such, employees should not be lumped together as a whole demographic. There are, however, several categories that can be used to group employees if necessary - for example, their reason for being in the company, be it good pay f,or the experience, good organisational culture, etc.

When situations arise and there is a need to communicate with employees, a PR practitioner can adhere to the following guidelines:

• Tell employees FIRST
• Tell bad and good news together
• Be timely
• Inform employees in all matters that are important to them
• Use media that is trusted by employees

Employee Communication Channels

In any organisation, there are many existing channels of communication. Some of these channels are more formal than others - for example, the chain of command leading up from the lowest-ranked employee right to the company's CEO. As a PR practitioner, it is important to know when to use which channels for what purposes. Certain information would be better-received by employees if delivered through a more formal medium. Others work better when delivered in a more casual fashion.

And to end off, here's a little cartoon depicting a manager who doesn't give a flying fish about hi's company's internal communications.

CHAPTER SIX: Public Relations Practice

Public relations practice covers a wide range of topics ranging from the different skillsets required by PR practitioners operating in companies of different natures to the challenges and pressures faced by PR agencies and their employees regardless of where and how they operate.

I would like to focus on one very important and sometimes overlooked aspect of the public relations practice - the fact that PR cannot be generalized and lumped into one broad category of practice. There are many forms of PR and many ways of conducting PR. The responsibilities of a public relations practitioner and the skills that he or she needs are influenced greatly by the nature of the organization that the practitioner is working for.

THE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

The increasing number of non-profit organizations (NPO) means and increasing demand of public relations practitioners who can work for these organizations. In NPOs, the PR practitioner needs to be multiskilled - a jack-of-all-trades, in other words. This is due to the nature of how these companies operate. Areas which are specifically and strategically divided in the corporate sector like marketing, fund-raising and public relations tend to overlap when it comes to NPOs.

There are also a few key differences between the PR practice in the not-for-profit (NFP) sector and the corporate sector. For instance, the two main attributes that NPOs must have are governance and accountability. The organization MUST be properly governed and has to be accountable for everything that it does. For example, money that is collected from fundraisers and donations must be properly and securely channeled to fuel the intended purposes.

For a fresh graduate like me (in about a year's time :)), NPOs are a good place where I can start off and gain experience while honing my skills in the trade. The reasons for this can be found in a very useful list that I came across while reading the course text by Joy Chia and Gae Synnott:

• work with small budgets
• builds up experience in fundraising and promotional areas
• develops people skills (dealing with volunteers)
• cause-based - your objectives, goals and values are clear
• learn importance of communication with target audience
• learn how community organizations work

THE CORPORATE SECTOR

The main aim of the corporate sector is to generate profits, provide returns to shareholders and to continually build and improve their businesses. Clearly, this is a stark contrast to what NPOs exist for and thus, the role of the PR practitioner in this arena differs as well.

Organizational structure plays a key role here as it directly impacts factors like the job scope of the PR practitioner and who the PR practitioner is supposed to report to. For example, a PR agent in a large multi-national company might be required to report directly to two bosses - their line manager and the functional manager.

Compared to NPOs, the line of work of a PR practitioner is the corporate sector tends to be more specific and specialized. This is partly due to the more structured nature of corporate organizations and that departments are clearly defined.

There are several aspects that comprise the public relations umbrella in the corporate sector:

Media Relations

Developing and maintaining strong relationships with national and local media, journalists and organizations.

Government Relations

Maintaining relationships with members of the government (like politicians) to better understand government and political processes.

Shareholder Relations

Point-of-contact for shareholders, providing them with relevant information about the company.

Public Relations

Understand and respond to public's expectations and perceptions of the company and leading community investment programmes.

CHAPTER FIVE: Public Relations Research

Research is a crucial part of any public relations campaign that cannot be overlooked. Any plan or strategy that lacks proper research is more often than not, doomed to failure.

"Research

is to see what

EVERYBODY

has seen and to think what

NOBODY

has thought."

- Albert Szent Gyorgyi, Hungarian bio-chemist.

The research process can be divided into three main stages during a PR campaign.

The first stage is during the input stage, before the actual plan is carried out. The focus of the research done here is mainly to determine the WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHEN and HOW of the campaign itself. These are some of the questions that the research will attempt to answer:

• Identifying the issue/opportunity
• Who are the target audience/consumer?
• What does the consumer need/want/expect?
• Where do we draw the line on what is considered ethical?
• What does the plan want to achieve?
• What are the benchmarks that can be used to measure success (or failure)?
• What strategy shall be used? Which media is most suitable? Etc.

The second stage of research is ongoing throughout the campaign itself. This research includes the measuring and monitoring of statistical elements as the campaign progresses, quantifying them to see if they meet the campaign's intended benchmarks/expectations and adjusting the campaign if necessary to produce the best possible results. For example, a campaign done through a website might measure the number of hits on the site to determine if there is enough participation.

The final stage of research is done after the campaign has been run and is largely used to evaluate and determine the overall result of the PR campaign. This can be determined by asking questions like "Did the consumers react/do what we wanted them to do?" or "Has the problems and issues previously identified been addressed?".

Let us observe a case study featuring the launch campaign of the launch of Match.com in Australia. Match.com is an online dating sites where singles can sign up and find a suitable date.

www.match.com.au

INPUT

The first step the PR agency did was to do research on the current situation. The website was to be launched on a Valentine's Day. Based on their research, they determined that there would be a lot of media noise that would distract their target audience from their website. As such, they took steps in order to overcome this.

They also identified various other issues associated with the launch date and proceeded to plan measures that would address these problems. Competitors were also identified and any issues related to these were also accounted for. Goals and objectives were also reviewed and steps were taken to ensure that these goals would be met.

Also, a full-on survey was conducted on the target audience to find out things like their perception of online dating and what they thought were the pros and cons of online dating.

IMPLEMENTATION

One of the interesting things that they did during the campaign itself was to release the statistics provided by AC Neilson to the media. Now, I've been going on about how research is important to determine many things, but to use the positive results obtained via research as a tool for marketing?? That was definitely something I did not think of.

Traffic on the Australian Match.com website was of course constantly being monitored and measured to determine if the campaign was working.

EVALUATION

The PR agency divided the evaluation research into two categories, QUALITY and QUANTITY. Quality will refer to the campaign's success in leaving a positive impression on consumers and how deep the impact of that impression was. This could be done through surveys and interviews. QUALITY is simply about measuring the number of visitors to the website and to see if there was indeed an increase.

To end off, here is an advert done by Match.com on Youtube.

CHAPTER FOUR: Public Relations Ethics

Ethics is a word that is very easily and commonly used not only in public relations, but in businesses, politics, conflicts and our everyday lives. But is the concept of ethics really as simple as how some people and organizations make it sound?

Ethics concerns mainly behaviour, with the focus being on "good" behavoiur. It's about doing what is "right" and this concerns the morals and values of both, individuals and society as a whole. Theories on ethics revolves mainly around three schools of thought;

Virtue Ethics

Deontology

Consequentialism

Each of these theories focus on different aspects of ethics and morals, as I shall explain in greater detail.

VIRTUE ETHICS

Virtue ethics emphasizes on the development of personal character and values that would guide an individual to decide what is right and what is wrong. This enables a person to have his or her own "bottom line" when it comes to deciding if something is within ethical boundaries.

However, this school of thought has a gaping weakness - virtue ethics are extremely individualistic and subjective as the basis of what is ethical and what is not stems from an individual's set of morals and values. Something that is ethical or good to one person may be deemed as unethical or evil by another individual.

Therefore, virtue ethics is the most subjective and the least clear-cut school of thought regarding ethics.

DEONTOLOGY

Deontology zooms in on the aspect that there is a certain absolute list of morals and principles that have to be followed when deciding if something is ethical. Examples of such lists would be the law, the rules of a game, the required nettiquette of an online forum or even The Ten Commandments.

Deontology is the school of thought which involves the least amount of uncertainty and "gray areas" when determining what is right and wrong. As it focuses on set rules and laws, making "ethical" decisions would be simple and clear cut. However, the main problem with this would be the lack of flexibility. Rules cannot possibly apply to every single situation that arises. Furthermore, there will always be cases where rules, when followed to the letter, results in an "unethical" action rather than an ethical one.

Therefore, deontology presents a very rigid and narrow-minded view on ethics.

CONSEQUENTIALISM

Consequentialism bases itself on the utilitarian principle on taking the action which results in the most positive and beneficial outcome. According to this school of thought, the most ethical solution is the one that would make "everyone happy" in the end.

One advantage of this theory is that it forces the individual (in this case, a PR practitioner) to think ahead and plan for what might happen in future if certain actions are taken. It encourages them to be visionaries, which is an important quality to posses. The downside to this method, though, is that sometimes, in order to achieve the best possible outcomes, undesirable and unethical approaches and actions are taken. Since this school of thought places heavy emphasis on outcomes, such actions are often overlooked.

After reading the chapter on ethics from the textbook, doing my own research and looking through a few examples and case studies, I find that the topic of ethics is an extremely debatable one. It is difficult to make ethics and morals something clear-cut without crossing the line and becoming unforgiving, rigid and inflexible.

Thus, in my opinion, the best way to approach the concept of ethics is to address issues and problems with considerations from all three school of thoughts and then decide the best possible action to take based on careful scrutinizing and analysis. Of course, having said that, I am fully aware that such a statement is much more easily said than done. But I feel that PR agencies and practitioners should at least consider the most ethical options instead of ruling out the concept of ethics altogether just because it is subjective and open-ended.

CASE STUDY: The Launch Of The Coke Zero Brand

Although there are many tried and tested methods when it comes to developing a PR plan or campaign, most of these are centered and developed around the steps listed below:

1. Research
2. Analysis
3. Goal Setting
4. Objective
5. Developing strategies
6. Devising and implementing tactics
7. Monitoring
8. Evaluation

I've done some research and came across an example of an excellent PR campaign organized by the Coca Cola company when it launched one of its products - the Coca Cola Zero. Using the guide above, I will attempt to break down Coca Cola's campaign into the various stages of its development.

Image source: http://www.siampolonews.com/images/logoCokeZero.jpg

Research and analysis:

Through market research, Coca Cola was able to discover that consumers in their 20s preferred healthier drinks (with less sugar) compared to the existing Coca Cola. Although they had the Diet Coke product, males generally stayed away from it as the "diet" label suggests a milder taste. Thus, the company decided to go with the "Real Taste, Zero Sugar" concept.

Goal Setting and Objectives:

While the main goal of the campaign was to successfully launch the Coke Zero brand, the initial PR objective was to launch the Zero Movement - a movement to encourage low-sugar consumption WITHOUT introducing the Coca Cola brand. It was only after the success of this campaign that Coca Cola Zero was officially launched.

Developing Strategies:

The core strategy of the campaign was to launch The Zero Movement (which will gain lots of media publicity and attention) and allow the launch of Coca Cola Zero to ride on the waves of the campaign's success. Sponsorships and additional media campaigns will the follow up to continue advertising the brand.

Implementing tactics:

Following this would be the actual implementation of the strategies which included the Zero Movement and the actual media campaign itself. Here are a few video clips featuring television commercials promoting Coca Cola Zero.

Evaluation:

An evaluation would then be carried out to measure the success of the campaign. Since the brand was able to make the launch of the Zero Movement a complete success, it was able to use it to gain media coverage for the new Zero brand. The objectives of the PR plan was met, therefore making the campaign a success.

CHAPTER THREE: Public Relations Theory

This week I will cover Chapter 3 of the course text, which delves into the history and development of public relations theory. To be honest, the sheer "dryness" of this chapter is making me not looking forward to typing this entry. However, as with any field, understanding the theory behind a practice is crucial in order for a practitioner to perform to the best of his/her ability.

Although it is easy to see the importance of practical applications of public relations and having real life or "hand-on" experience when it comes to managing PR, many tend to overlook the importance of having a solid theoretical foundation on the subject. When it comes to public relations practice, knowing the theory behind the practice can be helpful for a practitioner in the sense that it enables him/her to better apply his/her skills in predicting, handling and ultimately solving a situation or crisis.

SYSTEMS THEORY

Image source: http://www.mapsharing.org/MS-maps/map-pages-space-map/images-solar-system/6-solar-system-map.jpg

The first step to understanding PR theory is to comprehend the concept of systems. A system is a set of items that affect one another and are connected in an environment to form a single unique, working body - much like our solar system. The Sun influences the orbits of Earth and other planets. The Earth influences the Moon's orbit around it. The Moon causes high and low tides on Earth's oceans and so on.

In organizations, concepts like cybernetics (regulation and control within systems), requisite variety (when individuals in an organizations have different points of view) and boundary spanning (relating the system/organization to the outside world) are all integrated into the system of the company.

COMMUNICATION THEORY

Image source: http://www.savagechickens.com/images/chickencommunication.jpg

The next concept that we need to understand would be the communication theories. We covered this concept in one of our communication modules last semester. The communication theories that apply to public relations comprise of models like Shannon and Weaver's transmission model, media effect models and persuasion theories.

PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY

Image source: http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2010-03-01-quiet_please_public_relations_person_at_work_tshirtp235129109376369567qmr8_400.jpg

Next comes the understanding of various theories of public relations which have been developed over the centuries. Two examples of such theories would be the Excellence Theory and Grunig and Hunt's four models.

Excellence Theory

This theory claims that companies with successful public relations posses the following qualities:

- participative organizational cultures

- symmetrical system of internal communications

- organic organizational structures

- equalizing minority voices

- high employee job satisfaction

Grunig and Hunt's Four Models

Press agentry

- one-way communication

- much like the publicity model of communication

- the truth is often stretched

Public information

- one-way communication

- purpose is to inform, not advertise

Two-way asymmetric

- use of scientific information to influence

- information on audience expectation is used to develop material

Two-way symmetric

- ideal form of public relations

- aims to establish mutual understanding between organization and public

RHETORICAL AND INTERPRETIVE PERSPECTIVES

Image source: http://www.japan-talk.com/images/jt/culture-clash1851412635847743091.jpeg

Rhetorical studies focus on meaning, the creation of meaning, examining individual and organizational discourse as well as corporate rhetoric. Cultural Theory comes into play here. Culture, according to Schein (1992), has three aspects - basic assumptions, values and artefacts. A public relations practitioner who is able to understand and appreciate the meanings of these cultural aspects would be able to better manage the public relations of an organization.

In conclusion, the integration of all the major elements above gives a more complete picture of what public relations theory is all about. Of course, each element is a vast and detailed field of study on its own. What I have listed above is merely a summary of the factors that constitute the theoretical context of public relations as a whole.

CHAPTER TWO: Trends & Developments

Image source: http://www.blahdblah.com/blahdblah/images/feature_pr.jpg

I've managed to cover the first chapter of the textbook readings for the week. In a nutshell, my readings have helped me to better understand the concept of public relations and the history and reasons behind it. A brief history of PR was also made known to me.

One of the more interesting aspects of this chapter that caught my attention was the different views and perspectives on public relations from different parts of the globe. Three of the main schools of thought that were presented in the text were the US perspective, the UK perspective and the Asian perspective.

From what I understand, one of the main reasons for the existence of these varying interpretations of PR stems from the fact that public relations is based on existing social values and ethics. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that different countries from different parts of the world have varying perspectives with regards to PR due to the vastly different cultures and customs that exist within these countries.

One lesson that can be derived from this fact is that having an appropriate PR strategy is of utmost importance. This strategy must be conducted based on the research and understanding of the culture in which an organization operates. A strategy that is formulated based on theory and definitions alone is unlikely to succeed. It is therefore the PR practitioner's duty to understand these customs and values that govern the thoughts and actions of the organization's target market and society in general.

------------------------------------

The topic discussed in this week's lecture and tutorial, however, drew more attention from me than the textbook readings did.

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

What an interesting concept.

This form of marketing is definitely something that I have been personally exposed to and yet, I was not ever really aware of its existence until now. This marketing concept revolves around creating positive and memorable consumer experiences. The "magic" happens when consumers consciously or even subconsciously relate these positive experiences to products or services offered by companies.

My personal opinion - this works much better than hard-selling, if one claims that hard-selling even works at all. Personally, I get turned off when a product keeps getting blatantly shoved in my face. As opposed to the product-focused methods of traditional marketing, experiential marketing focuses on the customer's emotions and I feel that this is a much more personal and soft approach to marketing a product - marketing with a "human touch", if you will.

The following website offers several case studies of a few brands that have made use of this marketing approach to reach their customers.

http://www.traffik.com.au/case-studies.html

CHAPTER ONE: Introduction To PR

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Even without us realising it, every one of us would have used some form of PR or public relations during the course of our daily lives. It can come in the form of telling someone she's pretty even when you feel otherwise - perhaps because you do not wish to hurt her feelings or for the fear of getting a punch in the nose. It may be in the form of crafting a valid reason for why you're late for school when in actual fact, you overslept. Or it could be that time when you sincerely apologised to someone after making a mistake and meaning every single word of it.

As you might have noticed, two out of the three everyday examples that I gave above are not exactly what some would call ethical.

Which brings me to one of the issues that was brought up during today's lesson - the question of public relations and ethics. I feel that ethics play an extremely important part of public relations. While it is true that one of the purposes of PR is to maintain and portray a positive image of an organisation, I feel that this objective should not overrule what is right and wrong. Of course, "right" and "wrong" in this case are defined by laws and the expectations of society itself.

This reminded me of something I studied in one of my previous courses, IRHR1001 - Managing the Organisation.

A certain viewpoint regarding ethics is that the only corporate-social responsibility of an organisation is to make profits. I believe that corporate-social responsibilities (CSR) is closely linked to PR when it comes to managing companies. Well, questions and debates like this are making me look forward to whatever we will be studying in the next few weeks. Public relations is indeed less dull than I had initially perceived.

In all honesty, getting my head off my beloved pillow on this cold and rainy morning was one of the hardest challenges I have ever faced in my entire life (okaaay, not really). Well, after today's rather interesting introduction, having to drag myself out of bed this morning suddenly didn't seem like such a bad thing anymore.