Just a thought...
I'm working at Parliament House today (being a sitting day) and I'm starting to gain somewhat of an understanding of how the practice of PR really infiltrates politics. As one of my co-workers said, "politics is all about PR!"
Everything (well, just about everything) that I've learned in class this semester has had practical application to what I do here. I guess I really appreciate studying PR and working in the field at the same time. In some aspects I think I've been thrown in the deep end, but the experience gained in line with study is invaluable to me, whether I end up in politics or not.
So here's my two very enthusiastic thumbs up for CMNS1290...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Blog Comment
To match a late blog comment with my late blog post on Strategy, Planning and Tactics etc, I have commented on Alexandra Norman's blog, found at http://cmns1290alexandranorman.blogspot.com/
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Blog Comment
This week I commented on Michaela's blog, found at http://cmns1290michaelavirgara.blogspot.com/
Ch. 7 & 8 - Strategy, Planning and Scheduling & Tactics
Ok, my bad but this blog post is a week late!! Sorry!! :-)
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Without a good strategy or plan, any event can easily fall in a heap, with staff not knowing exactly what they should be doing, things not happening on time or being forgotten about entirely, venues not being booked - the list could go on! Effective planning, strategising and ensuring an accurate timeline is adhered to is important to ensure the success of any PR event.
There are many different methods of planning, from Gantt charts to checklist - my guess is that planning/scheduling techniques would vary (maybe only slightly) from organisation to organisation, depending on what works best for them. I remember an old saying from school - spend as much time planning as you do outworking. I think this is still quite applicable to any PR campaign. Without adequate planning, there is an increase in the possibility of having to go into crisis-management. Or the entire event could fall in a complete heap!!
This chapter also highlights the necessity for budgeting - without budgeting spending can go out of control. A PR practitioner needs to understand how much money is allocated to each area - from staff wages to venue hire and catering. It is just as important to stay as close to the budget as possible, without letting one area or another "blow out". The text points out that most budgets include a 10% contigency allocation, allowing additional funds for possible "blow outs". Still, while at times these things are unavoidable, it's best to stick to what the allowance is if it's at all possible. A good way of avoiding this is to ensure you have made allowances for EVERYTHING your campaign requires.
It's important to differentiate between strategy and tactics - as the text describes, strategy is the "umbrella" and tactics are the methods used with a purpose of achieving the strategic outcome.
The text illustrates the difference between controlled and uncontrolled communication - controlled being something that a PR practitioner has complete control over every aspect - eg a printed brochure, whereas uncontrolled communication is more something like a media release, where the PR practitioner has no control over the ultimate outcome.
The selection of which tactic/s to use are important to reach your public/s effectively - from media relations (eg media releases) to printed items (eg brochures, fliers), annual reports, and newsletters. The MP I work for regularly uses media releases and newsletters particularly, but all tactics are selected according to what will help reach the desired outcome. This is where effective research can be helpful.
There are gazillions of other tactics covered in this chapter, from events to celebrity spokespeople, but ultimately the success of the campaign is dependent on selecting the right type of tactic to reach the desired outcome. As the conclusion points out - "success relies on the analytical and creative skills of the public relations practitioner to consider tactics in the light o fa complex range of impacting factors. First and foremost, tactics must relate back to strategy..."
----------------------------
Without a good strategy or plan, any event can easily fall in a heap, with staff not knowing exactly what they should be doing, things not happening on time or being forgotten about entirely, venues not being booked - the list could go on! Effective planning, strategising and ensuring an accurate timeline is adhered to is important to ensure the success of any PR event.
There are many different methods of planning, from Gantt charts to checklist - my guess is that planning/scheduling techniques would vary (maybe only slightly) from organisation to organisation, depending on what works best for them. I remember an old saying from school - spend as much time planning as you do outworking. I think this is still quite applicable to any PR campaign. Without adequate planning, there is an increase in the possibility of having to go into crisis-management. Or the entire event could fall in a complete heap!!
This chapter also highlights the necessity for budgeting - without budgeting spending can go out of control. A PR practitioner needs to understand how much money is allocated to each area - from staff wages to venue hire and catering. It is just as important to stay as close to the budget as possible, without letting one area or another "blow out". The text points out that most budgets include a 10% contigency allocation, allowing additional funds for possible "blow outs". Still, while at times these things are unavoidable, it's best to stick to what the allowance is if it's at all possible. A good way of avoiding this is to ensure you have made allowances for EVERYTHING your campaign requires.
It's important to differentiate between strategy and tactics - as the text describes, strategy is the "umbrella" and tactics are the methods used with a purpose of achieving the strategic outcome.
The text illustrates the difference between controlled and uncontrolled communication - controlled being something that a PR practitioner has complete control over every aspect - eg a printed brochure, whereas uncontrolled communication is more something like a media release, where the PR practitioner has no control over the ultimate outcome.
The selection of which tactic/s to use are important to reach your public/s effectively - from media relations (eg media releases) to printed items (eg brochures, fliers), annual reports, and newsletters. The MP I work for regularly uses media releases and newsletters particularly, but all tactics are selected according to what will help reach the desired outcome. This is where effective research can be helpful.
There are gazillions of other tactics covered in this chapter, from events to celebrity spokespeople, but ultimately the success of the campaign is dependent on selecting the right type of tactic to reach the desired outcome. As the conclusion points out - "success relies on the analytical and creative skills of the public relations practitioner to consider tactics in the light o fa complex range of impacting factors. First and foremost, tactics must relate back to strategy..."
Ch. 6 - Research & Evaluation
The importance of research in public relations is really highlighted in this chapter, but while research is a necessity, it's imperative that the right sort of research is conducted. To effectively understand the public you are attempting to reach, and to ensure the message that they receive is clear, research should be conducted.
Because research can be costly, despite it's long-term effectiveness in cost-reduction, it's important to ensure that you are conducting the right kind of research. The best way to ensure that the research is both effective and cost-wise, is to conduct research according to your specific goals and objectives.
While reading this chapter, I started to consider research in the politcal field, mainly because of the upcoming Federal election, and also because I work in this field. Intensive research is constantly being conducted, especially leading up to the election. For politicians/political parties, it's so important to be constantly in touch with their constituents and supporters, to be consistently researching and polling to stay in touch with what the public wants - after all, isn't that how they get the votes?
Interestingly, in my current job working for a local Member of Parliament, we've recently conducted an opinion survey regarding a hot issue that many constituents are concerned about. We conducted a bulk mail out of a survey, and within a day, surveys were being returned by the bucket-load (fun for us who had to sort them all!!!). But the results of the research have helped our MP to ascertain what his constituents want and believe, and to act accordingly. This is the evaluation part of the research, and is equally as important as the research itself. Without effective evaluation, the money and time we just spent conducting the survey, and the time and thoughts of the constituents, are useless.
This kind of research occurs regularly, along with other research (eg media), especially when a new Bill is being considered in parliament. But regardless of whether your PR role is in politics or for some major (or indeed minor) corporation, to get effective results, effective research must be done using effective methods.
Because research can be costly, despite it's long-term effectiveness in cost-reduction, it's important to ensure that you are conducting the right kind of research. The best way to ensure that the research is both effective and cost-wise, is to conduct research according to your specific goals and objectives.
While reading this chapter, I started to consider research in the politcal field, mainly because of the upcoming Federal election, and also because I work in this field. Intensive research is constantly being conducted, especially leading up to the election. For politicians/political parties, it's so important to be constantly in touch with their constituents and supporters, to be consistently researching and polling to stay in touch with what the public wants - after all, isn't that how they get the votes?
Interestingly, in my current job working for a local Member of Parliament, we've recently conducted an opinion survey regarding a hot issue that many constituents are concerned about. We conducted a bulk mail out of a survey, and within a day, surveys were being returned by the bucket-load (fun for us who had to sort them all!!!). But the results of the research have helped our MP to ascertain what his constituents want and believe, and to act accordingly. This is the evaluation part of the research, and is equally as important as the research itself. Without effective evaluation, the money and time we just spent conducting the survey, and the time and thoughts of the constituents, are useless.
This kind of research occurs regularly, along with other research (eg media), especially when a new Bill is being considered in parliament. But regardless of whether your PR role is in politics or for some major (or indeed minor) corporation, to get effective results, effective research must be done using effective methods.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Blog Comment
This week I commented on Alexandra Norman's blog, found at http://cmns1290alexandranorman.blogspot.com/
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Ch. 13 - Sponsorship & Event Management
By all appearances, the sponsorship/events arm of public relations practice seems quite big, and somewhat daunting considering everything that must be remembered, planned and accommodated for.
Interestingly, I didn't really realise that sponsorship can take different forms, depending on what works best for the sponsor and the organisation. I'm probably most familiar with sponsorship in the form of events and also celebrity sponsorship (like sporting stars that are sponsored by a clothing label) - Marketing sponsorship. I never figured that philanthropic sponsorship was actually sponsorship - I'd always thought of something like that more along the lines of donations... The sponsor doesn't really get anything tangible out of the deal, but their image may consequently be raised in the public eye.
If I was involved in events planning at the early stages, I would be really interested in seeing a sponsorship proposal being put together. How does the PR practitioner (or whoever has the job to write it!) know exactly what to put in there? How can it be best presented to the organisation to achieve the best result? The questions listed for consideration on pp.349-350 were well worth reading, and made me think how much time and research goes into preparation, let alone the time spent actually writing and perfecting the proposal. No surprise, though, when there are hours and hours poured into it, for it to only be skimmed over and fate decided within a few short minutes.
Events management is somewhat of an interest to me personally, so this chapter gave a really good overview of the different parts of events management, from the planning stages, the media coverage, generating revenue and *cringe* disaster aversion... (note to self - employ the use of risk management pp.363-364).
It was a great way to understand the process of planning an event, and it really got me thinking about how much work would have gone into the planning, preparation and outworking of all of the APEC events!! The sheer enormity of such a high-profile event would've meant quite probably years of planning.
Interestingly, I didn't really realise that sponsorship can take different forms, depending on what works best for the sponsor and the organisation. I'm probably most familiar with sponsorship in the form of events and also celebrity sponsorship (like sporting stars that are sponsored by a clothing label) - Marketing sponsorship. I never figured that philanthropic sponsorship was actually sponsorship - I'd always thought of something like that more along the lines of donations... The sponsor doesn't really get anything tangible out of the deal, but their image may consequently be raised in the public eye.
If I was involved in events planning at the early stages, I would be really interested in seeing a sponsorship proposal being put together. How does the PR practitioner (or whoever has the job to write it!) know exactly what to put in there? How can it be best presented to the organisation to achieve the best result? The questions listed for consideration on pp.349-350 were well worth reading, and made me think how much time and research goes into preparation, let alone the time spent actually writing and perfecting the proposal. No surprise, though, when there are hours and hours poured into it, for it to only be skimmed over and fate decided within a few short minutes.
Events management is somewhat of an interest to me personally, so this chapter gave a really good overview of the different parts of events management, from the planning stages, the media coverage, generating revenue and *cringe* disaster aversion... (note to self - employ the use of risk management pp.363-364).
It was a great way to understand the process of planning an event, and it really got me thinking about how much work would have gone into the planning, preparation and outworking of all of the APEC events!! The sheer enormity of such a high-profile event would've meant quite probably years of planning.
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