TOPIC ONE

INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC RELATIONS

Definitions of public relations:

1. Pr is a planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain good will and mutual
understanding between an organization and its publics.
2. Pr is a form of communication that involve creating understanding through knowledge
and effecting change in commercial, non-commercial, private and public sector
3. Pr refer to all forms of planned communication within and outside the organization for
the purpose of achieving specific objectives and common understanding

Pr distinguished with other related fields

How pr differ from advertising

Advertising is presenting through the most persuasive selling language to the right or respective
buyers of a product or service at the lowest possible cost.

• PR is not a form of advertising because it is much wider that advertising

• Pr relates to all communication of total organization while advertising is limited to
product or service being sold
• Pr is not free advertising because it is time consuming and time is money. Money can be
inform of staff salaries, equipment used in processing information etc.
• Advertising may not be used by all organization but every organization is involved in
public relation.\
• Pr involves everyone while advertising is limited to special buying tasks e.g promoting
goods and services.

Pr distinguished from marketing

Marketing is management function responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying

customer requirements profitably while pr is not profit oriented but aim at creation of awareness
through provision of information .

Pr distinguished from sales promotion.

Sales promotion consist s of short-term incentive schemes usually at point of sale in order to
facilitate more sales. it brings producer more closer to consumer due to closer contact than pr.

Pr distinguished from propaganda

Propaganda is a means of communication, which might be true or false, and its aim is gaining
support for an opinion. Propaganda might be biased, lacks evidence, full of self-praise, false
while PR information is based on facts, evidence, its unbiased, information is from reliable
source, information is true etc.

public relation distinguished from publicity

Publicity is opposite of secret meaning the information is known by the public i.e a bigger
number but public relation is wider than publicity because it involves everyone.

Public relation practices /application area.

1. Informing the citizens about the government policies, achievement and challenges
2. Institution communicates the services they offer to the public.
3. Promotional opportunity –to inform the public of changes in organization activities which
call for public relation to make wider publicity.
4. Competetion-pr is used to overcome resistance.
5. Catastrophe-Announcements of any unfavorable issues.
6. Controversy-To eliminate the contradicting conditions in between organization and the
public and create clarity of misleading information.
7. Pr is taught as a subject in institutions for higher learning to equip the students on healthy
interaction within and outside the workplace.

Role of public relation in sales and marketing

1. Pr helps in launching new products through advertising

2. Promotes good customer relation when dealing with customers
3. Promotes good corporate image when good things are said about the organization which
complements the success of sales and marketing.
4. Pr increase customer knowledge about the product through provision of product information
i.e place promotion, price etc
5. Pr widens the product awareness because its wider than sales and marketing.

Reasons why propaganda is successful tool in pr

1. Message spreads quickly

2. Not costly because its free i.e you don’t hire people to pass the information

3.Message is flexible to adjust

4. Gains wide attention from the audience

Public relation department.

Internal or external pr department may be small or large depending on;

i. The size of the organization

 ii. The value placed on pr by management.
iii. Financial position of the organization
iv. The nature of the activities undertaken by organization
C.E.O

FINANCE AND PUBLIC HUMAN

RELATIONS RESOURCE
ADMINISTRATION
AND MANAGER
MANAGER
COMMUNICATION

- REPORTERS
- PHOTOGRAPHERS
- DESIGNERS

Public relations staff

The possible staffs in pr department include:

• pr manager
• assistant pr manager,
• photographers,
• print and publication officers etc.

Public relation manager

Refer to the chief executive officer who manages the company public relation.

Duties/responsibilities

i. To advice management on communication problems, solution and techniques.

ii. To inform the public on organization policies and activities
iii. To monitor outside opinions about the organization.
iv. To establish and maintain a good image of the organization.
v. To set targets or define objectives for pr operation
vi. To estimate the working hours and other resources that need to be coasted.
vii. Selecting the appropriate media to use while communicating with
customers/communicating organization activities.

Ways a pr manager can boost his/her success

i. PR manager must keep top management well briefed for interviews, speeches,
representing the organization in public occasion and updating them on day to day
changes.
ii. Pr manager should create external lines of communication in order to achieve feedback.
iii. Should be competent in order to carry work with high efficiency.
iv. Setting internal lines of communication so that information can be obtained at all times in
all sections of the organization.
v. Creating external lines of communication in order to diversify source of information.

Pr department activities

1. Handling pr sponsorship.
2. Training pr staffs in order to promote competence.
3. Representing the company in external meetings.
4. Arranging press, radio and television interviews in order to communicate organization
activities or achievements.
5. Maintaining media information service through maintaining healthy relationship with key
media personnel.
6. Analyzing pr feedback and matching them with the set objectives.

Activities of public relations

1. Publicity-

Placing newsworthy study when an issue comes up to sensitize people about the
products and services.

2. Opinion research

Doing a perspective study when an issue comes up is of permanent importance in PR,

Issues management e.g. opinion polls

3. Events management

Conceptualization and organization of events that are towards promotion products

and services of the org so as to attract attention from the public is carried out by pr
department. Event should be good and big to catch people’s attention
4. Fund raising

Not just about attraction financiers but is also about attraction personal and person
for organization can be in kind or in cash

5. Lobbying

The petitioning of government to enact policies that are supportive to organization

To day it means petitioning significant individuals of cooperate organizations for
their support based on their images of organizations.

6. Public affairs

Involves doing political, educational and civil services functions to support

communities. Based on the premise that we all need public legitimacy /approval to
gain community as strategic partners in business e.g. corporate social responsibility
(CSR)

7. Sponsorship
PR can identify, screen, evaluate and make recommendations for grants

8. Management counseling
PR department advise management on critical issues that affect an organization.

9. Institutional advertising

Difference or product or services advertising. Aimed @creating advertising about

the organization among the target publics.

It is the duty of pr to create and take adverts to the media so as to sell ideas and
building images of organization

10. Investor relation

Aimed at building and maintaining relationship between organization and its share
holders as well as other financially significant orgs, within the community of
operation.

Purpose is to maxims market value of shares

There’s a co-relation between good image of organization and their shares

 11. Creating the voice of the organization

Done through speech writing whereby in the speech you, place things that advertise
or promote the organization

12. Creation of audio visual materials for the organization

DVDs, videos, publications e.g. mugs and news for the organizations

13. Management cancelling

Advice the management on critical issues that influence or affect the organization

Advantages of pr manager within organization (in-house pr manager).

i. Pr manager is more familiar with the organization than the pr manager from consultancy
firm
ii. pr manager can easily establish lines of communication inside the organization hence
getting reliable information.
iii. Pr manager is in a better position to give management day to day advice.
iv. The pr manager is readily available hence can make quick decision in case of emergency
v. The manager may be able to consult from other organizations at a free cost.
vi. It promotes corporate identity of the organization.

Disadvantages

i. PR manager may be so close to organization workers hence portraying discrimination and

being biased in decision making.
ii. In small and disorganized organizations, PR manager may lack job specification hence
making it hard to achieve required tusks.
iii. PR manager may lack sufficient executive status to enjoy the respect of management e.g
if his /her subordinates have higher education level than him /her.
iv. If the PR manager is not properly trained and qualified, he /she could contribute to
downfall of organization.
v. May lack skilled personnel’s within the department and limited work experience due to
lack of exposure in various activities.

Characteristics of personal public relations

• Public relation starts at an individual level. There are various characteristics that
describe personal public relation.
1. They care about what others think of them.
2. They actively seek to gain approval.
 3. They actively create conditions that will motivate others to help him.
4. They actively eliminate obstacles.
5. People practice public relations unconsciously.
6. Everybody would want others to look at them positively and this is known as personal
relations PR.
Personal PR – Building individual image and reputation which is important in their career.

Qualities of PR people
• Ability to get along with all kinds of people
• Ability to communicate effectively
- Talk to everyone Ability to organize
- Good public relation should be able to co-ordinate activities and other people in
given sector
- In any institution, a public relation practitioner interact with both internal and
external publics hence is called upon to co-ordinate these two terms of the publics
for the well being of an organization.
• Imagination/creativity
- A public relation practitioner should think and act creatively e.g. in the event of
crisis in an organization. He should come up with creative strategies to manage the
situation before the organization image is tainted. Should have personal
integrity and honesty
- Since he/she is the point person for the media in any given organization, he/she has
the responsibility of exhibiting high level of integrity and honesty Ability to
find out/to seek knowledge Organizational PR

- Created to serve people-Organizations need good image for co-operative

organizations.

Challenges faced by in-house PR departments

- -Trying to balance business & PR Activities

- They are often understaffed
- They lack clear Job descriptions
- There is lack of role differentiation
- The perception that PR practitioners are not professional
- Blame game for all manner of public negativity
- Conflict between PR practitioners and internal policies
 Evolution of Public Relations.

There are a number of era’s that explain the evolution of PR, there are: American model of PR
1. Ancient genesis Era
2. Adversity Era
3. Middle Era
4. Maturity Era
5. Sea-bed Era
6. World war 1 Era
 7. Booming 20’s
8. Roosevelt Era
9. Post war boom Era
10.Global digital information Era.
Ancient Era
- Can be traced in the first social groups in human society-Adam and Eve. In chapter 2
and
3 of Genesis in the Bible “Let us make man in our own image”. In the spirit of caring
what others think and feel, God made man and woman.

- The world kingdom also has many good examples of the origin of PR.
- When we study early civilization of mankind, we find, in Iraq, archeologists found the
cuneiform tablets which were stone in nature but on them were etched certain writings.
- Analysis indicates that the tablets date back to 18BC and there is evidence that the
Iraqis used them to farmers on ploughing, sow, irrigate, harvest and store food.
- India also used PR as a key task for their spies. These were supposed to keep the kings
well informed. They were also meant to spread rumors, favorable to the government as
well as defending the king in public.
- The Greek wrote on the importance of public will that rulers could only rule when given
legitimacy by members of the state or public.
- Through this, PR today is based on doing what the public wants.
- The Romans used ‘Vox populi’ ‘vox dei’ to mean the voice of the people is the voice of
God. Mechiavelli said, “Not without reason is the voice of people compared to the voice
of God”.
According to him, for anyone to succeed, they had to caress the voice of people if not
able to, change it or destroy it. i.e.
- The Lord’s chamber was the keeper of the king’s conscience.

- The Catholic started the Congregation Propagation of Faith in the 17th century as
propaganda machinery in the Roman Catholic Church at a time when they faced
difficulty. Such as when the era of the Papal supremacy was coming to an end.
- They formed it to evangelize in the face of Anglicanism.
- Instead of persuading, they started persecuting people and this is why propaganda
gained a negative commutation.

Adversity and Change.

-This is explained using the American model.

-Americans used to fair well even in the earliest times.

-They used PR to support the American Revolution and even in business.

-The whole concept of Americanization of the world is a well thought out PR process-The
American Dream.
-Americans have also used PR to nurture political change.

-Some of their well known publishers, journalists or publicists.

-The US revolution used PR to do the following:

a) Raise funds
b) Promote worthy courses e.g. building children’s homes
c) Boost commercial interests
d) Sell land
e) Build personalities
-Americans started expanding PR when they started staging promotions over the e.g. they sand
promoters to London to raise resources for development

E.g. Massachusetts, north of America, printed the first PR brochures and pamphlets in 1643
PR before US revolution
1. At this time they used publicity in raising funds
2. Promote worthy cases
3. Boost commercial interest
4. Sell land
5. Build personality
They sent promoters to London to raise money. In town of Massachusetts printed the first PR
brochures and pamphlets

During the US independent movement

They used PR to;

a) As a political tool
b) To gain political independence
c) To crystallize public opinions around important issues.
-Samuel Adams used PR to create an agenda for independence. He used to stage events, hold
demonstrations and write letters to the Queen of England demanding self governance for
Americans.

Politics and Change in America.

-In American history, political reforms activities and movements have always used PR to
advocate for change.

-Political and economic groups used PR to get public acceptance and legitimacy.
-Politicians and business people in America wanted the attention of publicists because through
publicity, people got to know their rights and got to understand the principle of People Power.

-Public presidential campaigns stated between 1820’s and 1830’s. E.g. President Andrew
Jackson.

-During that time, his advisor was a PR practitioner Andrew Kindle, a pollster and a journalist.

-US banks were the first institutions to use the PR to gain publicity e.g. Nicholas Biddle, who
was the head of the Bank of America, used PR extensively as CEO and later ran for
presidency, competing with Jackson. By doing this, he raised the image of PR.
The Middle Era
-This was marked by:

a) Press gentry
b) Political campaigning
c) Business practices
I. Press gentry. -The US government used the press to promote land and
settlements in the western parts of the US.

-Business organizations also used press agents to promote business.

-The pioneers of this era included an events promoter, a circus operator who used the media to
announce that he was coming to a certain town.

II. Political campaigning

-PR has played fundamental roles in politics as seen in Lenin or Carl Max theories.

-PR pioneers mainly worked as political propagandists developing campaign methods

and techniques. They created and used pamphlets, posters, campaign trains or buses, etc -
Some of the factors that promoted these are:

Advances in printing technology

Availability of cheap printing papers
High literacy levels
Educational centers were opened to teach people language proficiency which is a PR
program.
III. Business practices.
-The development of railway and road networks in the US influenced the development of PR in
the country.

-Mass production and mass media promoted PR practice.

-When economic grows, PR also grows.

-Mass production and mass media makes advertising possible and it employs the use of press
agencies.

Industrialization in America
-Industrialization too played a big role in PR development.

-The Rockefeller institution was formed during this time and was philanthropic institutions that
introduced ventures like sponsorships and give-away and its founder, Inveigle Rockefeller,
wrote down the declaration of principles for PR practitioners.

-He said that, “the only thing a campaign needs is a good communication program to achieve
its goals.

-He also laid out the principle of accuracy when he said that PR is based on truth and honesty.

Maturity era
Begun in 1900.

It is characterized by;

I. Seed-bed era
II. World war 1 era
III. Booming 20’s
IV. Roosevelt era
• Seed-bed Era
It was between 1901917. There were people who were against exploitation by corporate
organizations and robber barons (muckrakers)

They criticized the robber barons and forced to fight back

The robbers employed press agents to do publicity for them. This helped PR to grow

• World war 1 Era

Between 1917-1919

PR became offensive rather than impressive

President Woodrow Wilson established a committee for public information.

CPI mobilized people in supporting of the war.

George Creel was the head of CPI. He mobilizes public opinion through public education.

American were divided over war and had to be mobilized to support war machinery.

• Booming 20’s Era.

Between 1930-1945

PR spreading quickly to government, school, churches and labor movements

Many PR firms were set up in this Era

Edward Bernays played a key role in this era. He was a press agent and worked for CPI. He
wrote the Pr book called crystallizing PR option in 1923.

• Roosevelt era and world war II Between 1930-1945

- Came after the great depression. Roosevelt needed to inspire Americans to work. He
used radio. He won public support because of his policies. He talked to them directly -
He influenced people to use PR.
- He created the office of war information.
- He introduced PR in armed forces.
- The PR department was used to keep public aware of the events in the war front
• Post war boom Between 1945-1965

- In this Era Pr has the ability

- Increase civilian support
- Motivate war production
- Create ways of using communication channels
- Approximately 75, 000 people trained in PR in US
- More PR programs, firms, organization, institution came up during development
• Global digital information era
• Internet has become a major pr tool e.g. face book and twitter
Review Questions
1. Trace the evolution of PR in the Ancient genesis Era
2. Trace the evolution of PR in the Adversity Era
3. Trace the evolution of PR in the Middle Era
4. Trace the evolution of PR in the Maturity Era
5. Trace the evolution of PR in the Sea-bed Era
6. Explain the evolution of PR in the Global digital information era

TOPIC TWO

HUMAN RELATION
Definitions of human relations:

1. Human relations is a discipline within resource management, which addresses

interpersonal behavior within the workplace.
2. It is study of group of people for improving interpersonal relationship among employees
and their public at large.

Components of human relations

1. worker/manpower
2. work itself
3. employer
4. working environment

Essentials of human relations

1. Teamwork/group dynamics/collective efforts

2. Proper leadership
3. Effective communication
4. Development of favorable working conditions
5. Common interest
6. Workers participation
7. Equity
8. Self-respect

Managing difficult people in an organization.

Involves ways which facilitate togetherness in entire organization including those who are
rebellious.

1. Involving them in decision making process so that their opinion could be debated also.

2. Assigning them leadership tusks in area of work though depending on qualification.

3. Outlining organization core mission and vision which acts as their guiding principle in their
work.

4. Involving them in personal dialogue with their seniors so as to identify their problem and
solution.

5. Punishing the wrong doers depending on organization activity though a rare case but a
common means is use of apology.

Objectives of good human relation.

1. Satisfying employee needs as well as organizational objectives.

 2. Promoting employee motivation and workplace morale through involving them in
decision making and effective communication.
3. To strengthen and appreciate human effort by providing training and developments.
4. Promoting job satisfaction through provision of good working condition, fair wages and
salary, good communication etc
5. To promote togetherness and easy achievement of organization goals in addition to
minimal supervision.
6. To provide fair and acceptable leadership.
7. To facilitate easy conflict resolution within the organization and the customers which
promotes good image of the organization to the public.

Challenges facing human relation.

1. Globalization-increasing international competition is changing the way organization do their

work hence a challenge to employers to update to the changes which may be expensive.

2. Unemployment-due to adoption to changes in technology e.g use of ATM, Computers etc.

3. Innovation is hindered due to use of machines.

4. Inadequate resources hence making it hard to satisfy employee requirements.

5. Stiff competition from their rivals.

Improvement of human relations

1. Creation of conducive working environment and pleasing sorroundings

2. Provide abundant opportunities for personal advancement through promotion and growth
through training and development programmmes and various methods of job satisfaction.
3. Give personal attention to the problems of your employees
4. Establish, implement and utilise proper machinery for speedy redressal of grievances of
employees.
5. Launch a planned communication system
6. Provide an enlightened leadership
7. Create a democratic and permissive climate in an organization.
8. Managers should influence others and win their confidence, should cultivate qualities
such as honesty, loyalty, tolerance, firmness, fairness, integrity, truthfulness etc.
 TOPIC THREE

ROLE OF PR IN AN ORGANIZATION

Public relations process

Public relations works best when it is a strategic management function. Strategic public relations
is focused on achieving goals and objectives that contribute to the overall purpose and mission of
an organization. To be strategic, public relations practitioners need accurate information about
the situations they face, the audiences they communicate with, effectiveness of their
communication efforts, and the overall impact the program has on building and maintaining
relationships with critical stakeholders, without whom the organization could not fulfill its
purpose. Public relations practitioners may be tempted to start with tactics—such as press
releases, a blog, an event, and so on—but these first should be determined by research, to help
inform the overall goals and strategies of the function, otherwise they may be wasted efforts.

This process is primarily composed of four steps: using research to define the problem or
situation, developing objectives and strategies that address the situation, implementing the
strategies, and then measuring the results of the public relations efforts. Sometimes acronyms,
such as John Marston’s RACE (research, action planning, communication, evaluation)

Although it is easier to remember such acronyms, the four steps are essentially the following:

1. Use research to analyze the situation facing the organization and to accurately define the
problem or opportunity in such a way that the public relations efforts can successfully
address the cause of the issue and not just its symptoms.
2. Develop a strategic action plan that addresses the issue that was analyzed in the first step.
This includes having an overall goal, measurable objectives, clearly identified publics,
targeted strategies, and effective tactics.
3. Execute the plan with communication tools and tasks that contribute to reaching the
objectives.
4. Measure whether you were successful in meeting the goals using evaluation tools.

Step 1: Formative Research to Analyze the Situation

The first step in the process is analyzing the problem or opportunity. This involves research,
either formal or informal, to gather information that best describes what is going on. Research
used to understand the situation and help formulate strategies is called formative research.

For example, a natural gas company may be considering the route for a new pipeline. It must
conduct research to understand what possible obstacles it might face. Are there any
environmentally protected or sensitive regions in the area? Are there strongly organized
neighborhood groups that might oppose the project? What is the overall public support for
natural gas and transportation pipelines?.

Using a SWOT Analysis

A very popular tool for analyzing situations is the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
threats) analysis. This breaks down a situation by looking at the internal and external factors that
might be contributing to the situation before developing strategies. The internal factors are
the Strengths and Weaknesses of the organization. The external factors are
the Opportunities and Threats existing in the organization’s environment

SWOT Analysis
The first step is to look internally at the strengths and weakness of the organization. For
example, the energy company may find that it has very strong relationships with members of the
media, has good employee morale, is financially sound, and has a culture that values innovation.
It may also find that it has weak relationships with environmental groups and neighborhood
associations, has a culture that promotes confidence in its decisions and has dedicated few
resources in the past toward community relations. This information helps inform the possible
strategies it needs to take regarding the construction of a new pipeline.

The external factors, opportunities and threats, are usually the reasons the organization finds
itself in the situation. In the case of the energy company, it sees an opportunity to drill into a new
methane gas deposit and provide that energy to its clients. To the energy company, this appears
to be a win-win situation because it can continue to provide energy to meet the demand of its
consumers. However, it also needs to assess the possible threats, which include probable legal
actions from opposition groups that could lead to court injunctions. Other threats might include
negative coverage of the project by the media, leading to a damaged reputation and lower public
support for the project.

After conducting the SWOT analysis, you can couple the internal factors with the external
factors to suggest possible strategies.

• SO strategies focus on using organizational strengths to capitalize on the external

opportunities.
• ST strategies also use organizational strengths to counter external threats.
• WO strategies address and improve organizational weaknesses to be better prepared to
take advantage of external opportunities.
• WT strategies attempt to correct organizational weaknesses to defend against external
threats.

Step 2: Strategic Action Planning

The strategic plan should be focused on resolving or capitalizing on the situation identified in the
problem/opportunity statement. It begins by flipping the problem/opportunity statement into
a goal. In the case of the energy company, the goal might be the following: “To use
communication and actions that improve relationships with key members of the community in
order to successfully complete a pipeline that delivers newly found methane gas to customers.”
Notice that there is room for change with the pipeline plans in this goal statement. The end goal
is to build a pipeline, and in order to achieve this the company may need to make adjustments to
the routes or construction of the pipeline. Care should be taken not to write goals that suggest
that the public will do something you want them to do. Because publics cannot actually be
controlled, it might set up the organization for failure. Instead, focus should be on what can be
done to achieve the goal, such as communicate and act in such a way that earns the consent or
endorsement of these publics.

The goal provides the direction for the strategic plan and objectives provide the direction of
specific and measurable outcomes necessary to meet the goal. A good objective meets the
following criteria:

• End and not means to an end. An objective should be an outcome that contributes to
the goal. There are three possible outcomes for these objectives: cognitive (awareness,
understanding, remembering), attitudinal (create attitudes, reinforce positive attitudes,
change negative attitudes), and behavior (create behaviors, reinforce positive behaviors,
change negative behaviors). messages in influential media. These are actually strategies
and not objectives (more on this later).
• Measureable. Objectives also help hold public relations professionals accountable for
their efforts. Public relations should engage only in strategies and tactics that actually
contribute to larger organizational goals.
• Time frame. When will the objective be met? If there is no time frame specified, then it
cannot be accountable.
• Identify the public. It is a good idea to identify overall objectives before tying them to a
public. This helps to think about which publics are connected to the objective. However,
 to make an objective truly measurable it must identify a public, because different publics
will be at different levels of awareness, attitudes, and behaviors. The objectives should
advance overall business goals such as increase sales, increase share values, retain
employees, improve social responsibility, or reduce litigation. They should also be
written within the parameters of possible public relations outcomes. For example, this
might look like a good objective:

Tie Strategy to Objective

Too often public relations programs have been primarily tactical and have skipped the strategic
step of creating objectives. Public relations professionals are doers and often want to get to the
action first. However, too many tactics have been executed because of tradition (“We always
send out press releases”) than because of strategy. What makes public relations strategic is
having the action tied to the real needs of the organization. If you come up with a really clever
tactic but it does not help meet any objectives it should be seriously reconsidered. Far too many
resources often are wasted on creative tactics and fall short of addressing the needs of the issue.
At the same time, brainstorming on strategies may lead to a legitimate idea that was not
considered during the objectives phase, and it may require reevaluating the objectives. But if a
strategy cannot be tied to an essential outcome, then it should not be executed.

Segment Audiences

All groups within publics should be differentiated based on common characteristics such as
demographics, geographics, or psychographics. Demographics include variables such as gender,
income, level of education, and ethnicity. Females may be connected to the issue very differently
than males. College graduates may have different attitudes than high school
graduates. Geographics describe your public by their location. People living within a thousand
feet of a pipeline may have different attitudes toward energy companies than those who live a
mile or farther from those lines. Psychographics segment your audience based on their values
and lifestyles. People who are single, adventurous, drive fast cars, and spend a lot of their income
on entertainment may have very different opinions about seatbelts than people who have small
children, drive minivans, and invest most of their money on securities. It is important to segment
your key publics because it will help you identify their self-interests. (See Chapter 7 "Identifying
and Prioritizing Stakeholders and Publics" for more information on identifying and prioritizing
publics.)

Create Communication Based on Self-Interests

People pay more attention to communications that are tied to their values, needs, and goals. You
should ask yourself what your publics value and care about (based on research). Knowing the
demographic, geographic, and/or psychographic differences of key publics, you can create a
message that connects them to your program. For example, for young adventurous drivers you
may want to show how seatbelts allow them to have more fun by showing how someone on a
curvy road stays snug in the seat, whereas someone without a seatbelt is sliding around and has
less control. Meanwhile, a soccer mom would be more interested in seatbelt safety messages
geared toward children. Once the self-interests have been identified, a primary message can be
created that will give direction to the communication efforts. These can become slogans if they
are clever and effective enough. The “Click it or Ticket” campaign uses the threat of police
monitoring to encourage compliance. For the young adventurous drivers it might be more
effective to have a message from sports adventurists such as race car drivers or stunt drivers
explain how they rely on seatbelts.

Choose Communication Channels

The last element in the strategy is identifying the channel or medium through which you can
reach target publics. The channels can be mass media, such as newspapers or television or radio
programming. They can be transmitted by other mediated channels such as e-mail, blogs, or
Twitter. They can also be town hall meetings, mediated slide shows, and face-to-face
(interpersonal) communication. Sometimes the channel is a group of people, usually opinion
leaders, such as teachers, scientists, doctors, or other experts. For example, if we wanted to reach
parents in our seatbelt campaign, information kits could be sent to teachers to use in classrooms
with students. These materials could be designed to take home and complete with parents. The
messages found in these kits could be supported with billboards and radio public service
announcements, reaching parents while they are driving. Usually the target audience is reached
through multiple points of contact to reinforce the message.

Step 3: Communication Implementation

The best public relations programs include both communication and action. The old adage
“actions speak louder than words” is as true for public relations as it is for other business
disciplines. Sometimes an organization needs to act, or react, before it can communicate. For
example, if employees are not attending training seminars it might not be enough to try more
creative and persuasive messages. The seminars might need to be more relevant and interesting
for the employees providing something to communicate that might change behaviors.
Organizations should not only expect stakeholders to behave in ways that benefit the
organization; sometimes the organization needs to change its actions and behaviors to improve
these critical relationships.

Two additional components to the public relations process usually are developed during the
communication and action stage: the planning calendar and the budget.

Step 4: Evaluation

Four concerns should be addressed when evaluating the effectiveness of a public relations
campaign:

• Define your benchmark.

• Select a measurement tool.
• Analyze data, draw actionable conclusions, and make recommendations.
• Make changes and measure again.
If you have followed the steps in the public relations process then you have already identified
your audiences and established objectives for each.

Based on this evaluation, the tools that will best help measure against stated criteria are selected.
Generally, the same tools that helped establish the benchmark data are used. If primary research
was used to establish benchmarks then the same methods are repeated to evaluate success. If you
surveyed employees to establish awareness and attitude benchmarks, then a follow-up survey is
the obvious measurement tool.

Evaluation and measurement should not take place only at the end of your efforts. You should be
monitoring the media constantly to determine whether your message is available for people to
see. If the media strategy is not working, course corrections in the middle of the program are
required, not after the program has been completed.

Although sophisticated measures of communication output have been developed over the years,
it is still more critical to consider the outtake and outcomes of those messages. Getting the
communication into various channels, be they traditional or new media, is only the means to the
end of affecting attitudes, opinions, and behaviors. The outcomes need to be measured in order to
tie back to organizational goals and purposes.

To measure attitudes and opinions, the most popular tool remains the survey. Public opinion
polls and attitude surveys can be conducted and compared to benchmarks to determine whether
the messages and behaviors of an organization have had the intended effect. Intentions to behave
and preferences for purchasing can also be measured through surveys, providing some figures on
people’s inclinations.

Behaviors can also be measured against benchmarks. Increases in employee retention, increased
donations, and improved sales and investments could all be used to measure behaviors.
Benefits that an organization derives from effective public relations

1 . Credibility
Online consumer is more cautious today about spending money on products or services.
That’s why having a good credibility is vital to your business success. Consumers will give
more weight to your product or service when mentioned in media rather than to advertised
product or service. Various studies show that PR has 7 times more credibility than advertising
among online consumers. So you will need to have a good and solid PR campaign to excel in
the market.
2. Positive Image
PR helps you create a positive image for your company or organization which will help it in
future to succeed. PR is not about selling a product or service but creating a good and lasting
impact on your consumer’s mind who will come again and again to buy from you and increase
your profit.
3. Target Market
Defining a target market for your business is of paramount importance to succeed. With PR
campaign it becomes very much easy to place your product or service information easily
through media in that target region or market.
4. Enhances Media Relations
Having a good PR campaign also enhances your relations with different media outlets.
Creating editorial contacts, guest posts and press release helps your business widen its
relationships with media. Strong and good publicity plays a vital role in media relations.
5. Better Engagement with Communities
Successful PR campaign helps your business better engage with the local groups and
communities. Allocate and spend some funds on charitable causes which will prove useful for
that particular local community and that will helps in enhancing visibility and positioning of
the brand.
6. Is Cost-Effective by Nature
Although the cost of PR will depend on what types of services a company needs, it
typically comes at a lower cost than traditional marketing and advertising methods
7. Improved ties with the industry and government bodies
8. Makes it easier for an organization to attract and retain the right calibre of staff
9. Helps the organization to get press coverage when needed

Role of PR Practitioner
1. To maintain two-way communication channel
2. To improve an organization’s image
3. To establish and maintain a positive image of an organization
4. Maintain internal and external communication.
5. Enhance awareness of products and services.
6. Clarify issues especially where there are conflicts.
7. Media liaison with an organization
8. Control publics
9. Crisis management
10. Respond to public.

Attributes of effective PR practitioners

• Ability to get along with all kinds of people
• Ability to communicate effectively
- Talk to everyone
• Ability to organize
- Good public relation should be able to co-ordinate activities and other people in
given sector
- In any institution, a public relation practitioner interact with both internal and
external publics hence is called upon to co-ordinate these two terms of the publics
for the well being of an organization.
• Imagination/creativity
- A public relation practitioner should think and act creatively e.g. in the event of
crisis in an organization. He should come up with creative strategies to manage the
situation before the organization image is tainted.
• Should have personal integrity and honesty

- Since he/she is the point person for the media in any given organization, he/she has
the responsibility of exhibiting high level of integrity and honesty
• Ability to find out/to seek knowledge
• Ready to serve people
Public relation consultancy/agents

Refer to provision of technical, creative and specified services by reason of experience and
training and having legal corporate identity.

Advantages of seeking services from public relations consultancy firms

1. PRC are more equipped with pr tools compared to in-house pr department because they
perform variety of tusks
2. PRC have more experience because of handling different clients hence competence in work
performance.
3. PRC are not biased in decision making because they are independent from the
organization/customers they are serving.
4. External PRC are usually located at urban centers or central place hence are easily accessible
due to better social amenities in urban centres.
5. If the services by organization are not frequently seeked it is more cost effective to seek the
services from PRC than hiring a permanent in-house pr-manager.
6. It has specialized staff to handle certain tasks

Disadvantages

1. Their services are limited to amount payed.

2. PRC lack detailed knowledge concerning the organization in terms of procedures, systems
and rules.
3. PRC are not able to establish internal lines of communication hence their services may not be
perfect compared to in-house pr-manager.
4. PRC serve many clients hence have divided loyalties and not committed to specific
organization.
5. PRC are not in a position to make quick decision in case of an emergency.

Factors to consider while selecting a consultancy firm to seek the services from.

1. Cost-one should select the most cost effective consultancy firm depending on financial
position of the organization.
2. Competative advantage- One should consider if the consultancy firm are offering
something different from other consultants apart from the key services .e.g customer advice,
free packaging materials, free calendar etc
3. Tools and equipments-one should consider if the consultancy firm have all the necessary
requirements depending on the services being seeked.
4. job experience –must consider if they have competence personnel’s necessary depending on
service being seeked.
5. Availability-consider their working hours and number of staffs because it determine timely
accomplishment of tusks.
6. Consider if they are registered i.e legal entity or they are operating legally.

Determinants of consultancy fee

1. Time taken to carry pr activity.

2. The cost of materials to be used
3. Salary to workers
4. Administration cost e.g rent, water and electricity bills, regulatory requirements e.g business
permits, licence etc.
5. Economic situation in the country e,g inflation, deflation.

services provided by consultants.

1. Establishing channels of communication with the client’s publics

2. Management of communication
3. Marketing and sales promotion related activities.
 4. Advice on services related to political government or public affairs
5. Financial public relation
6. Personal and industrial relations
7. Recruitment training and higher or technical education
8. Announcements and briefing e.g advertisement.

Selecting a consultancy

By studying public relations year book

By reading adverts placed by consultancy on papers and press
By obtaining information from business, friends, editors, trained associates,

Two methods of selecting a consultancy:

a) Competitive method

-Can be costly for the consultant because it takes hours to investigate the clients needs.

-Involves planning a campaign for three or more firms so that they present themselves then
choose the best.

b) Selection method

-Best for both sides because it gives the consultant opportunities to move businesses and
therefore get recommended so as to provide a practical and satisfying service

Publics in public relation

-Publics are those group of people within and outside the organization whom the organization
communicate with.

-Diffent organizations have different publics depending on the activities they are undertaking.

-Public relation is creation of common understanding with the public’s.

-The most common publics that most organizations interact with include;

1. The community-They are the neighbors’ near where the organization is located. Its not a
must they be organization customers but they contribute to either success or failure of
 organization. Possible ways an organization can can promote good relation with its
community include ....
i. Provision of streetlight within organization area.
ii. construction of safe foot path
iii. Participating in community programmes like construction harambees, schools, roads,
hospital.
iv. Involving some of local community members in some of the organization jobs
though depending on their qualifications.
2. Employees- Refer to workers within the organization. Even for computerized organization
they can’t do without human labour.
3. Distributors-Refer to everyone concerned with bulk breaking, transferring the products near
the customers etc . Depending on size of organization and its activities it can either have
internal or external distributors or both.
4. Suppliers-Refer to one of publics that delivers necessary tools and equipment needed for
organizations operation at a cost. Each organization should ensure good relationship with its
suppliers in order to avoid unhealthy interruption of organization activities. This is done
through paying them on time, communicating to them of any changes that might affect them
etc.
5. Customers-Refer to the end-beneficiary of organization products and services. Organization
should relate well with its customers so as to retain them, attract new ones, satisfy their
desires and build good corporate identity. This facilitates maintaining them and not switching
to the competitors.
6. Government-Organizations or individuals should ensure healthy relationship with the
Government through complying with the legal requirements e.g offering quality services,
paying the tax, paying business permits etc.the Government can either be represented by
Local government, County government or national government
7. Financial institutions-Are institutions dealing with receiving deposits from their customers
and issuing the loans .The customers should maintain good relationship with the bank
through paying the loans on time.
8. Trade unions-Refer to employee associations/movements formed to fight for the rights of its
workers. They exerts a powerful influence on commercial, industrial and political bodies in
order to fight for better services for its workers.
9. Investors-Are people who mobilize savings and put money into working capital in relation
to organization activities.
10.

Importance of defining the publics

1. Its cost effective because the organization does not make unnecessary speeding targeting the
wrong audience.
2. It helps an organization to concentrate with its publics hence building a healthy relationship
with them
3. Reduces the risks especially while introducing/launching new products/services. The risks
can be in form of loss, resistance, unhealthy competition etc.
4. Facilitating building of long term relationship
5. To avoid wastage of resources i.e time and money.

Consequences of not defining the publics.

1. The results does not match with the set objectives because of targeting wrong publics.
2. Wastage of resources on wrong audience.
3. High resistance from the public especially when launching new products.
4. Same message can be repeated to the same group.
5. High possibility of losses due to targeting wrong audience.

NB the public’s customer’s changes depending on institution activities e.g in learning institutions
they are called students, in hospitals-patients, in transport-passengers etc.

Consequences of bad public relation.

1.Bad corporate image.

2.Low profits margins/huge losses

3.Resistance from either internal or external publics

4.Loss of customers to your competitors due to poor services or mistrust.

5.Unhealthy interruption of organization activities e.g due to delay in supply, lack of financial
services etc.

Ethics and functions of pr personnels

Ethics is code of acceptable behaviour that facilitate good relationship between an individual and
the general public(s)

Ethics facilitating building of long term relationship, buildingrespect, trust etc

General code of conduct expected from employer

1.Provide good working condition to employees.

2.Should encourage democratic leadership in order to minimize mis-understandings within the
organization.

3.Should be able to carry fair promotions without discrimination e.g based on work experience,
education level etc

4.Should be able to promote team work within organization hence working towards achieving
common goal.

5.Paying employees on time inorder to boost their work morale.

6.Carrying the outlined duties with high integrity i.e must be honest and transparent therefore not
engaging in corruption.

General code of conduct from pr staffs

1.Only correct information should be published or broadcasted based on evidence and from
reliable sources.

2.Thepersonnels carrying pr activities should ensure they meet legal requirements.

3.The information they pass should not injure reputation of onother person e.g giving wrong
information that might turnish personality of an individual.

4.They should not publish or disclose confidential information unless when authorized by law
e.g revealing source of intelligence information which may cause insecurity to them.

5.High reputation should be potrayed while carrying the duties in order to boost corporate image
of the organization they are working under ,gain public confidence and trust .

6.Should not misuse information regarding his/her employer for their own self benefit
financially or other gains.

7 Respect other employeesinorder to facilitate togetherness and team building inorder to work
towards achievement of common goal.

Types of group within the organization

Refer to possible interaction groups wihin the organization.They include

1.Formal groups

2.Informal groups

A..informal groups
Refer to eployees local arrangements within the work station for their own personal benefits and
indirectly little or no benefits to the organization.Example include Merry go round and Chamas
.They aim at

A. improving living standards of the members

B. Boosting their financial position
C. Improving their living standards through common pool of resources.
D. Educating the members on empowerment
E. Uniting the members through sharing common interest.

Characteristics of informal groups

a. Mostly its formed to benefit the members

b. Continuity of the group depends on the members.
c. Group objectives are very flexible in case of making adjustments
d. Leadership mostly depends on fame and majority likes and not education level.
e. Mostly they are not registered hence not recognized outside organisation.

B. formal groups

Refer to official groups which every employee within the organization should join e.g
organization welfare, employee Unions, Committee membership etc.

Characteristics of formal groups

a. The group has governing rules and regulation outlined in the constitution.
b. The group has specific objectives and deadlines which can only be adjusted upon agreement
by committee.
c. The group benefits is mostly to the organization in general and little benefits to individuals
d. They are registered hence recognized within and outside the organization
e. The group leaders have specific duties outlined to them
f. Continuity of the group does not depend on dismissal/retirement of a member
g. Leadership position depends on education level and experience.

Factors that influence an individual to join a group

a. Financial position of an individual (i.e employer or employee)-different groups have different
financial obligation to honour hence an individual should join depending on financial ability
b. Group objectives/benefits- different groups have different activities hence One should join
the group that best satisfy individual expectation.
c. Job position-An individual may be influenced by job position on the group to join because it
influences individual fitness in the group in terms of contributing suggestions, interacting
with other members, gaining respect etc
d. Education level-for formal organization education level contribute especially on leadership
where individuals may be appointed as a result of education level and
e. Size of the organization-well-paying organizations contributes to success of groups and vice
versa.

Benefits of both formal and informal groups.

1. There is individual empowerment e.g financially, skills, experience etc

2. Promotes unity through interactions, sharing common interest etc.
3. Promotes efficiency and productivity in workplace
4.

Disadvantages of formal and informal groups

a. Informal groups consume organization working hours yet they are of little or no benefits
to the organization.
b. Informal groups may bring division within the organization especially between members
and nonmembers.
c. Depending on their objectives, achievements and challenges they may affects corporate
image negatively.
d. Formal groups are of little benefits to the members

Financial losses to members due to mismanagement of funds by corrupt leaders

Ways formal and informal groups promotes human relation in an organization

a. Sharing of information hence promoting togetherness.

b. Promotes work morale because individuals are able to fit in the workplace.
c. Interactions among the members on social activities promotes healthy environment
within organization.
d. improving employee living standards which employer is not able to provide.
e. Facilitates togetherness which reduces resistance in leadership of organization core
duties.

Ways employers/managers contribute to conflicts within the organization.

a. Unfairness in job promotion e.g discrimination, corruption, tribalism etc

b. Poor working condition to employees like not supplying them with necessary equipment
that facilitate smooth operation of work, insecurity at work place etc
 c. Poor payment mode e.g late payments, low wages and salaries that does not compact with
the state of economy.
d. Pressure at work place e.g much restrictions, a lot of work, long working hours, denial of
leave etc.
e. Bad relationship with the employees e.g harassing them sexually, unhealthy
communication that shows no respect, not appreciating he work done by employees etc.

Ways employees can cope with work related problems

I. Increasing ones ability in performing duties and responsibilities through training inorder
to become more competent.

II. Through adhering to rules and regulations of the organization so as to avoid issues ue to
acting contrary to organization governing principles.
III. Improving on better communication skills and life skills which help one improve the
relationship with the management and co-workers.
IV. Through knowing the hierarchy of authority within the organization so as to know who to
address incase of an issue.
V. Performing the duties at high efficiency in order to avoid wastage of time and resources

Importance of involving employees in decision making

1) It helps them also grow due to constant sharing of ideas with their senior management.
2) They are more closer to the customers than managers hence source of reliable
information.
3) Due to constant involvement employees feel they have a duty to make more research in
order to equip themselves with knowledge concerning the organization therefore
contributing to innovation.
4) Employees feel valued and appreciated when asked for an opinion by the boss which
makes them feel they are part of the organization which lower the late of job turnover.
5) It makes employees feel they have a duty of communicating anything they feel can affect
the organization negatively.

Reasons why most employees are not involved in decision making.

i. It is time consuming due to much consultations before drawing a conclusion in decision.

ii. When decision is made based on employees’ opinion it may contribute to loss of control
in leadership i.e it undermines top management if their opinions does not go through.
iii. If employee opinion that was agreed upon leads to bad outcome the blame goes to the
employer/manager hence the need to avoid them.
 iv. Loss of control due to unclear source of instruction and decision.
v.

Sponsorship

It is the act of providing financial and material support for worthy projects or any beneficiary
undertakings. A company can support a certain programme in aim of marketing its products or
services as well as creating awareness of their existence. Sponsorship can be made to individuals
or group e.g educational bursary, sports, trade exhibition etc. Even benefits to individuals is an
indirect benefits to the public because they finally give services to the general public e.g
.teachers, police or any public servant in general.

Reasons for sponsoring and benefits of sponsoring.

1. 1.It promotes peace and unity through interactions e.g sports

2. It creates employment opportunity.
3. It advances interest of some activities e.g sports due to the benefits the participants get.
4. Provide educational opportunities to the less fortunate in the community e.g Equity wings
to fly.
5. It facilitates undertakings of events which are very expensive.
6. To advertise the company/organization-The advert is made through displaying the
company name and product within the area where sponsored event is taking place e.g
through hanging banners and posters.
7. To assist the marketing policy-when a sponsor gives financial support to something that
interest potential customers and the company, it brings greater impact on marketing by
them complementing marketing objectives.
8. To show a sense of social responsibility-Through giving support it shows the degree of
concern to wellbeing of community and nation at large hence good citizenship that
promote growth of the nation.
9. TO create good corporate image, respect and good will.
10. Creating awareness of organization and its products.

Considerations before sponsoring.

Before giving financial or material support a sponsor should:

i. Be certain of the objectives that one wants to achieve after sponsoring e.g increase in
sales, creating awareness, promoting corporate image etc
ii. Choose the best area of sponsorship which best satisfies the set objectives.
iii. Be aware of total cost i.e the finances that will be used in sponsorship and the expected
benefits.
 iv. Ensure the programme being sponsored is legal and comply with the law.
v. Consider financial position of the organization in order to facilitate smooth operation.

Examples of commonly sponsored events

1. Sports-Most organizations sponsor sports because it attracts media coverage and have
high population of listeners and viewers which offers a good flat form for marketing.
2. Education-involves bursaries, scholarship and other education to those who are
financially challenged and facilitating further studies to best performers.
3. Charitable organizations-include financial aids to orphans and disabled to help meet their
basic needs and other necessities.
4. Awards-its motivational awards made to best performers e.g musicians, best performing
banks, athletes.
5. Local events-includes supporting local events that will bring growth and development in
community in addition to creating good relationship.
6. Trade show, agricultural show which aim at creating awareness of products and services
in the market, their dynamics, cost, etc

Assignment
1.Outline duties of a photographer in pr department.
2.Duties and responsibilities of a secretary.
3.Why is it that a sponsor should be a respected organization.

Media of pr activities

Media relation is relationship that company or organization develops with journalist while pr
extend the relationship behold media to general public. Media involves collective
communication outlets or tools that are used to store and deliver information to the public.

Press relation major role is to achieve maximum publication and broadcasting of pr

information in order to create knowledge and understandings.

How to achieve good press relation (i.e Things to observe in order to facilitate effectiveness of
message delivery)

i. Editorial policy-One should consider the media that is more common and attract
customers attention more e.g T.V, Radio etc which provide a platform of accessibility of
the message to a bigger population.
 ii. Circulation-One should know the extent of press circulation e.g regional, national or
international.
iii. Distribution Methods-Good press relation should be based on controlled circulation and
not free circulation in order to facilitate accessibility of information to many people.
iv. Copy date-In order to achieve good press relation one should consider the last date of
publication and the next in order to ensure proper timing on delivery of message e.g
Business letter, Magazines etc.
v. Readership profile-What type of people are you targeting in order to facilitate effective
designing of the message e.g the young, youth or the old.
vi. Healthy relationship with the target population and media personnel.

NB The above points are things that when observed facilitate effectiveness of message delivery.

News

Refer to information that is not always known to the public.News is not necessarily about current
events but anything which interest the readers.News release is a public relation article and not an
advertisement which gives information about organization products and services. Bad news
release is bad pr.

Ways of facilitating good presentation of news release.

a. News release should be set out in manual script not in business letter style.
b. The language used should be simple i.e avoid jargons which might hinder clarity of the
message.
c. The highlight should be eye catching in order to attract attention of either viewers or
listeners.
d. Should be brief and straight to the point i.e should be very summarized to safe time and
avoid boredom both to viewers and listeners .It is facilitated through use of short
paragraphs, short sentences and short words.
e. Most important information should be placed on top page and highlight in a more eye
catching colour

NB.While writing news release the subject should be stated in opening paragraphs which should
be a summary of the whole story and should be short and brief to avoid boredom.

Seven point formular (solaads) for new products/services.

S-Subject-What is the story about.

O-Organisation-What is the name of the organization.

L-Location-Where is the organization located.

A-Application-What are the uses, who are the users.

A-Advantages-What are the benefits of using the product or service.

D-Details-The size, colour, price.

S-Source-the origin of the product.

Importance of seven point formula.

1. It provides a checklist of data required before making news release.

2. It’s a guideline indicating the sequence of information so that the information is
presented in the same part of the story.
3. It provides a checklist to apply while composing the message in order to see whether any
vital information has been left.

NB It does not necessarily mean that the essay should have seven paragraphs but should ensure
that all the essential information is captured in order to facilitates clarity of the message.

Press events

Refer to special occasions organized by the media. The audience could be specialist individuals
depending on type of the occasion, the participating companies and the general public if the
event aim at addressing them. The TYPES of events include

1. Press conference-it’s a meeting of journalist who are assembled to receive

information which they discuss further. A press conference is a very simple
activity or events where the catering is not to the maximum but can only be soft-
drink because the event takes very short time.
2. Press reception-it is a more organized events that takes much longer time due to
variety of events e.g making speeches, demonstrations and presentations etc. The
event may take weeks or months to organize and implement. The same
information given in press conference is also given in press reception for further
discussion. The difference is that press conference is just an highlight while press
reception is more detailed.
3. Facility visit-involves field work activities by journalist. The event requires,
hospitality and overnight accommodation. It can be within or outside the country.
 Organizing press events

Refer to the preparation that need to be done in order to ensure effectiveness of prevents. It
includes

a) Planning the reception well in advance, selecting appropriate venue, date and time.The
venue should be easy to access by transport means, car packing facilities etc.
b) State the days programme on the invitation card in order to give the audience an highlight
of the days activities.
c) Send out the invitation card to the named persons on time in order to avoid major
absenteeism which might affect the organization success.
d) Ensure everything required during the event is supplied on time e.g video cassettes, video
recorders, speakers, microphones etc.
e) Identify the guests with badges so that they are easily differentiated from the general
public.

Requirements while handling media questions.

1. Confidence-one should show to the interviewers that you are sure of what you are saying
therefore interviewee should avoid words like J THINK…, IDONT KNOW…. Etc.One
should be able to give a satisfying answer
2. Ability to think and react to the questions instantly. This builds trust to the listeners that
the information is true.
3. Creativity-incase of something you are not sure of, one should be creative enough to give
a satisfying answer. e.g Come back after one week.
4. Friendly-one should not be hostile to interviewers no matter the situation one should be
as calm as possible.
5. Smooth and orderly response-the response should be a solution to the question asked.
This facilitates avoidance of time wastage, boredom to the audience and bad image to
interviewee.

Examples /types of media.

1. radio

Its audio means commonly used since its readily available and cheaper compared to television
programmes can be produced quickly and inexpensively and information is available even in
local languages. Radio has some limitations e.g the listeners may lack any idea of how the
product being advertised look like, problem of network in remote areas, radio music can cause
sound pollution.

2. television

Its electronic means of communicating that uses both audio and visual features.

Advantages

i. There is complete information about the product i.e both sound and the pictures.
ii. Its easily accessible in public areas e.g hotels
iii. Delivery of the message is more convincing to the customers.

Disadvantages

i. Production of t.v programme is time consuming compared to radio .

ii. Its expensive to buy .
iii. Problem of changes in technology
iv. Not easily accessible in rural areas without electricity.

3. Billboards

Refer to display of information which is most eye catching at strategic places e.g roundabout.

Advantages.

i. The information last for long.

ii. It's cheaper compared to television adverts
iii. Involves words and pictures hence effective delivery of message.

Disadvantages.

i. The information is limited to one area only.

ii. Threats from competing industries industries by destroying the billboards
iii. It accommodates less information.
iv. The passer-by may lack to pay attention to the information.

4. E-mail (electronic mail)

It’s a means by which one person can exchange message with other people over the internet
through use os computers or smartphones.

Advantages

i. E-Mail message can be sent to the recipient mailbox at any time at senders convenience.
ii. Its fast means of delivering the message.
 iii. E-mail information can be kept for long compared to information from phone calls.
iv. Records of e-mail message may be kept in electronic form therefore reducing filing
problems and administration cost.

Disadvantages.

i. Staffs may waste time on non-reproductive e-mails

ii. Sometimes information that is more urgent may fail to reach the recipient on time due to
delays as a result of internet problems.
iii. E-mails may not guarantee individual security on message due to challenge from internet
hackers.

5. Exhibitions
involves creating awareness through demonstrations, films, video shows, road shows etc.

Advantages.

i) Exhibitions are open to a large and sometimes different range of audience which provide
a platform to promote products and services to a large population.
ii) Being involved in exhibitions can provide one with opportunities to branch out to
business partnership and create customer database
iii) Quick feedback is received on general opinion about the product through interacting with
customers.

Disadvantages

Barriers to effectiveness of delivering pr message.

a. Wrong choice of medium-All media have their merits and demerits hence unsuitable
medium may fail to deliver the information appropriately.
b. Physical barriers-e.g poor roads, insecurity may hinder timely and efficiency of message
delivery.
c. Language barrier-It contributes to lack of common understanding between the sender and
recipient of message.
d. Psychological barriers-They results from social problems e.g attitude, resistance to
change, poor retention of message, closed mind etc hinder efficiency of message.

Solution

1. Choosing appropriate channels that will deliver information effectively.

2. Good relation with public which facilitate reduction of message resistance.
3. Communication should be well planned in order to reach the targeted audience.
4. Right choice of language in order to facilitates understanding i.e avoiding language.
 5. Avoiding negative pre-judgement of message.

TOPIC FOUR

PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH

Public relation research – is a branch of social science which uses scientific methods to collect
information about communication systems and relations in an organization.

Scientific methods used by the public relation practitioners to collect information

- Using published survey findings e.g. census

- Commission surveys
- Advertising media research
- Commissioning original/primary research
- Terminology

Importance of Research in Public Relations Management

Public relations professionals often find themselves in the position of having to convince
management to fund research, or to describe the importance of research as a crucial part of a
departmental or project budget. Research is an essential part of public relations management.
Here is a closer look at why scholars argued that conducting both formative and evaluative
research is vital in modern public relations management:
 • Research makes communication two-way by collecting information from publics
rather than one-way, which is a simple dissemination of information. Research allows us
to engage in dialogue with publics, understanding their beliefs and values, and working to
build understanding on their part of the internal workings and policies of the
organization. Scholars find that two-way communication is generally more effective than
one-way communication, especially in instances in which the organization is heavily
regulated by government or confronts a turbulent environment in the form of changing
industry trends or of activist groups.
• Research makes public relations activities strategic by ensuring that communication is
specifically targeted to publics who want, need, or care about the information. Without
conducting research, public relations is based on experience or instinct, neither of which
play large roles in strategic management. This type of research prevents us from wasting
money on communications that are not reaching intended publics or not doing the job that
we had designed them to do.
• Research allows us to show results, to measure impact, and to refocus our efforts based
on those numbers. For example, if an initiative is not working with a certain public we
can show that ineffectiveness statistically, and the communication can be redesigned or
eliminated. Thus, we can direct funds toward more successful elements of the public
relations initiative.
• To appreciate a situation and measure results. An evaluation of a research can be by
experience or observation and may not require scientific research while desk research can
include the interpretation of volume of tone and quality of media coverage which can be
stored.
• To know the satisfaction of consumers.
• To develop a device means of empowering the public relation that is in existence.
• To know the perceptional/esteemed quality of a product that consumed value.
• Relative employee satisfaction – knowing employees’ satisfaction
• Sport active innovation support.
• Public relation research is undertaken by an organization to bring back the image of an
organization tarnished by its customers and consumers.
• It is used by public relation practitioners in getting real or factual information about an
issue.
• It brings about mutual understanding between the organization and its publics
• To increase the production in the organization
• To change the behaviour and attitudes of the public
• Planning the strategies to meet the future shortfall

Without research, public relations would not be a true management function. It would not be
strategic or a part of executive strategic planning, but would regress to the days of simple press
agentry, following hunches and instinct to create publicity. As a true management function,
public relations uses research to identify issues and engage in problem solving, to prevent and
manage crises, to make organizations responsive and responsible to their publics, to create better
organizational policy, and to build and maintain long-term relationships with publics. A thorough
knowledge of research methods and extensive analyses of data also allow public relations
practitioners a seat in the dominant coalition and a way to illustrate the value and worth of their
activities. In this manner, research is the strategic foundation of modern public relations
management.

Purpose of PR Research

The purpose of research is to allow us to develop strategy in public relations in order to:

(a) conducts our campaigns with specific purpose and targeted goals,

(b) Operate as a part of the overall strategic management function in an organization

(c) Measure the effectiveness of public relations efforts.

By conducting research before we communicate, we revise our own thinking to include the
views of publics. We can segment those publics, tailor communications for unique publics, send
different messages to specifically targeted publics, and build relationships by communicating
with publics who have an interest in our message. This type of planning research is called
formative research because it helps us form our public relations campaign. Formative research is
conducted so that we can understand what publics know, believe, or value and what they need or
desire to know before we began communicating. Thereby, public relations does not waste effort
or money communicating with those that have no interest in our message.

Research also allows public relations professionals to show the impact made through their
communication efforts after a public relations campaign. This type of research is called
evaluation research. Using both forms of research in public relations allows us to communicate
strategically and to demonstrate our effectiveness. For example, formative research can be used
to determine the percentage of publics who are aware of the organization’s policy on an issue of
concern. Through the use of a survey, we might find that 17% of the target public is aware of the
policy. Strategically, the organization would like more members of that public to be aware of the
organization’s policy, so the public relations department communicates through various channels
sending targeted messages.

After a predetermined amount of time, a survey practically identical to the first one is conducted.
If public relations efforts were successful, the percentage of members of a public aware of the
organization’s policy should increase. That increase is directly attributable to the efforts of the
public relations campaign.

Techniques/methods of a public relation research

- The choice may depend on the kinds of information that is required, how much time
can be given to the project and how accessible the respondence is or how much
money is available and the degrees of accuracy that can be afforded. It may be found
desirable to carry out more than one form of research at one time some of the
available techniques are:
- Opinions attitude or shift survey – usually seeking yes/no and don’t know answers.
Often continues or at least repeated at regular intervals of the surveys seek to discover
what people know, think or believe to measure the changes or shifts in awareness,
opinions or believes.
- The consumer panel – a panel is a recruited group of respondents who serve more of
less permanently to answer questions or to test product. A panel may meet or be sent
questionnaires known as diaries to be visited regularly. A consumer panel research
usually releases sorted number of people buys what sort of goods they have in what
quantities and how often.
- Motivation – research by Dr. Dichter this motivation research seeks means of
techniques similar to those used in clinical and in intelligence testing to reveal hidden
motives instead of stated opinion or preference. The expression hidden persuades
refers to motivation research techniques and has nothing to do with public relation.
- Discussion groups – this is a much modified and less expensive form of motivation
research with members of a recruited group spontaneously answer questions set by a
leader.
- Proposal questionnaires
 The questionnaire is posted to the respondence and the return of the complete forms
wills cooperate perhaps because they are committed to the subject.
- Coupon survey – this is a questionnaire published in the press but it has the obvious
weakness that only those interest will bother to submit answers
- Use of telephones questionnaires – survey of distant or scattered respondence can be
conducted by pre-arranged telephone interviews.
- Dustbin check – another observation test usually on panel basis researchers not the
brands purchased as disclosed by discards containers, plastic sacks provided for
collection purpose.
- Pantry check – a sample of house which probably a recruited sample is visited by
researchers who in turn note the brand purchased or found in the cupboards
refrigerators, freezers etc.

Factors to consider when choosing the methods of public relation research

- Time
- Accessibility of respondents
- Degree of accuracy
- Kind of information/nature of information
- Finance/money

FORMS OF PR RESEARCH

Formal Research

Research in public relations can be formal or informal. Formal research normally takes place in
order to generate numbers and statistics that we can use to both target communications and
measure results. Formal research also is used to gain a deeper, qualitative understanding of the
issue of concern, to ascertain the range of consumer responses, and to elicit in-depth opinion
data. Formal research is planned research of a quantitative or qualitative nature, normally asking
specific questions about topics of concern for the organization. Formal research is both
formative, at the outset of a public relations initiative, and evaluative, to determine the degree of
change attributable to public relations activities.

Informal Research
Informal research is collected on an ongoing basis by most public relations managers, from
sources both inside and outside of their organizations. Informal research usually gathers
information and opinions through conversations. It consists of asking questions, talking to
members of publics or employees in the organization to find out their concerns, reading e-mails
from customers or comment cards, and other informal methods, such as scanning the news and
trade press. Informal research comes from the boundary spanning role of the public relations
professional, meaning that he or she maintains contacts with publics external to the organization,
and with internal publics. The public relations professional spends a great deal of time
communicating informally with these contacts, in an open exchange of ideas and concerns. This
is one way that public relations can keep abreast of changes in an industry, trends affecting the
competitive marketplace, issues of discontent among the publics, the values and activities of
activist groups, the innovations of competitors, and so on. Informal research methods are usually
nonnumerical and are not generalizable can be used to examine or revise organizational policy,
to craft messages in the phraseology of publics, to respond to trends in an industry, to include the
values or priorities of publics in new initiatives, and numerous other derivations.

8.3 Types of Research

Research in public relations management requires the use of specialized terminology. The term
primary research is used to designate when we collect unique data in normally proprietary
information, firsthand and specifically relevant to a certain client or campaign.Stacks (2002).
Primary research, because it is unique to your organization and research questions, is often the
most expensive type of data to collect. Secondary research refers to research that is normally a
part of public domain but is applicable to our client, organization, or industry, and can be used to
round out and support the conclusions drawn from our primary research.Stacks (2002); Stacks
and Michaelson (in press). Secondary research is normally accessed through the Internet or
available at libraries or from industry and trade associations. Reference books, encyclopedias,
and trade press publications provide a wealth of free or inexpensive secondary research.
Managers often use secondary research as an exploratory base from which to decide what type of
primary research needs to be conducted.

Quantitative Research

When we speak of research in public relations, we are normally referring to primary research,
such as public opinion studies based on surveys and polling.Surveys are synonymous with public
opinion polls, and are one example of quantitative research. Quantitative research is based on
statistical generalization. It allows us to make numerical observations such as “85% of Infiniti
owners say that they would purchase an Infiniti again.” Statistical observations allow us to know
exactly where we need to improve relationships with certain publics, and we can then measure
how much those relationships have ultimately improved (or degraded) at the end of a public
relations initiative. For example, a strategic report in public relations management for the
automobile maker Infiniti might include a statement such as “11% of new car buyers were
familiar with the G35 all-wheel-drive option 3 months ago, and after our campaign 28% of new
car buyers were familiar with this option, meaning that we created a 17% increase in awareness
among the new car buyer public.” Other data gathered might report on purchasing intentions,
important features of a new vehicle to that public, brand reputation variables, and so on.
Quantitative research allows us to have a before and after snapshot to compare the numbers in
each group, therefore allowing us to say how much change was evidenced as a result of public
relations’ efforts.

Methods of Quantitative Data Collection

• Internet-based surveys
• Telephone surveys
• Mail surveys
• Content analysis (usually of media coverage)
• Comment cards and feedback forms
• Warranty cards (usually demographic information on buyers)
• Frequent shopper program tracking (purchasing data)

In quantitative research, the entire public you wish to understand or make statements about is
called the population. The population might be women over 40, Democrats, Republicans,
purchasers of a competitor’s product, or any other group that you would like to study. From that
population, you would select a sample to actually contact with questions. Probability samples
can be randomly drawn from a list of the population, which gives you the strongest statistical
measures of generalizability. A random sample means that participants are drawn randomly and
have an equal chance of being selected. You know some variants in your population exists, but a
random sample should account for all opinions in that population. The larger the sample size
(number of respondents), the smaller the margin of error and the more confident the researcher
can be that the sample is an accurate reflection of the entire population.

There are also other sampling methods, known as nonprobability samples, that do not allow for
generalization but meet the requirement of the problem or project. A convenience sample, for
instance, is drawn from those who are convenient to study, such as having visitors to a shopping
mall fill out a survey. Another approach is a snowball sample in which the researcher asks
someone completing a survey to recommend the next potential respondent to complete the
survey. A purposive sample is when you seek out a certain group of people. These methods
allow no generalizability to the larger population, but they are often less expensive than random
sample methods and still may generate the type of data that answers your research question.

Quantitative research has the major strength of allowing you to understand who your publics are,
where they get their information, how many believe certain viewpoints, and which
communications create the strongest resonance with their beliefs. Demographic variables are
used to very specifically segment publics. Demographics are generally gender, education, race,
profession, geographic location, annual household income, political affiliation, religious
affiliation, and size of family or household. Once these data are collected, it is easy to spot trends
by cross-tabulating the data with opinion and attitude variables. Such cross-tabulations result in
very specific publics who can be targeted with future messages in the channels and the language
that they prefer. For example, in conducting public relations research for a health insurance
company, cross-tabulating data with survey demographics might yield a public who are White
males, are highly educated and professional, live in the southeastern United States, have an
annual household income above $125,000, usually vote conservatively and have some religious
beliefs, have an average household size of 3.8 people, and strongly agree with the following
message: “Health insurance should be an individual choice, not the responsibility of
government.” In that example, you would have identified a voting public to whom you could
reach out for support of individualized health insurance.

Segmenting publics in this manner is an everyday occurrence in public relations management.

Through their segmentation, public relations managers have an idea of who will support their
organization, who will oppose the organization, and what communications—messages and
values—resonate with each public. After using research to identify these groups, public relations
professionals can then build relationships with them in order to conduct informal research, better
understand their positions, and help to represent the values and desires of those publics in
organizational decision making and policy formation.

Qualitative Research

The second major kind of research method normally used in the public relations industry is
qualitative research. Qualitative research generates in-depth, “quality” information that allows
us to truly understand public opinion, but it is not statistically generalizable. (The following lists
qualitative research methods commonly employed in public relations.) Qualitative research is
enormously valuable because it allows us to truly learn the experience, values, and viewpoints of
our publics. It also provides ample quotes to use as evidence or illustration in our strategy
documents, and sometimes even results in slogans or fodder for use in public relations’
messages.
Qualitative research is particularly adept at answering questions from public relations
practitioners that began “How?” or “Why?” This form of research allows the researcher to ask
the participants to explain their rationale for decision making, belief systems, values, thought
processes, and so on. It allows researchers to explore complicated topics to understand the
meaning behind them and the meanings that participants ascribe to certain concepts. For
example, a researcher might ask a participant, “What does the concept of liberty mean to you?”
and get a detailed explanation. However, we would expect that explanation to vary among
participants, and different concepts might be associated with liberty when asking an American
versus a citizen of Iran or China. Such complex understandings are extremely helpful in
integrating the values and ideas of publics into organizational strategy, as well as in crafting
messages that resonate with those specific publics of different nationalities.

Methods of Qualitative Data Collection

• In-depth interviews
• Focus groups
• Case studies
• Participant observation
• Monitoring complaints by e-mail and letter

Public relations managers often use qualitative research to support quantitative findings.
Qualitative research can be designed to understand the views of specific publics and to have
them elaborate on beliefs or values that stood out in quantitative analyses. For example, if
quantitative research showed a strong agreement with the particular statement, that statement
could be read to focus group participants and ask them to agree or disagree with this statement
and explain their rationale and thought process behind that choice. In this manner, qualitative
researchers can understand complex reasoning and dilemmas in much greater detail than only
through results yielded by a survey.

Another reason to use qualitative research is that it can provide data that researchers did not
know they needed. For instance, a focus group may take an unexpected turn and the discussion
may yield statements that the researcher had not thought to include on a survey questionnaire.
Sometimes unknown information or unfamiliar perspectives arise through qualitative studies that
are ultimately extremely valuable to public relations’ understanding of the issues impacting
publics.

Qualitative research also allows for participants to speak for themselves rather than to use the
terminology provided by researchers. This benefit can often yield a greater understanding that
results in far more effective messages than when public relations practitioners attempt to
construct views of publics based on quantitative research alone. Using the representative
language of members of a certain public often allows public relations to build a more respectful
relationship with that public. For instance, animal rights activists often use the term “companion
animal” instead of the term “pet”—that information could be extremely important to
organizations such as Purina or to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Mixed Methods/Triangulation

Clearly, both quantitative and qualitative research have complementary and unique strengths.
These two research methodologies should be used in conjunction whenever possible in public
relations management so that both publics and issues can be fully understood. Using both of
these research methods together is called mixed method research, and scholars generally agree
that mixing methods yields the most reliable research results. It is best to combine as many
methods as is feasible to understand important issues. Combining multiple focus groups from
various cities with interviews of important leaders and a quantitative survey of publics is an
example of mixed method research because it includes both quantitative and qualitative
methodology. Using two or more methods of study is sometimes called triangulation, meaning
using multiple research methods to triangulate upon the underlying truth of how publics view an
issue.

Uses/ importance of public opinion research/survey

Public opinion can be defined as “the complex collection of opinions of many different people
and the sum of all their views.” Public opinion research is a way to measure the opinion of a
large population by studying a random sample of that population utilizing surveys, in-depth
interviews and focus group discussions.
Public opinion research is important because it:

• Identifies the information required to address organizational and service issues.

• Weighs public perception on a particular issue such as when politicians call to ask
voter opinions on local or national policies, or news agencies, such as CBS News and
The New York Times, call to ask citizens their reactions to recent news events, or
Government contractors call to ask households about access to healthcare or social
services.
• Reflects public concerns, beliefs, and values. What issues are people aware of? Which
of these issues do they think are most important?
• Helps determine where tax dollars are needed. Surveys provide feedback from a
community as to where funds should be allocated
 TOPIC FIVE

FORMULATING PUBLIC RELATION PLANS

Meaning of A PR Plan

A PR plan is: A document that outlines how you are going to interact with your audiences,
customers, and stakeholders for an ongoing period of time.
-Public relations planning is a process involving the outlaid objectives and how to achieve the
main objectives of an organization with the help of the public’s and the budget.

Reasons why we plan

- To se targets for public relation operations against which can be assessed.

- To estimates the working hours and other cost involved.
- To select priorities which will control the number and the timing to different
operations in the programme
- To decide the feasibility/goodness/usefulness of carrying out declared objectives
according to the viability of:
(i) Sufficient staff/the right caliber/group
(ii) Physical equipments e.g. office machines, cameras etc
(iii)Inadequate budget (funds/cost)

Process of formulating public relation plans

The six points for public relation planning model/contents/particulars

• Appreciation the situation

• Definition of objectives
• Definition of publics
• Selection of media and techniques
• Planning of a budget
• Assessment of results
1. Appreciation of the situation
a) Logical planning
- It is the key point of the exercise in understanding the situation i.e. asking the
following questions:
• Where are we now?
• What do people know/don’t know about the organization?
• What is their understanding?
- Before a public relation program can be devised or to be in use it is necessary to be
clear about the starting point, what image to the public have of our subjects? These
calls for intelligence/information if we make guesses or assumptions or act on instant
we should be wrong and the public relation program could be useless.
b) Public relation transfer process
• Negative situation
• Hostility
• Prejudice
• Apathy
 • Ignorance
- The public relation practioners aim is to convert the negative attitudes into positive
ones ultimately knowledge creates understanding about trying to make others think
we are wonderful.
c) Definition of terms
- Hostility – we must ask what extent does an enemy exist form does this enemy take?
And why does it exist.
- Prejudice – the cause of prejudice may be parental, educational, religious, social or
class influences environmental or just playing misunderstandings. At first they have
converted to acceptance of new ideas they become enthusiastic supporters and reject
the old ideas.
- Ignorance – this is a common condition in to their business world no one can know
and understand everything.
- Apathy – is the worst enemy of understanding. It can be as a result of selfishness,
laziness, lack of imagination or a result of the subject having been presented in an
interesting and convincing way. The secret of successful public relation information
is that it must be of interest and value to the recipient.
d) Investigating the situation
- To arrive at a helpful appreciation; investigation is required. This may be done by
observation or by a study of existing information and statistics where reliable
secondary information exist or primary research is necessary.
e) The problem solving
- When the situation is appreciated, it is possible to recognize the problem and to
recommend a solution. Public relation is often a problem solving business i.e. how
can we achieve better understanding of our products or organization e.g. recruitment
of staff may be hampered because of negative attitudes towards the employee or the
job.

Methods of appreciating the situation

• Use of opinion polls, attitude or image study

• Use of press cuttings, monitored broadcasting script
• Use of sales figures trends and sales reports indication
• State of competition and effects of imports
• Share pricing in the public company stock market opinion, divided and balance sheet
• Industrial relation situation e.g. strike and wage settlement
• Customer complaints; product performance and test reports
• Discussions with sales forces and distribution distributors
• Price and effects of price changers
• Economic and political situation (market forces)
 • Attitudes of opinion leaders
-
2. Definition of the objectives

From the discussions of leaders of the organization a list of objectives for a lost company may
include the following:

• To change the image of the company because the company has adopted activities to
improve the number of job applicants
• To tell the little known story of the company and gain credit achievement
• To make all company known and understood in new export market
• To prepare the stock market for a new share issued
• To improve the company community relation
• To gain public confidence after a disaster which has shown the company to be
insufficient?
• To educate installers, users, consumers about the product
• To strengthen the company against risks
• To establish new co-operate identity
• To support a sponsorship scheme

3. Defining the publics

This refers to the deciding exactly which public can be reached effectively within the limit of
the budget. This is important information for the choice of media. If the public’s are too
diverse some may have to be sacrificed e.g.
• Creditors
• Community
• Employees
• Suppliers
• Investors
• Distributors
• Opinion leaders
• Consumer and users
• Trade union
• The media

Reasons for defining publics

- To identify all groups of people related to a public relation programme

- To establish priorities within the scope of the budget and resources.
- It will assist to show social responsibility to the community
- To select the media and techniques
 - To prepare the message in an acceptable and effective form
- To meet the customers satisfaction

Results of not defining public

- The effort and funds will be scattered indiscriminately in the attempt to reach too
many publics
- The same message would be issued irrespective of its suitability for different groups
of people
- Work would not be timed to make the most cost effective use for working hours
materials and equipments
- Objectives if the public’s are not defined at all the objectives will not be achieved.
- The management would be dissatisfied with the lack of results and would be justified
in recording public relation as being intangible worse still a waste of money or the
public relation practitioners as being incompetence.

Factors to consider when defining the publics

- Products offered
- Objectives of the organization
- Strategies used
- Age differences
- Purchasing power

4. Selecting the media & techniques

- The media can be regarded as the means of communicating with public celebrities
and presenters may be included among opinion leaders

Range of public relation media

- Press – the national and regional newspaper consumer, trade technical professional
magazines year book etc
- Audio-visual – include the documentary films, slides, video tapes, video cassettes and
video discs.
- Radio – national, local and international broadcasting stations, KBC, Citizen,
Kameme, Kass FM, Inooro, Chamgei etc
- Television e.g. KBC, Citizen, CNN
- Exhibitions and trade fairs, special public relation exhibitions support public relation
in trade or public shows, overseas or locally
- Use of printed materials – include prints of all kinds e.g. newspapers, magazines,
periodicals etc.
- Sponsored book – this are produced either about the organizations subjects or
document itself.
 - Direct mails – include personal letters, by use of electronics or personal means e.g. a
letter through post office facsimile, email.
- Spoken words – public relation is not only to do with the mass media and personal
confrontation but it can also be done elsewhere.
5. Planning a Budget
- A public relation budget is a public relation programme that is used to outline the
objectives of an organization so that both the client and consultant know what is
going to be done and what will cost.

Reasons for budget

- To learn what sort of programme can be carried for a given sum of money.
- To learn what will cost to carryout public relation programme
- The budget provides a check list of tasks which have to be performed.
- The budget sets discipline for expenditure because it is necessary to spend planned so
as to control excessive expenditure.
- After the completion of the campaign results can be measured against the budget to
consider whether it is enough, too high or too much was spent and whether
individuals allocation correct.

Elements of a public relation budget/content

- Labour – this include the salaries of only public relation practitioners but also the role
of supporting staff e.g. accountants, messages, receptionist etc
- Office overheads – these are most fixed costs or rent rates, insurance lighting, air
conditioning, cleaning etc.
- The material – all physical items are included, tear such as lighting, air conditioning,
cleaning etc.
- Expenses – these are out of pocket expenses such as fair hotel bills, hospital bills etc

6. Assessment of results/ evaluation of results

- It has three points to consider:
i. These research techniques used to appreciate the situation can often be
repeated to evaluate the results.
ii. The method of evaluation the results should be decided at the planning stage
 iii. Because the scheme sets out objectives, they are declared targets against
which results can be tested.

There are two kinds of results

- Qualitative result – many results of the public relation activities will be of this kind
that is they will not be measured statistically but by experience and evidence
qualities.
- Quantitative results – these results might show for instance a percentage increase in
awareness, a reduced number.

Importance of pr plans

1. It permits the development of integrated effort that support organizational goals in a

positive manner rather than defensive
2. It prevents loss of time and employee confidence that would have resulted from reacting
too quickly to first symptoms of a problem
3. Advance planning helps PR practitioners to avoid having to react to damage already
done
4. Planning provides the opportunity to involve management from other areas of the
organization and to ensure their support and cooperation
5. Provides an opportunity to mobilize resources
6. Good PR is essential for effective branding-How strong is your company’s brand? Is it
well-defined, distinctive, and effective? If your branding isn’t as strong as you’d like it to
be, a good PR plan can help.
7. Having a PR plan in place will help you have access to media Opportunities- PR plan
can help you stay prepared to talk to journalists or news stations. When you make a long-
term PR plan, you’ll define the image you want your company to present to the
world.You’ll also come up with some general media interaction strategies that are in line
with your goals.
8. A solid PR plan frees you up to focus on running your company -Running a company
takes a lot of time, energy, and brainpower. You probably know firsthand how important
it is to delegate tasks to your trusted employees – as a company grows, there are just too
many jobs for any one person to do on their own. And if you have to spend a lot of your
time worrying about your branding, your content marketing, or anything else that PR
could handle, your long-term strategy and other important aspects of your business could
suffer. Your company depends on you, so don’t burn yourself out. Create a plan so that
your employees can help you manage public relations issues.
9. Your company will recover from mistakes or crisis faster if you have a PR plan -
Nobody likes to think that their company might make some kind of public mistake or be
involved in a controversy, but it happens. It’s no coincidence that the companies that
bounce back fastest are usually the ones with good PR plans. Your public image is
 fragile, and the better your company is at doing damage control, the less likely you are to
be hurt by a crisis.

Contents of pr plan

1. Research/situation analysis
You’ll establish the research and situation in the early weeks of a PR program, often during
the meetings prior to signing an agreement with a PR agency. Once you sign, your PR firm
should begin initial research. We recommend you allow room in your budget to hire an
outside research firm to complete more comprehensive research. Research should include
primary, secondary, formal, and informal research.

2. Objectives
Each PR plan should include one to five objectives. These objectives emerge from – and
align with – your company’s overall goals. (Note: Goals and objectives are not
interchangeable terms.) The best PR objectives include action verbs and answer the question
of what you want to accomplish with the PR program. We recommend S.M.A.R.T.
objectives:

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable or achievable
R = Results-oriented or relevant
T = Timely

3. Implementation
The implementation stage is where strategies, tactics, and activities come into play for a PR
plan. (Read: What’s the difference between a strategy and tactic? Hint: Most people misuse
these terms too.)

• Do the strategies, tactics, and activities address the objectives?

• How will each strategy uniquely reach and engage the target audiences?

• How might you expand and innovate those tactics and activities?

4. Evaluation
Don’t leave the evaluation of a PR plan until the end of the year or the end of a PR
campaign. Your PR firm should evaluate its PR plan with you on a regular basis –
perhaps quarterly – to ensure it’s on track. During these evaluations, you may decide that
one of the objectives is no longer a priority or that the firm already exceeded an
 objective, and you might need to expand on it or accomplish something else. Schedule
evaluation rhythms before approving your final PR plan.

TOPIC 6

IMPLEMENTING PUBLIC RELATIONS PLANS

Communication is public relation

What is communication? Communication is the sending and receiving of information and can be
one-on-one or between groups of people, and can be face-to-face or through communication
devices. Communication requires a sender, the person who initiates communication, to transfer
their thoughts or encode a message. This message is sent to the receiver, a person who receives
the message, and finally, the receiver must decode, or interpret the message. This sounds simple
enough but is more complicated.
Language involves symbols and signs and is distinct to the culture that speaks and writes in that
language. Effective communication requires a shared language and understanding of common
concepts. It's also important to bear in mind that a receiver may interpret what the sender puts
out differently than what the sender intended, and that this is less likely if the two share the same
culture and language.
Communication can be:
• Downward communication – it is communication from employers to employees.
• Upward communication – it is communication between employees to employers
• Sideway communication – it is communication between employees (same level)
- The effectiveness of internal public relation calls for a communication of candidate
management. Recognition of management on the value and important of employees
communication.
- A communication manager (public relation manager) who is not only skilled and
experienced but who is backed by modern technical resources.

Uses of communication in public relations

1) Explaining company policies and how management is managed. Employers are entitled
to know whether the company is worth working for, what level of security there is and if
there are prospects for advancement in either pay or position.
2) Explaining the annual report and accounts companies are nowadays expected to tell
employees about financial report/results because most employees expect their companies
to make profits.
3) Integrating staff flooring and accusation, bad employees relation situations may exist and
this is solved by good communication.
 4) Explaining new technology – many industries face great technological challenges i.e.
computerization therefore it calls for communication.
5) Registration when new laws affect an organization their meaning and implication should
be explained.
6) staff Safety should be instructed and reminded about safety precaution e.g. wearing of
special clothing, safety precautions and correct handling of dangerous machinery.

Media for communication in pr

• Social media
• Telephone
• Memorandums
• Journals
• Spoken word
• Mails

Crisis in Communication

Crisis occurs over strikes, fines, accidents, new legislation, scandals corruption, death, resigning.
It is therefore essential that any organization should be set up a crisis management team. This
term management comprises of:

• Managing director
• Workers manager
• Personnel
• Safety officer
• Personnel
• Public relation manger

There should be rehearsals and members of crisis management trained to handle media
interviews.

The team needs to be small to enable easy communication

Members of the team should have duties in case of absence

All time they should be able to be located by the central and contactable radio, page and mobile.

The first task of crisis management team is to identify and decide what should be done any of
crises the emergencies occur. There are two kinds of possible crisis;

a) Likely crises are those hazards associated with a partial organization

 b) Unlikely crisis (no less important ones) those are those least expected of a haled might
risk fire or food poisoning and guest but could not anticipate an earthquake of wary

Public presentation and communication skills

- Have good pronunciation

- Use clear and effective speech
- Check on your choice quality
- Have good breathing before you start your speech
- Take time when phrasing your answers

Presentation skills

- Invited audience can be made to be guest in private cinemas, business premises, hotel
or hired halls. This presentation provides exhibit. If audience like in scattered location
farmers can be given video performance in agriculture show by means of mobile
cinemas.

Crisis in communication

- The process of communication involves the communication of ideas. The idea should
be accurately implicated or reproduced in the receiver
- The purpose of all communication is to produce action, areas in the administrative
communication the purpose may not always to elicit action but also seeking
information or persuading others to a certain point.
- Communication may fail to elicit action nor seek information or persuade.
- A public relation department is set in an organization to assist in communication
within and to its publics.

Action in Public Relation

- Public relation is an interaction between persons in and out the organization. Public
relation enables individuals to relation with one another through sharing of ideas, and
information. Public relation concerns all organization and consists of all
communications with all people with whom an organization has contacts with
individuals also experience public relation because nobody can afford to live an
isolation life for our organization to be successful. We must relate with both internal
and external partners. The consequences of an organization are scheduling activities.
Public relation is an important aspect. All activities are coordinated by the public
relation department, we could set strategies and tactics and public relation
department.
Preparation for Crisis Action in Public Relation
Steps
1. Get the date for facts e.g. carryout research questionnaires
2. Analyze the data or facts
3. Define the possible alternatives solution i.e. what to do it will happen
4. Evaluate the alternative because you must give the best
5. Determine the best alternative
6. Implement practice on the best alternative
7. Monitor the process
8. Evaluate the whole process
9. Develop new alternatives

The ‘4 Models’ of public relations practice

Model Type of
Model Characteristics
Name Communication

Press agentry
• Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence audiences
&publicity
to behave as the organization desires
are • The press agentry invests no time in research and even less
synonymous One-way in the discussion of ethics. The aim is behavior
terms communication manipulation
meaning • Agentry Publicity model follows one way communication
simply to where the flow of information is only from the sender to
generate the receiver. The sender is not much concerned about the
second party’s feedback, reviews and so on
attention
through the • According to this model, organizations hire public
use of media relations experts who create a positive image of their
brand in the minds of target audiences through arguments
and reasoning and by imposing their ideas, thoughts,
creative stories of their brand

• it emphasizes on maintaining and enhancing the image of

an organization simply by circulating relevant and
meaningful information among the target audience/public
• Uses press releases and other one-way communication
Public techniques to distribute organizational information. The
One-way
information public relations practitioner is often referred to as the in-
communication
model house journalist
• PR person under the public information model used no
formal research to guide his work. But the move away
from pseudo-events and half-truths was a significant shift
toward more ethical practices.

• Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence audiences

to behave as the organization desires.
• Conduct formal research to evaluate the audience attitude
as well as their behaviour
Two-way Two-way • Information flows from the source to the recipient and the
asymmetrical communication recipient may give feedback
model (imbalanced) • Public relation experts position the organization and brand
on the minds of the target audience through manipulation
• The nature of communication adopted is two-way
although its imbalanced. The recipient plays a small role in
the communication process

• Uses communication to negotiate with the public, resolve

conflict and promote mutual understanding and respect
Two-way between the organization and its publics
Two-way
communication • Conflicts and misunderstandings are resolved through
symmetrical mutual discussions and communication
model (balanced) • The 2-way symmetrical model casts public relations in the
role of mediator versus persuader.
• . Under this model, PR pros listen to the concerns of both
clients and key publics and help them adapt to one another
• The feedback from stakeholders and target audiences are
also taken into consideration
 TOPIC 7

EVALUATING PUBLIC RELATION PROGRAMS

✓ PR evaluation is any and all research designed to determine the relative effectiveness of
a public relations programme, strategy, or activity, by measuring the outputs and/or
outcomes of that PR programme against a predetermined set of objectives
✓ Evaluation mean to careful study a process before making a judgment on its value,
importance or quality. It can also be described as assessment of the results of a
programme to know whether it has conformed towards what has earlier been planned and
acted upon.
✓ Evaluation of public relation programme therefore means to check the formulation and
implemented actions whether they are successful or not.
✓ It is important for any corrective action to be taken or learnt important lessons from the
programme
✓ For public relation practitioners they must have the feedback of conformed programme

Reasons and importance of evaluating

- Smooth running of organization

- Measures effectiveness of public relation plans
- Corrective measures (action)
- To establish budget limits (cost)
- Improve mutual understanding in the organization
- To check the formulated and implemented actions

Techniques of evaluating

- Basically two techniques:

- Measuring of results
- It may be undertaken through the following means:
a) Quantitative
b) Qualitative
- In quantitative methods figures and numbers are the sources measuring the results
- Qualitative are the characteristically features that are used as the source and
measurement of results
- The general, common measure includes statistical data, opinion polls, media
feedback, accessing increased understanding and achievement of desired
goals/results.
 Standards for measuring PR outputs and outcomes/methods/ techniques

o Media Content Analysis

o Cyberspace Analysis
o Trade Show and Event Measurement
o Public Opinion Polls
o Awareness and Comprehension Measurements
o Recall and Retention Measurements
o Attitude and Preference Measurements
o Behaviour Measurements.
o Statistical data
o Customer Feedback
o Assessing increased understanding
o Inquiries received

PR Evaluation Components

Setting Specific Measurable PR Goals and Objectives

Measuring PR Outputs

Measuring PR Outcomes

Process of evaluation

After public relation have been included, it should be possible to access the list of objective i.e.
whether the new image is understood, whether there is new caliber of recruits, if the company is
better known internationally, whether the new share issue succeeded, if better communication
relation are now being enjoyed etc

The results could be self efficient and may not required special research or may be complex so
that a research may be undertaken to look to the result.

The big question to ask is whether the public relation is to influence such results or the same
result could be achieved without a public relation campaign.

It is often seen or heard without public relation company’s surrender to take over bids and new
share issues failing new products falling and deceitful sour community and public relations. The
following three points are very important for the seek of the evaluation process.

1. Evaluate the results by repeating the research technique used earlier to appreciate the
situation. The opinion polls of attitude test are good examples.
2. Identify the methods of evaluating the results and this has been pointed out or design
during the planning stage.
 3. Because the scheme set out objectives declared target against which result can be tested
whether qualitative and quantitative.

TOPIC 8

CORPORATE IMAGE

Refers to the image of organization itself rather than of the product or services it offers. These
cooperates image may be made up of many things i.e. company history, financial success,
stability, quality production, industrial relation, reputation of employer and social responsibility.

A corporate image is, of course, the sum total of impressions left on the company's many publics.
In many instances a brief, casual act by an employee can either lift or damage the corporate image
in the eyes of a single customer or caller on the phone. But the overall image is a composite of
many thousands of impressions and facts.

Elements of corporate image

The major elements are:

1. The core business and financial performance of the company

2. The reputation and performance of its brands ("brand equity")/quality production
3. Its reputation for innovation or technological prowess, usually based on concrete events, Its
policies toward its salaried employees and workers
4. Its external relations with customers, stockholders, and the community
5. The perceived trends in the markets in which it operates as seen by the public.
6. Leader - Sometimes a charismatic leader becomes so widely known that he or she adds a
personal luster to the company.
7. Company history
8. Corporate social responsiblity

Role of public relation in corporate image building

 1. Public relation helps in planning and evaluating the cooperate image. This is because they
know where and what the company visual assets are how they work and influence their
customer’s ultimate decision.
2. Creating how to attain objectives once a new clear strategy has been defined as agreed.
The creative work is agreed.
3. Analyzing measures and defined problems while creating a work proposes the situations,
ideas are put forward in visual form to challenge imagination which are then refined in
discussion with the clients then the result are tested.

Corporate identity

This can take many styles according to the nature of the organization but in general, it means
things which identify an organization physically and visibly. It can be the use of special uniform
for staff, a symbol printed or painted on everything a client is likely to see. This includes Time
tables, tickets, luggage labels, check-in points, air port buses, paper napkins etc corporate
identity is physical . i.e. how one sees or identifies an organization?

It implies to all aspects of an organization. It is a significant part of the total communication. It

becomes not only association with marketing and advertising but also with employees,
shareholders, dealers and consumers etc.

It is one of the oldest forms of communication. These communication is to portray on identity is

done by means of:

• Logo type
• Topography
• Mission
• Vision
• Goals
• Colors
• Motto and attire/mode of dressing
- To achieve an effective and distinctive cooperate identity is neither easy nor cheap
since many ideas have to be considered before something original and acceptable is
received. It is costly to put the scheme into practical
- The cost includes advertisement and print expenses.
- It is not easy to change a cooperate identity; one advert of familiar identity scheme is
that it has a strong repetitive effect which is both good advertising and good public
relation.
- The creation of corporate identity scheme is often public relation responsibilities
because it applies to all aspects of an organization and is significant part and total
communication. Corporate identity aims at distinguishing and establishing vision
combination by means of physical and visible identification. It may be found
 necessary when another company is buying another. The advantage of these team of
familiarity and repetitive effects is which is both good advertising and good public
relations.

Origin

Corporate identity is one of the oldest forms of communication. In ancient times when the
Phoenicians and Vikings set sail to explore and conquer, they often decorated their ships and
sails with birds or animals which identified them. Even ancient kings had shields bearing a
distinctive emblem to identify them. In our day, army uniforms have distinct colors to for
identification. Uniforms are now used in almost every form of transport be it the buses, ships,
trains, delivery vehicles and airlines. Corporate identity is seen everywhere in the transport
industry. In most countries they have a corporate color.

Concepts

To achieve an effective and distinctive corporate identity is neither easy nor cheap because there
are many ideas to be considered before choosing a final one. This is in terms of color, livery,
clothing, typography, logotype etc.

A corporate identity may be found necessary when there are mergers, takeovers and a new
identity is required. It is not easy to change a corporate identity. It involves analysis, creativity
and exploitation.

Elements Involved In Corporate Identity.

1. Paint on vehicles & other forms of transportation.

2. Name displays on factories/branches, head office buildings etc.
3. All stationery, invoices, business cards, letterheads etc.
4. Annual reports
5. Sales literature, price lists, catalogues, etc.
6. Exhibition stands, showrooms, mobile exhibitions etc.
7. House journals.
8. Labels, packaging & containers.
9. Uniforms, overalls, caps, label badges etc.
10. Instructional leaflets, service manuals.
11. Point of sales display materials.
12. Credits on Video tapes & slide presentations.
13. Advertisements in all visible media.
14. Giveaways, company ties etc.
15. Diaries & calendars
Corporate Identity Essentials/elements
1. Easily recognizable.
2. It should be distinctive
3. Easy to remember
Basic Components of Corporate Identity

1. Logo
2. Colour
3. Permanent slogans.
4. Trade marks.
5. Special typeface.
Consider Safaricom Ltd in the light of this.

Types of public images/kinds of images

1. Mirror image – this is the image people in an organization specially the leaders believe
to be impression to outsiders have about the organization. If an organization carries out
opinion or image study different and unexpected image revealed, this could be a result of
illusion based on wishful thinking because knowledge and understanding of the outside
opinion is required.
2. Current image
This is the actual image being held by the people outside the organization. It may be
based on experience or poor information and understanding public ideas with ignorance
and hostility which will result in unfair current image. It depends on how much little a
person knows about the organization.
3. Wish image
This is the desire image that one management mostly wishes to achieve. The wish change
image is mostly applied to something new when outsiders are yet completely uniform
about it. (It is the image that an organization desires to attain)
4. Cooperate image
This refers to the image of the organization itself rather than of the products or services.
The cooperate image may be made up of many things like the company history, financial
success and stability, quality of production, industrial relations and reputation, social
responsibilities etc.
5. Multiple image
A number of individuals or branches can each create a particular image for the total
organization which does not conform to uniform image for total organization. There can
be as many images as they are said e.g. sales staff. The problem of multiple images may
be overcome by the use of uniforms, staff training, badges etc
 TOPIC 10

PUBLIC RELATION INDUSTRY

The structure of the PR industry

The function of PR is carried out either by a PR department within a business,
or by an external agency. Businesses that have in-house PR departments are
often very large and able to commit substantial resources to long-term PR. Many
smaller businesses and organisations use agencies, paying for their expertise and
creativity.

PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY

PUBLIC SECTOR INTERNAL

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION
COMMUNICATION

INDEPENDENT PR consultancies
CONSULTANCIES • consumer
• financial
• healthcare,
• pharmaceutical
• business to
business
• digital,
technological
• not for profit
• fashion
Public relation practices

1) In public organization

Government department and local authorities and official agencies are responsible informing the
people about their policies and programmes. Often they are endeavoring to built an infrastructure
and arrange for the social services which have been established during the past years in the west.

The civil servants (public relation practitioners are likely to be more common in greater demand
than in industrial and commercial public relation practitioner. To government public relation at
all levels will also be found in the armed forces, the police, health, education and other public
services

They will also be found in the big parastatal cooperation which control more or less nationalized
industries in countries e.g. Indonesia, Tanzania and Zambia.

The public sector covers governmental agencies, councils, police forces e.t.c
PR in these areas may focus on helping to explain policies and actions as well
as informing the public about their rights.
There are two main types of public relation campaign used within the public
sector.
•‘Information campaigns’ provide information to the general public and involve
one-way communication.
•‘Communications campaigns’ involve discussion with the public about policies
and actions; their intention is to influence the knowledge and opinions of the
public and stakeholders, but they involve two-way communication.

2) Private sectors

Under this sector public relation will be of a very mixed kind. Much of it may be initiated by the
expatriate and multinational company generally manufacturing, importer, suppliers have an
immatize task in informing a growing market about how products, familiar for a long time and
telling people who to use those products more beneficially.

A curious but very real difficult in public sector is that the consumer may have little faith in
products produced in their own country.

The imported products in their own will be considered superior. This lack of confidence in home
products is not the curious to developing countries.

A public relation task may well being used to foster pride in home production and interesting
sign of progress and the success of home products.
Ethics standards governing pr

- About is more likely to succeed of it’s trusted in public relation credibility and vital
not only must it be believable but must be true.
- Public relation is about knowledge and understanding and that leads to good will and
reputation which depends on faith.
- The saying honesty is the best policy applied here and follows that public relation
does not work unless believed. In public relation we are responsible for producing
factual information accurately and without command. The receive and this
information must decide on what to do e.g. if the facts shows that piped water supply
is pure and healthier than water from river and wells it is expected that the villages
will accept the piped water.

Ethics and behaviour

- Ethics apply particularly to the way public relation practitioner behave personal
integrity becomes part two their professionally e.g. teachers, doctors or accountants.
- Public relation officer have to do public relation for them in that they will be judged
by the way they act. They give expert advice; do not bribe, and compete. Publish
stories on their mates not because they entertain journalist but they are professionals.

Unethical instruction

- Equally if employers ask public relation practioners to do something ethical. They

have the strength of their professional and practice to support and Act professionally.

Ethics of public relation

a) Code of consultant practice

All professional bodies observe ethical standards and have established code of conduct,
setting out the essential discipline for bad behaviors by members. Here public relation
maintains high standard and principles. Their code of conduct is governed by internal
public relations. These codes are as follows:
1) Standards of professional conduct
Each member shall respect the public interest and the dignity of individual. It is
the duty of members to deal, fairly and honesty to the clients, past or present, with
his fellows member with the media of communication and with the public.
2) Dissemination of information (misleading information). A member shall not
knowingly or recklessly disseminate facilities or misleading information. They
have positive duty to maintain integrity and accuracy.
3) Media of communication (corruption). A member shall not engage in any
practice which will tend to corrupt the integrated of media of communication.
4) Undisclosed interest/encouraging a member to say its problem. A member
shall not be a party to any activity which deliberately seeks to mislead by
promoting undisclosed interest while appear to further and other, it is his duty to
ensure that the actual interest of an organization with which he may professionally
concern it be adequately declare.
5) Confidential information
A member shall not disclose or make use of information given or obtained in
confidence from his client passes present or potential for personal gains without
express consent.
6) Conflict of interest
A member shall not represent conflict or competing interest with express consent
or parties concern after disclose of the facts.
7) Sources of payment
A member in the cause of his professional service to his client shall not accept
payment either in cash or kind in connection with these services from any other
source without the express consent of the client.
8) Disclose of financial interest
A member having financial interest in an organization shall not recommend the
use of that organization nor make use of its services on behalf of client without
declaring his interest.
9) Payment contingent upon achievement
A member shall not negotiate or agree terms of will prospective client on the basis
of payment contingent upward specific future or public relation achievement.

10) Supplanting another member (supporting another member)

A member seeking employment or new business by direct individual to a potential
client shall take all reasonable steps to ascertain whether that employment is
already carried out by a member if so it is his duty to advise other members in
advance of any approach he proposes to a client.
11) Reward to holder of public officer
A member shall not with intend to further his interest offer or give any reward to a
person holding public office.
12) Employment of members of parliament
A member whose employee is a member of parliament whether in consultative or
executive capacity shall disclose this fact and also the objective of employment.
13) Injury to other members
 A member shall not maliciously injure the professional reputation or practice of
another member.
14) Instruction of others (permission)
A member who knowingly causes or permit another person or organization to act
in a manner in consistence with the code will be held responsible.
15) Reputation of the profession
A member shall not conduct himself in a manner to act the reputation of the
institute or the professional of public relations.
16) Upholding the code.
A member shall uphold the code of co-operating with fellow member in
reinforcing decision on any matter arising from application of the code.
17) Other professions
A member shall when acting for a client who belongs to a profession respect the
code of ethics of that other profession and shall not knowingly depart to any
breach of such a code.
b) Code of professional standards for public relations office (public relation office)
These standards are being adapted by the public relation society of Kenya to promote and
maintain high standard of public service and ethical conducts among its members. These
standards are:
1) A member shall not conduct his/her professional life in a code with the public
interest
2) A member shall deal fairly (standards of professional conduct) with employers
past and present with fellow practitioners and general public’s.
3) A member shall adhere to truth and accuracy and to general accept the standards
of good taste.
4) A member shall not represent conflicting/but may represent completing interest
without the express concern of those involved given after a full discloser of the
facts or replacement herself in a position where the members interest is or may be
in conflict with a duty of to employer or others without a full, discloser of such
interest all involved.
5) A member safeguards the confidence for both present and former employees and
shall not accept retailers of employment which may involve the discloser or the
use of this confidence to the disadvantage of the employment.
6) A member shall not engage in any practice which tends to corrupt of integrate of
channel of communication of the process of government.
7) A member shall not intentionally communicate fault or misleading information he
will avoid to communicate few or misleading information in the public.
8) A member shall be prepared to identify to the public. The home of the employer
on good behaviour anytime when communication is made.
 - A member shall not make use of any individual or organization perforating to serve
independent or unbiased but actual serving undisclosed special or private interest of
an employer.
- A member shall not intentionally insure the professional reputation or practice of
another profession. However if a member has evidence that another has guilty of
ethical legal of unfair practices include the inflation of accord a member shall present
information promptly to proper authorities of the society for action in accordance for
the procedure set forth.
- A member called as a witness in a proceeding for the enforcement of the code shall be
bound to appear unless excused officially.
- A member in performing services for an employer shall not accept fees, commission
or any other variable consideration from anyone other than this employer in
connection with that service without express concern of the employer even after a full
disclosure of the facts.
- A member shall not guarantee their achievement of a specified result beyond the
member direct control.
- A member shall as soon as possible step relations with any organization or individual
if such relations requires conduct contrary to the code of conduct.

Explain the need for professional ethics

- Guides professional practitioners by giving them a sense of direction.

- It provides a basis for enforcement of sanctions
- Protects those who have entrusted their well-being to the profession.
- Creates trust between clients and professionals
- It instills discipline to the practitioners to act honorably and uphold certain values
always.
- It regulates the conduct of professionals in different situations
- Promoted social responsibility among the practioners which means every professional
has to uphold the good of the society.
c) Conduct towards the public, the media and other professionals (A member shall)
- Conduct his professional activities with proper regard to public interest.
- Have a positive duty to respect the truth and check all information before
dissemination.
- Have a duty to ensure actual interest of any organization is adequately declared.
- Identity and respect other professionals who you interact with.
- Respect any statutory or regulatory codes taken on behalf of employer or clients.
- Ensure the names of all directors, executives are retained advisors are recorded in
public relation register
- Honor confidences received in the course of professional activity.
 - Not to undertake any action which has an improper influence on
government/legislation?

Explain what the public relation code of ethics says about the following; (A member shall)

Conduct of members towards the practice of public relation

-Have positive duty to observe the highest standards in the practice of public relation
and to deal fairly and honesty with colleagues and public
- Beware of the code and keep up on to date account of the code
- Uphold this code and cooperate with fellow members to enforce decisions on any
matter arising from its application.
- Should not engage in any practice nor be seen to conduct himself in any manner
detrimental to the reputation of institute and interest of public relation profession
d) Conduct towards employees and clients
- Safeguard the confidence of both present and former employers or clients
- Inform an employer or client of any shareholding or financial interest hold by that
member/staff
- Be free to receive any payments from other persons besides the employer as long as it
quantifies the work earned out like.
- If the word is complex
- Professional skills and degree of responsibility involved
- Documentation to be prepared and its importance
- Place and circumstances where the work is carried out
- Scope, scale and value of the task and its importance shall not misuse information
regarding his employee’s financial gain.
- Shall not use inside information for gain
- Shall not serve a client under circumstance which might impair his independence,
objectivity or integrity.
- Shall not present conflicting interests but competing interests
- Shall not guarantee results which are beyond his capacity to achieve.

e) Conduct towards colleagues (A member shall)

- Adhere to highest standards of accuracy and give credit for ideas and words borrowed
from others
- Be free to represent his own capabilities and serve any potential customer or client as
long as he does not break an existing contract of any member setting that client.
- Shall not injure the professional reputation or practice of another member.
EMERGING ISSUES/TRENDS IN PUBLIC RELAITON

1. Great revolution
It is a phenomenon of the aging population with an increasing number of the either
becoming redundant or retiring early. The issue here is that there is vast and growing
publics on which public relation needs to concentrate that is older people who are not
necessary poor and many even be weak than young. Such older generation is usually
forgotten in advertising and ultimately.
2. Public relation and the single European markets
Good communication is essential to successful trading in a continental market where
language poses a serious problem. Therefore, there is a growing need for a public relation
and marketing and partnership to help curb the problematic continental approach.
3. The pacific rim development
Growth areas and emergent economic have occurred in as emerging scientific e.g.
Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand since 1900s.
Therefore, a strong life for public relation to enable those deeply cultured innate
communication to interact easing in trade.
4. Mission statements
This are not now, but they were given fresh emphasis by the research conducted by the
shridge strategic centre now there is problem to how and who should write a mission
statement outsider i.e. public relation consultant who may not be realistic or in house
public relation officer who is updated with realistic or is the consultant tend to be
impassion an in house public relation officer biased.
5. The video news release
This is used of a new development but a strong public relation base may make video
news. Release a more effective way of informing the public
6. Media coverage
 Public relation is becoming an important tool in media coverage researches in the present
day.
7. The Greek issue
This implies the environmentally sensitive public relation. It is imperceptive for any
organization (including public relation) to be environmentally friendly. There is a real
demand and not merely useless claim for the market people as well as public relation
concern for the conservation of environment.

K.N.EC QUESTIONS

1. Reasons that may make crisis management a challenging task for a pr manager
nition
i. Cognition
This involves recognizing the degree of emerging risk and developing the ability to act
on that information To recognize a disruptive event, crisis managers need
to clearly frame the setting and understand how the setting works. Managers must be able
to recognize the characteristics of different types of crisis situations, and quickly manage to
set up the response organization so they can react to the different types of crises.
ii. Communication,
This is a second key challenge, can become problematic when response operations
evolve into a distributed structure where responders cannot see or
hear what is happening in other locations Therefore, it is
crucial for responders to communicate to enhance their level of shared understanding.
iii. Coordination
Keeping the actions of involved units and organizations synchronized during a response
operation is the third key challenge. Coordination concerns linking together different parts of an
organization to accomplish a collective set of tasks

iv. Control

The fourth key challenge in crisis management operations concerns keeping the operation and
the involved units under control. Control, in this respect, is about the capacity to keep ongoing
action focused on a shared goal.

2. Roles of lobbyists in enhancing pr efforts of company

3. Benefit derived from carrying out customer satisfactory survey
4. Steps in carrying out pr research
5. Factors that may influence the level of ethical standards demonstrated by PR actioners
in an organization
6. Reasons to make it necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of an ongoing pr programme
7. Pr programme evaluation procedure
8. Preparations for communication during crisis
9. Challenges that non-profit organization face when managing pr activities
10. Factors to consider when determining the method to use to collect information in a
research exercise
11. Factors that may limit the effectiveness of pr officer when implementing public
relations officer when implanting programs in an organization
12. Pr implementation procedure