Juan Monroy — Public Relations

Industrial Revolution
- consumer culture
- leisure activities
- public opinion
  - Walter Lippman
  - John Dewey
  - Harold Lasswell
- mass media
  - newspapers
  - magazines
  - radio
Corporate Public Relations
- Henry Frick
  - anti-labor
  - combat hostility
  - public favor
- Battle for Electrical Currents
  - AC: Westinghouse
  - DC: General Electric
- American Association of Railroads
  - originators of public relations
  - Year Book of Railway Literature
- charities
  - purposes
  - practices
  - performance
  - public awareness
  - fundraising
  - influencing legislation
  - recruiting volunteers
  - currying public favor
Ivy Ledbetter Lee
- business had to tell its story honestly, accurately, and openly
- Rockefeller: Ludlow Massacre (1913)
- Rockefeller Jr. visited the camps
Edward L. Bernays
- coined the term “public relations”
- Crystalizing Public Opinion (1923)
- pupil of George Creel
  - movies
  - cartoons
  - photographs
  - newsreels
  - Uncle Sam: “I Want You”
- Torches of Freedom
  - 1929
  - Women walking on Fifth Avenue with lit cigarettes
  - American Tobacco Company
Arthur Page
- AT&T
- publicity and relationship with the public
Public Relations Society of America
- formed 1948
- interests of public relations practitioners
- “bill of rights” for customers
- code of ethics
Functions of Public Relations
- media relations
- promotion or selling
- community relations
- government relations
- public information
- special events
- employee relations
- crisis communications
- lobbying
Forms of Public Relations
- Propaganda
  - strategically placed communication
    - advertising
    - publicity
  - intended gain public support for…
    - special issue
    - program
    - policy
- Media Relations
  - secure favorable media coverage for a client or organization
  - promote client or control damage
- Special Events & Pseudo-Events
  - Coordinating with existing events to create a positive image for client
    - e.g. sponsorships
  - Event held for the sole purpose of receiving media attention.
    - e.g. “The Decision”
- Community Relations
  - Earning customer’s goodwill through support of community
    - Charitable Contributions
    - Public Service
- Crisis Management
  - Messages designed to help a corporation handle a public crisis or tragedy, especially if the public assumes the company is at fault.
  - BP: Deepwater Horizon oil spill
  - April – September 2010
- Government Relations
  - Lobbying
    - the process of attempting to influence the voting of lawmakers to support a client’s or an organization’s best interests.
  - astroturf lobbying
  - “Language of Health Reform”
Public Relations Audiences
- Businesses
  - Investors
  - Consumers
  - Employees
  - Suppliers
  - Financial Institutions
  - Legislators
  - Community Activists
  - Educational Institutions
  - Mass Media
- Not-for-Profits
  - Donors
  - Clients
  - Volunteers
  - Employees
  - Members
  - Suppliers
  - Legislators
  - Community Activists
  - Mass Media
- Government Agencies
  - Taxpayers/Voters
  - Legislators
  - Lobbyists
  - Government Agencies
  - Employees
  - Community Activists
Public Relations Messages
- Public Service Announcements (PSA)
  - reports or announcements carried free by newspapers, magazines, radio and/or TV stations
  - designed to promote…
    - government programs
    - educational projects
    - voluntary agencies
    - social reform
- Press Releases
  - announcements written in the style of news reports
    - gives new information about an individual, a company, or an organization
    - pitches a story idea to the news media.
- Video News Releases (VNR)
  - the visual counterparts to press releases
  - pitches story ideas to the TV news media by mimicking the style of a broadcast news report.
James Gruning’s Models of Public Relations
- Press Agent
  - One-Way
  - manipulate public opinion and behavior
- Public Information/Journalism
  - one-way
  - disseminate information to the public
- Two Way Asymmetric
  - two-way
  - persuade and find out how the public reacted
- Two Way Symmetric
  - two-way
  - gain mutual understanding and find a win–win common ground
Public Relations Firms
- In-House Firms
  - PR departments located within most major companies
- Stand-Alone Firms
  - independent agencies that provided PR services to different companies
Major PR Firms
- Omnicom
- WPP Group
- Interpublic Group
- Publicis
- Dentsu
- Aegis Group