Today we're going to briefly discuss the names to remember in PR. The people that are responsible for the fundamental tools used in Public relations today.
First let's start with the Public Relations professionals that are associated with process.
P.T. Barnum (1810-1891) was a basically a low life scam artist. Often described as a scum bag, Barnum was known best for playing newspapers against each other.
Ivy Lee (1877-1934) Lee is remembered for successfully lobbying for a railroad rate increase from a reluctant federal government. Lee was also involved with Nazi Germany and was being investigated by the US Congress towards the end of his life.
Edward Bernays (1891-1995) Bernays is most associated with propaganda. In the 1920s he made it socially acceptable for women to smoke cigarettes in public. And then in the 1960s he worked as an anti-smoking lawyer for John Banzhaf.
Doris Fleischman (1891-1980) Fleischman was mostly associated with public relations strategy. But what she may be most famous for, is the fact that she was married to Edward Bernays. She was fantastic because she liked to cause a stir in the community. The biggest one is keeping her maiden name after marriage.
Professionals associated with Products
Eleanor Lambert (1903-2003) Lambert was a huge player in the American fashion public relations industry. Some of her big accomplishments were presenting American fashion to Russia, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan, Britain, and Switzerland for the first time in history.
Al Golin (1929-) was most associated with comfort and convenience. But was best known for "cold-calling" McDonalds. Meaning that out of the blue... he called Ray Kroc (former CEO) and told him he should start a charity.
Moss Kendrix (1917-1989) Kendrix's defining moment was when he convinced Coca-Cola to expand their marketing and advertising because "black people are thirsty too."
Al Fleischman- is best known for Budweiser's advertisements using Clydesdale horses as the icon. Later he was hired on by the company Busch.
Now I know that I kind of rushed through each individuals description but at the end of the day, if you want to impress a potential boss, maybe throughout a name or two to show them not only are you qualified to work for their business but you know about Public Relations from the ground, up.
378
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Tony Hayward and the BP Oil Fail
One of the biggest tragedies that
happened in 2010 was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But in addition to
that, another tragedy was the statements issued by the former CEO of BP, Tony
Hayward, following the largest oil spill in history. So today, using three of
the key elements of what it means to be authentic, we will go through and
hammer out why Hayward is NOT authentic.
Some companies put a lot of stock into showing
off their CEO. Generally, it is a good idea to put a human face to a logo; to reassure
people that some robot is not the one making the decisions for a nation-wide
company. Unfortunately for BP, Tony Hayward was not a shining example of this
like Steve Jobs was. Unleashing the CEO is a key element of authenticity
according to GolinHarris’ PR firm. CEO’s are supposed to let the public know
that, in fact, the public is incredibly important to them. Hayward, on the
other hand, was incredibly selfish, publicly stating, “There’s no one who wants
this over more than I do. I would like my life back.”1
Really, Tony?! You want this to be over
more than the wildlife who lost a huge chunk of their habitat? More than the
families that relied on the fish, and shrimp, and crustaceans to pay their
bills? Oh, okay… this is about you.
NEXT, a huge part of a well-constructed
image is using real words. Statements have the tendency to fall flat if they
are not genuine. So Tony Hayward’s apology reel that aired after the spill did
not ring as true with the American public. BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN FOR HIM! He
was forced to apologize to the public to save the face of the company. The lack
of authenticity was so great that the popular adult cartoon South Park made a
spoof of it.
The last thing we are going discuss is
the element of Walk the Talk. In a nut shell, it means to avoid “greenwashing”
the situation. To “greenwash” a situation is to make it seem that you are
making less of a harmful impact on the environment than you actually are. A
perfect example of “greenwashing” is when Hayward was quoted saying that the
oil spill was “very, very modest”, and “relatively tiny” in comparison to the
size of the ocean.
In the end, Hayward was asked to step
down and was replaced by Bob Dudley as CEO. All he really proved is he is not
good with crisis management and that large companies need someone who can look
at the big picture that also includes the nation it involves.
word count: 451
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Disney and Corporate Social Responsibility
Today we are going to discuss corporate social
responsibility and how Disney is a wonderful example of how it is done
correctly. The primary example I will be using is Disney's Give a Day Get a
Disney Day campaign from 2010.
Corporate
Social Responsibility or CSR is when a company does environmental
monitoring, public relations audits, communications audits, and social audits.
Now I know that the word audit is a bit intimidating, but it
really only means to examine or inspect something to improve effectiveness and
appropriateness. The before mentioned audits are put forth to maintain
credibility, build solid relationships with the internal and external audiences
and to manage issues. In doing so, Disney was able to come up with a plan that
not only gave back to the community, but also get more publicity for
themselves.
Here is a link to the promotional video for Give a Day Get
a Disney Day.
Another trick they
used in the video was using famous actors and actresses along with well-known
Disney characters to get people interested. People may be more likely to turn
out if Teri Hatcher is working alongside them. ;)
Helping out with
school and park restorations, and building homes with Habitat for Humanity
really drew the public eye to Disney. By catering to family oriented
communities, Disney was able to promote volunteering as a whole and show kids
that it can be fun to help out a neighbor. This also was a catalyst for parents
to help out and get a free admission ticket to Disney if normally they would
not have the ability to take their kids, or just give the family an excuse to
go if they have not gone before.
All in all, by
getting people to the Disney parks, Disney opened up a wider consumer base
because people are more likely to come back if they have a good experience
while they are there. This campaign improved their public image (which was not
bad in the first place), improved communities in five major cities, and gave
one million people the chance to experience the Magic of Disney.
word count: 354
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Westboro Baptist Church Press Releases
Westboro Baptist Church
The Legitimacy of their Press Releases
A big thing in public relations is authenticity. Knowing where you have been, where you are now, and where you want to go is your mission in public relations. Throughout my classes pertaining to my major, I have learned 12 key elements to be effective in communicating your message to the public. 6 of which I will be using tonight.These key elements will be the foundation of my future critiques.
Now the Westboro Bapist Church (WBC) has a few different ways of communicating with the public. Members of the founding family, the Phelps, all have twitter accounts that they utilize by commenting on current events, actions of public figures, and announcing future pickets. In addition, the family runs a website tastefully entitled God Hates Fags. This website of course can be found at www.godhatesfags.com. Using examples from their website, picket announcements, and tweets I plan on explaining how the Westboro Baptist Church press releases and public image is by the book.
- Looking into a different mirror -- being able to take a different perspective.
- In regards to being able to use a different perspective isn't exactly WBC's strong suit. It is pretty much a "my way or the highway" type of organization. So in that respect, WBC fails to accept or entertain the ideas of others that do not hold their religious beliefs.
- Link the product (message) to the purpose -- make sure your intended message matches up with the actual (perceived) message.
- Being as their main goal is to inform the general public that they are going to hell, then, by definition, their message is linked to their purpose. The Phelps Family wants everyone to know that homosexuals are, indeed, going to hell.
- Walk your talk -- do the things you promise or preach. This means finding your place in the world utilizing your time, talent, and treasure.
- WBC does walk their talk. They take a stand against the people whose beliefs do not align with their own. They picket military funerals (because the military fights for a nation that is full of "fag enablers"), along with picketing other churches because they are "whorehouses masquerading as churches". View a press release at the following link. http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/20120821_Lenexa-KS-Churches.pdf
- Work inside-out -- making sure your internal publics, or the people within the organization, know what the message is and work to better your organization. That means being transparent, and having consistent communication.
- Having a rather small congregation of 40 people, it is easy for the Phelps family to communicate to everyone within their group. Having a transparent organization is different than exercising openness. Transparency is what people outside of the group can find out on their own, this means digging up things the organization may not want the general public to know. But since the WBC doesn't hide anything, this isn't an issue, therefore fulfilling this element.
- The Real Reality -- using real stories, real people, and real words.
- Well... if you ask anyone within the community, everything they say is true. But obviously, not everyone shares the WBC's views making it difficult for the public to connect with them. In this regard, I do not believe they fulfill this particular element.
- Openness -- being completely honest and upfront with the audience.
- Like I said, the WBC doesn't hide anything, they want everyone to know and accept what they have to say. They post it on their website, and tweet about it.
Today he's in hell. #AllThatMatters MT @donnabrazile: #DNC2012The tribute to former US Sen Ted Kennedy was remarkable,inspiring&passionate.
All in all, the Westboro Baptist Church fulfills four of the six key elements discussed today. That's a 66%... which is a D.... which is technically a passing grade... So I guess at the end of the day, I have to give this group some credit for at least utilizing their media resources for their exact purpose.
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