3. Reading

Reading 7.1.

Read the text “Public Relations Program Planning” and answer these questions.

1.Why is it important to plan a PR campaign?

2.What is the first element of the planning process? Why is it essential?

3.Why is budget an important element of the program plan?

4.Why is it necessary to define objectives? What are the most common objectives?

5.Why should publics be taken into consideration in PR program planning?

6.What communication targets are usually included in the program plan?

Public Relations Program Planning

The IPR definition of public relations emphasizes the importance of action being deliberate, planned and sustained. It reads – “PR practice is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.” Planning is important for a number of reasons. Without planning it would be impossible to know whether or not PR was being effective, whether objectives had been achieved or if budgets

had been adhered to. Planning enables the costing and allocation of resources. Furthermore, without a structured plan it would be impossible to prioritize the various aspects of the campaign or to ensure that program sequences were being followed. Finally, good planning weighs up the objectives to be achieved against the resources available to pursue those objectives.

All planning by necessity involves an element of taking stock – finding out what is happening now, what people know and understand, or what people don’t know and misunderstand about the organization. Understanding is the primary objective of PR, or more correctly “mutual understanding,” and this is only possible when negative situations are converted into positive achievements. Hostility exists towards most organizations in some form or other – often irrationally and without justification. It is essential for organizations to understand the nature of the hostility and to endeavor to achieve a measure of sympathy and tolerance instead. Likewise prejudice exists often born out of environmental, educational, parental or personal influences – which must be countered, through informative and educational PR techniques to reach a position where companies (or products) are accepted.

If PR is to achieve understanding it has to break down any unwillingness to “want to know.” Apathy is the enemy of understanding. PR must stimulate interest through persistent

IPR – Institute of Public Relations UK

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information flow to change general apathetic attitudes to more positive responses. Ignorance is akin to apathy. No one knows or understands everything about all companies. A constant bombardment with information often leaves customers, or potential customers, more confused and ignorant. PR can educate the market and make all of us a little more enlightened.

So, in taking stock in the early stages of the planning process it is essential to find out the extent and nature of weaknesses and to work out the correct method for achieving the understanding necessary to complete the PR transfer process.

A written PR strategy plan is fundamental – as fundamental as an overall marketing or advertising plan. A PR strategy, which will pull together the components of the plan, will enable those reading it to understand the basis for the proposals made. At the end of the defined time-scale the PR planner can assess if the goals and objectives outlined in the plan have been reached, what parts of the plan worked and what didn’t, and how to make the required changes. Most communications plans are organic – constantly evolving – and reaching one goal normally opens the door to another.

A realistic assessment of the human and financial implications of a PR plan has to be made before implementation can be considered. PR costs money – salaries have to be paid; overheads and expenses will inevitably be incurred. Budget control and timesheets will almost certainly be used by PR consultants. All PR has to be managed on a sound business footing. Budgets can help to ascertain: whether the PR program can be carried out within budget, how to allocate resources accordingly, how to establish control over spending and objectives, how to measure results against cost.

A well-defined objective, or set of objectives, makes obvious precisely what needs to be done. Objectives must be measurable and must in some way involve moving from one position to an improved or better situation. This movement must be measurable – it is not enough to state as an objective, that an organization wants to “increase awareness.” It must define by how much, of what, and by whom, and this automatically necessitates finding out, or taking stock of, the current and the desired positions. PR objectives must also be realistic and attainable and relate to the company and its activities.

The list of possible PR objectives is lengthy and will depend on the organization, its business environment and its place in the market. It could include: making the company better known, improving community relations or establishing a new corporate identity

But how does a PR planner decide upon these objectives? There are two accepted methods. Research may have identified problems requiring PR solutions – apathy may have to be dispelled, ignorance got rid of. Glaring problems would give rise to obvious key objectives.

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