From: Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning. Christians, Clifford. 2001.

The quote above simply suggests that corporations, like a vast majority of individuals today, naturally expect something in return for gift giving. Corporations that give donations or any other types of gifts to benefit an organization or cause, automatically expect some sort of reciprocation for their contribution. This quote also suggests that corporations that give gifts should not only be unselfishly concerned/devoted to the recipient’s cause, but should also give to genuinely benefit the recipient’s main purpose. If this is the case, then the gift giving can be regarded as strategic, as well as ethical.

Personally, I agree with everything this quote says, and believe that it’s a smart business move for corporations to strategically plan out gift giving expecting something in return. By implementing this strategy into philanthropy, corporations can not only benefit the recipient, but benefit themselves as well. These beneficial aspects include enhancing corporate image, increasing brand awareness, improving government/media relations, and maintaining a positive reputation through the eyes of key publics. Also, many corporations use philanthropy to demonstrate involvement and dedication to the community, and to prove their manifestation of social responsibility. The true question this quote brings to light in regards to corporate philanthropy is what constitutes strategic gift giving, and what doesn’t? Below are three excellent examples of corporations that exhibit social responsibility and strategically give.

• Home Depot Foundation and Habitat for Humanity International have partnered up and created a five-year, $30 million program to help build sustainable, energy-efficient homes for low-income families. Home Depot donates building materials from their stores to the Habitat’s volunteers, who then use these materials to build homes for underprivileged families. By doing this, Home Depot Foundation is being strategic because they are not only helping benefit the Habitat’s primary purpose (building homes), but also using their own products to do so. Because these donated products are “green,” Home Depot is letting people know that they are a caring, eco-friendly corporation involved in helping to better the community. This gives people the impression that they are compassionate and devoted to positive change, which in turn enables people to trust and buy Home Depot’s products. The following video briefly explains the partnership, and talks about the Home Depot Foundation’s Award of Excellence in Affordable Housing Built Responsibility.

• Exxon/Mobil, the well-known oil/gas company uses a tiger as their logo, and has donated millions in previous years for the protection and conservation of Asian tigers and their environment. This program, known as the Save The Tiger Fund has directly helped wild tigers, but also led to cooperation between the company and government agencies, businesses, and Asian citizens. While conserving, protecting, and restoring the Asian tiger population they are also investing in major Asian river systems and vegetated land, which has directly impacted the lives of people as well. The rivers have provided citizens with an easy mode of transportation and clean drinking water, while the vegetated land has helped conserve carbon. This establishes the fact that the corporation implements strategic philanthropy into its business plan because it shows a dedication to helping the environment as a whole. This strategic giving allows people in the U.S. and abroad to associate Exxon/Mobil as a friendly, environmentally conscious company involved in positive change.

• The Coca-Cola Foundation partners up with numerous organizations around the globe as an effort to fund and support initiatives, programs, and projects that will positively affect community needs and priorities. The Foundation focuses its community support on water stewardship, healthy and active lifestyles, community recycling, and education. They even have an online application for individuals to request charitable contributions and community support that directly align with the Foundation’s overall community investment priorities. By doing this, they are being strategic because they are letting people have a say in which causes receive donations. This tells people that the Foundation truly cares about them and the communities they live in.

For more information about charitable giving as a strategy, please click on the following links:

• Corporate Philanthropy Benefits.
• Charitable Giving at Major Corporations.
• Getting Started in Corporate Philanthropy.
• Most Charitable Corporations (2007).

Organizational material should undoubtedly be copyrighted, because significant amounts of money, time, and creativity are spent on them. Also, copyrighting can prevent competition from stealing and capitalizing off another organization’s creative materials. The copyright law affects numerous people in various professions, but plays a huge role in the PR field. One of the most important characteristics a PR practitioner must have is an understanding of copyright law. This is important for practitioners because they’re responsible for gathering information from various sources and redistributing it to their key publics on a daily basis. Since this is the case, practitioners must know what organizational materials need to be copyrighted, and legally understand how to utilize other peoples’ creative materials.

Image Source- Openprocessing.org

Many practitioners in the field today rely on the Internet as a tool for sharing copyrighted materials such as brochures, annual reports, and videotapes. A global non-profit organization known as Creative Commons based out of San Francisco has devoted its cause to making it easier for people to legally share and use the creative work of others. The organization provides free copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons licenses to the public, which allow creators to choose several options regarding how others can use their creative work. These licenses let creators communicate which rights they reserve, and which rights they waive for the benefit of others interested in using their material. There are six main licenses offered; for more information about each of these licenses, please click on the following link- About CC licenses. I personally believe that PR practitioners should use a creative commons license for content they distribute in the profession today for three major reasons:

1. Creative Commons licenses help practitioners when they’re working to benefit an organization, because they serve as a simple, free way to avoid lawsuits and other legal issues when creating documents, like news releases, using other people’s copyrighted material.

2. Creative Commons licenses give practitioners an easy way to grant copyright permission for their own creative work so others won’t use it without authorization. On top of this, licenses can help them get free publicity and spread information about their organization to its key publics.

3. Lastly, Creative Commons licenses support the idea of a collaborative public domain. This is important because it promotes an environment of open sharing and alteration of information for PR practitioners. This in turn encourages practitioners to embrace the ongoing process of working together to benefit the future progression of the profession as a whole.

The Internet has provided practitioners with various tools and interactive services, which have enabled them to effectively use two-way communication to reach key publics. The ability to insert text, photographs, graphics, sounds, and video onto websites has helped with the progression of social media and has directly affected the role of PR practitioners.  With this said, I personally believe that the top 5 online tools/services a PR practitioner should be using in the profession today are:

E-MAIL:

Despite the fact that e-mail was one of the first online tools used in the PR profession, it still serves a major purpose in the dissemination of messages today. The major issues with e-mail are problems with response time and information overload, yet it’s still a quick, free, and efficient way to communicate with key publics. E-mailing allows a practitioner to send and receive messages to a single person or an entire group of people given the situation at hand. With advancements in e-mail technology such as hypertext and attachments, a practitioner can successfully send newsletters, news releases, pitch letters, photos, sounds, and even entire presentations to their necessary publics.

CORPORATE BLOGS:

As a practitioner it’s vital to set up a blog for your corporation, company, or organization. This is because blogs usually provide commentary or news on a particular subject meaning that a majority of people who view the blog are already a part of your target audience. Setting up a blog not only helps the organization gain credibility, but allows users to put in their “two cents,” which in turn could help with the organization’s future success. Also a practitioner can monitor and keep track of what competitors, opponents, and other individuals are saying, and make improvements if necessary.

YOUTUBE:

This is a great online service because it allows users upload and share video content such as movie clips, TV clips, and music videos. Furthermore, YouTube lets users to upload self-created video blogs and short-films, then receive feedback from others. This is ideal for practitioners because they can place messages and products within their videos that can potentially reach a mass audience.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO):

SEO involves numerous strategies used to move an organization’s web pages to the top search results on search engines. One of these strategies, known as Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM), aims to push negatively slanted or opposing websites associated with the organization further down the search engine results. By implementing strategies like SERM, a practitioner can help their organization maintain credibility and reputability.

TWITTER:

Twitter is great for practitioners because it’s a free social networking site that lets users send/receive messages quickly and efficiently. This micro-blogging service has grown in popularity substantially over the past couple years which means that placed messages can potentially reach a wider audience, which is important in PR.

An organizational crisis is an event or a series of events that negatively affect the integrity, stability, and/or potential success of an organization. A crisis can emerge from any number of situations and usually puts a great deal of pressure on an organization to respond quickly yet effectively to the issue at hand. More importantly, a crisis usually jeopardizes an organization’s image or reputation because of public, media, or governmental scrutiny. Even though solving a crisis relies heavily on the actions of the organization itself, PR practitioners play a major role in this process as well.

A PR practitioner’s first priority in solving a crisis is to identify and help fix a conflict before it gets out of hand and actually becomes a full-blown crisis. This is done by developing communications strategies and processes to influence the course of conflicts to the benefit of the organization. If at all possible a PR practitioner also strives to benefit the organization’s many publics; this is known as strategic conflict management. A PR practitioner must make the right strategic moves to not only determine the length of a conflict, but to figure out how it will affect the organization as well. Strategic conflict management involves numerous techniques that PR practitioners use to deal with conflicts to prevent a crisis.

If a conflict does turn into a crisis, which is uncommon, it’s usually because the original problem was either ignored or improperly handled in the first place. At this point the conflict has reached a critical level of impact on the organization, and a PR practitioner must use a totally different approach to help solve the problem. In this case a PR practitioner must employ strategies and techniques to communicate, negotiate, and meet the needs of publics affected by the crisis, and also figure out how to resolve the crisis for the organization itself. After the crisis has been resolved, a PR practitioner must help the organization recover by improving their reputation and restoring their image to the publics it associates with. With this said, I believe the 3 most important things a PR practitioner can do during a crisis are:

1. Two-way Symmetric Communication – A practitioner should use two-way symmetric communication throughout a crisis situation to manage the relationships between the organization facing the crisis and the publics directly affected by the crisis.

2. Maintain Positive Media Relations – A practitioner should not only monitor news coverage, but also be familiar with media needs, expectations, and deadlines. On top of this a practitioner can maintain positive media relations by exhibiting honesty, and being accessible throughout the duration of a crisis.

3. Reputation Management/Image Restoration – Once the crisis is resolved (or almost resolved) a practitioner must figure out strategies to restore the organization’s image and help them regain a positive reputation through the eyes of their key publics.

Image Source - UF Interactive Media Lab

Even though the term “crisis” has a negative connotation, there have been a few instances where a crisis has been good for an organization. A great example of a crisis working in an organization’s favor is the Tylenol Scandal of 1982. Johnson & Johnson, the company who produces Tylenol found out that several people had died from taking cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. The company immediately issued a complete recall of the product, developed new tamper-proof packaging, and launched a media campaign to keep the public informed. Because the company implemented these strategies they were able to survive through the crisis and re-establish Tylenol as a best-selling product.

PR practitioners play a major role in forming public opinion via mass media, because they are usually the ones responsible for providing the mass media with information in the first place. Even though it’s evident that mass media and public opinion are directly related, the extent in which they influence each other has been an ongoing debate. Their are many theories about mass media’s effect on audiences and vice versa, but two of the most widely recognized theories regarding this relationship are the Uses and Gratifications Theory and the Agenda-setting Theory. To understand how PR practitioners help shape public opinion through mass media, it is first important to understand the differences between these two theories.

Uses and Gratification:

1. This theory demonstrates a fulfillment of need on behalf of an audience.
2. Audience appears to have control (audience chooses which messages will be received & acted upon).
3. This theory is more useful in social situations.
4. This theory is more theoretical than evidential.
5. This theory grants power to individual audience members (audience has an influence on media).

Agenda Setting:

1. This theory demonstrates cause and effect between media agenda and public agenda.
2. The media appears to have control (media does not tell people what to think, rather what to think about).
3. This theory leads the audience to consider what stories the media deems most important.
4. This theory is proved in repeated studies.
5. This theory focuses on the benefits for mass media.

Despite the fact that these two theories are different in most aspects, they also have a relationship with one another. They are related in the sense that they both deal with how media consuming audiences interact with and interpret mass media. PR practitioners play a role in both of these theories becuase the ability to even get a subject on the media agenda is an accomplishment that helps with PR organizational goals. In summation, these theories have several distinct and critical differences but are also related to each other in a sense. While the uses and gratification theory is more focused on audiences harnessing mass media for their own benefits, the agenda-setting theory focuses on mass media’s ability to sway public perception and opinion.

The lack of credibility among the PR profession in the U.S. is not only a problem for individuals currently practicing PR, but for potential PR practitioners as well. Professional organizations such as the PRSA and IABC have significantly helped various audiences understand the importance of public relations, but the profession is still underrepresented in America today. In the following post I will place myself in the shoes of the Communications Director for the PRSA, and present a communications plan that could possibly help generate more credibility for the PR profession. Also, I will clearly state a goal and objectives for my plan, as well as provide tactics for the successful completion of each objective. Lastly, I will explain why I believe my communications strategy would successfully increase recognition and generate credibility for the PR profession in the U.S.

Image Source - PRSA

As Communications Director of the PRSA, the first step of my process would be to gather relevant research about how different publics nationwide view the PR profession. I would conduct both quantitative and qualitative research using members from various publics associated with PR, and use the data to make inferences about what the entire population thinks. I would randomly select a specific number of important figures or leaders from certain publics including corporations, businesses, nonprofit organizations, consumers, investors, voters, governments, and the media from major U.S. cities. After completing research and learning about my audience and situation, I would devise a strategic plan to meet my communications needs. My strategy would involve basic elements of a PR plan such as an overall goal, measurable objectives, and specific tactics.

A goal in a PR plan is a general outcome that the plan seeks to achieve. In this case, as Communications Director of the PRSA my ultimate goal would be to generate more credibility and recognition within the U.S. for the PR profession. I would strive towards accomplishing this goal by first developing a list of ten measurable objectives, which would all include an audience and an end-date. After narrowing this list down I’d choose to use the two most important objectives for my plan’s success. I would also exercise professional standards, by making sure that my final objectives complemented and reinforced the PRSA’s organizational objectives. The two objectives I would use in my communications plan are:

1. To increase awareness for the PR profession by 25% among the leaders of various U.S.  publics directly associated with the practice including corporations, businesses, nonprofit organizations, consumers, investors, voters, governments, and the media by January 1, 2010.

2.  To induct 500 newly established members (professional and student) into the Public Relations Society of America by January 1, 2010.

In order to achieve both of the objectives stated above, I would have to develop and use certain tactics for each. Tactics are specific actions used to accomplish objectives; each objective in a PR plan uses at least one tactic. For the first objective, I would use traditional PR tactics such as distributing newsletters and news releases, as well as hold conference calls and face-to-face meetings solely regarding the importance of the PR profession. For the second objective, I would focus on maintaining relations with University’s nationwide, and hold special events and speeches at University facilities to recruit more college students into the PRSSA.

I believe my communications plan would be effective because my first objective would make a larger portion of American society more aware of the importance of PR, which could potentially lead to more PR practitioners in the short run. My second objective would significantly help with the long run success of the profession by increasing the number of student members in the PRSSA. Basically, if more college students start becoming involved with PR, new ideas and trends regarding the profession will surely emerge. These ideas and trends will help the shape the future culture and practice of PR in the U.S. I’m convinced that my plan would successfully generate credibility for the PR profession, and if I were actually the PRSA’s Communications Director I would be confident with this strategy.

Image Source - Repmanblog

Many professional organizations have contributed to the growing success of public relations, but none have played as important of a role as the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). The PRSA, headquartered in New York City, is the largest PR organization in the world and has around 20,000 members nationwide. Chartered in 1947, the PRSA has influenced the development of ethical standards and professionalism among PR practitioners everywhere. On top of this, the organization has drastically helped various publics understand the importance of PR.

The PRSA like many other national PR organizations enforces a code of ethics for it’s members. Though it’s rare, members who violate these codes by failing to conduct themselves professionally can be censured or expelled. The PRSA believes that, “professional values are vital to the integrity of the profession as a whole.” This is most likely the reason why members are more aware of professional standards and ethics than nonmembers. The establishment of accreditation programs was one of the first major efforts to improve both ethics and professionalism in PR.

In 1965, the PRSA became one of the first PR organizations to develop and offer an accreditation program for its members. Prior to 2003, the process included both a written and oral exam, but in 2003 the process was restructured to coincide with advancements in the PR profession. Now, members who have at least five years of experience must present a portfolio, take a preview course online, complete a questionnaire, and pass a written exam. If a candidate passes the exam they earn the credential, “APR” (Accredited in Public Relations). The PRSA is also responsible for creating the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB) in 1998, which allows members of other professional groups to take the accreditation exam as well.

Even though PR practitioners can attain more credentials by becoming APR certified, the certification is unknown by most individuals outside of the PR field. This in turn means that many business leaders are unaware of the importance affiliated with becoming accredited. I personally believe that the value of accreditation is underrepresented in the business world, and that the PRSA should take action to make it more visible to business leaders. The remainder of this post will not only defend the value of accreditation, but will also propose three ways the PRSA could make APR more recognizable to business leaders nationwide.

According to the PRSA, APR proves that a practitioner has successfully demonstrated competency in the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to practice modern-day public relations. This distinguishing title sets practitioners apart from their non-certified counterparts because it establishes loyalty to the profession and to the ethical standards practiced within. I believe that accreditation is valuable because it proves to employers that a practitioner is dedicated to professionalism, success, truth, ethics, knowledge, integrity and managing mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and it’s publics. It also shows that a practitioner is educated and intelligent enough to make rational decisions in a business environment. Three ways the PRSA could make accreditation more important in the eyes of business leaders are:

1. Hold meetings, forums, classes, seminars or workshops strictly regarding accreditation, and focus primarily on ways to make APR certification more recognizable in the business world. The PRSA could also possibly add another professional interest section that focuses mainly on accreditation, and ways of promoting it to important businesses nationwide.

2. After successfully making APR certification more recognizable in the business world, the organization should maybe set up an online database with all member’s resume’s listed on it. This would help when employers are hiring, because they would be able to view the database, and weigh their options between potential practitioners they want to hire.

3. Lastly, the PRSA could collaborate with advertisers to help individuals become more aware of the accreditation opportunity. They could establish an ad campaign focused on informing the public about APR certification, by creating advertisements on all forms of print and electronic mediums.

I am convinced that if the PRSA implemented these three tactics they would see an increase in notoriety of accreditation among business leaders all over the country.

Image Source - Communication Matters

Public relations (PR) as a practice can be defined as, “the values-driven management of relationships between an organization and the publics that can affect its success.” Public relations effectively works with numerous publics including profit and nonprofit organizations, interest groups, consumers, employees, voters, investors, and the general public. There are several unique, yet important industries within the broad field of public relations, which in turn has created an array of different jobs within the practice itself. These jobs usually fall into one of the following five categories: employee relations; government relations; media relations; community relations; consumer relations; or investor relations. PR practitioners hold jobs in governments, corporations, agencies, firms, non-profit/trade associations, and occasionally work as individual consultants.

Some public relations agencies/firms attempt to target big businesses, while others focus primarily on small businesses. Stacie Krajchir, the founder and President of Bungalow PR explains why she prefers to work with small businesses in the following video, “Stacie Krajchir: PR for Small Businesses.”

PR practitioners are responsible for maintaining relations between a variety of publics, which requires them to possess necessary skills and traits. The top five skills I believe are most important for the success of a PR practitioner in no particular order are: versatility; persuasiveness; relationship management; organizational skills; and of course people skills. If a PR practitioner uses all five of these skills simultaneously, along with various other attributes, he or she will maintain a successful career.

Versatility is defined as capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks or fields of endeavor. This skill is very important for all PR practitioners, but this is especially the case with account executives.  PR account executives gain recognition for an organization or individual client by influencing public opinion or behavior. By generating positive news coverage, achieving product placement without payment in broadcast, print and new media, and placing spokespeople as commentators, a PR account executive works to proactively promote the profile of his or her clients. It’s obvious from this brief job description that an account executive must be very versatile. I believe that this skill is important for a PR practitioner because of the numerous tasks that they are responsible for day after day.

A job posted on Monster.Com for a public relations position as an Account Executive states that in order to qualify for the job, the applicant must be able to write and edit well, work in a team and be able to maintain strong relationships with media to generate awareness of clients. This proves that versatility, persuasiveness and relationship management are all important skills for PR practitioners to have.

Persuasiveness and relationship management are both important, because they are considered to be basic functions of how the public relations profession works in general. PR practitioners must be able to persuade different publics through two-way communication to do things they normally wouldn’t. Sometimes PR practitioners must advocate for an organization, and sometimes they must advocate for the publics that relate to the organization; this is where relationship management comes in handy.

Another job I found on Monster.Com for an Account Executive also proves that both persuasion and relationship management are good skills to possess in the public relations field. Some of the required skills for this position that tie in directly with persuasion and relationship management are, media relations, verbal communication, written communication and client relationships. On top of this, a PR practitioner must have organizational skills as well as people skills.

When I say organizational skills, I don’t necessarily mean that a PR practitioner must have a neat desk; I am referring more to the organization of thoughts, ideas and plans. Being organized mentally and keeping a level head in public relations is one of the most  important skills to possess. People skills are also quite important in public relations because of the vast amounts of people a practitioner must deal with everyday.

The third job I found was a position for a Client Relationship Executive with the successful company ACS. The job description suggests that the applicant should have many skills including: maintaining relationships with clients; organization; and most importantly people skills. It’s quite evident that regardless of title, all persons working in the PR field are required to harvest these essential qualities.

Image Source - Ryan Walker

“Public Relations should never be ranked below marketing or advertising within an organization. Marketing and advertising should be placed under the umbrella of public relations because they usually target only one group – the consumer.”

The statement above is quite bold, and was obviously spoken by someone who strongly believes that public relations as a profession ranks higher in importance than both the advertising and marketing fields. The statement indirectly expresses the idea that public relations has a much more important role within an organization than that of either advertising or marketing. This idea is supported by the claim that  advertising and marketing generally only target the consumer group, rather than public relations which strives on targeting numerous groups. Even though it’s true that public relations targets many more groups in comparison to advertising and marketing, I personally disagree with this statement.  The following essay will explain in further detail why I disagree.

In order to make an informed decision as to which of the three professions is responsible for the most important roles within an organization, it is first necessary to analyze the differences between them. The two most important differences between public relations, advertising and marketing are their basic functions and ultimate goals.

The ultimate goal for public relations is to maintain and manage successful relationships between organizations and the public/s directly affected by these same organizations. Successful relationship management over a long period of time  in turn leads to public recognition and positive perceptions. The basic function of public relations is obtaining free publicity and media exposure for your company and it’s products/services; this function is known as free coverage.

Free coverage differs immensely from the paid message placements and paid space used in advertising and marketing. Basically, free coverage is earned, while paid space and paid message placements cost companies significant amounts of money.  The ability for companies to purchase air time and print space has continuously helped the advertising profession progress into one of the most profitable industry’s today. Advertising has also stimulated capital and contributed to economic stability over the years.

Advertising’s  main function is to persuade consumers to buy an increased amount of  a certain product/service.  This task is accomplished through the creation of advertisements on various print and electronic mediums, such as; books, newspapers, magazines, billboards, posters, signs, television, radio and lastly, the internet. The ultimate goal of advertising is to make a profit by creating advertisements that will increase the consumption of specific products, services and brands. Although public relations, advertising and marketing all focus on targeting consumers, marketing is the only one directly tied to supply, demand and sales.

Marketing’s main function includes the transferring of goods and services between producers, manufacturers, merchandisers, providers and of course consumers. The most widely recognized and used principal in marketing is “The Marketing Mix,” which includes, product, price, place (distribution) and promotion.  Marketing as a profession has two ultimate goals; one immediate and one implicit. The immediate goal is sales, while the implicit goal is focused on overall profit margins.

After analyzing several aspects of all three professions, I attempted to rank them, but found  it to be more difficult than presumed. I weighed the pros and cons for each, and finally realized that each profession wouldn’t successfully work without the existence of the other two. I concluded that there was a symbiotic relationship between PR, advertising and marketing. This is also the reason that I disagreed with the statement at the top of the page; I feel that all three professions possess equally important attributes and shouldn’t be ranked in succession.

If I had to pick randomly,  I would put advertising at the top because of the amount of revenue created by the ad industry each year, and because of it’s dominance in our everyday society. PR would be in the middle because I feel like relationship management would be one of the most helpful attributes  in contributing to the success of an organization.  Then for no reason at all, besides the mere fact that it would be the only option, marketing would be on the bottom.