Tweet

Does the PR Blueprint Work

Written by: Bob Kelly

Article Overview: The right public relations blueprint will help you persuade you key external stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead to your unit's success.

Does the PR Blueprint Work

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
Only requirement: you must use the Robert A. Kelly
byline and resource box. Word count is 1120 including
guidelines and box. Robert A. Kelly © 2006.

Does the PR Blueprint Work?

Managers, please take a minute and read two sentences:
People act on their own perception of the facts before
them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which
something can be done. When we create, change or
reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and
moving-to-desired-action the very people whose
behaviors affect the organization the most, the public
relations mission is accomplished.

Properly executed, this comprehensive blueprint will
help you persuade your key external stakeholders to your
way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead
to your unit’s success.

And, as you move the emphasis of the public relations
crew assigned to your operation from communications
tactics to the model outlined above, YOU move ever
closer to personal success as a unit manager.

Here’s why. The blueprint demands of you a sharper focus
on the very groups of outside people who play a major role
in just how successful a manager you will be – your key
external audiences.

Like most managerial initiatives you implement, your new
public relations blueprint also will require aggressive
execution.

But, how do we KNOW the blueprint works? In three ways:

1) Goal achievement

2) Follow the big boys

3) Problem-solving muscle

Goal achievement -- Because the blueprint requires that
a public relations goal be established, the first way we
know the blueprint works is when you achieve that goal.
That’s just pure success when you end up nailing the
objective you planned for up front.

Follow the big boys -- watch the performance of big
business, non-profit and association operators. Over time,
large organizations become aware of those outside
audiences whose behaviors affect it the most because
those stakeholder behaviors can and do cause pain. In
due course, a list of these “publics” is created of special
interest to the public relations department and its agencies.

Because some behaviors hurt more than others, the big boys
often assign key stakeholder audience rankings. This prioritizes
them as to impact, highlighting which target audiences require
special attention and a hefty chunk of the public relations
budget.

Unlike smaller entities, big organizations benefit from extensive
early-warning networks in the form of field representatives,
suppliers, customers of all sizes, various vendors, local, regional
and national print and broadcast media who cover their activities,
university contacts, retirees, sales representatives and residents
of towns where its facilities operate.

Such networks provide much of the perception monitoring
needed to discover and track how the organization’s key target
audiences perceive it. In many cases, larger organizations retain
professional survey counsel to gather these data, while others
utilize staff public relations expertise in perception and
behavior matters.

Many larger organizations waste little time applying corrective
action to serious perception problems because they know how
they can morph into troublesome behaviors. The public
relations goal usually reflects the most negative perceptions
discovered either during the opinion monitoring phase or from
input gleaned from members of the organization’s diverse
network. For example, a new goal such as clarifying a dangerous
misconception, correcting an unfortunate inaccuracy or spiking
a potentially hurtful rumor.

Time-honored strategies are applied to achieve the new PR
goal – change existing perception, create perception where there
isn’t any, or reinforce it. And this is followed by preparation of
a persuasive, compelling and believable message designed to
alter perception of that key target audience in the organization’s
direction.

Big operators tend to be strongest (and financially able) in
marshalling a variety of high-impact communications tactics
to carry the corrective message to the eyes and ears of members
of the key target audience. Everything from emails, media
interviews and newsletters to speeches, brochures, consumer
meetings, facility tours and many, many others.

Finally, leaving little to chance, many large organizations go
back to the field to measure perception change among members
of their key target audience in order to track how their public
relations activity has actually moved perception of that key
target audience in the desired direction.

In this way, the success of a large organization PR effort
easily can be gauged.

Re: problem-solving muscle – here’s how the public relations
blueprint can actually work for you, step by step, as a department,
division or subsidiary manager.

You and the public relations people assigned to your business,
non-profit or association unit, sit down and list and prioritize
your most important outside audiences.

You and your team interact with members of the key target
audience and ask a lot of questions about how they perceive
your operation. Watch for negatives.

You gather the data and use them to set your public relations
goal – i.e., correct that inaccuracy, clarify that misconception,
fix that false assumption.

Then you select one of three available strategies that will show
you how to reach that goal: create perception where there may
be none, change existing perception, or reinforce it.

Now you and your PR team prepare a persuasive, compelling,
factual and believable message designed to alter the most hurtful
perceptions among members of your key target audience.

Next, you select from among dozens of communications tactics
that will carry your message to the eyes and ears of your target
audience. Everything from media interviews, personal meetings
and emails to speeches, brochures and newsletters. You may
even speed things up by adding more communications tactics,
and by increasing certain key tactic frequencies.

To nail down results, you and your PR team again monitor the
perceptions of key target audience members, again asking
questions, but this time watching carefully for signs that the
negatives you discovered are actually being altered. And most
important, that your target audience perception is moving in your
direction.

You’ll know your public relations effort is a winner when you
successfully apply your business, non-profit or association
resources to persuading your key external stakeholders to your
way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead to the
success of your department, division or subsidiary.

end

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and
association managers about using the fundamental premise of public
relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has authored 245
articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click
Expert Authors, click Robert A. Kelly. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola
Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport
News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications,
U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary,
The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from
Columbia University, major in public relations.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com

Related Articles
  Creating a Toronto Tagline
  Why MLM Sponsoring is Easier With An Attraction Marketing Blueprint
  What’s YOUR Sustainability Blueprint?
  Why Do You Want More Money?
  Staying Ahead of your CompetitionThe Green way

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: Five Personality Traits of Successful Business Owners - 1. Focus 2. Ability to Adapt 3. Hard Work 4. Good planning 5. People Skills
Re: Books for the Entrepreneur - Another great book for internet entrepreneurs is The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris MichelleJ
Try wikipedia.com for more information - That depends what type of business you are involved in. Maybe if you share that, we can help you a little better. I work mostly in the Work at Home industry so my advice would only be along those lines.
Re: Vera Wang Profile - I too love this kind of success story Evan, I especially liked the article 'Nothing Replaces Hard Work', I can relate to a lot of things in there, take care Carol
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Emotional Intelligence in Business

Severance and Separation Agreements

Email Marketing Made Easy #11 - Avoiding Spam

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.