Public relations is the procedure of checking the flow of information between an institution and its community. Public relations provide an institution or people publicity to their audiences through issues of public interest and news that does no need any direct payment. Such activities are like talking in seminars, working with the media and employee communication. These are things that are not tangible and that is what makes it different from advertising. Public relations can be used to create communication among employees, customers, voters or the public at large. Any company that values how it is viewed in the public eye must use some level of public relations. (Bernays, 1945)
Body
Public relation is a subject that has been around for a long period but major developments occurred around the 20th century. The development in different areas including interpersonal communication, arts, literature, staged events and publicity has advanced at this period. In the beginning of 1900, Henry Ford was known for two fundamental public relations ideas. He put forward the concept of positioning which means that publicity will be recognized to anyone who initiates something. He also advocated for ease of access to the media. President Theodore Roosevelt widely made use of publicity through conferences and interviews. He also made use of presidential tour for publicity and advocacy. (Seitel, 2007)
Ivy lee was a public relations counselor and in 1906, modern public relations began when he was employed by the coal manufacturing and got involved in a strike. The miners supervisors were speaking with the media while the coal owners stayed away from the press. This is when Lee confronted the leaders to change their stand and he issued Declaration of Principles which led to the age of free publicity for businesses. In 1914, Lee was employed by industrialist John D. Rockefeller where the Ludlow Massacre strike occurred and Lee had Rockefeller speak with the media. He also invented the New York Subway poster chain in 1916. (Seitel, 2007)
Edward Bernays, his wife and Doris Fleischman in the early 1920s were able to advance the value of public relations counseling. In 1923, he wrote an influential book Crystallizing Public relations that formed the basis to modern public relations counsel. George Creel developed comprehensive public relations programs for President Woodrow Wilson cabinet. He managed to influence the newspapers to give free space for advertising of War Liberty Bonds. This became a success and thus led to creation of awareness to the Americans of the influence that arbitrated information has in promoting public attitudes. In 1930, Carl Byoir who was working together with George Creel established the largest public relations company that was on the top for more than fifty years. (Bernays, 1945)
In the 1960s many public relation issues came into being after the Vietnam War including Civil Rights, womens movement and other environmental issues. The 1970s saw the age of improvements in the stock market and investor rights. Companies were expected to give out information that may have any effect on the value of the stock. The 1980s saw the idea of public relation as a management function invented while in 1990 this management could be incorporated by individuals to build concrete management issues. In 2000 public relations grew as a concept of Relationship management. This means that individuals that the authority to create solid relationships with an organizations publics. (Seitel, 2007)
Conclusion
The public relations field has grown tremendously over the past years. In the modern society women play a great role in the advancement of public relations. Many companies and institutions today are much more open to the society on various issues. The Internet is playing a great role in helping companies share information to the public which was not the case in the past. Public relation is in the increase in the fields of mass media and other communication media where the public are free to talk on various issues affecting their lives.
References List
Bernays, E. (1945). Public Relations. Boston, MA: Bellman Publishing Company.
Seitel, F. P. (2007). The Practice of Public Relations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
International events bring many people from different regions together. When organizing internationals events, organizers should have competence skills so that they can be able to make such events successful and enable the customers to appreciate the products. During preparation of internationals events, public relations and relationship marketing skills play a major role in ensuring that the event is successful (Bernays, 2004).
This paper will assess the effectiveness of public relations and relations marketing in ensuring that international events become successful. To acquire a broader understanding, this paper will discuss numerous theories of public relations and relationship management. This paper will also use the Miss Universe Pageant 2011 as the case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of public relations and relationship management.
Introduction
Events industry is crucial in informing the public about future events (Peck, 2001). Mostly, events industry is influential in ensuring the public supports local and international events. Notably, marketing plays a major role to ensure that such events become successful. Marketing refers to any positive effort used by a company to cultivate a good relationship between the customer and the company (Bernays, 2004).
These efforts refer to the various approach techniques aimed at achieving the set objectives. Marketing helps individual and companies to obtain positive results through developing channels where they can be able to exchange products, ideas, and values. However, it is important to understand that balancing the companys need and those of the customer is a crucial step, and any strategy used by the company in the marketing process must be guided by certain goals. Such objectives must meet customers expectations (Smith, 2004).
Today, there is a serious competition and event organizers must become innovative in order to out-smart other competitors in the same field. They must also be very creative to develop better strategies that will catch the attention of the customers. On the other hand, it is important that event organizers to have the ability to maintain customers base (Marconi, 2004).
A good marketer is able to maintain a good relationship with the customers and therefore ensuring that the marketer also retains his customers (Wilcox and Cameron, 2011). Because of competition, marketers should work towards retaining their customers. However, this is not easy and it requires a well developed relationship between the marketer and the customer. Therefore, public relation and marketing go hand in hand.
Public relation is a management practice which aims at promoting goodwill between the organization and the public, community members, employees and the customers (Brown, 2009). It also involves different procedures that influences publics attitudes, defines procedures of a company, and develops the action plan to earn public acceptance (Breakenridge, 2008).
When a company develops new products, public relation informs the public about the new products. The public relation department then studies the public to observe their reaction or respond to the new product. This is the reasons why event organizers must organize an event that will be productive.
Relation marketing is a form of marketing which has emerged as a result of customer response. This form of marketing involves being aware of customers need in order to satisfy them (Smith, 2011). Relation marketing aims at developing a strong and long lasting relationship with the customers.
Literature review of public relation theories
In this section, this paper will review numerous contemporary theories of the public relations and relation marketing especially those theories that have emerged in the recent. This theories will demonstrate how new developments have emerged in this crucial areas of public relation and relation marketing.
Rhetoric theory of public relation is one of the public relations theories that emerged long time. This theory was proposed by Robert Heath in the 1980. Heath proposed rhetoric to be the essence of an organizations relationship to its environment (Mackey, 2003). According to Heath, expressing marketing ideas through speech plays an important role in promoting public relations.
Heath also argues that, a good and successful organization is one that is able to communicate well to the customers (Mackey, 2003). Therefore, rhetorical theory plays a major role in facilitating public relations and it accounts for the symbolic aspects of communication that are significant in public relations activities (Mackey, 2003). Rhetoric theory helps to focus on the stakeholders, bring different interpretations, and creates meaning.
The Commitment-Trust theory of relationship marketing. Morgan and Hunt, (1994) argues that relationship marketing is about creating and maintaining quality relational exchange. In order to have a successful relation marketing, commitment and trust are key ingredients required to maintain focus to the set goals. Relation marketing involves developing network so that the company can be ahead of other competitors.
Morgan and Hunt (1994) say that, true marketing companies become successful by establishing strong networks that are held together by norms such as commitment and trust. Within a network, competitors need to develop a strong trust to cooperate well.
On the other hand, there are other many factors that may contribute to success or failure of relation marketing but commitment and trust are central to success of relation marketing because they encourage investment among marketers, encourage commitment to short term and long term goals, and they promote efficiency leading to supportive behavior (Morgan and Hunt, 1994).
Symmetrical model of public relations. This theory was brought forward by Grunings and has its foundation from political science theories (Turney, 1998). Interest group liberalism is a political theory, which believes that in a society, groups have different interests and there is need to indentify a point of harmony.
For instance, in a country groups of activists or trade unions must be formed to protect the public from exploitative behaviors (Turney, 1998). The symmetrical model in public relations argues that, public relation officers are hired not only to make sure the organization benefits but also to ensure that the targeted groups benefit (Turney, 1998).
This theory also argues that public relations occur when people want to secure and develop their expectations. For these reasons, people have to engage in dialogue and arguments to solve current issues and prevent conflict in the future. Public relation is a continuous practice and hence it is important to form long lasting relationships (Turney, 1998). It is also important to listen and understand others to ensure effective communication.
Back ground information about Miss Universe 2011
In fact, Miss Universe 2011 attracted million of viewers across the world. This is also a current event that will help in reflecting how public relation and relation marketing have developed today. Miss Universe 2011 will also help in assessing the current marketing strategies especially the social media and how it has contributed to success of events.
Miss Universe is beauty pageant project that was founded in the year 1952 by California Pacific Mills Company (Miss Universe Organization, 2011). This event is held every year with the main event usually being held in the months of May or July.
The first contest was held in California. Miss Universe 2011 marks the 60th anniversary of the Miss Universe event; it was held in Brazil September 12, 2011 (Miss Universe Organization, 2011). The 2011 pageant was broadcasted across the world and it had over 600 million viewers. In this event, the finalists were interviewed and the runners up were decided based on this criterion.
According to the organizers, the winner must meet certain standards and must posses some traits such as intelligent, quality discipline, and cultural values (Miss Universe Organization, 2011) and therefore Miss Universe contest is more than a beauty pageant. The event celebrates the intelligence, integrity, and personality of women (Miss Universe Organization, 2011).
In recent years, Miss Universe has been chosen by popular internet vote. Voting of the winner was introduced to the viewers where peoples choice was voted in Miss Universe 2011; the winner and her runners-up were given special awards (Miss Universe Organization, 2011).
The main objective of this event is to recognize and appreciate qualities that define a woman. On the other hand, the funds that are raised for this event are used to promote charity work across the world. It also promotes cultural values and helps to spread hope in the planet.
Internal stakeholders in the Miss Universe 2011 include all involved participants such as staff, promoters, donors, contestants, and Miss World Organization, which is the main organizer. Externals stakeholders include all affected parties such as the, host country, community, and the media (Miss Universe Organization, 2011).
Public relations strategies used on internal stakeholders
For such a big event managing public relations may seem difficult. However, it is important to grab any opportunity to ensure that organizing of this event becomes successful (Ledingham and Bruning, 2001). Foremost, an effective public relations strategy on internals stakeholders will include press release.
As an event organizer, it is important that all contestants, employees and other stakeholders be aware of any news concerning future events. Therefore, it is important to write a press release and distribute it to all involved stakeholders to ensure effective communication.
Secondly, another public relation strategy that should be used on internal stakeholders is making use of the internet (Johnston and Zawawi, 2009).The company should create a blog. The companys blog can play a major role to provide good public relations to the management and contestants. When your blog is part of the public relations it helps in enlightening the involved parties about the product and the events is exposed to the customers as well; it is a form of advertisement.
Another strategy is working with the media. Public relation is the ability to create and develop free publicity (Hougaard and Bjerre 2003). As such, working with the media ensures that the event gets enough coverage. Once the event gets enough publicity, the company establishes new contacts with other interested parties including donors and volunteers (Bowdin, 2010). Working with the media will ensure that the event acquires more donors and contestants become interested too.
Additionally, organizing media events can be a good public relation strategy on internal stakeholders (Smith, 2004). As an event organizer, one can organize several media events such as special shows. This will help in getting many media outlets and it offers the event an opportunity to have a good exposure (Breakenridge, 2008).
By gaining a good exposure will motivate the contestants because they also become aware of what is expected in the main event. On the other hand, the organizer should be very creative and come up with excellent ideas. Through such ways, the organization may encourage more promoters and donors to contribute towards supporting this event (Poster, 1995).
The use of all public relations is effective in one way or the other. The use of press release, working together with the media, utilizing the internet, and organizing special events can ensure success of the main event (Bowdin, 2010). It will be effective since it provides good exposure, it motivates the contestants, encourages promoters, enlightens the staff, and it does attract more customers. However, creativity is required to provide good public relations to ensure that the event becomes successful.
Relation marketing strategies used on external stakeholders and its effectiveness
Relations marketing strategies should ensure that external stakeholders are informed concerning events (Ledingham and Bruning, 2001). First, the marketing relations should set up a forum that will allow community and media representatives to give their views pertaining to the upcoming event.
The hosting community determines the security level of the place where the event is occurring. For this reason, the relations marketing should ensure that the community is treated with dignity and respect (Marconi, 2004). Secondly, community members should be assured that the event would not violate their norms or interfere with their way of life.
Thirdly, marketing relations has to ensure that the community and the media are rewarded for participating in the event and giving the event organizer a positive image (Smith, 2011). The event organizer should understand that all the stakeholders including the hosting community and the media can make this event successful (Hougaard and Bjerre2003).
Relation marketing should also appreciate the community and the social media for their support in the past; this will help them understand that the company recognizes their role and appreciates their effort (Brown, 2009).
The media is responsible in promoting the event and the image of the company to the outside world and hence, the marketing relations department must ensure that the media is informed about the progress of the event from planning stages to the final detail.
Additionally, the company should create a blog where it can communicate to the community and get instant feedback concerning the upcoming event. Alternatively, event organizer should promote community projects as a social corporate responsibility to bring the hosting community and event organizers closer creating good image and trust (Egan, 2008).
Creating good communication between the event organizers, hosting community, and social media will ensure that the company meets the expectations of the stakeholders. When the community feels appreciated, they will support this event and many others because community members have earned trust; this will contribute to success of the event (Peck, 2001).
Generally, everyone likes to be appreciated and valued by the people they interact with. For instance, a media group that has supported the company before will be positive about this event because the company has rewarded them for their loyalty. This will ensure that, they will give the Miss Universe beauty pageant more media coverage (Egan, 2008).
Conclusion and recommendations
Managing relations with the media is so much inclined on public relations than relation marketing. For a long time public relations has been looked as synonymous with the media and this is not true.
Public relations maintains positive image of the company to the public. Public relation officers use the social media and press release to communicate to the public. Therefore, public relations department must establish a positive relationship with the media; this is important to prevent any negative communication from the media (McKee and Dave, 2010).
Communication is an important aspect in promoting event industry. To ensure that communication is effective, public relation and relation marketing should focus on exposing events online.
Social networks can play a major role in this area. Organizers can communicate about Miss Universe event through face book and twitter because majority people are using these social networks. This way, it will attract more participants and encourage customers.
To ensure that the event industry becomes successful in the future, organization should develop good relationship with the media because the social media plays a big role in public relations. Therefore, organization should always ensure that they relate well with media because they are also stakeholders (Poster, 1995).
Alternatively, organization should also consider promoting special events. The company can opt to promote any event at the community level with an aim of promoting charity work. Through this way, the community will developed trust towards the organization (Harrison and John, 1996)
The company should develop a good relationship with their clients. Relation marketing department should create avenues that will enable the company to understand the changing needs of their customers (Egan, 2008). Customer relationship can also be improved by providing the clients with good experiences at all times. Engaging the customers by getting their opinion will enable the customers to feel appreciated and valued.
Reference List
Bernays, L., 2004. Public Relations. Cleveland: Kessinger Pub Co.
Breakenridge, D., 2008. New media, New tools, New audiences. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Brown, R., 2009. Public Relations and the Social Web. London: Kogan Page.
Egan, J., 2008. Relationship Marketing: Exploring Relational Strategies in Marketing. New Jersey. Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Harrison, J. and John, C., 1996. Managing and partnering with external stakeholders. Academy of Management Executive, 10 (2), pp. 48-60.
Hougaard, S. and Bjerre, S., 2003. Strategic relationship marketing. New York. Springer.
Johnston, J. and Zawawi. C., 2009. Public Relations: Theory and Practice. Sidney: Allen & Unwin.
Ledingham, A. and Bruning, S., 2001. Public Relations as Relationship Management: A Relational Approach to the Study and Practice of Public Relations. London: Routledge.
Mackey, S., 2003. Changing vistas in public relations theory. Web.
Marconi, J., 2004. Public Relations: The Complete Guide. New York: Thomson Learning.
McKee, J. and Dave. E., 2010. Social Media Marketing: The next generation of Business Engagement. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Miss Universe Organization, 2011. Miss Universe. Web.
Morgan, R. and Hunt, S., 1994. The Commitment-Trust theory of relation marketing. The Journal of Marketing, 58 (3), pp. 20-38.
Peck, H., 2001.Towards a framework of relationship marketing: a case study approach. Cranfield: Cranfield University Press.
Poster, M., 1995. The Second media age. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Smith, R., 2004. Strategic planning for public relations. London: Routledge.
Smith, M., 2011. The New Relationship Marketing: How to Build a Large, Loyal, Profitable network. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Turney, M., 1998. Asymmetric v. symmetric public relations. Web.
Wilcox, L. and Cameron, T., 2011. Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics. Ottawa: Pearson education.
The name of the company is New Startup Company. This is a chain of stores that deals with two sets of consumer goods. There is a segment that deals with consumer goods and the segment that deals with fashion. This is a new name that is supposed to help in reestablishing the brand of the company. The companys logo will also be changed.
Executive summary of the situation
The case presented in this paper focuses on a company that performed excellently in the past. However, the company no longer performs well in the present time. Several managerial problems or weaknesses are linked to the declining popularity of the company in the market.
The company has lost its stability and is about to be closed. There are declined sales, lower customer turn up and dead stocks. The management of the company has been focusing on how to deal with this unremunerative situation. It is pointed out that the main cause of poor performance of the company is lapses in management. This is seen in a number of business trends, which have been seen in the company for the past few years.
They include regular complaints from customers about the services that they receive from the company, complaints about high prices of goods and services and frequent employee strikes in the company. The company has also been accused of being inactive. This means that it has failed to promote its goods and popularize its services in the market besides shunning corporate social responsibility.
All these issues point to one thing; the failure of the company to embrace public relations in its practices. Therefore, a public relations oriented plan is crafted in this paper. It is aimed at revenging Smarktlinks. In the plan, business objectives, as well as public relations objectives are clearly stated and explained. The strategies of reviving business are outlined and incorporated into public relations programs.
Business Objectives
According to Gaulden & Brown (2007), business objectives are quite critical as they give any company a path to pursue its activities. In this case, business objectives will be structured in such a way that they will guide the management in solving the problems that have led to the collapse of the company.
The main business objective will be to rurn the company back to the performance path. This is the core objective of business improvement. This objective will be attained through the formulation of other minor objectives. Minor objectives help in setting out the operations and strategies which eventually results in the fulfillment of the main objective.
The first objective is to attract customers through the implementation of service quality strategies. This objective was developed based on research outcomes that denoted a high level of dissatisfaction among the customers of the company. Service quality improvement is a broad exercise which will necessitate changes in direct as well as indirect operations. The second business objective is to revert the profit making trend in the company.
The company operates at a loss because it loses its customers. A company can hardly sustain its operations when it is operating at a loss. Losses in a business are eliminated through a combination of efforts. When the efforts are well articulated, they eliminate the threats to the business and help the business to regain its stability and its profit making trend (Gaulden & Brown, 2007).
Creation of competency in the business is another objective for Smarhtlinks. This is the leading path towards the creation of competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is often the end product of the cumulative performance strategies that are applied by the company. It follows that competitive advantage is the final business objective that will be pursued by the company.
In fact, it comes automatic in the sense that when the activities leading to the attainment of the other mentioned objectives are pursued, competitiveness is automatically attained. Pursuing public relations objectives will also help in bringing about competitiveness (Dubois, 1993).
Public Relations Objectives
There is a need to develop comprehensive public relations objectives. These objectives are critical in reviving the image of the company ( Business: The ultimate resource , 2003). The revitalization of the image of the company will be helpful in attracting customers and improving the performance of the company.
Public relations objectives in a company are often crafted after a deeper look into the demands of a business. Given that the company had been deteriorating, the objectives will focus on renewing the internal business environment which is comprised of the staff and management of the company.
The chief objective of the company is to restore the image of the company in the face of publics. This is further broken down into minor objectives. The first objective of public relations is to better the internal environment of the company. The objective also centers on renewing and bettering the external environment of the company.
The external environment of the company is comprised of customers who are termed as the most valuable assets of a company. This entails the rebuilding of the relationship between the company and its publics. Of key importance, is the relationship between the company and its customers (Morris & Goldsworthy, 2012).
The first objective under this category is to improve the internal environment of the company. The improvement of the relationship between management and staff of a company is often desired. Wrangles had been reported between the staff and management in the company.
Those internal conflicts were one of the cause of poor customer service in the company. The needs of employees are critical to the performance of any organization. Wrangles between employees and managers often resonate from the lack of fulfillment of the needs of employees by management of organizations.
This is explained in many texts that discus organizational behavior. The second objective, which concerns the molding of the internal environment of the company, is to improve learning in the organization. Creating an environment that encourages employees to be innovative is a bold step that will encourage creativity and improve the performance of the company (Stephenson, Mintzer & Stephenson, 2008). Concerning the improvement of the external environment of the company, there are two objectives to be pursued.
The first objective is to increase the rate of development and implementation of corporate social responsibility activities. Corporate social responsibility is a tool that links the company to its external publics. It is argued that most companies perform well in the market, not because of the nature of goods and services that are offered by them, but because of their active implementation of corporate activities.
The second objective is to foster the sense of customer responsibility in the company. Customer centered approaches are desired in different types of business. The main aim of customer centered services is to pull customers towards the company. This in turn, helps the company to understand its customers and consequently offer them appealing services (Stephenson, Mintzer & Stephenson, 2008).
Strategies
Without proper strategies, the company can hardly meet its objectives. Strategies help a company respond to urgent issues. Both long-term and short-term goals are accompanied by strategies. Failure to develop and enforce favorable strategies hinders a company from meeting its goals and objectives (Eigenhuis & Dijk, 2007). For the company, the developed strategies will help realize objectives that are embedded in set goals.
The two sets of objectives, business and public relations, have to work in close relation so as to revive the company. As the person mandated to oversee the revival of the company, I will ensure that there is a strong sense of coordination of activities so as to avoid collusion and confusion which is likely to bring more complications to the company. Each stage of improvement will be marked and will act as a learning point for the company and a bridge for meeting other objectives (Swann, 2010).
The objectives will be addressed according to their urgency. The reconstruction of the internal environment of the company is a critical step in reviving the firm. It will be given the first priority as far as the implementation of the objectives is concerned. A company often grows from internally. Building and encouraging climate in the organization will motivate and encourage employees to work for the betterment of the company.
A stakeholder meeting will be summoned up and all issues that have brought friction between the management and employees will be deliberated upon and sorted out. A solution to the friction will be reached through consensus. This will be followed by the introduction of performance management in the company.
Performance management introduction is meant to raise the level of performance of the company employees by inducing best human resource practices (Swann, 2010).
After the activities geared towards improving the internal environment are implemented, the company will embark on business oriented practices. These practices are supported by the internal environment of the company; mainly staff and the existing operational procedures and practices in the company.
Business practices entail raising of finances to stoke the company. The company has two segments of operation. Reviving all these segments at once will be quite challenging for the company because it does not have sufficient funds to do so. Therefore, it will be logical to start with one segment; in this case, the segment comprising of consumables.
As this segment picks up with the backup of the widely practiced corporate activities, the company will raise money to be used in opening another segment; the fashion segment. Business growth is at most times a logical process that pegs on progressive achievements (Hutchins, 2008).
The targeted point of growth of the company is the period when the two segments of business in the company are run side by side and generate profits for the company. This will ensure stability and the regaining of competitiveness of the company. Strategic changes will be introduced at different stages of the business developmnet depending on the demands which will arise as the business progresses.
According to Sekhar (n.d.), monitoring and evaluation aid in identifying the performance of a business at a given stage. Areas of strength, as well as areas of weakness, are easily identified through monitoring and evaluation outcomes (Brennan & International Institute of Business Analysis, 2009). Through this, the company management will be able to introduce adjustments to the identified areas of weakness.
Failures in business often emanate from the failure of management to keep assessing the progress of the programs that are already running. Weakness may result from inconsistencies which are hard to detect. Such inconsistencies can only be identified through a thorough audit of the company.
Auditing checks into all the details of business performance to determine whether they are efficient or inefficient (Arter, 2003; Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2013). Therefore, both internal and external auditing will be applied in the company in order to help maintain the required track of growth.
Public Relations Programs
According to Stacks (2011), public relations programs are composed of a series of activities that aim at strengthening the relationship between a company and its publics. For a business company, the most critical publics are the customers. Strengthening the relationship between a company and its customers is one sure way of increasing sales for the company (Heath, 2005). Several public relations programs will be run by the company.
There are two main objectives of these programs. The first objective is to increase the awareness of the customers about the company and its products and services. This is a marketing inclined objective. The second objective is to raise the sense of corporate social responsibility in the company.
Corporate social responsibility serves as a promoting tool for the company in the market. Engagement of companies in corporate social activities has multiple benefits for a company. It enhances marketing and advertisement functions and helps interact with its customer. Research shows that companies that embrace corporate social responsibility, end up spending less money on advertising and marketing functions (Weiner, 2006). CSR activities serve these functions. Two main public relations programs will be run by the company.
Promotion of media relations is the nature of public relations functions that will be run by the company. Media relations programs are often extensive. They help communicate with a wide audience from which the customers are derived. Different kinds of media, for instance, the print and the audio-visual, as well as the social media, will be used in passing messages to the publics (Johnston, 2013).
The media will be critical in communicating the companys brands to the customers. The other reason for the embrace of media relations is that media plays a strategic role in crisis communication. Though the media, the company will quickly pass messages to the publics.
The second form of public relations programs that will be conducted by the firm is the development of internal communication channels. Internal communication channels are critical in establishing the corporate identity of an organization. Proper communication channels will be developed in order to define the flow of information in the company. A proper structure of communication is helpful in the flow of information. It will increase the flow of transactions and speed up decision making even in times of crises (Heath, 2005).
Reference List
Arter, D. R. (2003). Quality audits for improved performance. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: ASQ Quality Press.
Brennan, K., & International Institute of Business Analysis. (2009). A guide to the Business analysis body of knowledge (BABOK guide). Toronto: International Institute of Business Analysis.
Business: The ultimate resource. (2003). Beijing: Citic Publishing House.
Dubois, D. D. (1993). Competency-based performance improvement: A strategy for organizational change. Amherst MA: HRD Press.
Eigenhuis, A., & Dijk, R. (2007). High performance business strategy: Inspiring success through effective human resource management. London [u.a.: Kogan Page.
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2013). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.
Gaulden, D. E., & Brown, S. Y. (2007). Right makes might: Reviving ethics to improve your business. Austin, Tex: Bridgeway Books.
Heath, R. L. (2005). Encyclopedia of public relations: 1. Thousand Oaks, Ca. [u.a.: Sage.
Hutchins, D. C. (2008). Hoshin Kanri: The strategic approach to continuous improvement. Aldershot, England: Gower.
Johnston, J. (2013). Media relations: Issues and strategies. Crows Nest, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin.
Morris, T., & Goldsworthy, S. (2012). PR today: The authoritative guide to public relations. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sekhar, G. V. S. (n.d.). Business policy and strategic management. S.l.: I K International Publi.
Stacks, D. W. (2011). Primer of public relations research. New York: Guilford Press.
Stephenson, J., Mintzer, R., & Stephenson, J. (2008). Ultimate homebased business handbook: How to start, run and grow your own profitable business. Irvine, Calif.: Entrepreneur Press.
Swann, P. (2010). Cases in Public Relations Management. New York: Rouledge.
Weiner, M. (2006). Unleashing the power of PR: A contrarians guide to marketing and communication. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
The president of the United States, Barrack Obama is expected to visit Regent College during his first official visit in the United Kingdom. Mr. Obama is among the most respected intellectuals in the world. Regent College is a private Christian institution that offers a wide range of programmes.
This includes certificates, diplomas and degrees (undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate). Despite its excellence and credibility, the institution has not gained a lot popularity locally, nationally and worldwide. Due to this fact, the institution does not have enough students to sustain its facilities and capabilities.
Barrack Obamas visit to the college gives this institution a golden opportunity to raise awareness to the general public about the college to increase the number of students who will enrol in the university. The visit by the American president will be covered by more than 400 local, national and international media houses.
They will therefore be the avenue to use to pass this information to the target audience. The target audience for this project will be students, academicians, parents and the society all around the world. Once this goal has been achieved, the number of student enrolment in the institution is expected to increase due to the high level of recognition that it gained from the media coverage.
However, achieving this goal is not easy. It requires proper planning and excellent execution. The project will therefore follow a four point plan.
This includes the definition of the problem, the definition of the audience, identification of the communication avenues and finally employing the best tactics and strategies to ensure that the project is successful. In the end, an evaluation will be conducted to measure the success of the project.
Definition of the Problem
The success of any project depends on proper identification of the problem1. Through proper identification and definition of the problem, the factors which need to be worked on are clearly determined and identified.
This will assist in the determination of the strengths and weaknesses of the programme. The project will therefore formulate procedure, guidelines and policies which will work on maximizing the strengths of the project and improving on the weaknesses.
The main problem that Regent College is facing is the low level of publicity that the institution is experiencing. The institution has always been referred to as a small private college in the regional media coverage. It is mainly familiar to the regional societies who also view it as a small college.
This notion has lead them to believe that the college does not have enough competence to meet their educational needs and requirements. As a result therefore, the student turnover at the institution is very low.
The main goal of this project is to raise the awareness of Regent College. Once this goal has been achieved, student turnover in the university is expected to be much higher. To achieve this goal, a lot of considerations have to be put in place. First of all, the target audience has to know what the university is all about.
They should therefore have the information concerning the history of the college, the programmes which are offered by the college, its goals, objectives and achievements and the impact it has created on its students, the surrounding community and in the world. By having this information, the target audience will have a rough idea of what the institution is all about.
Gaining trust from the audience is also another objective which has to be achieved. At this level, the growth and development of this institution mainly depends on the trust gained from the society. Trust can be gained in several ways. The mere fact that Barrack Obama is visiting the institution gives it a lot of trust and credibility.
This is because the institution has gained international recognition and has attracted many big names including the president of the United States. This fact has to be made clear to the audience in the course of the project.
To add on this, the institution should also create a list of alumni who have been successful in their professions. Once this picture has been created, people will have more trust and belief in the institution, a move which will result to an increase in the number of students in the college.
With increased awareness, the number of students is expected to increase. People normally like to be affiliated with success and good reputation. The current status of Regent College has none of these. As a result, the number of students who enrol in the institution have been low as compared to the expectation of the management.
In the course of Obamas visit, the institution should therefore create an impression and atmosphere which will change the attitudes and perceptions of the audience. By the end of the visit and media coverage, people should have increased their confidence and trust towards the institution.
By achieving this, the institution would have improved its reputation to the target audience. It will be more recognised locally, nationally and internationally thus attracting students from far and wide. The expected end result of this progress is the rise in number of student enrolment in the institution to pursue the various programmes which it offers.
The Audience
It is also important to identify the audience which the programme is targeting. This is because the success of this programme depends on a clear understanding of the audience. For the programme to be effective, it has to meet the needs and requirements of the audience.
Therefore, before the commencement of the programme, it is important for the project team to identify the audience, determine their needs and formulate means through which it will meet and satisfy them2.
The audience of this programme comprises of individuals from all over the world. This includes prospective students, current students, parents, visitors, alumni friends and partners within the region, nation and the entire world.
These are the stakeholders of their institutions hence their needs and requirements should be met. In doing so, the programme will be successful both in the short run and long run.
Prospective students are those individual who would wish to join the programmes which are offered by the university. Senior students in high schools, students who have just completed their secondary education and academicians are just but a few of the individuals who form this group.
The individuals of this group would want to join an educational institution which offers the best education and has the necessary facilities and equipments to support the available programmes. They would also like to be members of a reputable institution.
This programme will therefore advertise the various programmes which Regent College has, its expertise, facilities and success. Once this group has this information in hand, most of them will definitely join the various courses that are offered by the college.
It is of great importance to also have in mind the current students of various schools and faculties that constitute the college. These students play an important role of sustaining the institution. As a matter of fact, they are the institution.
This project should therefore be used to improve their self esteem and motivation. This can be achieved by assuring them that they are part of a great institution which highly reputable all around the world.
This self actualization will motivate them, make them feel comfortable and motivate them to work even harder to achieve their goals and dreams. This will also improve the academic excellence of the institution and in turn, its reputation will also become better.
The parents and visitors who would have come to the ceremony are also another target group for this initiative. The parents need to be assured that their students members of one of the best institution of higher education in the world. This will satisfy them psychologically and mentally.
The visitors to the institution should also know more about the college. They should be aware of the programmes offered, the facilities available and the success which is affiliated by the institution.
The last group to be captured comprises of alumni, friends and partners. The alumni to the institution would need to know the developments which have occurred since they left the institution. This initiative should also be a forum through which the institution strengthens the bonds it has with its friends and partners.
It will also be a good time for it to get new friends and partners. Friends and partners can assist in improving the education system, research and funding various projects which the institution might be undertaking. These developments will lead to the growth of the institution and more importantly, its reputation.
The audience therefore plays a critical role in ensuring that the college achieves its goals and objectives. That is why this initiative is putting a lot of effort the creation of awareness of Regent College to them.
The audience is the determinate of whether the initiative becomes successful or fails. It is therefore important to understand them, determine their needs and come up with methods of achieving them.
Communication Avenues
Communication is the most critical step of this project. Choosing a poor mode of communication will lead to the failure of the project. In choosing the best avenue to pass information, it is important to analyse the audience which the information is intended to reach.
This project targets students, parents, friends and partners. There are several methods which can be used to pass the Regent College message to them.
The ceremony will be covered by over 400 local and international media houses. This will be the best mode of communication to use to pass information to the audience. Currently in the world, media is the most commonly used and effective means to pass information.
Due to this fact, it has developed a lot of trust and credibility from societies all around the world. Furthermore, it is the fastest and most efficient mode of communication.
To create awareness about Regent College, the media should mention the college name quite often in their stories. They should highlight on the history of the college, its programmes, activities which it is involved in, its strengths, success and its credibility.
The media should therefore be briefed by the college administration before the coverage of the event begins. They should have a clear understanding of the college so that they give out a comprehensive story.
Once this strategy is in place, the name of the institution and its reputation will be transmitted within the region, nationally and internationally. This information will reach thousands of people all around the world.
The college will get a universal approval and people from different corners of the world will be interested in the programmes offered by the college. This will have an end result of an increase in the student numbers that was anticipated by the college executive.
To supplement the media, other subsidiary methods will also be used. The college executive could request the chief guest of the ceremony, Mr. Barrack Obama to give in a good word for the college in his speech. Brochures, newsletters, magazines and other books and journals should also be distributed to the guest during the event.
These materials should contain detailed information of the institution. This move should be viewed as advertising in marketing. By putting all these measures in place, the name and reputation of Regent College will certainly grow.
Strategies and Tactics
For the operation to be effective and efficient, several strategies and tactics have to be followed. To achieve this, the project should follow the basic steps and procedures. It should be simple, measurable, attainable, and reliable and it should have a time limit within which it should be completed. This should be the first step for the approach while designing the project.
Furthermore, the project should have a good management model that clearly states the duties and roles of the various individuals involved in the project. It should incorporate a programme management, portfolio management and project management.
The programme management level should ensure that the project is aligned to the visions, goals and objectives of the institution. This can be achieved by setting clear priorities of the project, factoring in the risks that might be involved and ensuring that the project has good governance.
The portfolio management level is concerned with evaluating the project to ensure that it has a maximum value. It also ensures that there are good communication channels to pass the information to the audience.
The level of project management should ensure that all the requirements of the project are implemented within the stipulated time. The project should also have a desired outcome in terms of quality and should be completed within a certain given time.
Having this approach in place will ensure that the project will be completed in schedule. This will be because the members of the project team will be working under strict conditions of achieving the goals and objectives that have been set by the college executive.
Through the efficient communication channels, each team member will know his/her roles and duties which he has to perform to perfection. This approach will also ensure that there is cooperation among the different units of the project.
It will also enhance teamwork among the project team members. Through working together, it will be easier for the project team to achieve the goals and objectives that have been set by the academic executive.
The success of the project can be determined by several indicators. First, if the number of students who want to enrol in the college increases during the next admission period, then the project was successful. Another indicator of success of the project will be the increase in the reputation and credibility of the project.
This can be measured by conducting a survey by using simple questionnaires. I believe that if every step of this proposal is followed, Regents College will utilize the visit by Barrack Obama to its advantage and gain a lot of publicity locally, nationally and even all around the world.
Conclusion
Regent College has been referred to as a small private college by the media for a considerable length of time. This move has made the college to have a small number of students as compared to its capacity and capabilities. However, this is about to change.
The academic executive of the college are planning to use the visit to the college by President Obama to create awareness to people from all around the world. The visit will be covered by more than 400 media houses. A project has therefore been proposed to utilize this opportunity to increase the awareness of the College.
This project will achieve this goal by decimating information about the institution through the media in the best way possible to capture the hearts of its audience. This will help to improve the popularity of the college changing it from a local college to an international university of academic excellence.
Works Cited
Stoehr, T., Managing e-business projects: 99 key success factors. Springer: New York, 2000.
Toenniges, L. and Patterson, K., Managing Training Projects: Tips, Tools, and Intelligence for Trainers. American Society for Training and Development: New York, 2006.
Footnotes
1 Thomas Stoehr, Managing e-business projects: 99 key success factors, Springer, New York, 2000, p. 128
2 Lisa Toenniges, Karyn Patterson, Managing Training Projects: Tips, Tools, and Intelligence for Trainers, American Society for Training and Development, New York, 2006, p. 4
The book An Overview to the Public Relations Function contains a detailed overview of the field of public relations (PR) and encompasses an array of notions necessary for management employees to enhance their PR skills. With professional and academic language intertwined, the authors try to answer the question whether and in what way a PR manager can use their communication skills and bring the establishment to success. The chapter under consideration Organizational Factors Contributing to Excellent Public Relations encompasses critical aspects of influence that the structure and culture of an establishment have on the PR function.1
The authors refer to a well-known work by James Grunig that declares diversity as an ultimate value of the establishment.2 Further, they allocate the C-suites views on the whole field of PR practice and what PR-related factors can prove a valuable asset on the way to success. Among these factors, the authors emphasize the importance of PR being acknowledged by the C-suite, autonomous decision-making, and internal organizational communication. In relation to the latter two, the authors go into detail to enlist the cultural aspects of a successful PR management body.
The chapter supports the view that PR is not only to be appreciated and valued by the C-suite but the representatives of PR departments should also be present in the dominant coalition. It is stated that, unless an establishment is solely aimed at media interaction and self-advertisement, the members of the C-suite should have a profound communicational expertise3. The chapter adopts this theory and further develops it, stating the irreplaceability of PR management, basically meaning that the image should be maintained and promoted as indispensable and unique by taking timely and competent actions.
Every action should be preceded by competent decision-making, which is why, as the authors state, decision-making should be encouraged4. That said, the authors advocate for a decentralized culture as the optimal way to promote active decision-making and participation. Research shows that employees feeling that decision-making has taken a slow route lack motivation and feel they are underestimated and belittled5. Which is why, the authors state, either horizontally or vertically decentralized system is the point of optimum for enhanced managerial decision-making and internal communication which, in turn, contributes to excellence in public relations.
A diverse internal culture of the organization subsumes, for instance, the inclusion of female and ethnic employees into PR6. It is stated that such diversity not only contributes to the image of an establishment but also helps get a multidimensional picture of real life and conditions beyond the organization e.g., culturally diverse staff can better interact with the stakeholders and share their experiences to enhance communication. For that purpose, the authors emphasize the importance of non-authoritative organizational structure for PR quality improvement.
It is stated that the design and structure of the establishment can either facilitate acquiring external knowledge or back off the knowledge flow7. It is especially critical that the decision-making evidence is kept updated to use the most relevant information and data sources. The authors also assert that an established relationship with regard to report-making is sufficient in keeping the PR and C-suite intact; internal communication, they state, should be running smoothly to ensure the establishment is functioning at its best.
To sum it up, the chapter under consideration is devoted to the characteristics of PR the authors believe are essential for the optimal functioning of an establishment. Among these characteristics, the authors consider it necessary to enlist the importance of PR recognition by the C-suite, the organizational culture, and structure. It is asserted that the C-suite should be well aware of the critical impact that well-established public relations has on the organizations performance.
The authors also promote cultural diversity in organizations so as to enlarge the number of sources and the quality of information gathered. Cultural diversity among the employees is also essential for a better image. They state the importance of corporate decision-making and assert that every action should be decided upon by the means of a decentralized structure that fuels the employees participation.
Works Cited
Bowen, S., B. Rawlins, and T. Martin, An Overview to the Public Relations Function, New York, NY, Business Expert Press, 2010.
Easterby-Smith, M., R. Thorpe, and P. Jackson, Management Research, 4th edn., Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, 2012.
Foss, N. J., J. Lyngsie, and S. A. Zahra, The role of external knowledge sources and organizational design in the process of opportunity exploitation, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 34, no. 12, 2013, pp. 1453-1471.
Grunig, J., Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, London, U.K., Routledge, 2013.
Kanihan, S. F. et al., Communication managers in the dominant coalition: Power attributes and communication practices, Journal of Communication Management, vol. 17, no. 2, 2013, pp. 140-156.
Sriramesh, K., and D. Ver
i
, Culture and Public Relations: Links and Implications, London, U.K., Routledge, 2012.
Footnotes
Bowen, S., B. Rawlins, and T. Martin, An Overview to the Public Relations Function, New York, NY, Business Expert Press, 2010, pp. 39-45.
Grunig, J., Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, London, U.K., Routledge, 2013, p 84
Kanihan, S. F. et al., Communication managers in the dominant coalition: Power attributes and communication practices, Journal of Communication Management, vol. 17, no. 2, 2013, p. 144.
Bowen, S., B. Rawlins, and T. Martin, An Overview to the Public Relations Function, New York, NY, Business Expert Press, 2010, p. 40.
Easterby-Smith, M., R. Thorpe, and P. Jackson, Management Research, 4th edn., Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, 2012, pp. 261-262.
Sriramesh, K., and D. Ver
i
, Culture and Public Relations: Links and Implications, London, U.K., Routledge, 2012, pp. 148-150.
Foss, N. J., J. Lyngsie, and S. A. Zahra, The role of external knowledge sources and organizational design in the process of opportunity exploitation, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 34, no. 12, 2013, pp. 1454-1462.
Success remains the optimum mission and vision for any given organization in the world. In this regard, success, therefore, can only be achieved through the effective participation of all operational departments in an organization (Heath 2010).
However, if success is not attained within an organization, several strategies are applied for mitigation purposes. These strategies include downsizing the labor force, streamlining existing departments, or identifying the operational gaps present for subsequent action. This paper, therefore, addresses the implications of the operational gap and provides a memo to a hiring manager to solve the issue.
An operational gap is simply the absence of particular expertise in an organization in which immediate deployment leads to organizational development. In this regard, our organization has been operating without a public relations department over the years, thus prompting the organization to seek for external services from other players in the public relations industry. This has consequently led to huge expenses as the company wants to promote in the market through advertisements; this, however, could have been done by a public relations department led by a public relations manager many years ago.
If such a situation occurs in an organization, the management writes a memo to a human resource manager, a person-in-charge of hiring services, so as to execute its mandate. The subsequent employment of a public relations manager will ensure that the company saves a substantial amount of money that will be otherwise channeled to the external media firm. Moreover, the employer ensures that the management is abreast of its operations and avoids embarrassing situations caused by outside players, such as untimely and poor workmanship with the outside media firm.
Kengats Breweries Limited
Tel: 0340 424 6202
The natural sweetness is our goal
From: Managing Director, Kengats Breweries
To: Human Resource Manager, Kengats Breweries
RE: Job Advert for a Public Relations Manager
Essentially, on behalf of the management board, accept our congratulations on your continued excellent performance in Kengats Breweries. Although the companys operations went well, some challenges could ideally compromise the companys sustained growth. It is, therefore, time for the company to seek alternatives to increase its effectiveness in the market.
The companys board of directors came up with a suggestion that would see the introduction of the public relations department required to promote the company to greater heights of prosperity. The companys success is ultimately our vision and mission, but when it is not forthcoming, stringent measures are inevitable. In the recent past, Kengats Breweries has reported on the reduced sales although the company spent huge amounts of money on advertisements by Image Consultants.
Image Consultants is a company that we chose to advertise our products, but the change we expected to experience is still to be realized. Without much ado, the situation is to be controlled to ensure that our competitors will not throw us out of the market.
However, after a crisis meeting by the management, it was decided that the company would terminate its contract with the Public relations firm and employ its public relations manager in a bid to rebuild the brand and increase sales. Additionally, the potential employee should have the following requirements for consideration. To get proper candidates, the company intends to publish an advertisement in the mainstream media to reach more people.
Being a human resource manager, you should ensure that only the best candidates land the job; that is the thing the management supposes you to perform. However, in employing a candidate, make sure that the policies that govern employment in the company are withheld to avert a conflict of interests.
After a consultative meeting of the management board, it was decided to put into consideration the following requirements and job responsibilities. We hope that the company will steer a steady course achieving its main goal through a public relations department. I wish you success in your endeavors. On the other hand, please ensure that workers relations are dealt with amicably, so as not to compromise on the companys upward rise to excellence. Introduce measures that do not only motivate other workers but also ensure that the service delivery remains top-notch. This will guarantee that we will take the lead over our competitors (Grunig, Grunig, and Dozier 2002).
Requirements
Kengats Breweries, a brewer with rich experience in the brewing industry, seeks to recruit a Public Relations Manager to propel the companys policies to excellence. In light of this, the candidate should be dedicated to the organizations objectives and motivated to achieve the set goals. The company is ready to pay a handsome remuneration package for a person who fits the following requirements.
The candidate for the position should possess the following:
a post-graduate degree in Public Relations or any other related degree (in case of another degree, an undergraduate degree is encouraged);
registration with a professional body;
advanced computer skills with vast experience in public relations tools;
fluent English (knowledge of another language is an added advantage);
communication skills including verbal, non-verbal and listening skills;
a team spirit which means being able to work as a team player, among others;
over 10 years of experience with a reputable organization in a senior position.
Job responsibilities
The candidate is anticipated to promote the companys image to the public. The Company expects a public relations manager to ensure increased consumer confidence through proper media publicity and conduct of promotions to easily boost our market reach.
A public relations manager is to design the companys adverts and promotional equipment, such as billboard adverts, and develop proper corporate social responsibility events.
He/she is to ensure the timely publication of the companys newsletter and improve management and employee relations.
The candidate should build consumer confidence and market reach through self innovative strategies.
A manager is expected to expand a market reach
As a public relations manager, a candidate is supposed to be a media representative and issue press statements and releases regarding the companys information to the media. He/she should also represent the company at media briefings and product launch.
A manager is to develop the companys image as a brand. This entails the promotion of the brand and also the management of the companys innovations.
He/she is meant to deliver results as per the set targets and be ready to work under constant pressure and strict deadlines with minimal supervision.
Minimum Attributes
According to Fitzpatrick and Bronstein (2010), good writing skills are paramount to any Public relations officer; thus, a candidate is not an exception, and his/her writing should be considered as well in detail to ensure everything is normal. Nowadays, a public relations manager needs to be conversant with social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.
Conclusion
Before the new public relations manager assumes office, the management board should interview with him/her to ascertain his/her capacity to oversee the progress of the company. To sum everything up, it is worth mentioning that you are to give priority to the company employees who are fit for the position before external advertisement.
In conclusion, the deployment of a public relations manager should illustrate our commitment as an equal opportunity employer.
References
Fitzpatrick, K, & Bronstein, C. (2010). Ethics in Public Relations: Responsible Advocacy. NY: SAGE.
Grunig, A., Grunig, E., & Dozier, D. (2002). Excellent public relations and effective organizations; a study of communication management in three countries. NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Heath, R. (2010). The Sage Handbook of Public Relations. NY: SAGE.
In the 21st century, Public Relations (PR) is a central tenet of building brand identity and marketing of an organizations products and services. Further, the emergence of the internet has provided a wide variety of approaches that organizations can use to reach their customers and potential users of their products in the market (Trainor 162). Previously, in addition to the use of mainstream media such as television and radio, organizations used print newsletters to communicate to customers and stakeholders. In the present times, the use of print newsletters has been taken over by the use of Email Newsletters or E-Newsletters, which have now become essential parts of an organizations PR campaigns and efforts.
E-Newsletters can be simply defined as an electronic version of the traditional print newsletter that is physically distributed or emailed to subscribers and stakeholders of an organization. However, it is important to note that E-Newsletters may not be necessarily the exact copies of the traditional/printed newsletters. According to Trainor, E-newsletters involve more than just copying and pasting the printed copy into an email and sending it to thousands of subscribers via email (164). Instead, such E-Newsletters incorporate relevant and high value-added contents, effective layout and design, and interactive resources in addition to the advantage of speed and low cost of creation and distribution.
The use of E-newsletters is very critical in organization as a means of keeping customers and stakeholders updated about the entities progress, products, and performance. In the current corporate environment, businesses have realized that they do not operate in a vacuum and that their relationship with the society, customers, and stakeholders is essential for their success.
With the above importance on relations, the companies have to ensure that they use the best approaches to ensuring seamless, fast, reliable, and affordable communication to all people. A study carried out by Baloglu and Pekcan found that the use of E-mail was the most preferred mode of communication by organizations at 48.5% as compared to telephone at 39% and traditional mail at 3.5% (174). From the above expositions, it is evident that organizations that fail to use email in their communication are at a disadvantage as compared to those that use the communication mode. As such, the use of email to deliver E-newsletters is a preferred choice for many organizations.
Apart from providing stakeholders with the progress, products, and performance of an organization, E-newsletters help an organization to establish an identity and presence on its customers and potential clients. Most importantly, it acts as a Public Relations tool that allows the market to understand an organization and its activities first-hand (Baloglu and Pekcan 172). Through the elaborate email contacts, an organization can maintain contact, as well as receive feedback, which can allow it to improve its products in response to customer demands. Any organization that has a good PR is likely to have better brand identity. Such outcomes are very important in ensuring the competitiveness of a business in the market (Tsekouropoulos 5). Therefore, it is very important for organizations to use E-newsletters for their PR efforts and for competition purposes.
Strategic Aspects
The subject of Public Relations in corporate organizations is aimed at ensuring that businesses have the best identity and name in the market. A business that is easily identifiable in the market is more likely to be competitive when compared to others. While many other approaches are used in the PR efforts, the use of E-newsletters is a strategic option that organizations can only ignore at their own peril. To maximize the outcomes of using of E-newsletters in PR campaigns and efforts, an organization must adopt various strategies.
Firstly, the most important step towards the use of E-newsletters is the establishment of goals and objectives. As the most widespread and wide-reaching tool and mode of communication, an organization can make or destroy its reputation through newsletters. Therefore, it is imperative for the PR personnel to do a profound analysis and identification of the purpose and goals that the E-newsletters will be intended to achieve (Strauss, Frost, and Ansary 20).
Such goals should be measurable in terms of the outcomes that the organization seeks. It is noteworthy to have weekly or monthly newsletters without a measureable aspect that can determine their effectiveness (Brodie 4). For instance, a good E-newsletter may lead to the increase of product sales by a given percentage. In others words, when designing and using E-newsletters, it is essential to track its performance and benefits to the organization.
Secondly, it is important to identify the audience who will be targeted by the E-newsletter. Each class of audience has specific interests and information and hence the need to have a deep understanding of such preferences (Strauss, Frost, and Ansary 28). For example, when targeting young people, it is central to ensure that the E-newsletter contains information on events, latest developments, offers, and breakthroughs in the fields of interest among others aspects that will keep the audience involved. However, being too narrow and focused on the specific audience may hinder important marketing opportunities for the organization (Trainor 168). In this case, it is significant to understand that the targeted people also have families and other people who may be easily influenced by the audience. For example, organizations can also include products and services that may be of interest to the parents of the young people.
Thirdly, an important strategic approach is the determination of the frequency of the E-newsletters. Since most organizations are now focusing on the use of the above mode of communication, many people are receiving an average of three newsletters. Many of such E-newsletters are viewed as spam. Therefore, businesses should come up with a frequency that will ensure that the targeted audience does not feel that the companies are spamming their emails (Chang, Wang, and Yang 423). For example, organization can set their newsletters in a monthly, quarterly, biannually, or any other frequency that is deemed appropriate. The most important guideline involves ensuring that the organizations keep in touch with their customers and audience without being a nuisance, hence maximizing the benefits of the use of the tool.
Practical Aspects
The use of E-newsletters requires consideration of many factors. In this case, one of the main considerations to keep in mind when making and using the tool is the content. Content is key when it comes to the use of E-newsletters (Trainor 166). Indeed, great formatting, e-metrics, pictures, color, and web tricks cannot redeem an email newsletter that has poor content, nor will they make it successful (Strauss, Frost, and Ansary 11). Therefore, it is crucial for a PR department to understand that the success of an email newsletter is determined by the information that it provides to the audience. The content must be timely, useful, and relevant to the audience. Otherwise, the E-newsletter will turn out to be a waste of time for customers and prospects who will view it as just another annoying spam in the email inboxes.
The first approach to a successful email newsletter is the choice of the content. The company should decide whether to have different people who contribute to the E-newsletter or to have only one individual who will do all the work (Brodie 6). Further, it is important to determine whether the information will be new or recycled from previous articles by other writers. Regardless of the approach, original content is highly recommendable. A good E-newsletter adds value in terms of information to the intended audience. The respective organizations should ensure that the information provided is truthful and precise (Tsekouropoulos 16). In addition, keeping track on new ideas using bold letters and sentences is advisable, especially for audiences who are used to skimming across email newsletters.
Secondly, the target audience is very important in determining the success of the email newsletter. A good PR department must understand the gender, age group, areas of residence (geographic locations), job functions, title, and industry among other characteristics that can be obtained through customer or subscriber profiles. Such approaches will ensure that the current audience is targeted, as opposed to the use of broadcast approach to distributing the newsletters (Tsekouropoulos 18). For example, it is futile to send a newsletter about a high-end mobile phone or product to an individual who is unemployed or whose job level cannot allow him or her to afford or use such products.
Thirdly, another practical aspect towards successful use of E-newsletters is the tracking of performance. The performance can be obtained from the product performance of the organization or from customer feedback. For instance, the PR department must work closely with the sales departments among others to determine the impact of the E-newsletter on the sales of a specific product (Baloglu and Pekcan 176). On the other hand, an organization can attach online feedback forms to receive views and comments from the audience concerning the appropriateness of the E-newsletter. Such approaches will provide the department with important information on the ways of improving the newsletter for the best outcomes (Baloglu and Pekcan 173).
Fourthly, when creating the content of the E-newsletter, it is important for the organization to consider the tone and language in the content. In most cases, a friendly tone is highly recommendable, as it ensures that the content creates a sense of good relationship and rapport with the customer. However, in some instances, businesses should note that professional tone is highly recommendable. For instance, medical E-newsletter should be written in a professional tone, which stirs authority and confidence on the organization from the audience (Strauss, Frost, and Ansary 32). In addition, the use of images and other pictorials such as graphs and tables to emphasize the written content is highly encouraged. Images and other pictorials make it easier for the content to be understood (Baloglu and Pekcan 175). Further, they are easily remembered, hence leading to better recognition of an organization and its products, as opposed to mere descriptions.
Example of Good Use
There are several examples of good use of E-newsletters in organizations. For instance, the use of newsletters is highly effective in some institutions of higher learning such as the Harvard University. The tool has helped the institution to retain an image of exceptional quality (Tsekouropoulos 7). The use of E-newsletters at the university allows the institution to highlight and communicate various breakthroughs in research and development. Further, it allows the university to communicate with its stakeholders on programs and other activities, thus creating good relationships inside and outside the facility (Brodie 15). Another example is the Wal-Mart Retail Chain Company whose E-newsletter allows customers to identify new offers and products that they may be willing to buy. Through such communications, the organization has created a massive following and thus a good advantage over other competitors.
Conclusion
The use of E-newsletters is an important indicator of the importance of the internet technology to the modern businesses. The use of the email newsletters allows organizations to share information with customers and stakeholders with ease and conveniently. To maximize the benefits of the E-newsletters, organizations must identify the target audience to guarantee relevance. Further, it is important to determine the content that will be contained in the E-newsletter. Poor content is counterproductive.
Hence, it should be avoided. When creating the content, the use of images and pictorials is crucial in complimenting the written information. An organization must also choose the tone of the content. While a friendly tone is encouraged, professional tone is significant when communicating highly proficient information. The PR department must also ensure that it tracks the performance of the E-newsletters. Good E-newsletters must translate into higher sales, brand identity, or any other outcome that the organization emphasizes.
Works Cited
Baloglu, Seyhmus, and Yakup Pekcan. The website design and Internet site marketing practices of upscale and luxury hotels in Turkey. Tourism Management 27.1(2006): 171-176. Print.
Brodie, Roderick. Is emarketing coming of age? An examination of the penetration of emarketing and firm performance. Journal of interactive marketing 21.1(2007): 2-21. Print.
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In order to analyze online public relations (PR), one is to understand its peculiarities and deepen in its framework. The main feature that should be taken into consideration is the fact that online PR are driven by a set of main elements.
Transparency
The concept of transparency deals with the individuals willingness to be open to new ideas and to take responsibility for particular actions. It has become extremely popular in recent years, and the majority of organizations tend to maintain their corporate transparency. In other words, companies and individuals disclose information about themselves, their rules, operations, etc. Organizational transparency can be measured by identifying the degree to which it shares the information and to which it allows contact with people who can provide this information.
Being transparent is a good practice for politics and information sector as well. It controls the power of authorities and prevents abuse. For example, meetings can be open to the general public and press so that they get to know and discuss new rules or consider financial aspects. In the framework of media, the focus is on the sources of information and its delivery. People should also have an opportunity to know how it is funded.
Transparency allows to build trust-based relations with the public and enhance reputation through the communication of information. Professionals can use the Internet for such purpose as it gives an opportunity to interact and share various data.
There are two main forms of transparency:
Radical. It presupposes that all information about organizational processes is available to the general public.
Controlled. It deals with partial disclosure of information to particular people in the particular period of time (via the Internet in perspective of online PR):
Institutional: free access to the information about an organization;
Overt: company wants to make information available;
Covert: information is pushed;
Unintentional: offices make information available and people gather it from websites.
Still, it is not enough to provide the public with information to apply transparency, as it should be adapted for non-professionals and be relevant and accurate.
Porosity
Porosity occurs when the information is escaping from the company. Such actions are always maintained, as people communicate and gossips occur. Nowadays they can be posted online or shared via e-mails, messages or social media.
Trying to prevent information leaking, companies refer to:
Technologies professionals check the information shared via online transactions;
Guidance employees are made to act according to particular policies and rules.
Porosity may happen incidentally when some information was shared by mistake. Accidentally, when there were problems with firewall. Intentionally, when a worker was not satisfied and decided to disclose some information. Maliciously, when gossips happen from time to time.
Still, porosity can have a positive effect on the organization as it can reveal authentic voice and competitive advantage when it is controlled and managed.
Internet Agency
The ability to operate in any environment is critical for any organization. The internet is claimed to have such ability because it provides an opportunity to transform a message, change it online and alter the impression of an entity. In this way, Internet agency is seen as a transformation of content and messages when they go through web space and the effects of this process.
The context may be changed by both people and computers. Individuals alter it as they re-interpreted ideas of others and post them or when they use hyperlinks to direct Internet users to other sources. Computers may refer to the juxtaposition of results, the combination of different information (for example, news and maps or songs and pictures). This type of Internet agency develops rapidly and becomes more and more popular. It is critical to understand that the information can be taken out of context and professionals should manage such events and receive benefits.
Richness in Content
Richness in content is seen as a set of its advantageous characteristics. It can be observed when ideas are valuable, well-grounded, supported, etc. In order to create such content people can use their own power as well as Internet technologies. They can add to the message new words, pictures, audio files, and other things that will make it richer.
Richness is tightly connected with research, as people who extend the information, need to find new sources and apply them. It can be done with the help of creation of new blogs or forums where content is easily accessed or development and improvement of resources that are already available on the Internet. For example, one can add tags or utilize search engine optimization to develop the richness of the content.
Reach
Research can be maintained in several ways:
Evident web presence. Professionals can use special techniques that will make Internet users find their content. Hyperlinks and advertising are among the most popular ones.
Online community involvement. People can receive new information about the company as they refer to its website, search for information about its products and partners. Except for that, they can join the conversation among different communities and gather information from it.
Etisalat is one of the major distributors of the various telecommunication services not only in the UAE and in the Middle East but also in Northern Africa and throughout Asia. The full title of the company is Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, its headquarters are situated in the UAE, and, at the moment, it appears to provide more than a half of all the telecommunication, mobile, and Internet services in the Middle East (Etisalat Company Profile 2016).
It is also important to underline the fact that Etisalat is recognized as one of the worlds most profitable telecommunication companies with revenues of 48.8 billion dirhams (Etisalat Company Profile 2016). Such success of the company implies the effectiveness of Etisalats entrepreneurial strategies. The company has ensured its share of the market due to efficient strategic management and decision-making. For that reason, it is important to define its entrepreneurial marketing strategies. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to analyze the entrepreneurial pricing decision, the companys public relations and publicity, and entrepreneurial distribution channel decisions.
Entrepreneurial Pricing Decisions
There are several factors affecting pricing decisions. They can be categorized as the generalized set of factors typical for any market, as well as the factors that depend on the specifics of a certain market or company. In terms of the general factors, several aspects are considered for any company and any product, including return on investment, cash flow, maximizing profits, fixed costs, and variable costs (Haron 2016, para. 8). In other words, the initial objective of any entrepreneurial decision in the process of setting prices is to make the maximum profits.
Because Etisalat today is the leading firm in the region, the company has a little less pressure in terms of financial risks if it introduces new products or services. However, there are still some risks to consider that are external, specific for the company or the market, in which it operates. In 2015, Etisalat introduced UAE Wi-Fi by Etisalat, a major project on public access to the Internet. It was important for the company to consider such external factors as the customers expectations and elasticity of the demand (Haron 2016). The company introduced a high-performance public Wi-Fi network across the UAE, using first-class technologies. It offered the customers the subscriptions for the Wi-Fi packages for two and ten days and for the price of 25 dirhams and 100 dirhams respectively (Etisalat launches free high-speed Wi-Fi 2015).
The pricing decision had several antecedents. First of all, given the fact that Etisalat covers the biggest share of the telecommunication market, the pricing decision about the project used the elasticity of the market to decrease the number of competitors by using the technology they cannot afford. Secondly, the high speed of the Internet guaranteed due to the fiber-optical network met the customers demands.
Public Relations and Publicity
The public relations play an especially significant role for the companies like Etisalat because, on one hand, each of the markets they enter needs an individual approach, but, on the other hand, those markets can be interdependent in terms of publicity (Kirat 2006). Hence, public relations, it is important not only to design a certain project and a marketing campaign for it but also to have some integrity and conceptual meaning to the new product or service.
For example, UAE Wi-Fi by Etisalat incorporated the perspective of the further developments, including the constant upgrades of the quality of the using social and video streaming through the public Wi-Fi, as well as the inclusion of more public locations of various kinds to have Wi-Fi by Etisalat (George-Cosh 2011). Such an approach appeals to the public and shows that the company interacts with its customers by constantly trying to improve the services and to find the locations where the users would like to have Wi-Fi by Etisalat.
Entrepreneurial Distribution Channel Decisions
In the situation of making an entrepreneurial decision concerning the distribution channels, there are two main strategies of either vertical or horizontal integration (Hollensen 2007). In theory, the concept of vertical integration includes the attempts to find the channels for distribution at the different levels of the production service within the same industry, whereas the horizontal one is aimed at finding assets at the same level of production. Of course, in the actual business context, the entrepreneurial decisions include some compromises between the two models of integration into the market because each of the new markets is quite different. Therefore, in the UAE and especially during the execution of the UAE Wi-Fi by Etisalat, the company acts at all levels of distribution, but when entering new markets, it can be more cooperative and use other channels of distribution because such approach makes Etisalat more adjustable.
Conclusion
Overall, Etisalat has ensured a share of the market for itself due to efficient strategic management and decision-making. From the example of UAE Wi-Fi by Etisalat, it is clear that the main assets of the companys strategy often are pricing decisions, public relations, and distribution channels decisions.
In the program Vodafone World of Difference Program , the communications firm chose to implement a Customer Service Relations (CSR) effort that reached out to the Australian public in a bid to boost its corporate image.
The challenges that the program faced were immense and these included apathy towards CSR activities and suspicions surrounding corporations motives. As a result, Vodafone and its partners had to choose a reliable Public Relations (PR) method to ensure that its goal of improving the communitys trust was met. By January 2004, a significant majority of Australian adults (41 per cent) said that they spent a large amount of time on charitable activities and this provided corporations, who were mistrusted by a whopping 77 per cent of the populace, with an opportunity to engage the country at a level that is close to many peoples hearts. The public relations systems most suitable for such an effort would be three of James E. Grunigs four PR models.
The first benefit that would accrue from this holistic approach is that Vodafone would be in a position to achieve its objectives which include raising the profile of its CSR program, re-invigorating PR activities, increasing media coverage and raising program enrolment rates. This is because the three models involve use of a reciprocal communication method that enables corporations to understand the publics worries while enabling the public to appreciate the firm as a well meaning entity. This is crucial for image improvement and financial success.
The second benefit is that the fourth model encapsulates the aim of all of Grunigs publicity models. The first model, Publicity, seeks to influence the public to behave as a corporation wants. In the case of Vodafone, the application of this model would shift Australian charitable activities into the companys ambit. Since Australians were prolific in philanthropy and Vodafone had the funds to engage in it, the best result would come when both sides combine efforts and produce synergistic advantages.
The third benefit from this approach is that it incorporates Grunigs second PR model that brings the media on-board. The Public Information model uses press releases and other communication systems that reduce the indifference and suspicion the media has towards CSR programs. When the public joins the firm to implement the Vodafone World of Difference Program on a cooperative basis, the media would become less suspicious.
The One-way Asymmetrical model can be avoided. It involves using persuasion and manipulation to influence the public into behaving as the organization wants without using research to find out how the public feels about the organization. This could fail because the reaction of the public may be lukewarm or even hostile. But the fourth, the Two-way Symmetrical model, enables the organization to engage in a constant conversation that exposes the publics sentiments, giving the firm a chance to tweak its system until it fully satisfies its target audience. This interactive approach applies dialogue between the company and its clientele, providing conflict resolution opportunities that bring about harmony. It has great advantages because it incorporates all the other PR models through an open system of communication.
In conclusion, the best PR systems to apply in helping Vodafone improve its standing would be the first, second and fourth Grunig models since they would provide open and beneficial communication.