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© Newswise.
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| Issue No. 200507
| July 2005
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The PIOnet Newsletter is sponsored by Newswise and Dick Jones Communications
Feature Editor: Dick Jones Editor/Publisher: Roger Johnson
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PIOnet Newsletter is produced monthly to support media relations' vital role in integrated marketing for your institution. This role is not always adequately recognized, understood, or acknowledged. Our goal is to give you data, arguments, evidence, and ideas to enhance the understanding of and appreciation for media relations at your institution.
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Warning to Media Relations Professionals: Don't Try This at Home, in the Office or Any Other Place
by Dick Jones
Dick Jones Communications
I wanted -- needed -- my first meeting with the dean of admissions to go well. He was a jovial and savvy old Jesuit who knew his market and how to reach it with the standard admissions tools of the day -- the mailing list, search piece, view book, open house, campus tour, and yield piece.
Father M. had turned the admissions picture around single-handedly, everyone said. And it was largely true.
How could I help him, I asked. I was young and new on the job as director of public relations.
"What we need from you," he replied, "is a series of articles in the local paper on each of our 32 majors. Call it the 'major of the week.' Proceed alphabetically. Begin with accounting." He was a man used to giving orders. The interview was over.
I knew it was not politically wise to buck the man who had turned the admissions picture around. I also knew that I would be starting off on the wrong foot with the newspaper editor, who was volcanic and crusty in the tradition of Perry White, if I handed him a feature story each week on our majors. Not only would he not run a "major of the week" series, but all of my offerings to him henceforth would be suspect.
What to do?
I interviewed the chair of the accounting department and wrote a feature on the department, its glories and successes. I then drafted, on plain, white paper, a letter to myself from the local newspaper editor. In this letter, I pointed out why the newspaper would not run the story or a series on the "major of the week." I closed the letter by strongly chastising myself for trying to pull a stunt like this and warned myself never to do it again.
Then I walked downtown to the newspaper office. I handed the editor my feature on the accounting department. He scanned it and scowled. I then handed him my draft of the letter from him bawling me out. "I would like you to put this on your letterhead, sign it, and mail it to me," I said.
He read it and smiled. "With pleasure," he replied.
When the letter from the newspaper editor arrived in the mail, I took it to Father M. He looked it over. "Too bad," he said. "I thought it was a fine idea." Thus was I released from a duty that would not only do no good, but would in fact do harm to the media relations effort.
I have never done anything like that again. In retrospect, it was a clever, but cowardly way to handle the situation. I plead youth as an excuse.
We had some strong media relations successes for that school, and Father M. was able to use them in his admissions marketing efforts. I later found that he was a pragmatic administrator who would listen to reason if you had a good argument. Although the letter incident ended well, I wish I had given voice to my convictions in that first meeting with him.
We invite your discussion of this topic on PIOnet.
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The Impact of News Coverage and Advertising on Consumers
by Zoltan Bedy
State University of New York at Oswego
In last month's issue of the PIOnet newsletter, in response to a discussion on the listserv, I reported on a study that looked at the different perceptions of an organization created in the minds of consumers by news and advertising. This month, I'd like to address that topic again, by reporting on a paper that investigated the interaction of news and advertising.
In many organizations, particularly in the for-profit segment, news dissemination about and advertising for an organization are handled in two distinct areas of that organization. The result of this is that each of the two areas is often unaware of the other's activities. The tasks of news and/or advertising are sometimes farmed out, creating an even wider gap in the awareness of the functions of the organization's two communications areas. This lack of awareness makes it difficult, if not impossible, for an organization to get a handle on the impact its news and advertising have on its target publics.
In "Toward an Understanding of How News Coverage and Advertising Impact Consumer Perceptions, Attitudes and Behavior" (http://www.instituteforpr.com/advertising_and_pr.phtml?article_id=advertising_impact_consumer), Bruce Jeffries-Fox of InsightFarm examines the interaction of news and advertising by looking at the results of four studies conducted at AT&T in the late 1990s. The "four increasingly sophisticated studies" were conducted in an effort to gain a better understanding of how news coverage and advertising affect consumers' ideas about and feelings toward an organization.
The first study linked media coverage to consumer brand loyalty, using data collected for other purposes (media-tracking data to look at how AT&T was portrayed in the news, and survey-research data to examine the effectiveness of its advertising) to explore the possibility that "news has a measurable effect on desired outcomes over and above advertising."
The second study examined the "possible effects of extensive positive news coverage" (of AT&T) by comparing attitudinal dimension ratings for news consumers. Through a content analysis of news coverage, the third study examined the links between news coverage and advertising to perceptions about "slamming" -- the unscrupulous practice in which one's long-distance provider is changed without the user's permission. The fourth study looked at the "modeling mix" used by AT&T in the late 1990s to get consumers to sign up for long-distance service with the company. The mix included advertising and direct mail, and later, news coverage.
While the results of each of these studies are interesting, it is the overall results -- what was found when Jeffries-Fox looked at all of them together -- that are most interesting. His conclusions are:
- Advertising and news coverage each have their own impact on consumers, and the two interact to influence perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors.
- The news environment modulates the impact of advertising.
- During "normal" news coverage, when news is mostly positive (with the occasional negative story), news and advertising work in tandem, and "incremental advertising has a positive impact on attitudes."
- When the news coverage is very positive and such coverage extends broadly, "the incremental positive impact of advertising is much less than in normal times."
- When the news coverage is very negative and such news coverage extends broadly, "incremental advertising does not have a positive incremental impact, and may even have a negative effect."
- News coverage can have a substantial impact, on par with advertising, on consumers.
So what are the implications here? According to Jeffries-Fox, there are two.
- Management of both media relations and advertising would benefit from closer communication. Better communication would allow an organization "to turn [advertising] up or down" based on the news output generated and the coverage received by the organization. Thus, the organization could save money and "deliver more powerful marketing communications."
- News coverage can substantially impact the huge investment a company makes in various forms of paid marketing communications. Well-managed media relations efforts are "of critical importance" in getting the most out of advertising dollars.
Jeffries-Fox says that more studies like the one reported on here are needed in other industries to see if the relationships found here are supported. Given that the majority of PIOnet members work for institutions of higher education and other not-for-profit organizations, my recommendation would be for researchers to examine these relationships in not-for profit settings.
We invite your discussion of this topic on PIOnet.
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Book Review: Public Relations Writing: The Essentials of Style and Format
by Beth Zborowski
Albertson College of Idaho
When I first stepped into the world of public relations (PR), I wish someone had handed me Thomas H. Bivins's book Public Relations Writing: The Essentials of Style and Format. As I read I also thought, "My intern will be reading this in the fall."
Bivins has not only created an excellent textbook to take students of PR through the many roles the practitioner plays, but he has also created an excellent reference for those in the profession. It could also be a great read for supervisors who do not understand the important role PR plays in their organization. The book clearly and concisely explains the importance and breadth of the public relations field while giving practical tools for execution of the art. However, the book was definitely misnamed somewhere along the way, as its pages delve far beyond the essentials of public relations writing.
Bivins touches on topics from the basics of drafting press releases to the intricate psychology that will result in the generation of a story from that release. It also goes into some history about how the profession began and why we do things the way we do. In addition, he covers public relations ethics and legal issues, web design, the ever-important crisis communication, radio and television broadcasting, basic graphic design, and speech writing. In a world of ever-shrinking budgets and fewer people to do the work, the information given in these chapters is especially valuable. While each chapter does not contain enough information to make one a master, it does give ample information and examples so that a person could perform the basic tasks sufficiently.
This book is a must for anyone thinking about moving into PR, especially anyone who believes that the leap will bring him or her to a cushy place with little stress or little work to be done. A look at the table of contents of Bivens's book could make the task of public relations seem impossible. However, Bivins breaks down the facets of public relations work into manageable chunks, with clear instructions and examples of how to successfully execute each task. In fact, many of the topics covered by Bivins are ones that are frequently the subject of questions on PR listservs. While nothing can replace the wisdom of experience, Bivins has created a dynamic primer to public relations.
In the first several chapters, I found Bivins's explanation of the importance of anticipating audience reaction and understanding the media especially thorough and useful. Both issues are key to the success of a new PR practitioner, and are often not realized until one has been burned.
Bivins has provided a valuable reference tool not only for the student of public relations but also for the practitioner. Throughout the book I found useful hints to put into action as well as reminders of the basic groundwork that is sometimes neglected because of matters that seem more pressing at the moment. Bivins's book would make an excellent gift for a new member of any public relations office and a great addition to the experienced practitioner's reference library.
We invite your discussion of this topic on PIOnet.
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