BASICS OF PR

Definitions, history
Press release

By Samir Kapur

Definition
The term Public Relations was first used by the US
President Thomas Jefferson during his address to
Congress in 1807.
One of the earliest definitions of PR was created by
Edward Bernays. According to him, "Public Relations is a
management function which tabulates public attitudes,
defines the policies, procedures and interest of an
organization followed by executing a program of action to
earn public understanding and acceptance."

Examples/users of public relations include:

Corporations using marketing public relations (MPR) to convey
information about the products they manufacture or services they
provide to potential customers in order to support their direct
sales efforts. Typically, they support sales in the short to long
term, establishing and burnishing the corporation's branding for a
strong, ongoing market.
Corporations using public relations as a vehicle to reach
legislators and other politicians, in seeking favorable tax,
regulatory, and other treatment. Moreover, they may use public
relations to portray themselves as enlightened employers, in
support of human-resources recruiting programs.

Non-profit organizations, including schools and universities,

hospitals, and human and social service agencies: such
organizations may make use of public relations in support of
awareness programs, fund-raising programs, staff recruiting, and
to increase patronage of their services.
Politicians aiming to attract votes and/or raise money. When
such campaigns are successful at the ballot box, this helps in
promoting and defending their service in office, with an eye to the
next election or, at a careers end, to their legacy.

Essentially it is a management function that focuses on

two-way communication and fostering of mutually
beneficial relationships between an organization and its
publics.

The first "names"

The First World War also helped stimulate the development of public relations
as a profession. Many of the first PR professionals, including Ivy Lee,
Edaward Bernays, John Hill and Caryl Byoir got their start with the
Committee of Public Information (also known as the Creel Committee), which
organized publicity on behalf of U.S. objectives during World War I.

Some historians regard Ivy Lee as the first real practitioner of public relations,
but Edward Bernays is generally regarded today as the profession's founder.

Ivy Lee, who has been credited with developing the modern news release (also
called a "press release"), espoused a philosophy consistent with what has
sometimes been called the "two-way street" approach to public relations, in
which PR consists of helping clients listen as well as communicate messages to
their publics.

Bernays

Bernays was the profession's first theorist, he saw

public relations as an "applied social science" that
uses insights from psychology, sociology, and other
disciplines to scientifically manage and manipulate
the thinking and behavior of an irrational and "herd
like" public.
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the
organized habits and opinions of the masses is an
important element in democratic society," he wrote
in Propaganda.
"Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of
society constitute an invisible government which is
the true ruling power of our country

His Work

One of Bernays' early clients was the tobacco industry. In 1929, he

orchestrated a legendary publicity stunt aimed at persuading women to take
up cigarette smoking, an act that at the time was exclusively equated with
men. It was considered unfeminine and inappropriate for women to smoke,
besides the occasional prostitute, virtually no women participated in the act
publicly.

Bernays initially consulted psychoanalyst A. A. Brill for advice, Brill told him:
"Some women regard cigarettes as symbols of freedom... Smoking is a
sublimation of oral eroticism; holding a cigarette in the mouth excites the oral
zone. It is perfectly normal for women to want to smoke cigarettes. Further
the first women who smoked probably had an excess of male components
and adopted the habit as a masculine act. But today the emancipation of
women has suppressed many feminine desires. More women now do the
same work as men do.... Cigarettes, which are equated with men, become
torches of freedom."

Upon hearing this analysis, Bernays dubbed his PR campaign the: "Torches
of Liberty Contingent".

his work

It was in this spirit that Bernays arranged for New York City
dbutantes to march in that year's Easter Day Parade, defiantly
smoking cigarettes as a statement of rebellion against the norms
of a male-dominated society.

Publicity photos of these beautiful fashion models smoking

"Torches of Liberty" were sent to various media outlets and
appeared worldwide. As a result, the taboo was dissolved and
many women were led to associate the act of smoking with
female liberation. Some women went so far as to demand
membership in all-male smoking clubs, a highly controversial act
at the time.

For his work, Bernays was paid a tidy sum by George

Washington Hill, president of the American Tobacco Company

In the 1890s when gender role reversals could be caricaturized, the

idea of an aggressive woman who also smoked was considered
laughable. In 1929, Edward Bernays proved otherwise when he
convinced women to smoke in public during an Easter parade in
Manhattan as a show of defiance against male domination. The
demonstrators were not aware that a tobacco company was behind
the publicity stunt

Tools used

Modern public relations evaluates a product or

individuals public perception through market
research.
Some standard tools used are; press releases,
press kits, satellite feeds, pod casts, web casts, wire
service distribution of information and internet
placement, entertainment product placement
(television, events, celebrity), product launches,
press conferences, media seminars, producing
events, speechwriting, establishing partnerships.

Industry todayin India

Total

Industry size 850 to 900 crs

Growth rate 20 to 25%
PR Agencies around 1000 in nos.
Top 10 agencies garner around 75%-80% of
market

Audience targeting

A fundamental technique used in public relations is to

identify the target audience, and to tailor every message to
appeal to that audience. It can be a general, nationwide or
worldwide audience, but it is more often a segment of a
population. Marketers often refer to economy-driven
demographics, such as "white males 18-49," but in public
relations an audience is more fluid, being whoever someone
wants to reach. For example, recent political audiences
include soccer moms and NASCAR dads.

In addition to audiences, there are usually stakeholders,

literally people who have a "stake" in a given issue. All
audiences are stakeholders (or presumptive stakeholders),
but not all stakeholders are audiences. For example, a
charity commissions a PR agency to create an advertising
campaign to raise money to find a cure for a disease. The
charity and the people with the disease are stakeholders,
but the audience is anyone who is likely to donate money.

audience targeting

Sometimes the interests of differing audiences and

stakeholders common to a PR effort necessitate the
creation of several distinct but still complementary
messages. This is not always easy to do, and sometimes
especially in politics a spokesperson or client says
something to one audience that angers another audience
or group of stakeholders.

News Releases & Fact

Sheets

Clutter
Reporters

and editors are inundated with

press releases
Most are never used

Standing Out
Keep

it clean
Keep it relevant
Keep it timely

Planning the Release

What

is the news value?

Who is it designed to reach?
What is the messaging/talking point that
your client wants to get across?
What is the objective of the release?

Technical Tips
Use

plain white paper

8.5 x 11 inches (letter size)
20 or 24-pound weight
Double-spaced for mail and fax
Single-spaced for e-mail and Internet

Technical Tips
Use

10- or 12-point standard type

Courier and Times Roman font
Dont split sentences and paragraphs
between pages
Number the pages

Technical Tips
Place

a slug line on top of each page after

the first one
Write more at the end of each page if the
news release is more than one page
At the end of the release, use one of the
following:

- 30 end
###

AP Style
Press

releases should follow the AP style

standard

This is the same standard used by journalists

Types of News Releases

Announcements
Spot

Announcements
Reaction Releases
Bad News
Local News

Corporate Sites
Press

releases are often found direct on the

corporate Web sites
Centralized press release sites

PR Newswire
Businesswire

Fact Sheets
Bullet

points or quick facts

May accompany a press release
Visual in nature

Types of Fact Sheets

Details

of an event
Background on an
organization/product/person
May take the form of a FAQ

Six Components of a Release

Letterhead
Contacts
Headline
Dateline
Lead

paragraph
Body of text

Letterhead
The

first page is usually on company

letterhead
Includes logo
If you dont have letterhead, use a larger font
to visually communicate the source behind
the release

Letterhead
Put

the words News Release or something

similar near the top
Optional: For Immediate Release

Contacts
The

contact info for the company and PR

person should be after the letterhead

Contact:

Brett Atwood
Global PR
509/335-0113
batwood@wsu.edu

Headline
Usually

brief and in bold

Larger font than text of release

Usually 14- or 16-point type

Optional:

Subhead with more details

Subhead is not bolded

Dateline
Appears

at the start of the lead paragraph

Includes place and date
Examples:
New York, NY (Sept. 7, 2006) The text of the
story begins here. Etc. Etc. Etc.
WASHINGTON, July 17 This product is the best
thing ever! Etc. Etc. Etc.

The Lead
The

lead paragraph is used to catch the

attention of the journalist
It should be an accurate reflection of the
content that follows
Focus immediately on the news value of the
release
Many reporters skim the lead and read no
further

Summary Lead
No-nonsense

lead
Summarizes basic news in the
announcement
Similar to the style used by many news
reporters

Example
SANTA CLARA,

Calif. -- March 22, 2000 -As part of their continuing efforts to develop
innovative and integrated marketing
solutions, Pepsi-Cola Company (NYSE: PEP)
and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), today
announced a joint online and offline
promotional program, Pepsi Stuff.com.

Example
LOS

ANGELES, Calif., August 7, 2006 News Corporations Fox Interactive Media

and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today
announced a multi-year search technology
and services agreement whereby Google will
be the exclusive search and keyword
targeted advertising sales provider for Fox
Interactive Medias growing network of web
properties including MySpace.com.

Feature Lead
Protecting

the world and the playroom from

evil-doers, the Super Robot Monkey Team
Hyperforce Go! action figures from Hasbro
bring the fun of the animated series home.
Each figure comes with exciting feature play
that allows fans of the show to recreate the
action and adventure with their friends.

Example
Brussels/Berlin,

10 April 2003 Sonys AIBO,

the worlds favourite four-legged
entertainment robot, is about to become a
wow! on the dance floor thanks to AIBO
Dancer, an exciting new software
application. Based on Sonys Memory Stick
technology, it enables AIBO to dance in time
to pop music.

Body of Text
Most

important info is high in the release

Quote from a credible executive in second or
third paragraph
Background material is usually in the second
or third paragraph

Beyond press release

The social media release, is a next-generation press release

format that was inspired by Tom Foremski of Silicon Valley
Watcher. The release is the evolution of traditional press release
formats for the dawning social media age. SHIFT
Communications a mid-sized independent PR agency is the
first to offer a template for use by PR professionals.

The Social Media Press Release is also distinctive for tying

together various multimedia elements in one place, enabling the
journalist to view and/or re-mix media elements. SHIFT
Communications says, "Journalists and bloggers are now fully
adapted to using the World Wide Web for research purposes. The
Social Media Press Release merely facilitates their research by
using the latest tools (social bookmarking, RSS, etc.) to provide
background data, context and on-going updates to clients news."

Beyond press release

Lobby Group - Lobby group are established to influence government

policy, corporate policy, or public opinion. These groups claim to
represent a particular interest. When a lobby group hides its true purpose
and support base it is known as a front group.

Spin doctor : Skilled practitioners of spin are sometimes called "spin

doctors". Perhaps the most well-known person in the UK often described
as a "spin doctor" is Alastair Campbell, who was involved with Tony
Blairs public relations between 1994 and 2003, and also played a
controversial role as press relations officer to the British and Irish Lions
rugby side during their 2005 tour of New Zealand. State-run media in
many countries also engage in spin by selectively allowing news stories
that are favorable to the government while censoring anything that could
be considered critical. They may also use propaganda to indoctrinate or
actively influence citizens' opinions

The process of public relations

Scott Cutlip, Allen Center and Glen Broom describe the public relations process in
four steps (1994). The first step is "Defining Public Relations Problems," usually in
terms of a "situational analysis," or what public relations professionals call a
SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).

According to Cutlip, Center and Broom, this should answer the question, "What's
happening now?" The next step in the public relations process is "Planning and
Programming," where the main focus is "strategy," Cutlip, Center and Broom
argue that this step should answer the question "What should we do and say, and
why?" The third step in the public relations process is "Taking action and
Communicating," also known as "Implementation;" this step should answer the
question "How and when do we do and say it?"

The final step in Cutlip, Center and Broom's Four-Step Public Relations Process
is "Evaluating The Program," making a final "assessment," which should answer
the question "How did we do," this is where public relations professionals make a
final analysis of the success of their campaign or communication.

The process of public relations

Another process model by Sheila C. Crifasi (2000) uses the

acronym "ROSIE" to define a five-step process of "Research,
Objectives, Strategies, Implementation and Evaluation.

Using another acronym, "ROPES," Dr. Kathleen S. Kelly explains

a five-step process through "Research, Objectives, Program,
Evaluation and Stewardship."

Wilcox, Ault, Agee and Cameron (2002) define the public

relations process through four steps of RACE, Research, Action
(Program Planning), Communication and Evaluation."

Center and Jackson (1995) define the process of public relations

through four steps: "Fact-finding and data gathering; Planning
and programming; Action and communication; Evaluation."

The process of public relations

Online PR is increasingly gaining prominence

and credibility in its own right, as PR pros use
new technologies including the Internet to
further client goals. Online PR pros should be
fluent in blogging, link-building, social media
sites such as Digg, and SEO/SEM practices.

A subset of online PR is blogger relations, and

the recognition of bloggers' prominence and
importance in the world of digital content. Many
online PR pros are themselves bloggers, to
better understand this medium.