Public Relations, An Overview. By Molly McCarthy, Principal of Valley Public Relations

PUBLIC RELATIONS

SOOO … MUCH MORE THAN JUST WORKING WITH THE PRESS!

MOLLY MCCARTHY, VALLEY PUBLIC RELATIONS - 3/9/10

Copyright Molly McCarthy

Agenda

What is public relations? What careers are available to me? What should I focus on now as a

student?

If we have time … Case Study on Media Relations


What is Public Relations?

If you are in public relations, your job is to establish and maintain “mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends.”

— Effective Public Relations, Cutlip, Center & Broom, page 5, 9th edition

In plain English: Establish & nurture relationships between your client & those whose opinions matter.


Who is a Client?

Bank University Hospital Restaurant, Chef Fortune 500 Local Start-up Non profit Organization Sports team, Athlete Fashion designer, Clothing boutique


Who are their “Publics”?

“Publics”: like-minded groups of people

Restaurant: local & national food and wine lovers. Investors, employees, food service vendors, big-name stores with culinary education departments.

Local start-up: current & potential consumers, investors, employees, competitors, partners, industry organizations.


Who are their “Publics”? (cont.)

University: current and potential students, professors, investors, administration and employees, researchers. Local businesses and schools, families in the neighborhood.


Case Study: University

What would a public relations (communications) program for a University encompass? A mix of:

Marketing Communications Advertising, printed materials, interactive

communications, promotions, direct mail, website, trade shows, special events

Media Relations “Proactive public relations” Building relationships with key media, connecting with

them on a regular basis with news, trends, story ideas. Issues Management

Anticipate, identify, evaluate, respond to public policy issues that affect the University


Case Study: University (cont.) Crisis Communications

“Reactive public relations” Creating a plan for when something goes

wrong, training spokespeople Community Relations

Kiosks or information tables at events & fairs, building relationships with neighbors & local businesses, sponsoring events

Employee Relations Build strong relationships between organization

and it’s current/potential employees. Keep employees abreast of all news and

informationCopyright Molly McCarthy

What Public RelationsCareers Are Available to Me?

Media Relations Crisis Communications Employee Relations Financial (Investor) Relations Event Planning Community Relations Counseling (PR Counsel) Government Relations Grassroots Organizing/Activism Issues Management Lobbying And more…

Source: APR Study Guide, 2008Copyright Molly McCarthy

Community Relations

An area of PR with responsibilities for building relationships with constituent publics such as schools, charities, clubs and activist interests of the neighborhoods or metropolitan area(s) where an organization operates. Dealing and communicating with the citizens and groups within an organization’s operating area.


Media Relations (working with the press!)

Mutually beneficial associations between a public relations professional and members of the media as a condition for reaching audiences with messages of news or features of interest.

Maintaining up-to-date lists of media people and a knowledge of media audience interests are critical to the function.

Dealing with communication media in seeking publicity or responding to their interest in the organization.


Crisis Communications

Protects and defends an individual, company or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation.

These challenges can involve legal, ethical or financial standing.


Employee Relations

Internal communication — engage employees and build trust

Activities designed to build sound relationships between an organization & its employees, & a critical element in fostering positive attitudes and behavior of employees as ambassadors for the organization. (Bloggers, sales, investors, employee referrals).

Source: APR Study Guide, 2008


Investor/Financial Relations

External communication to customers, stakeholders, investors, etc. – public trust and support

An aspect of PR responsible for building relationships with the investor public, including shareholders/stockholders; potential investors; financial analysts; the financial markets such as the stock exchanges and commodities exchanges; and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Dealing and communicating with the shareholders of an organization and the investment community.

As far as I know – requires an MBASource: APR Study Guide, 2008


I’m a Student. What Should I Focus On Now?

Traditional Skills: writing & editing, storytelling, time management, communication skills, research.

Learn the history and future of public relations: theory, strategy, planning, tactics, case studies, etc.

Publicists do not work alone: The best PR programs are accomplished as part of an effective team. Work on projects with others and pay attention to how well you perform in a group. This is your training ground! Copyright Molly McCarthy

What Will Set Me Apart?

Set Yourself Apart: creativity, curiosity, ability to brainstorm the “big idea” and key supporting messages, strategic planning, willingness to embrace, learn about & keep up-to-date on your industry, relationship building & networking.

Be Indispensible: exceed expectations, learn new skills & stay current with best practices (social media today, what tomorrow?). (More on this in a minute.)

Be a team player: be positive and productive (especially in times of change), be ethical, be willing to take a leadership role.


Stay Current on PR Best Practices

Attend PR seminars, “Read all about it!” Haro – Help a reporter out #PRStudChat and JournChat– brings PR Pros

and Students together Ragan.com & Online PR Dailies MarketingProfs Bad Pitch Blog Muckrack.com – Online dbase of journalists

and their real time tweeting Alltop – resource for searching all things

blogsCopyright Molly McCarthy

Review and Questions

What is public relations? What careers are available to me? What should I focus on now as a

student?

Media Relations … a Case Study


Media RelationsCase Study: 2010 Spirit of The Flame Challenge

800 gymnasts, 1 yearly downtown SJ competition

2010 Media Relations Program Results: PSAs ran on many local radio & tv stations NBC came by 8 times to build and report KTVU did a short piece KCBS came and did a live radio interview We were covered in every local calendar

section online and in print The Mercury News and many community

newspapers wrote stories. Copyright Molly McCarthy

KCBS RadioReporter Betsy Gebhardt


NBCReporter Garvin Thomas

Live Coverage!


KTVUReporter Steve Doerr


NBC Nightly News


Priorities … Biz Goal & Readiness

Business Goal: Be sure you understand the big picture goal(s) of the organization asking you to run a campaign.

Are they ready? Make sure you’ve done all you can to establish that your organization is ready to go public. Spokespeople, backgrounders, corporate

story, spokespeople, solid story and strategy, competitive analysis.


Priorities …A Plan

Create a Plan: budget, schedule, goals, tactics, audiences, target media and more.

Budget: How much money are we spending on this Campaign? Amount determines size, length, staffing of campaign.

Goals: What measurable things to we expect to accomplish with this campaign?

Tactics: What specific things will we do in order to achieve these goals?

Schedule: If I’m going to announce something newsworthy, in what order (schedule) do I communicate w/these people?


Priorities …A Plan (cont.)

Spokespeople: Who, in your organization, will speak to the press and tell the story? The CEO, a VP, a customer?

Target Audience(s): who are the groups that we should build relationships with in order to accomplish your business goal (increase sales, increase awareness, etc.)

Target Media: Research media outlets: TV, Print, Blogs, Magazines, Newspapers, Online Dailies. Answer the question: Who communicates to my audience(s)? Google your topic. Go to News. Figure out Who has been

covering your topic lately. Use online professional databases Build-up your network of PR professionals, share lists Get Tradeshow lists Copyright Molly McCarthy

Prepare Your Campaign

Differentiators: what uniquely makes your organization: Worth following? Newsworthy? What problems are you solving: First, Faster,

Better? Are you enabling or leading a new trend?

What is the Big Idea? “Get a taste of the Olympics in your own backyard!”

Messaging: Use differentiators to determine messages – by audience


Prepare Your Campaign

Familiarize: Make sure you are fluent in your industry (trends, terms, acronyms, history, market size etc.) Be able to describe everything in story form!

Describe: Script your news, prepare it in different ways (a press release, a blurb, a sentence or two)

Sell: Write Pitch Letters or Prepare Phone Pitches that will sell your news idea to the media.


Implement & Evaluate Your Campaign

Begin: begin sending out your letters and making your calls. Start talking w/the press and getting them interested in your story. Set up phone meetings, in-person meetings.

Establish, Maintain, Nuture your MUTUAL RELATIONSHIPS – read what these folks are writing about, only pitch them if you know that your idea fits with what they do.

Launch: Host Event, Press Meetingws, Press Conference, etc.

Evaluate: watch for coverage, measure how well your messages were disseminated, gather coverage, create report, evaluate success rate over time.


Thank You!

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Follow me at: Twitter: MollyVPR


Public Relations, An Overview. By Molly McCarthy, Principal of Valley Public Relations

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