Corporate social responsibility is no doubt a large issue today with the ongoing economic crisis.
Rather than just an image to display to the public, philantrophy and corporate social responsibility has shown great success nonetheless when its comes to people's responses. A good example shown in class is the Phillips/Live Earth event.
Now more than ever, with so many corrupt corporations threatening the economy, the need for social responsibility is increasingly urgent. Funds that may be used for the corporations benefit are now expected to go towards causes that concern the everyday citizen.
An example of a company that frequently practices this is the Body Shop, in which many of the skin care ingredients used come from third world countries. By allowing them to supply the ingredients, the Body Shop creates jobs in remote parts of the world as well as benefiting the brand's products. More details on the brands efforts on social responsibility can be found on http://blog.thebodyshop.com.au
In the long run, corporations which practice this have a higher chance of developing long term relationships with consumers and also has a higher chance of attracting customer loyalty.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Week 10
Two things struck me during these week's readings. Firstly, the PR program's objectives and secondly, the topic of communication barriers.
The objectives of the PR program would need to be very clearly stated in order to achieve its purpose. As objectives would determine the strategy and approach of the PR programme, it is firstly very important to build it as a foundation.
The communication barrier between PR practitioners and the audience is also very large. To be successful at PR, one must not come across as being too corporate in their approach although PR's main objective is to generate publicity and in turn profit for a certain brand or event.
The main issue that concerns these two factors are which audiences are being targetted. PR people should be very concerned about the audience they are reaching out to and do adequate research, something which I learnt from my Killa Balla assignment in class.
The objectives of the PR program would need to be very clearly stated in order to achieve its purpose. As objectives would determine the strategy and approach of the PR programme, it is firstly very important to build it as a foundation.
The communication barrier between PR practitioners and the audience is also very large. To be successful at PR, one must not come across as being too corporate in their approach although PR's main objective is to generate publicity and in turn profit for a certain brand or event.
The main issue that concerns these two factors are which audiences are being targetted. PR people should be very concerned about the audience they are reaching out to and do adequate research, something which I learnt from my Killa Balla assignment in class.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Week 8-Communication of tactics
I think the key points in these week's readings are the need for PR practitioner to relate tactics clearly to the audience and the importance of understanding the culture of the consumer.
It has been mentioned in lectures that there is general distrust of PR practitioners in the community. This is something that is prominent and therefore, it is very important in public relations to communicate properly their intentions to the customer and the way it is presented.
As mentioned before in my first post, culture plays a large part in the way people think and as a result it is unlikely all demographics will respond in the same way. This brings to mind the practice of "coolhunting" which was used to discover what teenage opinion leaders think and to adopt trends to market to a certain niche.
Although the readings state transparency as a must, particularly in the practice of damage control, it is difficult to be completely transparent in front of a skeptical public.
It has been mentioned in lectures that there is general distrust of PR practitioners in the community. This is something that is prominent and therefore, it is very important in public relations to communicate properly their intentions to the customer and the way it is presented.
As mentioned before in my first post, culture plays a large part in the way people think and as a result it is unlikely all demographics will respond in the same way. This brings to mind the practice of "coolhunting" which was used to discover what teenage opinion leaders think and to adopt trends to market to a certain niche.
Although the readings state transparency as a must, particularly in the practice of damage control, it is difficult to be completely transparent in front of a skeptical public.
New/social media and Public relations
The term new media refers to media which has became popular in current years. Now, media has evolved to social media which allows audiences to input their views as well in the situation. I think the main point of the readings are to highlight the importance new media plays in Public relations and how it can be used.
This evolution is very beneficial to PR as Public Relations is a field that aims to communicate to the customer, which is not easily done without knowing that exactly it is that the customer wants. In this manner, it can facilitate two-way symmetric communication with the Public relations firm and the consumer.
However, it also has it weaknesses if not properly utilized. The method of communication that is needed to gain a consumers trust is very important. In this sense, while new media is a good tool to use for PR practitioners, it is important to understand there is still a need for strategy and tactics in this field.
This evolution is very beneficial to PR as Public Relations is a field that aims to communicate to the customer, which is not easily done without knowing that exactly it is that the customer wants. In this manner, it can facilitate two-way symmetric communication with the Public relations firm and the consumer.
However, it also has it weaknesses if not properly utilized. The method of communication that is needed to gain a consumers trust is very important. In this sense, while new media is a good tool to use for PR practitioners, it is important to understand there is still a need for strategy and tactics in this field.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Ethics and Public Relations
Ethics, which was a main topic in the textbook chapter as well as the topic of the upcoming debate interested me immensely.
During our tutorials, we were shown situations in which successful Public Relations could be applied and that much of Public Relations can be viewed as 'pseudo-events and phoney phrases that confuse rather than clarify.'
The thin line between professionalism and ethical practice is indeed a tricky tightrope that any PR person would have to walk. Strategies, which was highlighted in last week's readings are important but it is perplexing to note that these very strategies are the ones that can get one into an ethical dilemma. The Potter Box theory, which tells us that the four factors in which makes a person make ethical decisions - the situation, the person's values,principles and loyalties are also highlighting the gray area in which personal bias would definitely affect whatever ethical decisions the PR practitioner may have to make.
Difficult as it is to address, ethics in public relations is definitely something that needs to be covered and it is a subject I am looking forward to be addressed in the upcoming debate.
During our tutorials, we were shown situations in which successful Public Relations could be applied and that much of Public Relations can be viewed as 'pseudo-events and phoney phrases that confuse rather than clarify.'
The thin line between professionalism and ethical practice is indeed a tricky tightrope that any PR person would have to walk. Strategies, which was highlighted in last week's readings are important but it is perplexing to note that these very strategies are the ones that can get one into an ethical dilemma. The Potter Box theory, which tells us that the four factors in which makes a person make ethical decisions - the situation, the person's values,principles and loyalties are also highlighting the gray area in which personal bias would definitely affect whatever ethical decisions the PR practitioner may have to make.
Difficult as it is to address, ethics in public relations is definitely something that needs to be covered and it is a subject I am looking forward to be addressed in the upcoming debate.
Media Relations
I think the main point in these readings are the relationships that a PR person has with the media.
In Singapore's media culture, in which much of the media can be described as being 'under one roof' or rather dominated by Singapore Press Holdings, relationships between PR practitioners and journalists are of the highest importance. As the community is small and often insiders would switch from one publication to the other, relationships indeed have to be a life-long process which is being developed by PR people. PR practitioners will need to access the timeliness of their media releases and keep an eye on how the media works. For instance, if a great disaster was happening somewhere else in the world, it would be unlikely that what the PR person has to publicize would capture as much attention.
However, the contradiction which I have noted is that while Public relations executives and journalists rely on each other, the way in which they are trained are often completely opposite.
Although media releases are meant to be eye catching and to capture the journalist's interest by the very first paragraph, the journalist would need to hunt for the relevant content and present it in an unbiased way in the form of a news article. Personally, as a person studying both Journalism and PR, I feel it is very valuable training as we learn how the two different media branches think as we are often given hands on practices in the tutorials by having to write both media releases and news stories from media releases.
In Singapore's media culture, in which much of the media can be described as being 'under one roof' or rather dominated by Singapore Press Holdings, relationships between PR practitioners and journalists are of the highest importance. As the community is small and often insiders would switch from one publication to the other, relationships indeed have to be a life-long process which is being developed by PR people. PR practitioners will need to access the timeliness of their media releases and keep an eye on how the media works. For instance, if a great disaster was happening somewhere else in the world, it would be unlikely that what the PR person has to publicize would capture as much attention.
However, the contradiction which I have noted is that while Public relations executives and journalists rely on each other, the way in which they are trained are often completely opposite.
Although media releases are meant to be eye catching and to capture the journalist's interest by the very first paragraph, the journalist would need to hunt for the relevant content and present it in an unbiased way in the form of a news article. Personally, as a person studying both Journalism and PR, I feel it is very valuable training as we learn how the two different media branches think as we are often given hands on practices in the tutorials by having to write both media releases and news stories from media releases.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Reflections on Chapter 7
The thing that struck me most for this weeks readings is the strategy involved in Public Relations. The use of strategy brings to mind a quote from Chapter 6 of Sun Tzu's Art of War, "Thus the person adept in warfare seeks to control and manipulate his enemy instead of being manipulated and controlled. He can cause his enemy to arrive on his own accord by luring him with benefits."
While this is a field that can barely even be considered a form of warfare, the same strategies ring through when it comes to communication with the public. For instance, the principles of effective communication which are being open and honest, two-way and responsive, receiver oriented, timely, clear and consistent and being comprehensive.
It is true that in Public Relations one should always consider the viewer as the most important. Be it a form of subtle manipulation, the quote from Sun Tzu rings through that it should appear to benefit the viewer.
These principles are of the highest importance in public relations and a good Public Relations practitioner will be mindful of them while doing his/her work.
While this is a field that can barely even be considered a form of warfare, the same strategies ring through when it comes to communication with the public. For instance, the principles of effective communication which are being open and honest, two-way and responsive, receiver oriented, timely, clear and consistent and being comprehensive.
It is true that in Public Relations one should always consider the viewer as the most important. Be it a form of subtle manipulation, the quote from Sun Tzu rings through that it should appear to benefit the viewer.
These principles are of the highest importance in public relations and a good Public Relations practitioner will be mindful of them while doing his/her work.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Week 2-Public relations and public perception
Reading about the theory of public relations and putting into practice is no doubt a completely different experience. Nonetheless, the value in public relations theory cannot be ignored.
These week readings, which encompasses three different fundamental areas-the definition of public relations, a history of public relations in Australia and more importantly, the different theories surrounding public relations.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that the use of semiotics which can be used to denote certain things and to present an image to the public. The challenge in relying on semiotics is that many signs denote different things in different cultures. An example would be that white, which suggests mourning to the Chinese, would signify marriage to Westerners. Therefore, in order to make a good impression to the public, it is necessary to take note of culture differences and be culturally sensitive.
This is shown clearly in this picture taken from a McDonald's in Thailand. In this picture, one can see that Ronald McDonald (a figure representing the company) is using normal Thai greeting pose. Details like these will make figures such as Ronald McDonald seem more relatable to people in Thailand.
The main focus of the readings these weeks-Grunig's and Hunt's "four models" approach, namely, press agentry (propaganda), public information (e.g. Government statements to the public), two-way asymmetric (feedback taken from the public from an organization and incorporated) and two-way symmetric (public view is not entirely incorporated ).
Out of these four views, I believe the two-way asymmetric is probably the most idealized. After all, it seeks to cater to the public and make corporate decisions more democratic. However, it may not be entirely effective as one cannot assume that the consumer will truthfully tell the corporations what they truly want. Realistically, most firms in Singapore should fit the two-way symmetric model.
As for the two other models, they are far better to be adopted by governments. However, in this day and age, propaganda is often thought of as outdated although it may exist in a less extreme form than what it used to in Nazi Germany.
However, one should note that everyone has different perceptions of the same message-be it through aforementioned cultural differences or the demographic the individual belongs in (religion, family background, income level, etc.) Therefore it is necessary to define what is the "public" that public relations practicioners wish to reach out to.
All in all, I believe public relations is a field that is extremely diverse and therefore may be hard to pin down. However, with closer and more thorough study, more breakthroughs can be made.
These week readings, which encompasses three different fundamental areas-the definition of public relations, a history of public relations in Australia and more importantly, the different theories surrounding public relations.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that the use of semiotics which can be used to denote certain things and to present an image to the public. The challenge in relying on semiotics is that many signs denote different things in different cultures. An example would be that white, which suggests mourning to the Chinese, would signify marriage to Westerners. Therefore, in order to make a good impression to the public, it is necessary to take note of culture differences and be culturally sensitive.
This is shown clearly in this picture taken from a McDonald's in Thailand. In this picture, one can see that Ronald McDonald (a figure representing the company) is using normal Thai greeting pose. Details like these will make figures such as Ronald McDonald seem more relatable to people in Thailand.The main focus of the readings these weeks-Grunig's and Hunt's "four models" approach, namely, press agentry (propaganda), public information (e.g. Government statements to the public), two-way asymmetric (feedback taken from the public from an organization and incorporated) and two-way symmetric (public view is not entirely incorporated ).
Out of these four views, I believe the two-way asymmetric is probably the most idealized. After all, it seeks to cater to the public and make corporate decisions more democratic. However, it may not be entirely effective as one cannot assume that the consumer will truthfully tell the corporations what they truly want. Realistically, most firms in Singapore should fit the two-way symmetric model.
As for the two other models, they are far better to be adopted by governments. However, in this day and age, propaganda is often thought of as outdated although it may exist in a less extreme form than what it used to in Nazi Germany.
However, one should note that everyone has different perceptions of the same message-be it through aforementioned cultural differences or the demographic the individual belongs in (religion, family background, income level, etc.) Therefore it is necessary to define what is the "public" that public relations practicioners wish to reach out to.
All in all, I believe public relations is a field that is extremely diverse and therefore may be hard to pin down. However, with closer and more thorough study, more breakthroughs can be made.
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