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PRSA APR CHEAT SHEET
PRSA Values - Answers :HE FAIL Honesty Expertise Fairness Advocacy Independence Loyalty Four Step Planning Process - Answers :RPIE Research: Define the PR problem, situation analysis Planning: 10-Step PR Planning Process Implementation: Take action & communicate Evaluation: Assessment Problem Statement - Answers :5 Ws and H - 25 words or less "What exactly is it that we want them to do as a result of this campaign?" Reflect the findings from research.
- Who is involved or affected?
- What is the source of concern?
- What is the impact to the organization and its publics?
- When is this a concern?
- Where is this a concern?
- How are they involved or affected? Four Questions that Define an Audience & Primary vs. Secondary - Answers :KIAA
- Who needs to know?
- Who needs to be involved?
- Who is affected or has something to gain/lose?
- Whose (advice) or support do we need? Primary (key): That you specifically want to influence. Secondary: "intervening." These are people who can intervene on your behalf and influence the primary audience. What is an Objective? SMART acronym? - Answers :"Who does What for Whom by How Much and When?" KEY: (ONE) Audience + Outcome + Attainment Level (%) + Time Frame.
Objectives are based on research and align with the business. They are a guide to actions. Each OBJ is for ONE Public ID'd after GOALS. Short-term. Articulate with verbs: recognize, favor, accept, endorse, support, oppose, band, buy, discard, etc. Must be SMART, outcome/behavior-focused Specific Measureable Attaintable Realistic Timely 10 - Step PR Plan - Answers :RESEARCH FIRST: Situational Analysis, Research, Problem Statement PLANNING
- Goal
- Audience Repeat for each public #
- Objective
- Strategy
- Tactics
- Activities
- Evaluation Summary Documents
- Materials
- Budget
- Timeline Ethical Principles (Step 5 in Ethical Process) - Answers :CC-Feds Competition Conflict of Interest Free Flow of Information Enhancing the Profession Disclosure of Information Safeguarding Confidences Act in the public interest Use honesty and integrity as your guide Avoid conflict of interest; real, perceived, potential Ensure truth and accuracy
- Free flow of information
- Do not disseminate false or misleading information
- If you make a mistake, correct with all publics Deal fairly with all publics
- Awareness --> Knowledge change--> Media
- Interest/Persuasion --> Attitude change --> Media/people
- Evaluation/Decision--> Attitude change --> Media/people
- Trial/Implementation --> Behavior change --> People/family/friend
- Adoption --> Behavior change --> People/family/friend 4 Models of PR - Answers :James Gruning's "Excellence Theory"
- Press Agentry/Publicity: persuasion & manipulation to influence.
- Public Information (asymmetrical). Press releases & one-way communication techniques.
- Two-Way Asymmetric - Research conducted showed that the public had a concern, but the information was not used to modify the organization's goals, policies or actions. Instead, it guided your communication approach.
- Two-Way Symmetric: ongoing research and information collected from an audience may influence what an organization does. The goal is mutual benefit. Organizations are more effective when:
- PR is a critical management function
- PR is an integrated communication function, separate from marketing
- Two-way symmetrical model
- Diversity Sherman/Clayton; Robinson/Putnam Antitrust - Answers :* 8K: 4 days "material" changes to organization. (Issuing PR release, the filing press release on Form 8k appropriate for fair disclosure, significant problems like litigation or executive malfeasance).
- 10K: 60 days (annual report including MD&A, SWOT, financial footnotes, labor contracts, non-compete agreement)
- 10Q: 45 days "unaudited" quarterly report. Due 35 days after close of first three quarters.
- 1934 Section Form Def 14A proxy statement announcing shareholders meeting. (Issues include assignment of board members, executive salaries, compensation, bonus & options plans, dividend pay)
- 1933 5c "gag": 90-day embargo on publicity material from date security is registered until effective
- 1934 - disclosure. Material available to the public.
- 1934 10-b5: truth and accuracy in all publicity materials including speeches, press releases, etc. Fraud in disclosure.
- 1963 SEC: insider trading, material information (news that could influence a decision to buy or sell stock)
- Reg FD (Fair Disclosure): disclose financial information to all shareholders at the same time. 2000
- Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) verify accounting controls are in place *Anti-Trust - engaging in activity that ruins competition illegal. 4 Defenses Against Libel - Answers :1. Truth
Fair comment
Privilege
Retraction 6 Standards of Proof of Libel (EPR p. 142) - Answers :Proof libel DID PuFF
Defamation (hatred, contempt, ridicule)
Identification
Damages
Publication
Fault
Falsity 9 Steps to Restore Trust - Answers :To restore trust READ A C
Candor (verbal acknowledgment a problem exists)
Apologize
Explanation
Affirmation (learned from the situation & how it will influence your future behavior)
Declaration (positive steps you will take to resolve the issue)
Contrition (continued verbalization of candor: regret, empathy, sympathy)
Consultation (ask for help and counsel from victims)
Commitment (set goals at zero problems)
Restitution (quickly pay the price) Five steps must be affected in the first "golden hour" of a crisis. Response priorities aka The Grand Strategy. - Answers :1. Problem identification & prioritization: deal with the underlying problem first.
Manage the victim dimension: aka victim dynamics
Employee communication: most important audience.
Communicate with those indirectly affected: inform them.
Deal with self-appointed, self-anointed, and the media: media brings attention to your crisis Crisis Communications Planning Process (Readiness) - Answers :NOTE: Team assembled when there IS a crisis "How READY are we to deal with the most serious problem we expect to face?"
Identify what can go wrong or become highly visible
Identify priorities based on vulnerabilities most likely to occur and develop scenarios for each
Develop Q&A for each scenario
Determine what to say/do in the first critical hour
*Output - Measure activities (10 press releases). No direct value in measuring effectiveness of a campaign. WORDS: INCREASE, CHANGE
- EX: "Create 10M impressions through 200 placements in national print and broadcast outlets that mention study findings by the end of the campaign in June" Process - "inform" or "educate" publics Four Roles of PR Professionals - Answers :Communication Technician: (AC-SAE), Tactically focused. Implement strategies determined by others (conducts media outreach, writes features, research) *Expert Prescriber: (AM-AD) Sets objectives, plans, budgets, recruits & trains staff members. Environmental scanning. *Communication Facilitator: Serves as liaison/spokesperson between an organization and its publics. Listener. Manages two-way communications and removes barriers. *Problem-Solving Process Facilitator: Strategic collaborates with larger teams and managers to define and solve problems. Definition of a "true crisis" - Answers :Show-stopping, people-stopping, product- stopping, reputation-defining situations that create victims and/or explosive visibility. Anything less is a problem. Five Stages of a Crisis - Answers :1. Detection
- Prevention/Preparation
- Containment
- Recovery
- Learning Examples of a Strategy - Answers :HOW you will REACH your OBJECTIVES. Must have an AUDIENCE defined in STRATEGY. Establish partnerships, engage, test effectiveness, generate feedback, demonstrate, collaborate. "is"
- Social media
- Media relations
- Public engagement
- Employee engagement
- Third-party endorsement
- Interactions with opinion leaders. Types of Survey Samples - Answers :Census - 100% sample. X< Probability Samples - Being chosen is equal or random Nonprobability Samples - an informal selection. *Convenience: intercept surveys *Quota: "10 of each audience" *Dimensional: "matches the dimensions"
*Snowball: a few people know similar others. successive waves of questioning *Purposive: ID a sample that suits your purpose Public Opinion Process: Public Types - Answers :Constraint Recognition of Situation Sets. Publics can be grouped into four types: All-issue: active on all issues (NONPUBLICS) Apathetic: inattentive & inactive on all issues (LATENT) Single-issue: active on a limited # of issues (AWARE) Hot-issue: active after widespread media coverage (ACTIVE) Public Opinion Process: Eight Steps - Answers :AKA: Lang and Lang's Collective Dynamics
- Existing mass opinion
- Issue
- Creates a public
- Public debate
- Time
- Public opinion
- Social action
- Mass sentiment Environmental Scanning - Answers :Monitoring organization's internal and external environments for detecting "future" early signs of opportunities and threats that may influence its current and future plans. EX: Monitoring Facebook and meeting with parent groups to discuss COVID. "Info about events and relationships in a company's outside environment, knowledge here assists top management in charting future course of action." Formative & Descriptive Research - Answers :Formative - Gathering information to use before or program or making adjustments in a plan during implementation. "Make wise decisions." Helps with planning the PR plan. Preliminary Work. Analyze: Situation, Organization, Publics. Descriptive - Collecting information that describes existing conditions, the status quo of individuals, or group opinions and behaviors. Used to test a theory or hypothesis. Omnibus Survey or Study is also called what? - Answers :"Subscription studies." Centralized vs. Decentralized Decision Making - Answers :Centralized: "top-down" pyramid. Decisions are consistent. Facilitate coordination. Decentralized decision making distributes decision making across organizational units. Accountability and ownership.
EX: Announced remote learning practice day in anticipation of school shutdown due to COVID. Benchmarking - Answers :A process by which a company compares its performance with that of high-performing organizations. Helps org interacts with its publics. Types of Formal & Informal Research - Answers :Formal (scientific, can be replicated): Surveys (telephone, mail, online/email), content analysis, research databases, fact finding. All secondary research. EVERYTHING ELSE IS INFORMAL Informal (subjective & exploratory, pre-test): Focus groups, interviews (intercept, in- depth, phone), communications audit, compliant reviews, tracking calls, observations, advisory panels, community forums, media analysis, historical research BOTH: Online/email surveys, Internet/social media research Salience - Answers :An individual's belief that an issue is important or relevant to him or her. Transmission / Media-Effect Theories - Answers :*Agenda Setting: "I saw on the news..." Make coverage makes it seem true (no behavioral change) *Two-Step Agenda Setting: "I trust Tom Brady because he shares my opinions." Opinion leaders change opinions. *Cultivation: Mass media shapes perception. Too much TV is bad, makes it seem true. "Wildfires lighting up the world. Must mean the whole world is on fire." Magic Bullet: Media affects human behavior. "I saw an ad for Smokey Bear, and I will do my part to prevent wildfire." Message Theories - Answers :Framing: News reports say ONE thing, someone else calls it a DIFFERENT thing. 9/11 - "War on Terror" vs. "Criminal act." *Rhetoric: Using a SPOKESPERSON to get communications out there. "Smokey Bear." Sleeper Effect: People go into "sleeper mode" of not liking something because they have ALWAYS not liked it. Communication Barriers - Answers :Fuzzy language *Misalignment of message *History of distrust *Distractions *No credibility *Unreliable media *Captive audience *Gatekeepers Open & Closed Systems - Answers :open systems interact with other systems (closed systems do not interact with other systems).
Closed systems isolate internal units from the external environment. Asymmetrical worldviews reflect atop-down management approach. The organization sets goals and makes decisions without much input from workers. The organization gets what it wants without having to change the way it does business. Open systems allow interaction between units within an organization as well as input to the organization from external forces. Symmetrical worldviews reflect more bottom-up influences where managers develop a shared vision with workers. What is a Goal? - Answers :BEFORE A GOAL: Situational Analysis, Research, Problem Statement. *Long-term *Spells out overall outcomes. *Broader vision, "future state of being" *Directly related to the problem Situational Theory of Publics - Answers :People seek information when it is related to decisions that affect their attitudes. PCL Level of Involvement
- Problem recognition (awareness)
- Constraint recognition (can they do anything about it)
- Level of involvement (impact on person's life, connection to issue) Things you CAN measure in Evaluation Phrase - Answers :PR Outcomes *Knowledge gain *Opinion change *Attitude change *Behavior change *Repeated behavior *Goal achieved Social and cultural change 3 Types of Communication Crises - Answers :Immediate: Sudden incident. Requires immediate action. Little time for research & planning (EX: School lockdown) *Emerging: Potential issue that could disrupt operations or affect reputation. Time for research & planning. (EX: School employees concerned about returning to school) *Sustained: Continued negative news coverage. Often follows immediate crisis. (EX: Threatening social media post by student continues to be reposted) Coorientation Model - Answers :Alleviate misperceptions Improve understandings FOUR basic methods to determine PR budgets - Answers :1) Overall $$ available.
- Competitive necessity of the PR function.
- Specific tasks or goals set for PR function.
- Value: intrinsically valued or desirable. Excellence Theory - Answers :PR performance often linked with an organization's relationship with publics Agenda Setting vs. Agenda Building - Answers :As a communicator we are putting out an agenda (building) and media is pushing it to the public (setting). Building Using new releases, blogs, interview opportunities, etc to news outlets to influence the media agenda. Setting Mass media can set the public agenda through repeated news reports about an issue. Arthur Page's Corporate Principles - Answers :• Tell the truth
- Prove it with action
- Listen to the customer
- Manage for tomorrow
- Conduct PR as if the whole company depends on it
- Realize a company's true character is expressed by its people
- Remain calm, patient and good-humored Situational Analysis - Answers :*An assessment of a firm's internal and external environments. *Should answer "What kinds of information do people use or seek?" *State org you are representing. Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia - Answers :Public access to criminal trials What are systematic actions and messages designed to influence what people in keypublics think about an organization? - Answers :Reputation Management Don't call a news conference unless: - Answers :(1) you have real news that you need to deliver simultaneously to many news organizations (2) you need to have an expert present to answer questions (3) you need to demonstrate the subject of the news story. Excellence Theory of PR - Answers :PS-O-IH
- Participatory rather than authoritative cultures
- Symmetrical system of internal communication
- Organic rather than mechanical structures
- Intentional efforts to equalize opportunities for men and women
- High job satisfaction among employees. Blackouts in PR - Answers :Two common blackouts are related to employee benefits and political campaigns. A human resources blackout is a temporary period during
which access, often to retirement or investment funds are, is limited or denied. In terms of advertising, a blackout can refer to a political party's restriction on advertising for a set period before an election. The Gunning Fox Index is one method used for measuring___ - Answers :Readability PESO Examples - Answers :Paid (advertising - controlled) Earned (publicity - uncontrolled) Shared (social media - uncontrolled) Owned (internal - controlled)
