Tuesday, September 15, 2009

There's no such thing as a single targeted audience ...

Here's the offensive ad, really something speculative that was not produced by or authorized or paid for by the WWF but by DDB Brasil, that was entered into a contest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz0UWnqbcPA

posted by jacqueline @ 8:16 PM

Exam 1 study sheet

You’ll have about 33 T/F and multiple guess, each worth three points. If you read and study from the textbook, plus your class notes and course blog visits, you’ll be in good shape for this test.

Broad areas to study include definitions of public relations, spin, & greenwashing … from textbook definitions to definitions that we viewed on videos shown in class. All outside readings may include material that will be on the test; please visit the course blog for most of these.

Chapter 5: Communication theory and public opinion—what’s the communication model look like, considering noise; what about the model and its use to understand Hurricane Katrina/Rita and the crisis communication attempted by Houston and Galveston. Know about two of the most current theories that vie for attention among practitioners (U&G and agenda-setting); what’s Aristotle got to do with it?; persuasion vs. manipulation. How might diffusion theory fit social media?

Chapter 4: Public in public relations—learn about many types of publics and what needs to be known about them. What’s different about the employee as a public? Should news media be considered a special public and why? Is perception also reality? What is the take-away from the Subway case study on pages 124-125? Check out the chart on page 95—how might it be changed to reflect the latest trends in communication with publics? How did American Airlines deal with its many publics on Sept. 11?

Chapter 3: History—know about careers of Bernays and Lee; why are their legacies messy, rather than heroic? Revisit the torches of freedom campaign; think about development of PR profession over time—what did it look like?; what general historical developments affected the profession? What about Teddy Roosevelt and his bully pulpit? How does the development of PR appear to be like the models discussed on page 9 of chapter 1?

Chapter 2: Jobs in PR—think about the scope of PR and the jobs in the profession; how do professionals spend their time?; where do PR professionals work?; what’s the difference between a technician and a manager?; how should a PR manager be integrated into an organization?; how do women’s experience in PR differ from men when they are technicians? When they are managers? Check out the tips for finding jobs or internships on page 43.

Chapter 1: What is PR?—think about spin and PR and be able to explain the difference; if you could draw a picture of PR, what would it look like? What is the PR process, and how does a values-driven process work? Is PR a narrow field or a broad one? What types of organizations can you work in as a PR professional? Think about the Gap case study, p. 25. Why might we be skeptical about the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty? Why is it important for a company’s mission statement to match its actions? What is relationship building and how does it fit into the PR profession’s purpose? What kinds of general ethical principles are needed in the best PR practices?

posted by jacqueline @ 7:34 PM

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

For Friday's class: A reflection on Sept. 11

We'll be talking about Three Cups of Tea, Sept. 11 and the relationship actions by American Airlines and others on that date, and the mindset of "perception is reality."

Please prepare for this class by learning more about Greg Mortenson, founder of many schools in Pakistan, especially schools for girls, and author of Three Cups of Tea.

posted by jacqueline @ 7:24 AM

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Twitter and blogs

If you are on Twitter for your social media experience, please find the group Journalism30403 and follow it. If you've created a blog, here's that list. Please check to see that your link works, and please check out other blogs.

http://pmprmusings.blogspot.com/
http://www.cloos2.blogspot.com/
http://www.jhmutchler.blogspot.com/
http://www.jackmakescookies.blogspot.com/
http://www.kmcgee14.blogspot.com/
http://www.ardenelliott.blogspot.com/
http://www.ohjuniper.blogspot.com/
http://www.katieqminton.blogspot.com/
http://www.mdonahue31.blogspot.com/
http://www.tcuprblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.jour30403spencer.blogspot.com/
http://www.4ordline.blogspot.com/
http://www.rensilver.blogspot.com/
http://www.ostertag2011.blogspot.com/
http://www.frequena.blogspot.com/
http://www.meganmmalone.blogspot.com/
http://www.dessa011.blogspot.com/
http://www.liz-tastic.blogspot.com/
http://www.breannesigler.blogspot.com/

posted by jacqueline @ 12:24 PM

Friday, September 04, 2009

PR history timeline

http://faculty.camdencc.edu/abreve/prhistory/home/home.htm

posted by jacqueline @ 7:39 AM

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Blog posting on social media ethics, from PRSA

Using social media may seem a natural extension of face-to-face relationship building, but transparency and honesty are a must. Here's a roundup of less than ethical practices in social media land, from the PRSay blog, from PRSA.

http://tinyurl.com/ksjx6z

posted by jacqueline @ 5:10 PM

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

PR, spin, and Edward Bernays

Our textbook discussed the torches of freedom campaign, described and shown here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFmAC31J-TY

Another video at YouTube shows a segment about Bernays and propaganda in America:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15G1XX0wNYM

posted by jacqueline @ 7:03 AM

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Ethics and mommy bloggers

Another great link from AdAge, on the ethics of blogging, amid fear of the FTC:

http://tinyurl.com/yqmnbg

posted by jacqueline @ 7:30 AM

Twitter and Big Pharma

Regulatory agencies such as the FDA enforce laws and guidelines that limit the ways Big Pharma may sell drugs to Americans. This link to an AdAge three-minute video talks about the difficulties of using Twitter in a regulated product category:

http://tinyurl.com/yqmnbg

This use of Twitter is more about being a part of conversations and brand engagement, rather than selling products. The pharma communications executive actually talks about listening ... imagine that.

posted by jacqueline @ 7:20 AM

Toxic substance damages brand's credibility

Along the lines of our ethics discussion, this story from Advertising Age reveals the brand damage after BPA was found in its products. Much No. 7 plastic contains BPA, and a lot of this is produced in Texas, which has allowed production and whose officials have defended these products as safe.

http://tinyurl.com/n5mb3r

In terms of reputation management, this company missed opportunities to admit problems and to reclaim its commitment to selling safe products. BPA has long been a concern for people committed to eliminating toxic substances from their homes, and Canada has banned the sale of BPA products.

posted by jacqueline @ 6:58 AM