Maybe the Strongest PR on Planet Earth?  

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Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

Maybe the Strongest PR on Planet Earth?

Strong for business, non-profit and association managers
when they use the fundamental premise of public relations
to produce external stakeholder behavior change – the kind
that leads directly to achieving their managerial objectives.

And strong when they do something positive about the
behaviors of those outside audiences that most affect their
organization.

And finally, if this is you, really strong when you persuade
those important outside folks to your way of thinking, then
move them to take actions that help your department, division
or subsidiary succeed.

On the other hand, not so strong when you limit your PR
activity pretty much to placing product and service plugs on
radio and in newspapers. In short, your public relations effort
really must involve more than press releases, brochures and
special events if you are to get your PR money’s worth.

The fundamental premise of public relations says as much:
people act on their own perception of the facts before them,
which leads to predictable behaviors about which something
can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion
by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the
very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most,
the public relations mission is accomplished.

The strength of that blueprint can appear in results like these:
new thoughtleader and special event contacts; membership
applications on the rise; new community service and
sponsorship opportunities; prospects starting to work with
you; new feedback channels; customers making repeat
purchases; stronger relationships with the educational, labor,
financial and healthcare communities; improved relations
with government agencies and legislative bodies; new
proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures;
promotional contest overtures; enhanced activist group
relations; capital givers or specifying sources looking your
way, and even a rebound in showroom visits.

But first, the division of labor. Just who is going to do the
work? Your own full-time public relations staff? People
assigned to your unit by a parent organization? An outside
PR agency team? Regardless of where they come from,
they must be committed to you as the senior project manager,
to the PR blueprint and its implementation, starting with key
audience perception monitoring.

An alert. Just because someone describes him/herself
as a public relations person doesn’t mean they’ve bought
the whole loaf of bread. Be sure the PR people assigned to
your unit really believe why it’s SO important to know how
your most important outside audiences perceive your
operations, products or services. Make sure they accept the
reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that
can help or hurt your unit.

Trace out the PR blueprint for them, especially your plan for
monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members
of your most important outside audiences. Questions like these:
how much do you know about our organization? Have you had
prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange?
How much do you know about our services or products and
employees? Have you experienced problems with our people
or procedures?

If you can afford the considerable expense of a professional
survey firm, by all means use it in the perception monitoring
phases of your program. But keep in mind that your PR
people are also in the perception and behavior business and can
pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions,
unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other
negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Now you establish a PR goal that stands a good chance of doing
something about the most serious distortions you discovered
during your key audience perception monitoring. It could be to
straighten out that dangerous misconception, or correct that gross
inaccuracy, or stop that potentially fatal rumor dead in its tracks.

And, of course, you must have the right strategy, one that
clearly shows you how to proceed. Please note that there are
only three strategic options available to you when it comes to
handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change existing
perception, create perception where there may be none, or
reinforce it. Since the wrong strategy pick will taste like capers
on your strawberry shortcake, be certain the new strategy fits
comfortably with your new public relations goal. You don’t
want to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce”
strategy.

Here, the PR staff must prepare a powerful message and aim
it at members of your target audience. As is usually the case,
crafting action-forcing language to persuade an audience to
your way of thinking is hard work. Which is why your crew
must create some very special, corrective language. Words
that are not only compelling, persuasive and believable, but
clear and factual. Only in this way will you be able to correct
a perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view,
leading to the behaviors you are targeting.

I’d run it by my PR colleagues for impact and persuasiveness.
Then, fine-tune it before selecting the communications tactics
most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target
audience. You can pick from dozens that are available. From
speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer
briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings
and many others. But be sure that the tactics you pick are
known to reach folks just like your audience members.

As you know, the credibility of a message is often dependent
on the means used to deliver it. So you may wish to unveil it
before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using
higher-profile news releases.

It won’t be long before calls for progress reports are heard.
This tells you and your PR team to start work on a second
perception monitoring session with members of your external
audience. You’ll want to use many of the same questions
used in the first benchmark session. Difference this time is that
you will be watching very carefully for signs that the bad news
perception is being altered in your direction.

Should the program’s momentum flag, you can simply
accelerate matters by adding more communications tactics
as well as increasing their frequencies.

Yes, what you really want the new PR plan to do, is to
persuade your most important outside stakeholders to your
way of thinking, then move them to behave in a way that
leads to the success of your department, division or subsidiary.

Indeed, this could be the strongest public relations on the planet.

end

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com