CHAPTER 13: FOCUS ON ASIAN PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGEMENT
This chapter discusses the differences between PR practice in Western countries and the Southeast Asia region. In the text, it is mentioned that no one theoretical model can cover all aspects of Asia's public relations and this stems from the sole reason that Asia is a vast place. There are differences in culture, differences in democracy and how the country is being run, and the differences in markets and global trading landscape.
The promotion of the FeiYue brand is the perfect example of the need to adjust PR plans accordingly to various cultures. FeiYue, being originally a China brand bought over by the French, has to be pitched differently in Europe and in Singapore due to consumer's varying perspective of the brand. Nicholas Seguy, co-founder of FeiYue, mentioned in his brief that in Europe, products with Asian origins are considered exotics and nice, whereas in Asia, it has a negative stereotype. He also mentioned that consumers' preferences in Singapore cannot be predicted based on the situation in Europe due to these cultural differences.
Understanding this chapter warns me to do sufficient research for my PR plan. It helps that I am a Singaporean, hence able to understand the cultural roots of Singaporeans.
"What draws us to an event?" " What impression do we have of this brand?" " What motivates me to change my behavior?"
Of course, planning a strategy cannot only be based on the 'ME' factor, but with research and analysis, fully understand the construct of the local society.
By doing so, it will be easy to target a specific community as your audience.
Here are a few pictorial representations of the differences between the Westerners and Asians.
Lifestyle
Retirement Life
Self Ego
Punctuality
Queuing
When at a party
What they think is cool (identical to FeiYue's dilemma)
An interesting video that I came across while surfing YouTube. Though it may look amateurish, it covers important concepts for public relations students especially the role of social media.
From the video, it can be seen that social media helps businesses to a great extent, as communication shifts from a one way model to a two way model. In addition to that, and more importantly, is the ability to reach a wider audience with these social media tools.
New media cause a shift in communication patterns; from tradition media which only allows 'one to many' communication channel to that of 'many to many' way of communication. This shift in paradigm opens a whole new dimension for PR practitioners as they are able to better facilitate relationship and community building. The impact of new media cannot be undermined; it has instantaneous and far-reaching consequences for organizations which empowers publics to generate and share information as well as challenge organisation information.
Social Media Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and the like. The number of social and interactive platforms continue to increase as people discover that their power bring about lucrative benefits.
Examples of how PR practitioners utilize these platforms:
Adidas (FACEBOOK)
Adidas fan page on facebook has active fans, a branded application, lots of content variety, with the support of good videos, pictures and notes. The brand engages the public running contests on the fan page and this also directly increase company's revenue by attracting new consumers to the brand. The strategy Adidas used showed a deep understanding behind Facebook users demographics and hence their success in the many campaigns launched using this platform.
Zappos (TWITTER)
Online shoes retailer Zappos has been the most successful company which uses Twitter till date. Zappos has a dedicated page for twitter on its site that's linked from every other page on their website with the words 'What are Zappos' employees doing right now?'
Additionally, there's also a page that aggregates all the public mentions of Zappos from Twitter users - portraying a great example of openness and transparency.
Blendtec (YOUTUBE)
This campaign was low cost and immediately went viral after it was uploaded on YouTube. It leverages on YouTube's large user base to increase sales.
The most applicable part of this chapter (to me) is "Tools to attract media attention". During lectures and tutorials, the importance of using eye-catching media releases to attract journalists' attention has been repeated over and over again; by both PR and journalism modules lecturers. However, this chapter gives me fresh insights, as it is not only through media releases that we can attract the media's attention.
1. Celebrate anniversaries A refreshing concept! Anniversaries need to go through much planning in order to for it to be memorable, and for excitement to be generated. This will inherently draw media coverage.
2. Writing a really good media release (IMPORTANT!) Shall write a short summary of it because it is the second most important skill of being a PR practitioner. The first being a creative and open mind to try out crazy ideas.
- Having a clear and concise media release is crucial. Standard method of writing media releases is the inverted pyramid style. Notice that it is similar to news writing because the easier you make the job for journalists, the more they like you.
- Include a verb in your Headline. Make it interesting, but not exaggerating. Don't use cliches, jargon, claims of uniqueness, or spectacular success.
- Use the active voice with strong interesting quotes.
- Keep in simple
Other technicals in regards to writing a media release can be further examined in the textbook
3. Illustrate your stories with great photographs Good photographs and videos can get your story onto the front page headline or the main focus on television news.
4. Pitching your release Pitch letters or emails and pitch phone calls are made in the hope of convincing an editor or reporter that the story is worth covering because it is newsworthy. Points to take note when making a pitch call:
Be succinct and persuasive
Make your calls in the morning This gives you a better chance of talking to reporters instead of their machines. It's also when most editors and producers decide what to cover in their evening news or next-day's paper. Afternoons in newsrooms mean deadlines, when no one has time to talk.
Follow up with written information
Use pitch calls to build relationships
5. News conferences A formal conference should only be called for the most important news. Stage the conference by decided who is to be invited.
6. Online newsrooms and video news releases This is the used as the point of contact for journalists to follow up on information. It requires constant updating because journalists will go there for the latest media release. Important as well is a well-kept database of company statements, speeches, media releases, and other key information, as well as short video news releases (VNRs), biographies, and photographs of key personnel.
7. Offer media kits and case histories Media kits are packages of information that include everything a journalist need to know in order to fill out a story.
Tagline for point 6 and 7: MAKE IT CONVENIENT FOR JOURNALISTS!
8. Train at lease one main spokesperson Points to note if YOU are the spokesperson:
Do not let journalists put words in your mouth
Be careful of poison chalice. Restate the question posed by the journalist in order to respond in the way you intended
Look out for hidden agendas
Refusal to answer questions is BAD
Rephrase hypotheticals in a positive way
Point 8 reminds me of the movie 'Fun with Dick and Jane' (see Lesson 4 post) as Dick was the spokesperson for his failing company in the movie.
Take a look at the following video! even terrorists have Public Relations strategies, plus a PR spokesperson!
This week's post will not focus on the theoretical steps to take in crisis management, but rather the spirit behind issues and crisis management.
To start off, one must first have a clear understanding of the difference between an issue and a crisis. Crisis are unpredictable events that can impact an organisation's viability, credibility and reputation; and which causes and effects are unknown. Issues are the result of a gap between what a company does and the key public or audience expectations of the company's behavior.
Crisis usually starts off when there is a shift in public opinion due to certain unresolved issues. These opinions come from people who feel strongly on a given issue and are motivated to take action. In the textbook, it states that 27 per cent of oranizations are identified to not be able to recover from a crisis, and majority remains unprepared. Let us look at some case studies to see how crisis is managed appropriately by PR practitioners.
News of the World Scandal The News of the World is a national tabloid magazine published in the United States. It's phone tapping scandal started in 2004 and received another legal lawsuit in 2006. It hit the peak this year, forcing the organization to make a public apology to all victims involved. One question: WHAT TOOK THEM SO LONG TO APOLOGIZE? If this issue was nipped in the bud earlier, they might not be in the current mess where some victims reject the apology and are persistent in filing a law suit e.g. Sienna Miller.
Coca-Cola's Belgium "mass hysteria" case Crisis hit the Coca-Cola company (CCC) when there were consumer complaints about an irregular taste and smell in the bottled soft drinks following reports that more than 100 consumers had become ill. The company took immediate steps to remedy the situation after identifying specific production and distribution problems such as the recalling of products. A week after the reported illnesses, CCC responded with its first public statement to assure consumers of their commitment to ensure safety and quality of their soft drinks. CCC spokesperson also express sincere apologies to consumers.
The Coca-Cola Company’s highest priority is the quality of our products. For 113 years our success has been based on the trust that consumers have in that quality. That trust is sacred to us. I want to reassure our consumers, customers, and government officials in Europe that The Coca-Cola Company is taking all necessary steps to ensure that all our products meet the highest quality standards. Nothing less is acceptable to us and we will not rest until we ensure that this job is complete. We deeply regret any problems encountered by our European consumers in the past few days (KO Now, 1999a)[1].
We respect the Ministry’s obligation to the people in these times of deep sensitivity to public health issues. Nothing is more important than protecting the public’s health, and we have worked very closely and intensively with the Ministry, providing significant amounts of information confirming complete confidence in the safety of our products and packages.
Other than admitting their mistakes and taking steps to remedy their products, CCC launched and aggressive marketing campaign in an effort to regain consumer trust, confidence and market share. I guess the difference between the first case and the second is that CCC is proactive in trying to solve the crisis, whereas News of the World seeks to cover up their mistakes, worsening the situation.
Chapter 9: STRATEGIES TO PROACTIVELY MANAGE ACTIVITY
This post will effectively clear any confusion regarding difference between strategy and tactics. The first concept to understand is that tactics is the various methods implemented in order to fully unleash the intended strategy.
Strategy is a plan or method by which you are going to achieve a specific goal in a contested government. It should have a strategic intent of gaining some kind of competitive advantage. It may be to inform and engage with the community, build reputation, and to achieve positive working relationships.
As mentioned, a strategy is usually (always) implemented in a contested space.What is a contested space?
It refers to the presence of competition. For example, in the case of Feiyue, its obvious competitors are probably Converse, Vans,
There are two dimensions of contested space depending on the approach it is viewed in.
1. Transmission (functionalist) model
This approach assumes that if awareness of an issue is raised, this will automatically lead to the desired behaviour. Hence awareness raised through media platforms that can reach the masses for example print posters, online, social networking sites, TV or radio. These ways are the tactics used in order to reach the objective of the strategy employed.
Print:
The above print poster, for example, is a campaign to raise the awareness of the dangers of drink driving. The strategy used here might be to deter drink drink driving by highlighting the consequences, resulting some sort of fear to reside in the publics. The tactic used is the placement of print posters.
The tactic used is tv advertisements. the first being the endorsement of celebrities, while the second video is the use of animation and music.
2. Constructionist model
This approach opposes the transmission model as it states that communication involves not only the sender, but also the intended and unintended audiences, publics and communities who construct their own meaning from a range of outputs.The range of outputs refer to the tactics adopted.
The constructionist model is more inclined towards experiential marketing as it allows interaction with a focused audience, and thus personal interaction.
Digital Graffiti Wall for Converse
I personally LOVEthis campaign because it simply looks fun to do! I feel that this campaign gives converse a fun and 'artsy' image which cause potential consumers to have this 'feel good' factor towards the brand.
Fei Yue Launch Party
This event invites artists and art fanatics in Singapore to a launch party that showcases reinventions of Fei Yue shoes by renowned local artists. Their focused group is small since the event is by invitation only, and not widely publicized by the media. The above video depicts the process of reinventions by the various artists.
Miss Tanya mentioned that the more focuses your target audience is, the better is the tactic in supporting the strategy. This is because it is better to impact and change the perspectives of a selected community than simple 'announce' to a big group of people and yet achieving nothing as behavior is not altered.
In conclusion, an integrated strategy and tactic would be the most effective in a PR campaign.
I've been talking a lot about Fei Yue in this post because of the need to research for the final PR plan. Stay tuned for more Fei Yue in the weeks to come!
CHAPTER 8: REPUTATION MANAGEMENT: A DRIVING FORCE FOR ACTION
Reputation is a commonly held opinion of an entity. Corporate reputation can be affect based on six aspects:
Social responsibility
environmental responsibility
leadership
quality of products or services
financial performance
treatment of staff
We will look at examples that accurately represent some of the above.
Treatment of staff & quality of service
The reality show Tabatha's Salon Takeover helps the salon Brownes & Co. and discovers that the problem lies with its owner Nikki Mallon, who is a tyrant when treating her staff. She has a negative attitude and is an imperious diva who supervises her employees with remote camera. This results in low morale from staff as they are frustrated with the constant demeaning attitude of Nikki and hence they treat customers in an unfriendly manner which drives away customers eventually.
"If Nikki doesn't respect or support her staff, she may as well close her doors right now," Tabatha says.
The first part of the episode shows a preview of how the staff are treated. After this episode of Tabatha's Salon Takeover, many viewers posted negative comments on Brownes & Co. facebook and Yelps page. As described, reputation of the company was adversely affected as the result of a bad image by Nikki Mallon.
Social Responsibility
Starbucks understands the importance of being socially responsible and ethical in its operations hence a compromise is made with Ethiopia's farmers, their coffee beans supplier, for mutual benefits even at the expense of profits. Starbucks releases a corporate responsibility report each year which outlines and discusses the company's behavior in relation to its corporate responsibility objectives. The company also has a message board which addresses any current rumors about Starbucks and confronts any rumors firsthand. Its commitment to improvement and resolution of responsibility issues demonstrates an
element of social responsibility found in few companies.
Environmental Responsibility
Platte Chemical formulates insecticides, herbicides and fungicides for agriculture use. In 2001, a leak from a caustic tank at Platte caused a fish kill. Two months after that, a defect in a chemical reaction resulted in an evacuation of all residents near the area.
The company's inability to fulfill society's expectations for environment responsibility caused the company's reputation to suffer. Many lawsuits against Platte was filed.
These case studies show the importance of reputation management to a company. However, reputation management do not imply only the up-keeping of corporate image, more than that, it is an unwritten code of ethics that should be adhered to. Public relations practitioners should advise clients and companies to show the highest standards of responsibility in the above mentioned aspects by highlighting the benefits of doing so.
CHAPTER 7: PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGEMENT IN ORGANISATIONS
This chapter allows me to better understand the various concerns public relations practitioners need to keep in mind when on the job. It is important to consider the publics; internal relations as well as external relations which directly or indirectly plays a part in deciding an organisation's actions. This is drawn upon based on the understanding of the systems theory. The systems theory in the context of an organisation, in short, means that an organization exists in an environment where many things involved affect on another and form a larger pattern which is different from their individual forms. In light of this, organizations have to then adjust and adapt to changed in the environment, and seek to maintain good relations with its environment in exchange for support, growth and ultimately sustainability. Examples of the entities that make up the environment are governments, competitors, neighbours, customers, employees, the media, and investors. Each part plays a certain role for organizations to be holistic in their operations and objectives.
This week's focus: REAL practice of public relations in organisations PR practitioners have a role to in ensuring apt and sufficient communication between top management and internal/external publics. This is when boundary spanning shows its significance; it is concerned with detecting information in the environment the organisation operates. It includes representation, scanning and monitoring, protecting, information processing, gate-keeping, linking and coordinating, and transacting.
Publics and audiences
All PR managers have to deal with a myriad of publics and audiences, internally and externally as they interact with or are affected by the organization in some way or another. Hence ongoing PR and communication has to be put in place to create better understanding and clearer clarity for the publics. Most of the time, these communication programs are long termed.
Internal relations
PR is responsible for communicating the organisation culture to members (employees), hence avoiding potential conflicts that may arise due to misalignment to expectations. This point made me realize the relevance of studying organizational behavior in the previous trimester. It is only when we as PR 'wannabes' understand the importance of sound communication in an organizations, then we can facilitate communication proactively and effectively. There is also a requirement to understand employees and their information needs. A point to note is that employees generalized, but treated as individuals who have different expectations. Operating an open system is important so that employees will feel respected with more opportunities for fulfilling Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Lastly, the right channel of communication (reliable and accurate) has to be adopted when conveying information to employees so as to maintain trust.
External relations Corporate social responsibility (CSR):the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large. The term PUBLIC relations in itself already suggests that PR consults’ first loyalties should be to the public, and hence the importance of CSR. Furthermore, an organisation's sustainability is tied down to CSR as an increasing number of people are concerned about the environment and human rights. Conflict has to be prevented as it will disrupt operational processes (publics and activists groups).
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT (favorite topic of the chapter!)
Community engagement, as it is termed, means that the community's perspective is considered before any decisions are made. It incorporates research, information sharing, consultation, and participation from the community involved.
A very detailed example of community engagement in a PR project is as follows.
