Week 10

Chapters 7 and 8 - Strategy, Planning and Scheduling/Tactics in Public Relations: theory an practice


No, I'm not going insane, we were asked to re-read chapter 7. An interesting move to refresh our ever fading memories!

I think that the key points to remember from this weeks readings were:

Chapter 7
Strategies, planning and scheduling - 3 words that are vital in the practice of PR. Without sufficient strategies in place, a plan with fall apart. This is all kicked off with the vision and mission statements that identify what is wanted to be achieved and how it is going to be achieved, respectively. So much work goes into a good PR plan and this is because there are so many areas to be covered and synthesised, either with other departments, organisations or individuals. This chapter identifies areas such as budgeting, performance indicators etc., are all needed to be organised and revised and refined to the best that they can in order for an event to succeed. The concept of Gantt Charts, flow charts and lists are introduced as means to successful organisation & to encourage the efficiency of an event.

Chapter 8 - Tactics
Ever heard the phase 'horses for courses'? If you study marketing and have P.J Rosenberger III as your lecturer then your ears (or eyes) will have definitely pricked up. What this means (in a fluid manner) is selecting the best method for the situation. For PR this is selecting the best tactics for the situation. This is paramount as the groundwork of what you are doing/trying to do is identified in your strategy through the vision and mission statement, this is expanded while looking at target publics etc. So with this knowledge tactics can be determined. In the text it is noted that tactic may be broken down into 'controlled' and 'uncontrolled' relating to how much control a practitioner maintains over each aspect of the process. Tactics include printed materials, branding, digital communication, speeches, events, celebrities and spokespeople, advertising and sponsorship. With such a broad selection it is apparent why practitioners should choose the best tactic for their subject (e.g you would want more than a newletter to assist in launching the Apple i-phone).

The reading made me think more about PR theory/practice in that:

-While tactics will not necessarily ensure a success, using them well by employing innovation and creativity with a good strategy should.
-Strategy and planning is vital - without it there would be no time frame to go by, deadlines to met or objective to accomplish. More importantly it would be like driving blindfolded - not knowing what you are doing - if you don't have a vision/mission statement to follow. This is important as some PR firms work as a team - the strategy ensure that everybody knows what they are working towards.