by 4 people |
This Lens is designed to act as a tool for Community Groups that do not have much of a budget for Public Relations but would better like to engage with the Community.
It provides advice on Gaining Sponsorship, Websites, Press Releases, and organising events.
What is public relations?
Public relations involves the management and distribution of information to enable an organisation's target audiences to understand its policies and programs.
The role of public relations is to:
-Place a subject on the public agenda.
-Garner public support and endorsement of a person, product, organisation or idea.
-Extend advertising campaigns.
-Deliver complex information and messages (which can not be delivered by an advertisement).
Public relations practice is broader than media relations and/or publicity generation. In reality, the activities of public relations practice include:
-Issues management- involves proactive systematic identification of issues of potential concern to an organisation and development of a system to respond to them.
-Crisis management- involves reactive systematic identification of issues and an appropriate response mechanism for unanticipated situations.
-Media relations- involves dealing with the media in seeking publicity for, or responding to, media interest in an organisation, person, product or idea.
-Merchandising support- the packaging of a product, an idea or person.
-Event management- involves planning activities or staging events which will attract media attention to a person, organisation, idea or product. A launch is a typical example.
-Promotion- attempts to garner the support and endorsement for a person, product, organisation or idea. Although promotion incorporates special events, promotion goes into other areas, for example, storylines about the specific issue in soap operas, competitions or documentaries.
-Public affairs- a highly specialised kind of public relations which involves community and government relations - which is dealing with officials within the community and working with legislative groups and various pressure groups such as consumers.
-Publicity- disseminating purposefully planned and executed messages through selected media, without payment to the media, to further the particular interest of an organisation or person. Publicity is a tool used by public relations practitioners, it is not public relations in itself.
-Sponsorship- a contractual agreement between 2 parties whereby benefits such as money or services in kind are traded for promotional opportunities offered by a campaign or event, for example, naming rights, brand exposure, corporate recognition, or endorsements.
From "How to Write A Brief For A Public Relations Consultant."(See Below)
The role of public relations is to:
-Place a subject on the public agenda.
-Garner public support and endorsement of a person, product, organisation or idea.
-Extend advertising campaigns.
-Deliver complex information and messages (which can not be delivered by an advertisement).
Public relations practice is broader than media relations and/or publicity generation. In reality, the activities of public relations practice include:
-Issues management- involves proactive systematic identification of issues of potential concern to an organisation and development of a system to respond to them.
-Crisis management- involves reactive systematic identification of issues and an appropriate response mechanism for unanticipated situations.
-Media relations- involves dealing with the media in seeking publicity for, or responding to, media interest in an organisation, person, product or idea.
-Merchandising support- the packaging of a product, an idea or person.
-Event management- involves planning activities or staging events which will attract media attention to a person, organisation, idea or product. A launch is a typical example.
-Promotion- attempts to garner the support and endorsement for a person, product, organisation or idea. Although promotion incorporates special events, promotion goes into other areas, for example, storylines about the specific issue in soap operas, competitions or documentaries.
-Public affairs- a highly specialised kind of public relations which involves community and government relations - which is dealing with officials within the community and working with legislative groups and various pressure groups such as consumers.
-Publicity- disseminating purposefully planned and executed messages through selected media, without payment to the media, to further the particular interest of an organisation or person. Publicity is a tool used by public relations practitioners, it is not public relations in itself.
-Sponsorship- a contractual agreement between 2 parties whereby benefits such as money or services in kind are traded for promotional opportunities offered by a campaign or event, for example, naming rights, brand exposure, corporate recognition, or endorsements.
From "How to Write A Brief For A Public Relations Consultant."(See Below)
The 5 W's and the H
In any PR campaigning you do, you need to make sure ALL of the following are answered.
- Who?
- What?
- When?
- Where?
- Why?
- How?
The Marketing Research Process
Even if you don't have a broad technical knowledge of Marketing Research, the following 6 steps are useful in finding out information about your current members or new potential members. Problem Definition is the most crucial stage in the marketing Research process as it provides a clear sense of direction and the chance of collecting necessary and relevant information.
- PROBLEM DEFINITION: define the marketing research problem to be addressed in terms of: discussion with decision makers, interviews wih industry experts, analysis of secondary (already published) data, and perhaps some qualitative research (research on opinions but not statistics.)
- DEVELOPING AN APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM: development of a broad specification of how the problem would be addressed, which involves the formulation of an objective or theoretical approach, analytical models, research questions, hypotheses, and an identification of characteristicss or factors which influence the research design.
- RESEARCH DESIGN FORMULATION: this is a framework for conducting the marketing research project which specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information
- FIELD WORK OR DATA COLLECTION: data collection involves the use fo some kind of field force where the field force could operate either in the field, as in the case of personal interviewing, or from an office, as in the case of phone or mail surveys.
- DATA PREPARATION AND ANALYSIS: data preparation involves the editing, coding, transcription, and verification of data, and the purpose of data analysis is to derive meaning from the data which has been collected.
- REPORT PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION: the report should address the specific research questions identified in the problem definition, describe the approach, the research design, data collection and the data analysis procedures adopted, and present the results and the major findings.
Helping You Get Sponsorship
These are links to sites providing advice about sponsorship.
- Sponsorship.com
- Mainly aimed at large Corporations, but a lot of the free stuff on ths website can be adapted to small community groups.
- Sponsorship School
- Welcome to Sponsorship School, where you can share the ups and downs with six very different non-profits as they change their entire organisational approach to sponsorship marketing!
Successful PR Strategies
This is looking at other campaign ideas that may be useful to your organisation
- Associated Black Charities
- Campaign Ideas that work!
- Lobbying Government
- Top tips from my site aout Lobbying Government. Mostly aimed at businesses but can be tweaked for community groups.
- Lobby Kit
- Provided by The Wilderness Society for a particular campaign but useful tips for any campaign.
Advice From The Best
Online advice by experts in the field
- Flipping the Funnel
- Written by Seth Godin. WRITER of bestselling books about marketing. SPEAKER with a unique style and great reputation. ENTREPRENEUR with a track record.
- How to Write A Brief For A Public Relations Consultant
- Whilst you may not be hiring a PR Consultant, this guide will give you an idea of the steps to go through before starting any Public Relations Campaign.
It also provides a great definition of Public Relations and how it can help your Community Group. - Why an internal communication strategy is critical to businesses
- If you have an internal communication strategy in place in your community group, one that is transparent and open, this not only displays your sound management integrity but is a proactive approach to building a culture of better directed, more committed and efficient commitee members.
You will also have more active members. - Business Victoria: Sales & Marketing
- An effective sales and marketing cycle starts at the initial research and prepatory stage (understanding your market, your product, and your customer base); moves on to pricing your product and devising a product-appropriate promotional campaign based on the results of your market research; and ends with an assessment of the success of such a campaign so that your sales techniques and your market reach can be improved.
What Not To DO
What not to do in PR
- The 12 Commandments of Flameing
- Iff you are going to flame, at least do it properly! No serriously, don't do it, but the page is funny!
My websites!
Websites and blogs written by me, or contributed to by me.
- Ranting and Rambling
- My personal blog!
- est Business Deals
- An online hub for business owners.
My Recent Campaigns
I have recently been working on a campaign for the Maribyrnong Maidstone RSL Sub-Branch.
In less than a month we have raised well over $1000 in fundraising, a long term sponsorship strategy has been developed, and their website will be online soon.
This Lens will be regularly updated so you can access the latest ideas, or even simple ones that you haven't already thought of to enable your organisation to achieve its goals.
In less than a month we have raised well over $1000 in fundraising, a long term sponsorship strategy has been developed, and their website will be online soon.
This Lens will be regularly updated so you can access the latest ideas, or even simple ones that you haven't already thought of to enable your organisation to achieve its goals.
Useful Books
These books have great Information for your Organisation
Effective Public Relations (8th Edition)
Amazon Price: (as of 07/11/2009) 
Twelve Step Sponsorship: How It Works
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 07/11/2009)
Made Possible By: Succeeding with Sponsorship
Amazon Price: $28.80 (as of 07/11/2009)
The Sponsorship Seeker's Toolkit, Second Edition
Amazon Price: $31.95 (as of 07/11/2009)
The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual
Amazon Price: $12.44 (as of 07/11/2009)
by hamishjones
My Name is Hamish. I am trying to set up a business that helps Community Groups better engage with their communities.
I am a Public...
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