Question

From the point of view as a manager discuss the key to securing publicity and identifying your target market and developing a well-thought-out public relations campaign.

Answer 1

Question : The key to securing publicity ?

Answer :

Publicity is far more cost-effective than advertising as reaches a far wider audience than advertising generally does. Also, publicity has greater longevity than advertising.

The key to securing publicity is as follows :

• Identifying the target market : Defining the target market is one of a marketer’s most important tasks. The more clearly a company defines their target market, the better they understand how and where to reach their best prospects. Identiying the target market includes Demographic segmentation, Psychographic segmentation, Behavioral segmentation etc. Often the business offers more than one product or service, so it is important to have a clear understanding of what a company mostly want to promote and sell. Once the product or service is identified, brain storm key elements and benefits of it.

• Developing a well-thought-out public relations campaign : PR campaigns help to change public opinion and raise awareness of the work the company is doing. Brand value messages can be communicated using PR which can effectively help to target and involve larger audience.

Question : How to develop a well-thought-out public relations campaign ?

Answer : Public relations Campaign is a great way to build one;s business’ image. A well thought out public relations campaign is a very effective tool in understanding the client and delivering the best outcome for their business.

Steps to develop a well thought out public relations campaign are below :

Determine your public relations Objectives : The first step is to determine and understand the key objectives of a Public relation campaigns. These objectives should be Measurable, Achievable, Specific, Realistic and Time- bound. Objectives such as creating and reinforcing the brands’ image, and informing potential customers on the services the brand has to offer are effective. It is also important that the selected objectives align with the overall business and sales objectives of the client.

Understand the Target Audience : The key to public relations campaign is to clearly define and understand the target audience of the business. This consists of determining who you want the campaign to reach, and what key messages you want to deliver to them. When defining the target audience, it is best to be as specific as possible, such as working out their gender, age, location and taste and preferences (likes/dislikes).

Build a Timeline : Building a timeline for the public relations campaign helps a company to determine when each stage of the campaign will be completed and how long each stage should take you to complete. A timeline also gives the client an idea of what to expect and how the campaign will be carried out. Timeline should also be linked with other marketing, business or sales efforts that are being carried out by the client at the time of the campaign.

Plan of Action : Plan of action includes strategies and tactics with methods of communication, messages conveyed and other activities related to reaching the objectives. It also includes developing and understanding the communication vehicles used to send the key messages of the campaign to the target audience. Tools to deliver the key messages are Events, Interviews, Press conferences, annual reports, brochures, articles, Press releases, Press interviews, Customer testimonials and Televisions and Radio.

Launching the Campaign :

After the launch of the campaign, the results of the campaign should be tracked constantly to see whether goals and objectives are being achieved. Also, to determine whether the target audience are receiving the key messages of the campaign.

At the completion of the campaign, a manager needs to communicate with the client and determine whether their desired results have been achieved. This will also allow him to understand whether the campaign was a success or not. Evaluating the results will also provide an indication for further campaign ideas and will allow the manager to consider whether the original plan needs to be modified or needs correction in any way.