Week 5 (yeah already I know!)

B-B-B-BLOG!!!!

The readings this week helped me to understand the strategies that need to be taken when implementing a PR assignment. As I mentioned last week, I am reminded strongly again by my year 12 business studies, with the discussing of a Situational Analysis, Executive Summary and Target Audiences. Both the textbook and article touched on these topics, along with the processes that need to be followed when applying PR.

I honestly think that the background knowledge of business studies, hence the subjects being discussed, helps in my understanding of PR and the small pieces that are included in this profession. I won’t spend my time comparing the two, but I just think it is an important point to be noted. Whether anyone else agrees is not really important. It is important that this helps in my understanding and learning.

The textbook reading, “Strategy, Planning and Scheduling”, broadened my knowledge of what steps need to be taken in order to successfully function a public relations process. I linked this with a chef and team cooking an important banquet. Firstly, the banquet must be planned and strategically organised down to the last detail: cost of items, budget, time, strengths, and weaknesses. All these issues must be taken into account with the entire team before cooking the big function. This is exactly like PR. Each tiny detail must be planned and scrutinised before taking action in order for a successful campaign. This reading highlighted this importance, focusing on details such as strategic planning, budgeting, scheduling, vision and mission statements, lists and flowcharts. It was interesting to see how flowcharts can be used not only in the business corporation world. By planning everything out on a calendar or chart helps PR practitioners to see where they are standing, where they are heading, and what they need to be doing. The example of the Gantt chart in the reading on page 187 was a really good preview. All these things fall obviously under the title of planning and scheduling.

Much of the rest I thought was pretty self explanatory. The journal reading, “A Typical Public Relations Program”, touched on planning ideas such as target audiences and methods of research. Once again with my business studies background I knew that to market an item, the correct target audience must be established and hence to define these, different research methods must be taken. I know understand that this is the case in PR. When marketing a business, function or product, the correct methods must be followed in order to reach the desired market. This all links with the campaigns of a PR program of what communicational process must be used in order to reach the audiences required and objectives made.

I never knew a budget was such a huge part of PR. Obviously I knew it must slot in there somewhere, but I never knew how influential and critical money was in this profession. A set amount must be recognised in order for a successful campaign, with no over spending or drastic expenditures. The statement of “there is just no point in spending money unless you have a reasonable chance of achieving your objective and, more importantly, unless the benefit to be gained from reaching that objective is worth more that the cost of getting there” sums it up pretty well I think.

So far, each week I have learnt something new and important about PR and that it is a lot more intense than I thought. There’s much more to it than I first realised and am looking forward to furthering my discovering and understanding.