I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that research and constant evaluation is an integral part of a PR campaign, be it formal or informal. Initial research is important as it provides input into the planning of a campaign, ensuring that the correct objectives are set. Research carried out during the development or implementation of an event ensures that the output meets the organisation’s objectives. Evaluation of the outcome means that the organisation will be able to learn from mistakes and hence ensure that the next campaign will be executed better.
In addition, there are a lot of choices for a PR practitioner to choose from when conducting research. The style of research undertaken by a PR practitioner depends on the requirements and objectives of the campaign, the organisation’s environment, and the system under which it operates.
Furthermore, formal or informal research can carried out depending how important the reliability of the data is during the decision-making process.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory and practice in that there is no hard and fast rule to conducting research and that PR practitioners can be as creative as their imagination permits when carrying out research. This is especially so when there are objectives, budgets, limited resources, and deadlines to consider.
Therefore, in addition to working hard, a PR practitioner must be able to work smart. I say so because a lot of time and effort will be wasted if a PR practitioner conducts a primary research without first ascertaining if there has been prior research conducted in the same area.
Case study 6.1 is an excellent example of how to apply research in the input, output and outcome stages. It shows how research was actually a tool for the organisation to communicate with the target publics, so as to work towards changing the negative or non-chalant mindset that people had towards the Census.
What struck me the most about this case study was how the Census focused on attitudes and not just awareness. With government campaigns, there is always talk about awareness but little talk about attitudes. I feel that this bit of the Census communication plan is insightful as it is something that I overlooked completely.
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2 comments:
I say so because a lot of time and effort will be wasted if a PR practitioner conducts a primary research without first ascertaining if there has been prior research conducted in the same area.
Dear Denise,
From the above, you have brought up an common mistakes that students would make when doing their research.
It is very much plausible for PR executives to make the very same mistakes as well. Sometimes due to deadlines, we have the tendency to jump straight into research, instead of bringing up previous research and their results so we can build our new research parameters on them.
Dear Denise,
You were spot on about the need to "first ascertaining if there has been prior research conducted in the same area".
Similarly, I believe this is an essential process where exploratory research is conducted prior to the engagement of primary research.
Lester elaborated on this point by saying through the exploratory process "new research parameters" could be drawn.
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