Week 9

Now that I’ve made it through the monsters that were Chapters 7 and 8…

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that there is no one infallible tactic that is superior to others in a PR campaign. The success of a PR campaign would require the use of a few tactics that work synergistically to promote the key messages of the campaign.

Also, the message should match the medium. Having a target public to focus PR efforts on would be helpful as it would be easier to determine which medium they would be more receptive to. Acquiring this information is important, as a lot of effort would be wasted if people do not care to read or have a look at the message.

In conjunction with Chapter 7, it is once again evident that planning is key. Furthermore, having a clear strategy would enable a PR team to determine the tactics that can be used in a campaign while staying within budget.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory and practice in that people will respond better when messages are presented to them through a medium that is accessible to them. Also, people are likely to warm up to messages that are presented in the lingo that appeals to them.

In case study 8.1, I thought it was brilliant how ENERGEX made things very convenient and easy for people to donate and respond. For instance, placing donation coupons in their newsletters and brochures meant that people only needed to spend a few minutes to sign up and donate, as the opportunity to do so was made easy and available to them.

In addition, they utilized ‘human interest’ stories to great effect. It made the rescue service seem like an indispensable one as it saves lives. Who wouldn’t want to contribute to the possibility of saving lives, right?

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