Hello Strategies and Tactics!

Today I learnt that Public Relations is more credible than Advertising because Public Relations is done by a Third party and thus there is no biasness what so ever. Take for example, an editor for a magazine picking the best mascara versus Loreal giving an advertisement saying that it's mascara is the best. Who would you likely believe? The editor or Loreal itself? We would likely believe the editor as he/she is not being bias unless he/she has been bribed by the company- which is unlikely to occur. That is Public Relations.

Strategy is an important aspect of Public Relations. It is the a plan or method by which you are going to achieve a specific goal in a competitive environment. I have highlighted the word goal because goal is also a very important aspect of Public Relations. An example would be Starbucks. The strategy for Starbucks is to beat competitors in bringing great coffee option to consumers and their goal is to sell as many coffee as possible.

Furthermore, strategy is important to for companies to try and beat out their competitors and this is a tough thing to do. I say this because competitors are not necessarily obvious. An example would be Golden Village Movie theatre. People would normally say that it's competitor is Shaw brothers or Cathay. But people fail to realise that there are other competitors such as people not going to the theatre to watch a movie because they are catching a movie on the television or they are renting the vcd to watch it at home. These are other competitors that are not obvious for Golden Village.

I also learnt that there are 9 steps to follow when doing a PR plan. They are, Research--> Analysis--> Goal Setting--> Objectives--> Targeted Audience--> Developing Strategies--> Devising and implementing tactics--> Monitoring--> Evaluation.

Research is the key to developing good strategy and they can be done both internally (within the company) or externally.

Objectives can be summarised in the acronym of SMART. Objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-orientated and with a Time frame for competition.

Analysis can be summarised in the acronym of SWOT. This is because Analysis should involve spotting the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats.

Tactics can be in the form of print media and digital media. They can vary from printed and digital publications, media relations, special events, major events and created opportunities, logos and branding. This usually depends on the PR company to choose the best tactic to implement for their client.

Wow! I did not realise that I just conducted my own lecture for everyone who is going to read my post. I think Professor Tanya is going to be very proud of me. Haha! But, that is besides the point. Basically I think that Public Relations works the same way in all companies but the methods and tactics that companies use may vary according to what they are trying to sell or promote.

Personally, I think that the President Obama's campaign was a very smart method that the PR personnel use. They targeted the grandchildren of the elderly Jewish to help vote for him. I really think it's a strategic move as the grandchildren will be the one who will be doing the votings on behalf of their grandparents. It definitely paid off as Obama is currently the President of United States!

Who knows, maybe in future when i try to run for presidency i might use a PR campaign that might help me win. Haha! Anyway, this is one LONG post! Hopefully you guys bother reading it completely! =)

Signing off,
nivitra