Forbes donna 6107_powerpoint

PBRL1010 Foundations of Public RelationsMessaging and Public Opinion

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

Communication is a reciprocal process of exchanging signals to inform, persuade, or instruct, based on shared meanings and conditioned by the communicators’ relationship and the social context. ◦P. 197 of text

Communicationinvolves;

senderreceivermedium

Sender receiver

Why Then…. Does Communication Fail?

Lack of Shared Meaning and Context between the sender and the receiver?

What do you see?

The Battle for Attention in a crowded message environment!

What is he listening to?

STEPS IN PROCESS OF TRULY COMMUNICATING …or informing versus simply sending a message

1. Attract Attention to the communication

2. Achieve acceptance of the message3. Have it interpreted as intended4. Get the message stored for later

use

PUBLIC OPINION

is…an expression of social energy that

integrates individual actors into social groupings in ways that affect politico.

the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population.

the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views.

WHY IS PUBLIC OPINION IMPORTANT TO US?

Organizations must deal with public opinion as they establish RELATIONSHIPS with their many internal and external publics.

Public opinion is an “energizer” to action

MASS COMMUNICATIONIn public opinion formation

Perceptions of the Action

Response based on the perceptions

Scene of the action

Publics PR professionals can only achieve

effective Mass Media if they understand and build relationships with specifically defined “target publics”

“the general public” is of little value when thinking about successful communication

What is a “defined” Public

An Active social unit consisting of all those affected who recognize a common problem for which they can seek common solutions.

John Dewey, philosopher

Types of Active PublicsAll issue publics Apathetic publicsSingle-issue publics

◦Ex. Animal rights groupsHot- issue publics

◦BP oil spill

What constitutes a “public”Characteristics of ACTIVE publics

Publics result form a share issue or situation, not shared cross-situational traits.

Ex. Chebucto Road expansion

Two types of publics◦ Latent (inactive)

◦ Active

1. Problem recognition (are people aware?)

2. Constraint recognition (can I do something about it?)

3. Level of involvement (Am I connected to this situation?)

Exercise

What different publics would result after the Earthquake in 2010?

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Jan. 19, 2010) Army

Pfc. Jonathan Pflueger, assigned to the 1st

Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 82nd

Airborne Division, holds his hands above a

crowd of women to try to get them to sit down

at a humanitarian aid distribution point in Port-

au-Prince, Haiti. Units from all branches of the

U.S. military are conducting humanitarian and

disaster relief operations as part of Operation

Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude

earthquake caused severe damage in Haiti Jan.

12. (Department of Defense photo by Fred W.

Baker III)

What about the Olympics?

When it was being hosted in Vancouver what were the different publics who needed to be communicated with by the Olympic Organizers?

The Olympic Caldron burns at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada on February 20, 2010. UPI/Brian Kersey

When designing messages

A strong message shows that you Know your audienceUnderstand their values

◦keep in mind Shared Meaning and Context between sender and receiver

◦Never assume the audience thinks the way you do!

What is a message?Short (no more than one to two

lines)Sums up what you want a

specific audience to remember about you

Think..elevator door or campaign button

Clear and focused signature line not a motherhood statement.

Emodi (2009)

MESSAGES ARE ONLY EFFECTIVE IF…

They speak directly to the target audience in a meaningful way

Focus on the relationship and not the product

GOOD MESSAGES

Are Relationship focused

Obama - Yes we can!West Jet – because owners care.

MAPLE LEAF

EXERCISESmall groups

Develop a message statement for one of the publics you identified for the Olympics in Vancouver.

EXERCISE

Going back to H1N1 crisis, when NS started giving the vaccine to priority patients (pregnant women, children under 6, at risk adults).

Draft a message that is intended for the “public” who wanted to get a vaccine immediately and were concerned for their families health.

In groups

Wrap upCommunication

is reciprocalMass

communication focuses on relationship not product or service

Communication is achieved with “strong” messages

A “public” in terms of communication is not general public

Publics have a shared issue

Publics can be Active or Latent

Reminder

Journal