Introduction to strategic planning in public relation

1. Introduction to Strategic
Planning in PR
Lecture 1
MSJ 11341

2. Public Relations
 Is a continuous process
 Dates back to the earliest twentieth century
 Involves a series of actions, changes or functions to
bring about a result
 Best defined as a-
“Strategic communication process that builds
mutually beneficial relationships between
organizations and their publics”
-Public Relations Society of America (2012)

3. PR as a Process
 RACE is the most popular
model to understand the
process of PR
 Developed by John
Marston in 1963
 Involves four key elements
of a PR activity:
R= Research
A= Action
C= Communication
E= Evaluation
Research
Action
Communication
Evaluation

4. Research
 Finding about what is the problem/situation
 Who is involved, how and why?
 What are the opportunities, challenges, etc.?

5. Action (Planning)
 What do we do about the problem?

6. Communication
 Who do we talk to?
 What do we say to public?
 How do we say it?

7. Evaluation
 How did we do?
 Did we reach our target audience?
 Did they understand the message?

8. However,
• Building an image with public or managing business
reputation- none of these goals can be achieved
overnight
• They need to be researched, well planned and
carefully implemented
• This is where Strategic Planning comes into PR
• In other words, Strategic PR planning is a combination
of-
 Research
 Planning
 And careful implementation of strategies

9. It is like a planned
roadmap of where
you are now, where
you want to be and
how you will reach
the end

10. Major Functions of Strategic PR
 Anticipate, analyze and interpret public opinion and attitude
 Counsel management regarding organization’s policies,
decisions and communications
 Continuously research and evaluate PR programs and
communications activities
 Design strategies to influence or change public opinion
towards the organization
 Works with mass media in seeking support and publicity
 Inform and engage employees in making decisions for the
company and keep motivated
 Identify and manage issues that can affect a business or an
organization’s reputation

11. Four Phases of Strategic PR
Phase One: Formative Research
1. Analyzing the situation
2. Analyzing the organization
3. Analyzing the publics

12. Four Phases of Strategic PR
Phase Two: Strategy
4. Establishing goals and objectives
5. Formulating action and response
strategy
6. Developing the message strategy

13. Four Phases of Strategic PR
Phase Three: Tactics
7. Selecting communication tactics
8. Implementing the strategic plan

14. Four Phases of Strategic PR
Phase Four: Evaluation
9. Evaluating the strategic plan

15. Contribution of PR at different levels in
the organization
Societal
Public Relations works like the ear of a
company. It help organizations to understand
their social responsibilities and develop their
corporate values in a way so that they get support
and approval from general public to operate
business in society.

16. Contribution of PR at different levels in
the organization
Management
Public Relations help managers to make better
decisions by gathering information about
market competition, demands from stakeholder
groups and media, and with forecast of a
rising issue.

17. Contribution of PR at different levels in
the organization
Programme Level
At this level, PR helps organizations to plan, design
and implement communication programmes and
various activities to fulfill societal and management
level objectives.