60 tweets about planning and managing public relations campaigns (by Anne Gregory and Mandy Pearse)

What follows are sixty brief highlights from the book Planning and managing public relations campaigns. A strategic approach (Anne Gregory, Mandy Pearse:  Kogan Page, 6th ed., 394 pp.)

1. The notion of organizational agility and agile planning has emerged in the twenty-first century as a turn away from the command-and-control structures prevalent in earlier generations (6).
2. Strategic planning does not mean that everything can be controlled. That is never possible. But it does take the planner through a process that helps them define the contribution they can make, how they should go about their work, and how they can measure whether they have been successful (7).
3. Intangibles, which include reputation, account for more than 90 per cent of the value of commercial organizations (9).
4. In today's fast-moving world, public relations has a most vital role to play in not only serving but also shaping organizations (15).
5. There is a link between the seniority of the public relations practitioner and the influence they have. If senior public relations managers are part of the “dominant coalition” of company decision-makers, then public relations is likely to serve a key strategic role (10).
6. Most public relations activities require a mixture of technician and manager roles, and even at the most senior levels, very few are entirely removed from the implementation role (15).
7. Contexts are constantly shifting; even what is the right thing to say and do now might not be the right thing to say and do in a week's time (41).
8. No organization exists in isolation and, in a globally connected world, organizations are looked at and judged for their stance on a whole range of societal issues and challenges, not just on their operating activities (19).
9. Issues management is an area of public relations work of increasing importance, especially since online communities can collect around an issue very quickly and pose a threat to the organization (37).
10. It is perfectly possible to run effective campaigns at low cost. However, it is important to avoid the notion that public relations comes for free (41).
11. Communication alone cannot solve the problems of poor work practices and policies (55).
12. Planning is done for a purpose: it ensures communication work is impact-oriented, focused, efficient and effective (65).
13. The best plans are always linked to wider organizational objectives and purpose and, in turn, connect the organization to its context, that is, to its crucial stakeholders, in a fruitful way (65).
14. A plan indicates professionalism and accountability. It is an indicator of good management and not only ensures the organization that public relations will make a valuable and great contribution but also provides boundaries that offer some protection and stability for the practitioner (57).
15. The purpose of having a public relations function is to help an organization meet its objectives (86).
16. Good research is the foundation of any well-planned campaign. But it is not just undertaken at the beginning: it is an ongoing process that spans beginning, middle and end of campaigns (113).
17. All practitioners can gain information and intelligence because they are the bridge between organizations and their environment and all their stakeholders (113).
18. Having paid good money for research, make sure to have full and reliable interpretation of the data (98).
19. Analyzing and interpreting data is a highly skilled job (97).
20. Primary research involves finding the information first hand by going directly to the source (96).
21. The benefit of primary research is that it can be tailored to the public relations researcher’s specific requirements. It can help quantify the program or campaign by identifying the size of an audience, the current satisfaction level, the trends and the volumes. The disadvantages are that it is usually more expensive than secondary research, often time-consuming and it is possible to miss vital questions which leaves the research incomplete (97).
22. Those engaged in research need to be alive to the ethical issues and aware of the potential for bias (93).
23. If the view that stakeholders have of an organization differs from the reality, there is an issue that needs to be addressed (87).
24. This comprehensive investigation into internal and external environment and of stakeholders is vital to obtain a complete understanding of the issues that need to be addressed (87).
25. Action always has a communication dimension (7).
26. Communication is about changing or reinforcing attitudes, opinions and/or behaviors (115).
27. One of the weaknesses of the public relations industry is poor objective setting (114).
28. Poor objective setting also comes from a lack of understanding about what can actually be achieved (115).
29. Online channels are the friends of active and aware stakeholders, who are information-seekers. They are potentially the greatest friends of an organization as well as its greatest “problems” (126).
30. Communication is increasingly direct. It allows the public relations professional additional opportunities to engage stakeholders without the mediation of journalists or traditional opinion-formers (126).
31. Communication changes attitudes, opinions and behaviors, but to do that there needs to be an understanding of what happens in the communication process, both from the sender and the receiver points of view (147).
32. An aim is a broad statement of what the communicator wants to achieve. It does not have any specifically measurable outcomes. Objectives are the concrete, measurable steps and activities that will help to achieve that aim. They are highly specific and, in their totality, will ensure achievement of the whole aim (132).
33. While aims can be broadly set and provide an overall target, objectives are set at different levels (attitudes, opinions and behaviors) and must be SMART so that they can be properly evaluated when the campaign is completed (147).
34. The media are more likely to create an active stakeholder group when the information is negative (173).
35. Strong messages are accessible, relevant, understandable and timely (192).
36. Careful choice and segmentation of stakeholders and designing content that is specific for them is crucial if campaigns are to be effective (201).
37. Creativity is really about problem solving. Strategy and tactics are at the heart of solving communication problems because they are the delivery mechanisms for solutions (251).
38. Strategy is the coordinating theme or factor of a programme or campaign, the guiding principle, the rationale behind the tactical programme (204).
39. Tactics are the methods or activities that are used to implement the strategy. They need to be clearly linked to the chosen strategy and should reinforce each other to deliver the outcomes (208).
40. The channels of communication available to the public relations practitioner need to be considered carefully so that the channel or mix of channels most appropriate to the stakeholders or audience is chosen (210).
41. Strategy provides the rationale behind tactical programme and ensures focus and coherence. Tactics are the raft of activities that deliver the objectives (251).
42. Strategy and tactics go together like black and white piano keys (251).
43. Sometimes the type of campaign clearly dictates the selection of techniques. It would be a brave (or foolish) car manufacturer that didn't take a new model to motor shows and allow specialist motoring journalists to test-drive it (217).
44. Managing campaigns and programs well is a sign of professionalism. Setting realistic timescales and managing resources well is an essential skill that requires realism, good negotiation and discipline (292).
45. Resourcing public relations programmes comes under three principal headings: human resources, operating or material costs, and equipment, including technological support (283).
46. When drawing together a budget, the three factors mentioned above — human, operating materials, and equipment and technology costs — need to be itemized (292).
47. Being good on process is a core skill both in-house and in consultancies because it indicates “grip”: things are under control (292).
48. If the unexpected happens and timescales and budget are at risk, then the sensible thing to do is to raise the issue as soon as it is clear there is a genuine problem, but at the same time think through and present potential solutions (293).
49. Public relations practitioners also need to be able to demonstrate an appropriate return for the investment that has been made, although it is a mistake to believe this can always be quantified in financial terms. Albert Einstein said: “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted” (295).
50. Evaluation provides vital intelligence for future decision-making (295).
51. Evaluation is an ongoing process when talking about long-term campaigns or programmes. This ongoing evaluation is usually called monitoring (295).
52. In the end it doesn't matter how much coverage is obtained; what matters is what it achieves (the outcome). Understanding what can be achieved is also vital (298).
53. At the societal level, public relations brings to the public agenda things that are significant for the whole of society. Evaluation of the activity at the societal level requires tools that will measure things such as public opinion through polling (322).
54. Evaluation remains an issue for the public relations industry and until this issue is firmly addressed, the profession will continue to struggle to demonstrate its contribution (332).
55. Evaluation provides evidence of a job well done. It also provides intelligence for future actions (347).
56. There is nothing more exciting than seeing a campaign work and take on a life that can only come from the sorts of skills public relations professionals provide (347).
57. This strategic role for the public relations function implies that public relations is more than a tactical tool used purely to “get out the message” that the organization decides it wants to promote, or to add a gloss to a “story”. It is an integral part of the strategic development process grounded on thoroughgoing research and skilled, objective analysis (353).