What public relations is not

WHAT PUBLIC RELATIONS IS NOT…

Activity 1. Before you read the text, say what is public relations.

Activity 2. Work with this list of words used in the text. Be sure you understand and can pronounce them correctly.

advocate /ˈædvəkeɪt/– (formal) to support something publicly

alumni /əˈlʌmnaɪ/ (plural) <– (alumnus – he, alumna – she) – the former male and female students of a school, college or university

behoove(or behove) – it behooves smb to do smth (idiom) – it is right or necessary for smb to do smth

constituency – a particular group of people in society who are likely to support a person, an idea or a product

(media) coverage – the reporting of news in newspapers and on the radio and television

exposure – the fact of being discussed or mentioned on television, in newspapers, etc.

elicit /iˈlɪsɪt/– (formal) to get information or a reaction from somebody, often with difficulty

gatekeeper –a person, system, etc. that decides whether somebody/something will be allowed, or allowed to reach a particular place or person

incremental /ˌɪŋkrəˈmentl/ – increasing in regular amounts

it behooves somebody to do something (idiom) – it is right or necessary for smb to do smth

pitch letter – a brief letter, almost never longer than one page, written to accompany press releases, etc.

promotion – activities done in order to increase the sales of a product or service; a set of advertisements for a particular product or service

promoter – a person who tries to persuade others about the value or importance of something

reach – the limit to which smb/smth has the power or influence to do something

report to smb – (business) if you report to a particular manager in an organization that you work for, they are officially responsible for your work and tell you what to do

reinforce something – to make a feeling, an idea, etc. stronger

supplemen t /ˈsʌplɪment/– (v, n) to add smth to smth in order to improve it or make it more complete

tool kit /toolkit /ˈtuːlkɪt/ – the things that you need in order to achieve something

Activity 2.1.Translate these popular helping words and word combinations used in the text. Make up your own sentences with them.

1) sometimes, 2) outside of, 3) e.g., 4) it’s clear that..., 5) not to mention, 6) no matter how hard we do smth, 7) people tend to view smb/ smth as …, 8) in fact, 9) (smth) goes well beyond (smth),

10) though, 11) over a short period of time, 12) at times, 13) since

Activity 3. Read the text below to be able to discuss its main ideas.

WHAT PUBLIC RELATIONS IS NOT…

Repeat after me: Public relations IS NOT marketing.

We all know that PR professionals sometimes support an organization’s marketing efforts, and to resist that integration is foolish. But PR also supports relationships with many constituencies outside of marketing’s reach, e.g., communities, employees, investors, government regulators, elected officials, volunteers, alumni …

While I’m not advocating that marketing report to PR, it’s clear that public relations has a broader reach, not to mention a very different tool kit than the marketers. Still, no matter how hard we fight the perception, people tend to view us as “ promoter s,” or part of the marketing function. In fact, our job is to sustain the relationships that make our organizations successful, and that goes well beyond the distribution, promotion and sale of products.

As we argue about what public relations IS, it may help to talk about what it is NOT. Here is a list of terms I discuss with my PR Principles classes.

Public Relations is NOT…

Advertising. Advertising is chiefly concerned with the sale of products or services using paid media messages. Advertising is largely one-way communication aimed at eliciting response s from members of the target audiences (though Web 2.0 is giving advertisers interactive opportunities). Public relations practitioners sometimes use advertising to advocate ideas or causes, or to build and/or reinforce an organization’s reputation.

Promotion. Promotion is communication designed to create incremental sales of a product or service over a short period of time. Promotion often is used to supplemen t regular brand advertising. Tools typical of sales promotion are coupons, sweepstakes, special events, and “buy one/get one free” offers. At times, a promotion will tie in with a public relations activity such as special events.

Publicity. The communication tool most often associated with public relations, publicity is factual communication designed to gain favorable exposure for a client, product, or idea in the news media. Publicity’s most common form is the press release, but staged events, interviews, fact sheets, pitch letters, and talk show appearances are other tools used to generate positive media coverage. Some marketer s use the terms “promotion” and “publicity” interchangeably. They aren’t the same thing.

Media relations. MR is a specialty of public relations that oversees the publicity function and works to sustain positive relationships with media gatekeeper s (which now includes bloggers). Because working with and “pitching” media is one of the oldest public relations activities, it’s the one most associated with our field by outsiders. And since media relations was the primary job of PR a generation ago, many old-school managers still insist that former reporters make the most effective PR practitioners.

Public affairs. When used in the context of government and military, public affairs is synonymous with public relations. In the corporate world, however, public affairs is a subset of the public relations function that deals with government relations and lobbyin g, plus social issues and policies.

Selling. Selling involves direct contact with customers and prospective customers for the negotiation of a purchase. Sales people often rely on tools developed by public relations people (brochures, fliers, websites, etc.). Sales people often benefit from the good works of public relations people, e.g., publicity stories, customer service programs, research studies, special events, etc. And because sales people are the organization’s front-line storytellers, it behooves PR to understand their needs and to support them in their efforts.

Drum roll, please! Public relations is not… Marketing. Marketing deals with getting products or services to the customer. If you’re over 35, you learned marketing as the “4 Ps”: product, price, placement and promotion. Marketing has become a lot more sophisticated with the advent of databases, but the goals remains the same — to move product through the pipeline.

Public relations is not a subset of marketing. (3481)

Activity 4. After getting acqainted with the text, say

(a) whether you have learnt anything new concerning your understanding the essence of public relations.

(b) what makes PR different from other related spheres.

Activity 5. Fill in the gaps, using the proper words from the box. For some cases more than one option is possible.Change the form of the word if necessary.

a) cover, b) coverage c) elicit, d) exposure, e)perceive, f) perception, g) respond, h) response

1. The candidates are competing for television ____.

2. I doubt whether his ____ of reality is adequate.

3.The event received international ____.

4.The press ____ the trial in great detail.

5. I'm sorry, but I can ____ a note of sarcasm in your voice.

6. More than fifty people ____to the advertisement.

7. I could ____ no ____ from him.

Activity 6. Choose the correct form out of the given ones for each gap: promote (v), promoter (n), promotion (n), promotional (adj):

1. Festival organizers insisted that this was a Jewish cultural festival, not a ____ event for the Israeli government.

2. You are too young to be the ____of a project of such magnitude.

3.They have experimented with new products and have invested millions into ____.

4. Do you think violent films can ____ violence in real life?

5. This is a job with excellent ____ prospects.

6. The new motto is supposed to ____ respect for corporate ethics.

7. A ____ campaign was launched for a soon-to-be released movie.

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