The Visit of Barack Obama in Regents College - Essay Example

? Public relations project – The visit of Barack Obama in Regent’s College Introduction The public relations plan used in the specific event will include four phases as described in the Four Step Public Relations Project – see Graph 1, Appendix. These phases are analytically presented below. Diagrams have been used, where necessary, in order to make clear the order of activities. Phase 1 – Situation Analysis In this phase of the plan the following issues need to be discussed: 1. Problem addressed through the specific plan This plan is used in order to address the following problem: the current number of students in Regents College is not satisfactory – at least taking into consideration the College’s infrastructure and facilities, but also the quality of its programs. The suggested public relations plan has to help resolving this problem the soonest possible aiming to secure the viability of the institution in the long term. 2. Analysis of the organization/ situation analysis The analysis of public relations plans is one of the most important sections of these plans, revealing any organizational weakness, mainly the lack of communication/ cooperation (Gregory 2009). In this part of the plan, an extensive research should be developed on the organization (Regent’s College) aiming to gather material, which will be made available to the media after the event. The material will include: a) the performance of the College’s students, both internally and externally, i.e. when giving exams in a professional body, b) the history of the College – again in relation to its performance since its establishment but also its contribution in the development of the community, c) the contribution of the College in the context of the academic research, d) testimonies of the College’s former students regarding the quality of the programs of the particular institution. 3. Defining the publics In the context of public relations plans, the word ‘publics’ is used in order to describe the groups of stakeholders related to a particular PR plan (Swann 2010). The above term incorporates the following groups of people: ‘employees, customers, investors, volunteers and neighbors’ (Swann 2010, p.6). On the other hand, the particular plan needs to address specific groups of people; the ‘audience’ of the plan, or else the targeted audience, is likely to have the following characteristics: young people and people of middle age, who are likely to have children who are interested in developing their studies, should be mostly addressed. In terms of economic status, the targeted audience should be either of average or high income, meaning that reference is made to people who belong to the middle or high levels of the society, most likely to afford the fees of the College. The educational level of the targeted audience is of non-importance; people with poor education could always decide to continue their studies, if they have the funds necessary for such initiative. In the same context, the racial characteristics of the targeted audience is of non – importance. In fact, the visit of Barack Obama in Regent College would inspire both white and black people to join the particular educational institute. Other groups of individuals which are included in the plan’s publics are the following ones: a) potential investors, b) the academic community, c) members of the government – at the level that the government can support the further development of the College. The time schedule and the budget required for the completion of the plan need to be stated in advance. Taking into consideration the short duration of the event, just a few hours for the completion of the event, the following comment should be made: the cost of the plan, as presented below, cannot be changed, since the funds available for the realization of the project are just few (Jugenheimer et al. 2010). So, instead of being stressed for the progress of each phase of the plan, it is preferable to have ready alternative plans – in case there bad weather or other barriers preventing the completion of the event. Phase 2 – Strategy This phase involves in the development of the appropriate strategies and tactics so that the plan’s goals, as described above, to be achieved. The strategy involved would be developed in the following steps: 1. Setting goals and objectives Regent’s College need to be promoted to the public at such level that the number of its students to be significantly increased. This means that the reference to the College by the media has to be extensive, as possible, so that the public to be informed on the quality of the College’s programs. In other words, the promotion of the College by the media has to be such that the image of the college as an educational site of high quality to be improved. In the above context, the objectives of the plan could be described as follows: a) the event needs to be analytically described by the representatives of all media, i.e. the reference to the event should not be short but lengthy; b) the reference to the College, as part of the story has to be extensive, highlighting all the College’s benefits and qualities, as a leading educational institution; it would be particularly important for key facts regarding the performance of the College up today to be highlighted. The goals of the specific plan would be the following one: a) the increase of the number of the College’s students, preferably in the short term, b) the improvement of the image of the College, as part of the British education system. 2. Formulation of strategies When designing the strategies of the plan, emphasis should be given on the following tactics: ‘a) written, b) visual and c) verbal’ (Stacks 2002, p.24). On the other hand, each proposed strategy has to be tested in advance, in order to identify any potential risks (Stacks 2002, p.30). Moreover, all strategies have to be reviewed as of their alignment with the goals of the plan, i.e. at which level the suggested strategies can help towards the achievement of the plan’s goals (Stacks 2002). The plan is going to include the following strategies: a) Announcement of the event to the media ensuring that that representatives of the media which would be interested in the event will be present; the announcement should be made through the Internet but also through letters – aiming to ensure that the managers of these organizations will be informed on the event. b) Full covering of the event, meaning that the necessary supportive technology will be employed, ensuring that all aspects of the event will be published, c) Distribution to the representatives of the media of the material related to the history of the Institution and the performance of its students; also, historical data regarding the development of similar activities in the past will be identified and distributed to the representatives of the media; information on the College’s similar activities in the past, meaning the speech of Barack Obama, will be evaluated and distributed to the stakeholders, i.e. the publics of the plan as mentioned earlier. 3. Key messages The goals of this plan could be achieved through the strategies proposed above; through these strategies, the following messages are expected to be given: a) Regent’s College is an important educational institution, b) because of its position in the British education system, the College was considered as the proper place for hosting the specific event, c) Regent’s College should be chosen by students who are interested in getting accreditations that will be highly appreciated in the marketplace. 4. Budget The budget of the plan is expected to be approximately $50,000. The cost refers mostly to communications in the internal and the external environment of the organization (Regent’s College). Phase 3 – Implementation of strategy 1. Choosing the communication tactics The success of the plan will be based on its communication tactics. In accordance with Reddi (2009) the term public relations is related to a series of activities, including ‘media relations and identification of opportunities for favourable publicity’ (Reddi 2009, p.128). On the other hand, Bowen et al. (2010) notes that the communication tactic suggested through a specific PR plan has to be feasible and aligned with the goals of the plan; if the goals of the plans are not supported by the specific tactic, then its use should be re-evaluated (Bowen et al. 2010). The communication tactics used in the context of this plan are expected to cover the above needs, i.e. to ensure the effective communication with media – before, during and after the event – and the identification of chances for promoting the institution’s quality. On the other hand, the identification of the appropriate promotion strategy is a rather challenging task, including a series of complex activities, such as the estimation of the cost of all the strategy’s costs, the estimation of the strategy’s risks – in terms of potential losses and the emphasis on the organization’s advantages (Gitman et al. 2008). At the first level of this phase of the plan, the channels of communications have to be defined; a team of the College’s employees will have the responsibility for gathering the material and distributing this material to the media – during and after the event. At the same time, an agency will be appointed for monitoring the development of the plan’s phases and provide the necessary support, ensuring that the plan will not face barriers up to its completion. Moreover, people who are capable to describe the event accurately have to be identified within the media participating in the event; in this way, it is made sure that the material referring to the performance of the organization will be appropriately used for promoting the organization’s value. For making sure that the story will be appropriately published through the media, a constant communication will be developed with people in the media aiming to exchange views on the potential format/ key themes of the story – as described by the writers/ correspondents of media. It is in this part of the plan that the communication tactics involved in the plan have to be clearly defined; the advertising and promotional tactics are suggested, as most appropriate for the particular event; these tactics would include: print media, electronic media and out-of-home advertising. The above communication tactic has the following advantage: a significant number of people can be reached within a short period; this means that the expected benefits are also going to be achieved in the short term, which is among the objectives of current plan. Each one of the chosen communication tactics would be further analyzed as follows: a) print media: newspapers, magazines, advertisements in directory b) electronic media: advertisements in television and radio, advertisements in popular websites, online forums, advertisement in academic sites and directories. c) out-of-home advertising: posters The potential use of other communication tactics, such as news media has been also reviewed, as a choice available in the context of any public relations plan (Smith 2004). However, it has been proved that the chosen type of media – the advertising media – would be most appropriate because of its power to reach a significant number of people. The specific part of the third phase of the plan is extremely important defining the exact actions and the communication tactics on which the plan is based (Nieuwenhuizen 2009). For this reason, an alternative should be in place in case that the chosen communication tactic would not be developed. News media would be an appropriate alternative in case that a barrier in the successful implementation of the chosen communication tactic would appear (Smith 2004); for instance, if the cost for the completion of the suggested communication tactic had to be increased, because of an unexpected increase in the tax of advertising, then, the news media would be used instead – keeping at the same time certain forms of promotional media which would be still applicable – for instance, the online advertising through academic websites or academic forums that do not charge for hosting advertisements. 2. Implementation of strategies The implementation of the chosen strategy will be highly based on the group of organization’s employees involved in the specific initiative. Of course, PR specialists will support the above individuals, for instance, in case of emergent need for additional material on the organization, as this material (statistics etc.) may be requested by the media people and so on. As noted above, the communications tactic chosen is the promotional/ advertising media. The specific strategy will be implemented through the following steps: a. Meeting of the College’s board b. Arrangement of an interview with the College’s director c. Potential arrangement of a press conference, especially if the case that a more formal publication of the event would be necessary. d. Arrangement of meetings within the organization – in order to discuss on the needs and the risks of the proposed strategy. e. Development of two pieces of text which will include analytical information on the facilities and advantages of the organization; reference is made to the text which will be distributed in media; the one piece of text will include details on the firm’s performance; the other piece of text includes important details on the history of the organization, since its establishment. f. Distribution of the above texts to the media that will cover the event; g. Development of a piece of text which will present the event’s main features – including vital information on the organization; this piece of text will be used by the representatives of the media when writing their stories; the aim is to ensure that the key advantages of the institution’s will be highlighted, so that by the next term the number of its students to be increased. The budget of the suggested strategy has been estimated to $50000 – see phase 2, above. This budget can be analyzed as follows: a) $32000 in television and radio spots, b) $12000 for advertisements in press, c) $8000 for online advertisements and posters. A potential increase of the budget up to 2-3% is possible under the influence of the continuous increase of taxes but also the differentiation in the costs of advertisement as decided by the management team of the relevant organizations; also, differentiations in one or more details of the text published would lead to the increase of the relevant cost. Phase 4 – Evaluation of the plan The evaluation of the plan has to be based on a series of criteria. The performance of the plan is not the only criterion for defining its value; even if the success of the plan is not absolute, i.e. even if not all goals of the plan are expected to be achieved, still the chosen strategy cannot be rejected – for instance, if the plan would be successful at a percentage of 70%, it could not be characterized as a failure, especially in case that other strategies are not feasible under the specific social or economic conditions (Stacks 2002). In any case, the effectiveness of the suggested plan is depended on a series of factors: all aspects of the event need to be published by the media; the cooperation with the representatives of the media is vital. The group of the organization’s employees which has the responsibility for monitoring the progress of the plan, as explained above, need to ensure that all vitals parts of the event will be published, for instance the visit of the President in the College’s Lookout Gallery and the College’s Library. At this point, the following risk exists: because journalists tend to show cynicism towards politicians (Caywood 1997) it is possible that the event will not be appropriately promoted, giving a false idea on the scope of the visit of the President in the specific institution. References Bowen, S., Brad, R., Martin, T. 2010. An Overview to the Public Relations Function Public Relations Collection. New York: Business Expert Press Caywood, C. 1997. The handbook of strategic public relations & integrated communications. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional Gitman, L., McDaniel, C. 2008. The Future of Business: The Essentials. Belmont: Cengage Learning Gregory, A. 2009. Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns: A Strategic Approach. London: Kogan Page Publishers Hendrix, J., Hayes, D. 2009. Public Relations Cases. Belmont: Cengage Learning Jugenheimer, D., Bradley, S., Kelley, L., Hudson, J. 2010. Advertising and Public Relations Research. New York: M.E. Sharpe Nieuwenhuizen, C. 2009. Business Management for Entrepreneurs. Cape Town: Juta and Company Reddi, N. 2009. Effective Public Relations And Media Strategy. New Delhi: PHI Learning Smith, R. 2004. Strategic planning for public relations. London: Routledge Stacks, D. 2002. Primer of public relations research. New York: Guilford Press Swann, P. 2010. Cases in Public Relations Management. New York: Taylor & Francis Appendix Graph 1 – Four Step Public Relations Process (Stacks 2002, p.23) Read More