Some examples of the challenges facing communicators engaged in this fundamental public relations activity.
Those of us who have been in PR management for many years know there is a lot of what former Carnegie Mellon University president and good friend Robert Mehrabian calls “block and tackle.” You come to work each day and execute your plan by nailing down the details and simply getting the job done. Most [...]
Read more →One of the theoretical underpinnings of behavioral public relations has long been the well established diffusion process of decision-making. Diffusion process, introduced in 1960 by Iowa State sociologists and economists George Beal and Joe Bohlen of Iowa State University , demonstrated how media and mass communication built awareness and interest in a subject or proposed [...]
Read more →In its “credibility index,” the Public Relations Society of America Foundation found that investors believe a company’s annual report is the most credible source of information about that company. Unfortunately, only about 8 percent of those surveyed actually read an annual report, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Read more →In the early days of Web site development The Washington Post offered a piece headlined “Web Page Design: The I’s Have It.” Clever. All of the elements of a first-rate Web site begin with the letter “I.” The piece holds up for the most part. Interesting. “Good design attracts an audience, rich content brings them [...]
Read more →This from Designer, the publication of the University and College Designers Association, on the tension between designers and writers. What writers think about designers Designers don’t (can’t?) read. Designers see copy as potential gray blocks (that if not kept gray can mess up a design). Designers have ego problems. Designers aren’t detail oriented. Designers only [...]
Read more →We have always liked (but not always agreed with) these 23 rules of good writing by Frank Visco in “How To Write Good”: Avoid alliteration. Always. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They’re old hat.) Employ the vernacular. Eschew obfuscation. Don’t use ampersands & abbreviations, etc. Parenthetical remarks [...]
Read more →We always respected the work of veteran public relations pro John Budd Jr., so we’ve kept his top 10 list of criteria for excellence in public relations writing. Writing—is it professional or pedestrian? Grammatical accuracy—self-explanatory. Relevance—of legitimate interest to whomever it is directed? Substance—does it say anything? Creativity—dull or interesting? Proactive or reactive—defensive writing is [...]
Read more →Veterans of the communications business will remember the TV ad campaign that featured the line “This is your brain on drugs.” An egg frying in a pan was the accompanying visual of an ad that drew so much attention it became a part of almost every comedian’s routine. A creative approach, attention-grabbing visuals, an oft-repeated [...]
Read more →Some facts about television advertising you need to consider when using this communications tactic. Research has shown more than 80 percent of viewers can’t remember a typical commercial one day after they’ve seen it. Memorability of ads continues to decline. Technology has given viewers the opportunity to bypass ads completely. The keys to successful ad [...]
Read more →The stunning lack of writing skills among many of today’s college graduates seeking careers in PR made us harken back to a “PR Week” article written by Alan Hirsch, president of G&A Communications of New York, who identified this serious and enduring problem two decades ago. “We wonder how a student can get a degree [...]
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