Home
>
Public Relations
>
The Most Important PR In America

The Most Important PR In America

Just happens to be public relations activity that alters individual perceptions leading directly to changed behaviors. PR pulls that off by persuading a manager's key outside audiences with the greatest behavior impacts on the organization, to its way of thinking. Then it moves those external stakeholders to take actions that help the organization succeed.

I don't believe public relations can deliver much more than that.

Not surprisingly, PR runs best on its own fundamental premise that gets everyone working towards the same external audience behaviors. Insuring that your PR effort stays focused, the blueprint goes like this: People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

Results can range from community leaders beginning to seek you out, welcome bounces in show room visits and specifying sources looking your way to prospects starting to do business with you, customers making repeat purchases, and even fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures.

If, as a manager, that scenario appeals to you, try this path.

First, who handles the work required to produce such results? Your own full-time public relations staff? Some people assigned by the corporate office to your unit? An outside PR agency team? No matter where they come from, they need to be committed to you, to the PR blueprint and to its implementation, starting with key audience perception monitoring.

It's useful to make certain the public relations people assigned to your unit really believe ? deep down ? why it's SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. Make sure they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Working closely with the PR folks, start by nailing down who among your important outside audiences is behaving in ways that help or hinder the achievement of your objectives. Then, list them according to how severely their behaviors affect your organization.

Now, take steps to find out precisely HOW most members of that key outside audience perceive your organization. If you don't have the budget to pay for what could be costly professional survey counsel, you and your PR colleagues will have to monitor those perceptions yourself. Actually, they should be quite familiar with perception and behavior matters.

Best way to get that activity under way is to meet with members of that outside audience and ask questions like "Are you familiar with our services or products?" "Have you ever had contact with anyone from our organization? Was it a satisfactory experience?" Be sensitive to negative statements, especially evasive or hesitant replies. And watch carefully for false assumptions, untruths, misconceptions, inaccuracies and potentially damaging rumors. When you find such, they will need to be corrected, as they usually lead to negative behaviors.

Now, it's time to select the actual perception to be altered, which then becomes your public relations goal. Naturally, you want to correct any untruths, inaccuracies, misconceptions or false assumptions.

Kind of goes without saying that a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to get there, is like a sailor's sandwich without the knockwurst. As you select one of three strategies especially constructed to create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change existing perception, or reinforce it, what you want to do is insure that the goal and your new strategy dovetail. You don't want to pick "change existing perception" when current perception is just right suggesting a "reinforce" strategy.

At this juncture, you create a compelling message carefully structured to alter your key target audience's perception, as directed by your public relations goal.

Your message must be a grabber and crystal-clear about what perception needs clarification or correction, and why. Of course you must be truthful and your position logically explained and believable if it is to hold the attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception in your direction.

Then try this. Combine your corrective message with another news announcement or presentation which may provide more credibility by downplaying the need for such a correction.

Believe it or not, I call the communications tactics you will use to move your message to the attention of that key external audience, "beasts of burden" because they must carry your persuasive new thoughts to the eyes and ears of those important outside people.

You will be glad to know that a long list of such tactics awaits your pleasure. It includes letters-to-the-editor, brochures, press releases and speeches. Or, you might choose radio and newspaper interviews, personal contacts, facility tours or customer briefings. The only selection requirement is that the communications tactics you choose have a record of reaching people just like the members of your key target audience.

A fortunate factor is, things can always be accelerated by adding more communications tactics, AND by increasing their frequencies.

Questions will soon arise with regard to progress. Of course, you will already be hard at work remonitoring perceptions among your target audience members to test just how good your PR program really is. Using questions similar to those used during your earlier monitoring session, you'll now be alert for signs that audience perceptions are beginning to move in your general direction.

We are fortunate indeed that our key stakeholder audiences behave like everyone else ? they act upon their perceptions of the facts they hear about you and your operation. Leaving you little choice but to deal promptly and effectively with those perceptions by doing what is necessary to reach and move your key external audiences to actions you desire.

There's never a happier moment in the practice of public relations than when the data shows that you have achieved the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your department, division or subsidiary objectives.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at mailto:bobkelly@tni.net. Word count is 1125 including guidelines and resource box.

Robert A. Kelly ? 2004.

About The Author

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. mailto:bobkelly@tni.net

Visit:mailto:bobkelly@tni.net

licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Chrome extension spyware disguised as a free VPN service highlights security risks after it captured private browsing data from trusted sites.

New research shows how fatty acids in cooking oil can safely dissolve and recover silver from circuit boards without harmful chemicals or environmental damage.

The Fox News AI newsletter gives you information on the latest AI technology advancements, and about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Anthropic investigates alarming AI abuse case where hacker automated entire cybercrime campaign using Claude, stealing sensitive data from defense and healthcare firms.

TikTok, Meta and YouTube restrict Charlie Kirk shooting videos with age gates and warnings while X faces criticism for allowing continued circulation.

Cybercriminals use fake troubleshooting websites to trick Mac users into running terminal commands that install Shamos malware through ClickFix tactics.

San Francisco startup Fable launches Showrunner, an AI platform dubbed the 'Netflix of AI' that generates animated episodes from text descriptions with Amazon support.

Apple raised iPhone prices for some models despite receiving tariff relief from President Donald Trump, with the new lineup starting at $799 for the base model.

A two-story 3D concrete printed home in Western Australia demonstrates faster construction methods that could reshape American housing amid rising costs.

Credit scores remain important during retirement for insurance rates and housing applications, while seniors become prime targets for identity theft and financial scams.

Scammers now send unexpected packages with QR codes that redirect victims to fraudulent websites or download malicious software to steal sensitive information.

Meeting AI tools record private conversations alongside work discussions, creating privacy risks that can be managed with proper settings and awareness.

Hotel privacy concerns are valid but rare, with methods to detect hidden tech using smartphone flashlights, mirror tests and scanning apps.

Improve your Wi-Fi speed and reliability with 10 simple router optimization tips that don't require special apps or expensive subscriptions.

A Columbia University breach exposed names, Social Security numbers and academic records of nearly 869,000 people, with notifications beginning in August.

Rental car drivers use AI-powered apps like Proofr to protect themselves from unfair damage fees as major companies deploy automated inspection tools.

Fox News' AI newsletter brings you the latest on technology advancements around artificial intelligence.

OnTrac data breach between April 13-15, 2025, exposed personal information of over 40,000 people including Social Security numbers and medical records.

A woman named Wika announces her engagement to an AI chatbot sparking worldwide debate about virtual relationships and technology.

The notorious people search site National Public Data relaunches despite a previous breach affecting 3 billion individuals, raising fresh privacy concerns.

Revolutionary TRAUMAGEL gel controls life-threatening bleeding from gunshot wounds and traumatic injuries, helping first responders prevent prehospital deaths.

Protect your home network by enabling proper encryption, creating strong passwords, checking connected devices and using VPN and antivirus software.

The Navy's solar-powered Skydweller drone flew nonstop for 73 hours in Mississippi, proving renewable energy can power long-endurance military missions.

Moving and downsizing expose seniors to identity theft and scams as data brokers collect real estate records and personal information to sell to criminals.

ShengShu's Vidar technology revolutionizes humanoid robot training by using AI-generated synthetic video, reducing required training data from hours to just 20 minutes.

The Most Important PR In America

Public Relations