PoRtFOLIO is a collection of work by students in the Corporate Communications and Public Relations post-graduate program at Centennial College in Toronto. Enjoy!
In the third week of June 2007, more student work (from the current Semester 2 students) joined the PoRtFOLIO.
by Sarah Ryeland
June 5, 2007
Blog Assignment
Guest Speaker Analysis: Cameron Gordon
(March 15, 2007)
Cameron Gordon works at High Road Communications in Toronto, and is a graduate from the Corporate Communications and Public Relations program at Centennial College. Gordon spoke to the class about his experience in the field of Media Relations.
A very down-to-earth and personable speaker, Gordon offered valuable tips on how to deal with the Media and succeed in Public Relations.
Key Points
Gordon gave the class a comprehensive list of what he considered to be the “Ten Keys to Media Relations†which were the basis of his lecture and are as follows:
â— Give yourself a proper introduction when first contacting a journalist
◠Always have a good reason for calling – offer new info
â— Journalists usually prefer email to phone calls; respect that
◠Work within their time limits – don’t call at inappropriate hours if you can help it
◠Show the journalists that you’re familiar with his work - stroke his ego
â— Make sure you know who knows who within the media
â— Guilt trips often work but be strategic about it
â— Be careful when giving “freebiesâ€
◠Go the extra mile – journalists will remember you for this
◠Be yourself – don’t be fake. People can see through it and you’ll look foolish
Who cares?
You should, if you’re going to work with the media! These points are crucial when building relationships with journalists, which was Gordon’s overall point.
Forming solid, reliable relationships with journalists will allow you to connect with the media without being a pest, and, journalists will respect you rather than dread your calls.
My two cents
I really enjoyed Cameron Gordon’s lecture on Media Relations because it seemed so personal. The fact that he is a graduate from our course and has had so much success in his work is encouraging to me.
He put a lot of time and effort into his presentation – coming in on his free time, creating a handout for the class and speaking about very relevant topics. Giving us a detailed list of what he thought to be the key points in Media Relations was fantastic, I’m glad that I have something in his words to take away with me and reference.
Gordon’s day-to-day work seems exciting because the technological field is so innovative. Clients like Canon Canada, LG, Universal Home Movies and Disney Interactive are dynamic and front-line in terms of creating new and desirable products for their consumers, and Gordon seems to be a part of cool events quite frequently.
I really felt that I was listening to someone who was in tune with not only the media, but to his colleagues and audience as well.
NOTE: This is a sample letter requesting sponsorship for a fictional fundraiser. In this scenario Madison Hall is a private school for girls developing leadership skill as part its education curriculum. The school is holding a fundraiser and is requesting sponsorship from local salons in the Greater Toronto Area.
Dear:
Madison Hall in association with Hair for Kids will be holding an event for young children dealing with hair loss due to cancer. Wigs for Winners will be held on Saturday, December, 9, 2006 in the gymnasium of Madison Hall from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event will provide moral support for children who are suffering from hair loss due to cancer treatments. These children are winners in the battle against cancer and we want to provide them with stylish wigs to make their situation easier to cope with.
Our organization is seeking salons in the Greater Toronto Area who are willing to volunteer their time and expertise to this cause. We need hair stylists to cut the hair of volunteers who are willing to donate their hair. Their hair will be turned into wigs that can be worn by children dealing with cancer treatments.
We are asking for your salon to provide volunteer hair stylists to cut hair that will be donated at the event. In return your salon will receive sponsorship acknowledgement on all advertising and promotional materials. Your company logo will be placed on all posters, flyers, mass e-mails, the event website and all signage at the event. In addition the Canadian Cancer Society will provide you with a gift-in-kind letter to officially acknowledge your generosity and participation.
The Hair for Kids program has been extremely successful in the past in providing wigs for children dealing with cancer. This program was created by the employees of Madison Hall and has successfully become an annual charitable event. The program welcomes your support and looks forward to working with you on this important initiative.
Your participation is most appreciated. For any additional information please visit our website at www.hairforkids.ca or contact me directly via e-mail.
Sincerely,
Lisa Ratanprasad
Sponsorship Coordinator, Madison Hall
416-920-9741
lratanprasad@madisonhall.com
Madison Hall
10 Foxx Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M5W 1L4
Canada
by Omar Ha-Redeye
Communication issues in high-risk industries can be summarized as due to:
• internal resistance to safety and reputation feedback
• failing to properly participate in public debate (Roach, 2006)
The case of the 1992 Westray mines accident, one of the worst industrial disasters in Canadian history, illustrates these failures.
The result of the Westray disaster was that the company and its owners became bankrupt. Much of this can be attributed to the poor internal and external communication strategies the company employed (Richards, 1996). The framing of the incident and its predecessors was left largely to the media and the findings of judicial inquiry (O’Connell & Mills, 2003).
An approach that would have been more effective would to be forthcoming about details of the incident when they were available. Also important is to express remorse that the situation had occurred, without accepting responsibility or liability until further information is available.
This strategy could have averted the retaliatory environment created by the disaster, maintained positive relationships with the media, family members, and public, and possibly retained the economic viability of the operations.
Accidents are operational emergencies that can place a business or organization under considerable scrutiny and review. Some industries, such as mining, can be considered as high risk and should therefore anticipate that accidents are predictable and inevitable (Richcards, 1996)
Proper corporate communications can help anticipate scenarios and mitigate the permanent risk of a crisis (Ogrizek & Guillery, 1997, p. 29). The existence of technological accidents within a context of telecommunications complicates the relationships between organizations and the media, who convey and relay information to the general public, thereby necessitating adequate public relations.
The financial implications of poor crisis communication can easily result in insolvency, and as such, companies should invest resources in crisis communication plans to help create a plausible media narrative when needed.
Industrial disasters are classified as tightly or loosely coupled, with linear or complex interactions. Coupling refers to the slack built into the system to respond to mistakes or changes, whereas complexity is the predictability of interconnections within the process.
(Left): The bonus system at Westray promoted overtime work, which increased risk to workers (courtesy of CBC, Dr. Gerald J.S. Wilde, and CAW)
Mining industrial crises such as Westray tend to be more linear and loosely coupled. Disasters are typically caused by straightforward operator errors and ignoring safety rules (Hynes & Prasad, 1997). Potential mitigation of an industrial disaster necessitates proper issues management through internal communications.
The role of internal communications is to provide feedback. Organizational performance is unwittingly impeded when feedback is withheld from employees (Goleman, 1998, p. 149).
Feedback provides to employees what the consequences of behaviours or actions are. An analysis of feedback is important at Westray, because it looks at the complex interactions between safety variables and various behaviours, rather than a simple cause and effect relationship (Cooke, 2003).
These internal communication failures are one of the major reasons why accidents in high-risk industries occur, and why explanations provided to the public that omit these factors are resisted.
Numerous opportunities for issues management were afforded to Westray administrators. Previous inspections had flagged crucial areas of concern in operations, and safety complaints had been filed by workers. Methanometers used to monitor levels of dangerous gas in the mines were even tampered with to avoid equipment automatically being shut down (Jobb, 1998).
These scenarios demonstrate ample opportunities for proper intervention. But rather than taking a causal relationship effect, industrial accidents of this sort should be viewed in light of the complex interactions between safety variables and various behaviours (Cooke, 2003).
Although oversight of managerial controls over safety issues should be justly criticized, the complicity of workers in circumventing protocols to facilitate an easier work shift can also be reproached, as can the inspectors who were incredibly lax in their enforcement of regulations (O’Connell & Mills, 2003 ).
Explaining an accident in all of its intricacies is a highly effective and more socially responsible approach to retroactive analysis.
More importantly, it avoids blaming incidents on human error due to specific individuals or groups. Scapegoating is usually not accepted by the public as a valid explanation for disasters as it appears to displace responsibility (Ogrizek & Guillery, 1997, pp. 31-32) .
The financial viability of a company after the fallout is often determined by this relationship with the public. The importance of appropriate media communications plans should therefore be clear for helping to properly inform perceptions of a disaster.
Three specific factors determine whether an accident will eventually be perceived as a disaster by the public: the revelation of similar incidents in the field or in the same company; a provision of aid, or compensation for victims; and if events are globalized by the media, with a public interest focusing on regulation (Ogrizek & Guillery, 1997, pp. 32-33).
While the latter may be the most obvious component with a media relations theme, the other two play important roles in the sense-making process.
The public attempts to retroactively understand the incident through information provided by the media (O’Connell & Mills, 2003). The source that the media should ideally obtain this information is the company itself to be proactive instead of reactive.
The response should come quickly, because any void in information will be filled by other sources (Coombs, 1999, pp. 114-5).
(Left) Failing to provide an account immediately after the disaster largely shaped public perception of the disaster, including this reenactment. (Courtesy of “Westray: the Long Way Home,” Chris O’Neill and Ken Schwarz, 2004, Vancouver: Talon Books Ltd.)
Westray completely forbade the media from asking questions relating to safety, and instead the media obtained information from other sources, including disgruntled former employees (Richards, 1996).
Lack of commentary on a central issue is perceived by the media as an admission of guilt, damages relationships and erodes trust, and invariably results in blaming mismanagement when no other explanation is offered (Coombs, 1999, pp. 115-6).
Most often this approach is employed out of fear of litigation. A more appropriate approach is to provide a rapid factual response, with a promise to provide further details as they become available (Ogrizek & Guillery, 1997, pp. 29-30). Information should be conveyed by a spokesperson to provide consistency in the message conveyed (Coombs, 1999, p. 117).
An example of the situations created when a consistent message is not provided is the Sago mine disaster in West Virginia in January, 2006. Reports were mistakenly conveyed to the surface that a dozen miners had survived an accidental cave-in.
The message was then conveyed through cellular phones to the media, the public and survivors. A self-proclaimed “nurse” even told the media she was caring for the survivors at the surface (Langfitt, 2006).
The company then had the arduous task of breaking the news to family members that only a sole survivor remained. They had failed to intervene when the rumour spread, and therefore had a much more challenging public relations scenario (Roach, 2006).
Family members of Sago miners speak out.
High-risk industries should always have pre-designated spokespersons. The purpose of a spokesperson is to provide to the media an individual who understands their needs. Advice can be sought be by a public relations firm specializing in public relations, or they can provide training for knowledgeable persons on staff.
Westray management actually went against the advice provided by Reid Management Limited, the professional public relations specialists they hired. The public relations advice they received was to properly engage the media, rather than shy away from it as legal counsel suggested.
Westray scheduled news conferences at inconvenience times that did not take publishing and broadcast schedules into consideration. They even deliberately used technical jargon that was confusing to the media and the public (Richards, 1996).
And when the media attempted to contact family members for interviews Westray officials forbade all contact. As a result, they ended up alienating both parties.
The result was a public relations disaster, which followed an industrial disaster that was tragic enough without the mismanagement of communications.
Resources
Cooke, D. L. (2003). A systems dynamics of the Westray mine disaster. System Dynamics Review 19(2):139-166.
Coombs, T W. (1999). Ongoing crisis communication. Planning, managing, responding. London: Sage Publications, Ltd.
Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. NewYork: Bantam books
Hynes, T & Prasad, P. (1997). Patterns of ‘mock bureaucracy’ in mining disasters: An analysis of the Westray coal mine explosion. Journal of Management Studies, 34 (4), 601-623.
Jobb, D. (1998). The Westray conundrum. We still don’t know why the disaster happened. Occupational Health & Safety Canada, 14(3), 24-31.
O’Connell, C J. & Mills, A. J. (2003) Making sense of bad news: The media, sensemaking, and organizational crisis. Canadian Journal of Communication 28(3):323-339.
Ogrizek, M. & Guillery, J. M. (1997). Communicating in a crisis. A theoretical and practical guide to crisis management. New York: Walter de Gruyter, Inc.
Richards, T. (1996). The Westray mine explosion: An examination of the interaction between the mine owner and the media. Canadian Journal of Communication 21(3):323-339.
By Sarah Anderson
How do we communicate? What is the best way to communicate to increase understanding? Public relations requires developing a cohesive communication strategy that is not only reactive, but proactive. So how do public relations practitioners figure out how people will react to situations, and how do they decide what is the best way to deal with situations?
Edward Bernays, PR and Psychology
Edward Bernays, a pioneer in public relations, was also the nephew of Sigmund Freud. His relationship with his uncle had a great effect on how Bernays felt public relations should operate. Bernays believed that in order to be successful, the “PR man not only needs to be smart and intuitive, he needs to understand psychology, sociology.” Bernays felt that if you understood how and why people did things, you could then change their behaviour. Integral to this philosophy was the idea that the problem be approached in a scientific manner, a scientific approach being
‘basic to any understanding of a world as complex as the one we live in.
‘ One of the most famous examples of his use of a scientific approach with psychology was also one of his most notorious.
Bernays, Lucky Strike Cigarettes and Smoking Women
In the early 1900s it was socially unacceptable for women to smoke in public. Sam Hill, owner of American Tobacco Corporation and Lucky Strike Cigarettes saw half his potential market (and profits) slipping away. The question was, how do you get women to smoke? But the question that first needed to be answered was, why don’t women smoke now? To answer that question, Bernays convinced Hill to pay for a prominent psychoanalyst to be consulted. The answer they received was that women saw cigarettes as phallic — a symbol of male oppression. Armed with this knowledge, Bernays arranged for debutantes at the Easter Parade in New York City, at a given signal, to light up their ‘torches of freedom’ in defiance of the social taboo. Bernays didn’t change the product; he changed the behaviour - based on the science of psychology. Bernays used psychology to answer the question of why, before using public relations tactics to change attitudes and, therefore, behaviour.
Hear about Bernay’s cigarette campaign in the documentary, “The Century of Self.”
John Beardsley and the Psychology of Human Preferences
John Beardsley, in an excellent article for Public Relations Strategist, discusses the psychology of human preferences based on the research of two psychologists, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky:
“There has been an outbreak of a rare disease, and 600 people are expected to die if nothing is done. You have to choose between two public-health programs to combat the disease. If you choose Program A, there is a 100 percent chance of saving 200 lives. The alternative, Program B, has a one-third chance of saving 600 lives and a two-thirds chance of saving no one. If Program C is adopted, 400 people will die. But with Program D, there is a one-third probability that no one will die and a two-thirds probability that 600 people will die.”
Most people asked to choose between A and B will choose A. In the cases of C and D, most people will pick D. Why? All four choices are mathematically equivalent, which is important to remember. A is no different from D; it presents the same chance of loss or gain. In answering the question why, the psychologists discovered that the reason people are often willing to gamble if it is to prevent a loss (A) but not when it means a gain (D), lies in how the question has been framed. If public relations practitioners has to present this program to the public, they need to first understand how the public will react to it. Since both programs are essentially the same, how do you develop a successful communications strategy? How do you know which option will be received most favourably? Framing the program for the public in such a way as to win public support for it means knowing why people would pick A over B. An understanding of psychology is basic to helping provide those kinds of answers.
To become an effective communicator, it is important to understand how people behave, react and communicate. That does not mean public relations practitioners require degrees in psychology in order to create clear and effective communication. Incorporating psychology into practice at its core means being able to understand the science and apply it to the art.
Works Cited
Anonymous. Public Relations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Relations
John Beardsley. Public Relations Strategist. Spring 2003. Vol. 9 Issue 2, p. 42
Edward Bernays. The Later Years: Public Relations Insights, 1956-86, (H&M Publishers, 1986)
Adam Curtis. The Century of the Self. http://www.infectiousvideos.com/index.php?p=showvid&sid=1117&fil=0000000056&o=0&idx=6&sb=daily&a=playvid&r=Torches_of_Freedom
CAN PUBLIC RELATIONS BE CONSIDERED A PROFESSION?
Different viewpoints exist about whether public relations is a profession. Some believe that public relations is not a profession while others believe that public relations is a recognized profession.
Definition:
The Paperback Oxford Canadian Dictionary defines profession as “a vocation or calling that involves some branch of advanced learning or science.”
THEORY 1:
The process by which public relations attains its professional status is important to many. Lecturers at the University of Stirling, Magda Pieczka and Jacquie L’Etang, refer to theorists Theodore Caplow’s and Harold Wilensky’s professionalization process. They believe that public relations must go through these five stages to be considered a profession (Caplow and Wilensky).
o The emergence of the full-time occupation
o The establishment of a training school
o The founding of a professional association
o Political agitation directed towards the protection of the association by law
o The adoption of a formal code
Pieczka and L’Etang also refer to theorist Everett C. Hughes. According to Hughes, public relations cannot be considered a profession until a mandate is created and every public relations practitioner possesses a licence (Hughes).
Public relations fits some of the descriptions mentioned above. In many corporations, public relations is a full-time position where the practitioner is a member of Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) or the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).
A problem arises when relating and analyzing Caplow’s, Wilensky’s and Hughes’s theories about public relations. Currently, no training school for public relations practitioners exists nor do practitioners have to own a licence to practice public relations. With these faults it’s easy to state that public relations is not a profession.
In the end, Pieczka and L’Etang believe that a reflection of public relations is needed and is valuable in establishing it as a profession.
________________________________________________________________________
THEORY 2:
Associate professor Peter Johansen from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario believes public relations is an important part of today’s communications environment and that practitioners contribute to the social construction of reality (Johansen).
Johansen refers to John Pavlik’s theory. Pavlik believes public relations is a vague and unclear term. The word public relations doesn’t give anyone a clear understanding or definition as to what a practitioner does on a daily basis. Public relations practitioners perform many tasks and are known by at least 130 different titles (Pavlik).
Therefore, without a proper definition in place, deciding whether public relations is considered a profession can be very difficult.
________________________________________________________________________
Want to know more? Check these books out:
Johansen, Peter “Professionalism, Building Respectability, and the Birth of the Canadian Public Relations Society.” Journalism Studies (2001).
L’Etang, Jacquie and Magda Pieczka. Public Relations: Critical Debates and Contemporary Practice. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Publishers, 2006, 266.
Paperback Oxford Canadian Dictionary Second Edition, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2006.
By Jenny Pang
Best known as the creator of BlackBerry wireless devices, Research In Motion Limited was founded by Mike Lazaridis in 1984. It later became a publicly traded company in 1997. Lazaridis currently serves as co-CEO along with Jim Balsillie, the proud new owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
RIM employs a diverse workforce of 4,784 (as of March 2006), and is headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario. Its operations there are spread over 15 buildings on its own campus, right next to its main source of talent: the University of Waterloo. Its other Canadian offices are found in Mississauga and Ottawa, and its international offices in Texas and the United Kingdom.
Products
RIM gained its early success with its pioneer solution to the “two mailbox problem” - maintaining both a wireless and corporate mailbox. Its “one mailbox solution” meant that users no longer needed to log onto e-mail servers to retrieve mail. It is retrieved directly from servers and ‘pushed’ to BlackBerry devices. In fact, the constant connection became so compulsive that BlackBerry devices were later dubbed ‘Crackberries’.
The BlackBerry combines e-mail access, a web browser, personal organization applications and cellphone capabilities in one device. Multimedia and camera capabilities were recently incorporated to target a broader market.
BlackBerry Connect is a platform that extends BlackBerry functionality to competing non-native devices from manufacturers such as Nokia, Palm Inc., and Samsung. Lesser known RIM products include the BlackBerry Smart Card Reader and the Ascendent Voice Mobility Suite, which extends corporate desk phone features onto BlackBerry devices.
RIM’s primary competition lies in both the mobile device and push e-mail software markets, especially now that Smart Phones are rapidly gaining ground with consumers. Palm Inc., Microsoft and Nokia all offer wireless devices with comparable capabilities, and Motorola recently joined the race when it purchased Good Technology, RIM’s main competitor in push e-mail software. Other lesser known push e-mail developers include Visto and Consilient.
Financial Performance
RIM achieved good results in fiscal 2006. The broader consumer market targeted by the new BlackBerry Pearl and the recent push into fresh geographic markets gave investors confidence, causing RIM stock to soar in September 2006.
Despite the push of its longer-established competitors into its niche, RIM shipped out over four million devices and earned $2.07 billion in revenue, representing an exceptional 53 per cent growth from the year before.
It was ranked 52 in terms of profit, 89 in terms of revenue, and 116 in terms of assets in the Report on Business top 1000 ranking of 2006. Despite its financial success and numerous awards however, BlackBerry devices still appeal to a niche market only, occupying less than one per cent of the American cellphone market.
RIM’s plans for expansion include furthering its position in the mobile device market, particularly in small and medium sized businesses. To this end, it plans to release new devices with applications targeting an even broader market. RIM will also continue working with competitors to launch more BlackBerry Connect enabled devices. Finally, RIM plans to enhance the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and increase carrier partnerships worldwide.
Corporate Communications
Although RIM’s mission statement is not clearly defined, co-CEO Balsillie once summed it up: “to push data packets to your hip” (the first BlackBerry devices were sold in a holder that is typically clipped to a belt). Consequently, RIM’s corporate communications are streamlined and business oriented, targeting mainly stockholders and BlackBerry consumers. Its online presence is separated into three domains that target each of its key audiences: investors, the press, business consumers and lifestyle consumers.
Corporate
The RIM corporate website (www.rim.com) is business oriented and geared toward investors and the press. The investor section contains information for current and potential investors, including annual reports, corporate governance documents, securities filings and a list of analysts who currently publish reports on RIM.
Of special interest is the schedule of investor events. These include technical conferences and fiscal result conference calls, of which live webcasts are made available for download. Investor Information Packages are also available through the mail, although having requested one the author has yet to receive any reply.
The press section features news releases from both RIM and its business partners. It also provides easy access to information such as media contacts, recent awards won, corporate backgrounders, a photo archive and a timetable of upcoming events.
Lifestyle
While the corporate website has a technical listing of consumer products, all promotional material is located at two separate BlackBerry websites. Heavily consumer oriented, the site for individuals (www.discoverblackberry.com) is user-friendly and jargon free, ideal for attracting lifestyle users. It contains a number of fun resources including an Owner’s Lounge, interactive instructions, fun personalization tips and games. The new BlackBerry Pearl is even featured on its own media-rich and dynamic micro-site. These websites are attractive and interactive, ideal for extending RIM’s reach in the consumer Smart Phone market.
Business Consumers
The technically oriented business user site (www.blackberry.com) is geared toward business consumers and information technology professionals. It contains specifications for RIM products and includes helpful comparisons, corporate training opportunities and support downloads, all helpful resources for organizations seeking to purchase devices for business use. This site will help RIM extend its reach into medium and small businesses.
Investor Relations
RIM recently announced technical accounting errors related to stock options granted before 2002. It launched a voluntary internal investigation to redress the error, and confirmed an investigation under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
They allegedly failed to announce another investigation under the Ontario Securities Commission, which has been met with negative reactions from the media. Due to the delays caused by the auditing process, RIM announced that it would be unable to file its fiscal second quarter financial report with regulators, and was consequently ordered to provide bi-weekly status updates, which they post with their financial press releases. RIM has been largely transparent with its investors regarding this matter, which speaks to good investor relations.
RIM’s main audience is its consumers, and its communications efforts are directed toward its products. All promotional material emphasizes mobility, time-sensitivity, innovation and research-based development as key words. In fact, research and innovation is such an integral part of the company that these concepts are incorporated into the company name - Research In Motion. Despite RIM’s failure to spell out any mission statement or vision, its guiding concepts of research and innovation are clear in all consumer-targeted material. The promotional material is also well-designed and effective at strengthening RIM’s existing consumer base and furthering its reach into the niche Smart Phone market.
REFERENCES
BlackBerry. http://www.blackberry.com
BlackBerry - BlackBerry Pearl. http://www.blackberrypearl.com
BlackBerry - Discover BlackBerry. http://www.discoverblackberry.com
Business Week Online - S&P Downgrades Research In Motion to Hold. http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/sep2006/pi20060915_169989.htm
Canadian Business Online - Canadian Business Tech 100. http://www.canadianbusiness.com/rankings/tech100/list.jsp?pageID=companyProfile&profile=8&year=2006&type=profile&listType=TECH100
Fast Company, Issue 48, July 2001 - Rapid Motion, by Bill Breen
PC Magazine, November 7 2006 - Get Smart, Stay Connected by Sascha Segan
Research In Motion. http://www.rim.com
Reuters - Research In Motion Ltd RIMM.O (NASDAQ). http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/ratios.asp?symbol=RIMM.O&WTmodLOC=L2-LeftNav-16-Ratios
StockHouse - Research In Motion shares surge to multi-year high on strong outlook. http://www.stockhouse.ca/news/cpnews.asp?newsid=7203928
Wikipedia - Research In Motion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_In_Motion
Yahoo! Finance - Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM). http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=RIMM
by Robyn Anderson
Research
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts INC. (FHR) (www.fairmont.com) originally sarted in San Francisco by Tessie and Virginia Fair. In 1907, after a one-year delay due to damage from the San Francisco earthquake, the doors of The Fairmont opened for the first time. In 1945, Benjamin H. Swig bought the hotel and began building large portfolio of hotel properties.
Now headquarted in Toronto, Fairmont is the largest luxury hotel management company in North America. The company offers guest rooms in the most sought-after destinations. In October 1999, Canadian Pacific Hotels & Resorts acquired Fairmont Hotels; bringing together the two companies.
All of FHR’s hotels are held directly or indirectlyby FHR Real Estate Corporation. The majority of FHR’s income before interest, taxes, amortization, other income and expenses and reorganization and corporate expenses (EBITDA) are genertaed by its ownership operations. Approximately 54 per cent of gross revenue from hotel ownership is generated from room revenue; the rest is from food and beverage services and other revenue streams including spa facitlites, golf courses and retail.
FHR employs or supervises more than 30,000 full-time and part-time employees. It was selected by Maclean’s magazine as one of Canada’s “Top 100 Employers.”
Future Goals
Future goals include major expansion and restoration. New properties have been bought in Hawaii and Florida. It also purchased the remaining 50 per cent of Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. Many other properties are in the process of being fixed. Resorts in areas that are prone to hurricanes are under constant renovation and repairs.
Annual Report
This section includes a page entitled “message to our shareholders”. The letter deals with a small intorduction that includes what the hotel chain has accomplished in very vague terms. Throughout the letter there is a summary of the annual report in terms that are easy to understand. The beginning discuses the findings including the net income increase and overall gains. The report then goes into detail about upcoming developments that FHR is working on including; a new hotel in Vancouver that will be ready for the 2010 Olympics. This letter also provides a section where “recommendations” are made to the shareholders. These recommendations include who and what to vote for in shareholders meetings. This also provides an opportunity to thank the employeers of FHR. If there were any problems or shortcomings throughout the year, the letter shows no signs of this.
FHR’s website
There is an entire section for the shareholders. The section is easily accessible an updated regularly. Here you can find the annual report and quarterly reports from the past few years. There is also information on who to contact when you have investor relation questions. This section of the website also acts as the media area where you can find news releases.
Mission statement:
“If anything truly defines Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, it is the value we attach to lasting memories. Building upon a century of experience as hoteliers has endowed us with a rich tradition of hospitality. We offer experiences that are authentically local, in hotels and resorts of unrivalled presence. And genuine hospitality is achieved when engaging service and attention to detail elevate each stay into cherished memory.”
This philosophy to cutomers is based on the idea that FHR can be found throughout the world, so while it may be an international company, wherever you stay you feel the local culture at each hotel and resort. This promise is evident throughout the hotels; the majority of the hotels are in locations that reflect the community, city and nation.
Communication strategies with other groups including various governments, relate to FHR’s Green Partnership. This partnership is in place to connect to the land, communities and people where FHR does business. This partnership helps to minimize the hotels impact on the planet. They are in partnership with Energy Star program and the Environmental Media Association. The information about the project is also up on the website where the guest and investors can read on all the projects that are under way across the world at various FHR locations.
Canada’s Top 100 Employers, http://www.canadastop100.com/
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, www.fairmont.com
Two-way symmetrical model and entertainment PR
by Maxine McDonald
James E. Grunig’s four models of communication help to categorize methods of public relations practice. Of the four models, Grunig proposes the two-way symmetrical model provides the most efficient method of communication regardless of the industry (Grunig).
Entertainment publicity is public relations practiced for entertainment organizations. PR agents and firms specializing in the entertainment industry dominate the field. Through their large personal networks, these firms manage and coordinate public appearances, interviews, and press tours for music, TV, and movie stars. In entertainment PR, clients tend to be individual rather than companies or groups of people (Vault).
Entertainment publicity: Real PR
Grunig describes PR as, “the management of communication between an organization and its public” (Grunig). In this field, communications management means coordinating information circulated about the client, as well, as protecting and promoting an agreed upon image of the client.
Hollywood PR agent Rachel McCallister expands on the importance of image saying, “[The need for] consistent messaging remains true whether you’re working with a celebrity or a CEO.” (Gaschen).
Identifying the target audience, as well as identifying which media reaches that end audience is crucial to all PR objectives. In Grunig’s two-way symmetrical model, communication comes in dialogue form.
Research and dialogue are used to create understanding. Here, communication is based on mutual benefit or concession. Rather than create messages likely to persuade the target audience, organizations make decisions that are mutually beneficial. To Grunig, says companies get more of what they want when they give up a little bit of what they want (Grunig).
Public opinion
Research and dialogue are important to entertainment PR. A great deal of attention is given to public opinion. Celebrity lifestyles are widely debated by the public. Public opinion affects everything from ratings to CD sales.
Recent gossip on Tom Cruise highlights the importance of public opinion. Cruise was dumped by his production company after being publicly criticized for his behaviour and remarks made on Oprah and the Today Show.
CBS’s Showbuzz website quotes CEO of Viacom, Sumner Redstone defending his decision to dump Cruise saying, “women everywhere had come to hate him [Cruise].” Although, Cruise’s remarks were in reference to his personal life and beliefs, public disapproval caused his production company to drop him.
Agents have been known to retaliate against journalists who publish negative or exposing stories about stars. In his article The Hollywood Treatment, Neal Koch cites that retaliation against journalists comes in the form of restriction from movie sets and photo ops, as well as interview refusals (Koch).
The purpose is not to create understanding with the public. Rather, PR agents focus on promoting messages that reinforce the image of the star, while suppressing messages that contradict the image. Persuasion is common in entertainment PR.
Showbiz honesty
Grunig’s two-way symmetrical model promotes honesty. Is it reasonable to expect a celebrity to be forthcoming about personal matters that have little connection to their profession? Perhaps the need for persuasion arises from public concern with private matters. Public opinion is vital to a celebrity’s career; therefore great lengths are taken to ensure positive public opinion.
In entertainment PR the subject of communication is expansive. The target audience is not only concerned with the product manufactured or the service provided, but also with personal lives. Every decision from mate choice to clothing choice is the subject of dialogue in communication with the target audience.
The two-way symmetrical model promotes a change of behaviour by the organization or the individual, in the case of entertainment PR. While in some cases requirement of a change of behaviour may be warranted; in other situations it may be excessive. Celebrities have lost some of their audience based on mate choice.
In these cases, there should be no push for change of behaviour; however, adherence to the two-way symmetrical model advocates it. Although Grunig promotes the model as normative and positive, it cannot be seen as such in the case of entertainment PR.
Sources
CBS Brodcasting Inc., People in Hot Water, <http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/31/people_hot_water/main2139116.shtml>
Dennis John Gaschen, Lights, Camera, Action! Going Behind-the-Scenes with a Hollywood Publicist, (Public Relations Tactics, 11(2004):8)
James E. Grunig and Larissa A. Grunig, Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, Models of Public Relations and Communication, (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.,1992)
James E. Grunig and Larissa A. Grunig, Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management, The Effect of Wordview on Public Relations Theory and Practice, (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.,1992)
Koch, Neal. The Hollywood Treatment, (Columbia Journalism Review, 29 (1991): 25)
Vault, Entertainment Publicity Positions, <http://www.vault.com/articles/Entertainment-publicity-positions-16274662.html.>
by David Wallace
Paull Young, a 23-year-old Australian social media practitioner, has made many friends around the globe, virtually. He only recently ventured into the real world to meet them in person.
Social media involves online platforms of communication and community-building such as blogs, podcasting and wikis. Young spoke to students at The Centre for Creative Communications on Jan. 18. He writes his own Young PR blog and produces his own podcast; in fact, he recorded his Centennial presentation for a subsequent podcast. “I’m a nerd, but I love it,” he states.
Young encouraged the students to throw themselves into the blogosphere. “Start reading blogs, subscribing to them. Make it a habit.” And it’s easy to make a blog, he says. Many people may already be familiar with MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn. He recommends Squidoo as a good starting point for those interested in creating a blog.
Social media actually kickstarted his public relations (PR) career. It isn’t as common in Australia as it is in North America, so Young taught himself how to create a blog. Young PR was Australia’s first student PR blog. The relationships he developed while writing his blog led to his introduction to Forward, an online collaborative effort which serves as a nexus point for PR professionals and students. He now produces the site’s podcast.
These relationships led Young to help initiate an online campaign against the practice of astroturfing which he describes as “the creation of fake grassroots organizations.” Social media offers fertile soil for these activities since the Internet appears to provide easy anonymity and the opportunity to misdirect attention from the real source of an online voice. However, Young warns, “Be honest and transparent at all times or you’ll be found out.” Deceitful conduct runs counter to what Young sees as the more prevalent character of social media.
The campaign eventually garnered attention and support from “about 30 really senior bloggers and PR practitioners.” He points out that the “snowball effect” began with his blog in Australia. But it doesn’t matter where you are or how old you are. You have a voice, he reminded his audience. “The blogosphere operates on passion and real feeling. If you’re passionate about something, start blogging.”
Young emphasizes that social media is not about technology; it’s about communication and relationships. For him, these began in the virtual world. They have now transformed into real-world relationships. Young first visited New York and Washington D.C. before travelling to Toronto. While here, he also attended a meeting of the Toronto social media group, Third Tuesday. He is now in London, England, the next stop on his real-world itinerary.
Published in the Centennial College online newsletter, The Vine, on Thursday February 1, 2007
http://newsletter.centennialcollege.ca:80/news/news.asp?id=297
By Ashley Applebaum
Examining whether a good PR campaign can get everyone on side.
Crafting an effective PR campaign, one that gets everyone on side, is a hard absolute to achieve. As a result, attempting this greatly depends on how the communications plan is organized and carried out. Campaigns that have a greater chance of success are those which address some key elements: knowing your audience, timing and developing messages.
Although research suggests that no PR campaign has been able to sway every person targeted with their message, executing well-planned strategic communications is essential in persuading the maximum number of stakeholders. The key is finding a balance between audience expectations and needs (Holland) so you can appeal to audience behaviour through experiential learning and interpersonal communication (Brody).
Knowing your audience
Before any plan can be crafted, the audience must be determined.
Essential to getting everyone on side is identifying the audience you want to communicate your message to. E.W. Brody offers this opinion on swaying the audience, “Changing predisposition or behaviour in any population requires reaching large percentages of audiences with targeted messages delivered through credible channels” (Brody). To do this, the wants, needs, habits and fears of the audience must be calculated (Holland). Answers to questions such as who you are trying to influence, and what do you want them to think or do are required in order to proceed in a strategic communications campaign.
Using this information, the most effective public relations officer can determine what turns an audience on or off, what content is best and the most effective way to reach them (Holland). This information can be obtained from surveys, demographic data, face-to-face interviews, focus groups and other polling techniques. Taking the time to learn about your audience and understand them will allow the campaign to be specifically tailored and possess a greater chance of winning everyone’s vote.
For more information on audience, consult:
Robert J. Holland, Lester R. Potter. “Customer vs. Audience: When worlds collide” found in Communication World
E.W. Brody. “For Public Relations Success: Track Results, Not Messages” found in Public Relations Quarterly
Developing messages
Developing relevant and timely messages for your audience is critical in getting everyone on side (Holland). In their discussion of customer versus audience, Robert Holland and Lester Potter advocate telling stories to support the messages. Creating a story to accompany messages that can be applied not only to publication planning, but fits the overall strategic communication’s various vehicles and mediums, allows the campaign to better achieve its desired outcome (Holland). This allows a consistency throughout the communications process.
Experiential learning and interpersonal communication
Lessons from E.W. Brody
The appropriate communication channels to best serve your purpose must be determined. That most people tend obtain their news form sources other than newspapers is a fact frequently overlooked by many in public relations. Brody argues, “Humans obtain the bulk of their information on any topic from other sources.” He points out that almost all public relations campaigns are intended to change behaviour or predisposition toward behaviour. And because behaviour is learned, public relations campaigns have to remember that learning is largely experiential and should incorporate this into their persuasion tactics.
Second to experiential learning is interpersonal communication. According to Brody, “There’s no substitute for one-to-one, face-to-face communication in making a sale.” Information gained from conducting interpersonal communication will enable the public relations practitioner to put out superior communication through mass media, having a greater chance of getting everyone on side through that media.
Note: Using the most effective media, combined with deploying intercommunication systems, increases the likelihood of persuading the maximum amount of people with your campaign.
Calculated, or clever?
What to keep in mind when carrying out a communications plan
So why are some campaigns more effective than others? Brody offers one possibility, the tendency for public relations practitioners to track messages rather than results. Results offer useful information regarding the effectiveness of a campaign; sales levels, numbers of repeat sales and positive and/or negative feedback from those targeted provide the information needed to improve a campaign (Brody).
Another approach that can be used to a campaign’s advantage is appealing to the audience’s emotions - but be careful. David Gallagher argues in the past the PR industry experienced a lull in performance due to the misuse of emotional appeal. He believes, “As members of the public become increasingly marketing-savvy, anecdotal evidence suggests that a more subtle approach to engaging emotions has become key to successful campaigns.” Such an approach has become a popular, and seemingly vital, tactic for companies such as Pampers because of the creative way PR can short-cut some of the direct approaches to marketing (Gallagher). This short-cut allows the clever public relations practitioner to engage the audience and ultimately bring more people on side with what the campaign espouses.
For more information on audience, consult:
Robert J. Holland, Lester R. Potter. “Customer vs. Audience: When worlds collide” found in Communication World
E.W. Brody. “For Public Relations Success: Track Results, Not Messages” found in Public Relations Quarterly
Timing
Underscoring all tactics used to get everyone on side is the principle of timing. Natasha Spring points out that knowing “when to apply something new and when to wait depend on the need for change, the resources required, the risks involved, the potential for return and the readiness of your audience.” Determining when to launch a new campaign is also helped by looking to other similar initiatives. What were they successful in achieving? What did they do right and what did they do wrong? What research did they conduct and what resources did they use? All these questions are useful in crafting a campaign with the highest chances of getting everyone on side.
For more information, consult:
Spring, Natasha. “The time is now” found in the June 2006 issue of Communication World
What it all comes down to:
When executing a public relations campaign, it would be ideal to get all those targeted on side with your goals or messages. The chances of a campaign achieving this is significantly greater if the campaign is approached from a strategic angle, with communication that is based on knowing your audience and creating key messages that appeal to that audience. Conducting the right research, learning from past initiatives and building upon current ones are all ways in which a good public relations campaign can get everyone on side.
Want to find out more?
Sources that helped me do my research
Brody, E.W., For Public Relations Success: Track Results, Not Messages, (Public Relations Quarterly, 2003)
Holland, Thomas J. and Potter, Lester R., Customer vs. Audience: When worlds collide, (Communication World, 2000)
Siegle, Stephanie, PR leagues Top 100, (Marketing, 2005)
Spring, Natasha, The time is now, (Communication World, 2006)
