Public Relations Government Campaigns

The first campaign I looked into was called; The Toll of Tobacco in the United States. When I first saw the website I saw that the site was a bit outdated and could use some spicing up, the site was simple and contained only one picture, a few tables and a lot of writing. With a tobacco related campaign fear appeals are most often used, which could range from real life stories to videos and endless pictures of the effect of tobacco. As far as appearance goes I don't think that the campaign is necessarily affective. Within the text and information provided however they did use fear appeals like I had mentioned before, "Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined, with thousands more dying from spit tobacco use." The campaign is affective so far because fear appeals most often get through to people the best. Now all they need is those handy videos and real life stories to really get through to people. The campaign gives a lot of detail about the number of deaths caused by tobacco and the total amount of money spent not only on cigarettes but also in health care expenditures. I think that the Toll of Tobacco campaign needs a little work to be most affect however the information is good.

The Toll of Tobacco - https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/facts_issues/toll_us/

The second campaign I found was called; Healthy Schools Campaign.  The opening statement on the website says, "We're here because every child deserves and healthy school." Which is absolutely true, and is why children's lunch programs have been such an issue all over the country. I have seen myself several acts and attempts to try and change school lunches to offer better and healthier food to children. The website is set up so you can view basically any aspect of the campaign you'd like: news, blogs, impacts, give, and connect. In their "Impact" section they talk about how they have transformed over 350,000+ schools lunch programs and classrooms. The Healthy Schools Campaign seems to be extremely effective and helpful to many schools all over the place. I think that the campaign is affective because they show the impact that they have made to several schools; they are well organized and seem to have a well managed plan for their campaign.

Healthy Schools Campaign - http://www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/

Internal Employee Communications

Societal factors within employee relations are very important in today's public relations world. Communicating effectively with your employees is crucial because if we didn't than organizations would be in chaos. We should take into consideration that in the past we have experienced layoffs and within companies which makes our employees worry and mindful of the fact that downsizing of a company could occur at any time. Another important consideration is being completely honest with your employees. Staying honest will build trust and gain credibility for you. Not to mention if honestly is scarce then the employees will have issues and problems could arise for you and the company. Important employee communications strategies are to communicate are to be strategic, be honest, be open, and be consistent.

Differences between Scott and Seitel on News/Press Releases

Scott and Seitel have similar approaches to how to effectively release and new press or news release to the public. Scott however has different suggestions about adding links and tags on to your releases to direct the readers to another web page or to continue reading about the article. On the other hand, Seitel doesn't agree with using the links and feels that they are nuisance and can cause your readers to lose interest. Scott has the best advice for writing news releases for the Internet. I believe that Scott and Seitel do have something in common though; that is to not simply write and release an article for the sake of doing so or there being "big news" in the industry. They believe that you should write and release with a purpose. As professionals I believe that they need to differentiate the time when to use the new rules and when to use the older outdated rules as well because both can still be helpful in todays day in age. 

Why does a video or a blog go viral?

Blogs can go viral for many reasons. Blogs can go viral because they relate to an issue in today's current situation. Most videos I see now days go viral simply for entertainment or because they are funny. What makes videos and blogs go viral is our ability to share them on the Internet with just a click of our mouse. On Facebook you have the ability to "share" while on Twitter you have the ability to "Re-tweet" creating a cycle where many friends can see the post and do the very same thing. I find that more videos go viral than blogs do, most likely because people are generally more willing to watch a video than read an article about the same topic. 

There are many different types of blogs. Ones about art, some about music, some are video blogs (or vlogs). The key is finding what your interest is and communicating your thoughts and ideas frequently and effectively to the right audience. Creating a decent blog takes practice, like going to the gym. The First day you go to the gym you are not going to see results. You need to dedicate yourself if you want to have a successful blog like and athlete wants to have a built body.

Comparing and Contrasting Fraser Seitel and David Scott on How to Deal with the Media

Scott:

Because of the web the rules have changed. Scott says that if you are still following the old rules they are probably less effective than his new ones. Spam is a big contribution when dealing with the media in these times. Non-targeted and broadcasted pitches are spam; news releases that are sent out and cover untraditional areas of their coverage are also spam. If reporters don’t know who you are, make sure they are able to find out about you on Google. Keep in mind that if you are a blogger and are related to the higher end of a company some reporters will find you. If you pitch to important people and they blog about you, you will get noticed by the media quicker. You should release news to the media frequently; keeping your organization busy. As an organization you should have an online media room. In that media room you should have videos and photos of your organization, depending on the type of organization you have. Having good relationships with reporters is extremely important. Be sure to explain to reports not only what your product does but also how your product makes life easier for consumers and solves their problems.  As an organization you should follow reporters to see what they are interested in.

Seitel:

The media has changed greatly since the Internet has come into play of the media distributes information. The media used to be full of “truth-seeking reporters” however, now the media is completely different. Their only objective is to get him or himself into the story personally, and they may not even have any training.

“If you’re in public relations, you must know how to deal with the press.” Anything you say to a reporter is “fair game” and can or will be used in an interview report. You should never let your guard down. As the public relations professional at your company you must always think about what you say because everyone will see your name and face on the news. Reporters should be considered “innocent until proven guilty” because they are generally just trying to do their job, just like you. PR professionals should seek to earn reporters trust, in turn you should also because a trusted resource. “Never try to threaten or coerce a journalist with advertising.” Don’t have an attitude when dealing with the media. Never lie when talking with the media. Read the paper after the fact, to see the outcome of your interview or report.

Similarities between Seitel and Scott are few and far between. Scott talks about how to use the Internet to your advantage, whereas Seitel talks about how the media is corrupted and refers mostly to face-to-face contact. What Scott and Seitel have in common is they stress the importance of having a good relationship with all reporters. The PR professionals’ best interest is to build good and strong relationships with reports so they have a good and trusted reputation.

Differences between Seitel and Scott are easily picked up. Scott talks about how spam is a new problem within the media. Before the web, you never needed to worry about spam. Scott talks about how to get your organization known on good terms throughout the media. Scott says that it is in your best interest to follow bloggers and reporters on social media so you can learn what they like best, putting yourself ahead in the game. Scott doesn’t really mention any of that; he gives suggestions on how to deal with reporters. For example, don’t lie; don’t have an attitude and so forth. Both Seitel and Scott make very important points that are important to know when working in the world of Public Relations.

5 Types of Receiver Bias

A receiver bias is how a person reacts to the message that the sender is trying to send. Basically, each person has his or her own personal bias of the information that is delivered. The five different types of receiver bias are; stereotypes, symbols, semantics, peer groups, and the media.  

Stereotypes are how individuals group people together based on their opinion. Stereotypes can range from the color of your skin to where you were raised. Stereotypes are based on an individual’s perception of others. Stereotypes can affect communication in several ways. For example, if a person is dressed professionally in a suit, their message is more likely to be taken seriously; opposed to if the person were wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Stereotypes, especially as the way we dress, can definitely hinder the communication process. 

 Symbols are used in communication everywhere in the world. Most symbols become world renowned, such as the Olympic rings that are displayed every two years for both the summer and winter Olympics. Everyone knows when they see the Olympic rings that the Olympics are near. The Olympic rings don't cause any confusion in the communication process because they are so well known. 

Semantics are certain words that are used within the communication process that could possibly be confusing to the receiver. For example, the word crash can be used in several different ways. A car crash is very different from the stock market crashing. Semantics can cause noise in the communication process when words that are used have different meanings to them. People in the PR field need to be sure that they are using clear and understandable words. 

Peer groups can be helpful to PR professionals however they can also be dangerous. The main idea is that when people are in groups and a majority of them believe a certain piece of information, those who are unsure what to think, will usually fall under the majority of people. The problem with peer groups is that they can cause a lot of false information to be spread around and cause a lot a noise to be developed between the sender and receiver. 

The Media most often creates noise within the communication process when they deliver messages that are not necessarily truthful. The media often uses spinning to avoid having the stories they release sound bad to the receivers. Most often, people are not able to develop an opinion based on facts because the media doesn't always include the facts in their messages. However, if the media were to be truthful within their communication then no problems would occur in the process.