Tag Archives: #PR

Elon Musk fuels further debate on symmetrical comms!

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PUT down your PR text books, the validity of Grunig and Hunt’s 2-way symmetrical communication has reared its head again!

This year in preparation for assessments, we have quite spent some time discussing whether excellent PR exists or is just a good idea? In my view, it’s more of an ideal than a reality but then came along billionaire businessman Elon Musk with an intriguing example of 2-way balanced comms.

Earlier this month, the wannabe super-hero and part time rocket man polled his Twitter followers, asking them if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock. He promised to abide by the result; by a 58-42 margin, his followers said he should sell. 

And he did, selling around £3.7billion of stock a few days after the poll. On the surface, a fairly simple example of an organisation asking stakeholders to advise on policy and abiding by that decision. Elon asked, Elon listened and then Elon acted.

But did he?

Unpack the offer a little and it seems symmetrical Elon is not all it seems. Media reports appear to suggest that Musk had been intending to sell the shares for some time as part of a pre-arranged trading plan agreed in September. However, the amount sold was much higher than had been expected.

So, is Elon’s gesture a genuine example of 2 way symmetrical communication, or merely a publicity stunt engineered to gain attention and favour from social audiences. And there’s more: it appears that the sale comes as US Democrats have proposed a so-called “billionaires tax”, which could see the richest in US society taxed on unrealised gains on stocks they own.

Therefore, is Elon Musk’s request a genuine attempt at prompting a balanced relationship, or is it more about protecting his wealth if and when the tax agencies come knocking? Many commentators have been cynical, suggesting Musk’s gesture is nothing more than a publicity stunt. One stock market expert in New York wrote: “This is not novel. It just gets more attention because it’s such a high market-cap type, attention grabbing kind of company.”

Genuine excellent PR or just a messy publicity stunt with hints of propaganda? It’s hard to tell!

Meanwhile our own PR students have been offering their views on whether 2-way symmetrical comms is ideal or reality.

We set the question on one of our discussion forums and got some great feedback.

Huize was clear that it’s a reality: “When there is a crisis in the digital age, PR can build a platform based on bidirectional symmetry to listen to the different opinions and information of the public because information can be collected on a large scale and quickly.”

But Huize also referred to Pieczka’s view that balanced comms is difficult when there is a power conflict between the ‘elite’ PR practitioner and the publics it communicates with. “In this case, the public will be at a disadvantage under the guidance of PR personnel, intentionally or not, which is a two-way asymmetric communication mode.”

Shuo feels that 2-way symmetrical comms is essential for businesses to thrive in 21st century economic models. “The company needs to make its products better for the public and there is no better way to achieve this goal than listening to its customers.”

Shiqi agreed stating that the emergence of digital and social media platforms made communication a much more level and balanced experience. “Traditional media, like TV, newspapers and radio do not have too many methods to collect feedback and ideas from audiences, the activities they do mostly use publicity and public information models. But in the era of the Internet, things can be done in a much easier way.”

This was also a view suggested by Yueqi who said: “Organizations can now collect people’s opinions through the Internet, social media and official websites and it is also more convenient and cheaper for the public to participate in these activities. People can choose whether to offer opinions and suggestions to the organization, and the organization can choose to accept people’s suggestions or not, and this is how two-way communication works.”

Yasmine took a more cynical view expressing that the name ‘excellence model’ states a lot about its achievability and should be viewed as largely idealistic. However, she posted a note of optimism adding: “I also think that the two-way symmetrical communication model is now more achievable than ever with the growth of social media and online communication between organisations and their publics. For example, Tesla CEO Elon Musk regularly responds and deals with customer complaints and inquiries on Twitter, taking on feedback and suggestions to improve their experiences as Tesla customers.”

Emir was balanced in his response stating that 2-way symmetrical comms was essential for some sectors such as tech and IT where, customer response and feedback is needed to make improvements and adaptations. However, Emir added: “On the other hand, the model is an ideal for say, the corporate sector and politics. While they will never admit it or show it, I think they are still in “publics be damned” stage, and they only deal with the wishes of the public when their profits come into question.”

Meiyu’s considered response stated that social media has improved both the timeliness and scope of organisational comms. However, Maiyu warned that feedback is not comprehensive or representative of the general population. “This may only be the advice of some customers who participated in the interaction, and there may be many customers who did not participate in the interaction, or they do not agree, or elderly people who do not know how to use social software and did not participate in the interaction.”

So, are we any further forward? Is the question of 2-way symmetrical comms still an unsolvable conundrum, or are there genuine glimpses of organisations embedding it as part of the business strategy and values? Only the future will tell is the model is viable or not.

Eat Out to Help Out: A PR triumph or a societal disaster?

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By Isobel Parker

In a lockdown 2.0 Britain, August almost seems hundreds of years ago; almost the golden age of this century like year, life was good but in retrospect was it just the calm before the storm?

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of August was Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme announced on 8th July: a £500 million subsidy for the UK’s hospitality industry, providing 50% off meals throughout August every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The scheme was expected to bolster the £130 billion hospitality industry by drawing back nervous Britons to the hustle and bustle of normality.[1] Although at the time, the scheme seemed like the lifeline we all needed, now it is being blamed for the recent spike we have seen in Covid-19 cases which is not surprising as two weeks after the scheme ended virus cases had more than tripled from the figure taken on 1st August.

The scheme was an example of two-way asymmetric communication: an imbalanced communication that persuaded people to change their behaviour. Through offering 50% off meals the government were able to persuade customers to change their behaviour and start going back to restaurants after lockdown. Although customers benefited from the scheme as they were saving money, the main benefactors here were, meant to be, the government and economy as people were once again putting money back into the hospitality sector.

From a PR point of view, it seemed like it would be a clear success. In terms of reputation bank this felt like an almost fail safe for the Conservatives, what could possibly go wrong? Through an atypical nudge theory, they were encouraging people to leave their houses, through the promise of discounts and money saving after a bleak economic period. They were saving jobs and businesses by increasing footfall by supposedly tenfold. This was meant to be a saving grace for the industry. But was it enough?

Like a lot of Public Relations campaigns, Eat Out to Help Out employed Dietrich’s PESO model in its marketing. Foremost, as it was a government scheme it had a lot of Paid and Owned media produced by the government, for example there was a lot of information regarding the scheme on the gov.uk website including free promotional materials for every restaurant and café taking part, as well as information about how to use the promotional content within the business. Secondly, the scheme was proposed by Rishi Sunak within the House of Commons which attracted the first swathe of earned media. Earned media was extremely important in the campaign and that’s obvious as it’s what we most remember, for example, the press were invited to events where Conservative MPs were in restaurants serving on providing us with the now recognisable image of Sunak waitressing in

 Wagamama’s. The campaign received a lot of press attention and news coverage, whether good or bad, if you now type into google ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ it delivers 4,310,000,000 hits. Furthermore, shared media provided a lot of promotion for the scheme through restaurants marketing the scheme via their own social media. Many venues still have a highlight on their Instagram for the scheme and some eateries, such as Bill’s and Yo! Sushi, chose to extend a ‘spin off’ of the offer throughout September.

Despite all this, figures now show the scheme only had a marginal impact and 66% of businesses still reported a fall in sales between July and September of this year.[2] New findings are also showing that the crowded restaurants of august are to blame for the spike of COVID-19 cases throughout the country, causing people to now feel betrayed and confused about the scheme.[3] Moreover, the hospitality industry has become the Conservatives scape goat with the 10pm curfew being imposed causing many hospitality businesses to lose half their earnings every day. Almost comically the images used to market the campaign of Sunak serving on in Wagamama’s have now be used throughout social media in response to the shambolic CyberFirst campaign. Unfortunately, the scheme obviously didn’t do enough for the Conservatives reputation bank as they have once again become a national laughing stock, leading many people to now view the scheme not as a PR triumph but instead a societal disaster.

[1] https://www.standard.co.uk/reveller/restaurants/eat-out-to-help-out-rishi-sunak-restaurant-vouchers-a4492431.html

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/01/eat-out-to-help-out-failed-boost-finances-uk-hospitality-industry

[3] https://theconversation.com/eat-out-to-help-out-crowded-restaurants-may-have-driven-uk-coronavirus-spike-new-findings-145945https://theconversation.com/eat-out-to-help-out-crowded-restaurants-may-have-driven-uk-coronavirus-spike-new-findings-145945

“Our names define us” – an insight into Mastercard’s True NameTM initiative

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By Sophie Smith

How many of you think about how your name is written on your bank cards? Probably not many. For the LGBTQ+ community, this thought is there every time they make a purchase. Not having a name that represents your true identity can lead to judgement and questions. This is why Mastercard developed their True NameTM initiative which allows you to put your chosen name on your bank card, without going through the process of legally changing your name.

In week 2 of the MCH8065 PR module, we looked at two-way symmetrical communication and any examples we could find. Initially I didn’t know whether this campaign would come under two-way symmetrical communication, until I looked into it further and found Mastercard’s previous work with the LGBTQ+ community and NYC pride.

A quote from a spokesperson for Inter-LGBT, suggests that this initiative has been developed from requests the LGBTQ+ community themselves, “this initiative reflects the request of trans persons: the recognition of their gender and name by a simple declaration”.

The concept itself was not just an idea Mastercard came up with. The Defenseur des Droits [a concept in France] had been requesting since 2016 that banks should adapt and take into consideration first names. This stemmed from a recommendation made by the Defenseur des Droits, which is an institution in France that focuses on people’s rights.

The supporting quotes and endorsement from the LGBTQ+ community support the view that this initiative has elements of two-way symmetrical communication as it implies that Mastercard have worked with people’s suggestions to develop a mutually beneficial initiative.

Alongside True NameTM, Mastercard have worked on other campaigns such as Acceptance Street in New York, and #AcceptanceMatters. Both of these adding to their ongoing commitment to the community.

More information on the initiative can be found at:

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/vision/who-we-are/pride.html

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/vision/who-we-are/pride.html

https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/mastercard-practices-trans-inclusion-with-true-name-initiative

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/06/19/mastercard-pushes-lgbtq-rights-with-new-campaign-and-activation

Is 2-way symmetrical communication an ideal or a reality?

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We are just a few weeks into teaching on the MA in Media and PR at Newcastle – and times have changed. Students and teachers alike are getting used to online learning and the challenges and opportunities that brings about.

But one thing has not changed – and that’s the early discussions around what public relations is and what it isn’t – and the million dollar question – is Grunig’s excellence model of 2-way symmetrical communication a reality or just an aspiration?

This semester, we have been making good use of weekly consolidation hours with students to debate these issues and the online discussion forum has never been busier. So I thought it useful to share some perspectives from our new students. Generally, the view is that 2 way symmetrical comms, remains an ideal. Here is what some of our students said:

Zinyi suggests 2 way symmetrical communication can be found at a local level, particularly within internal comm where open door discussions allow for balanced conversations to share experiences. “This is a win-win communication model for a strong collaborative organisation. But …. there is no ideal model of risk communication, only more satisfactory realistic choices.”

Lara believes symmetry is achievable but is difficult. Firstly, it would force some companies to switch their culture and values into a totally new arrangement, where the focus should be on customer-orientation rather than the product/service, production or sales orientation. Secondly, whilst Web 2.0 and social media made it easier for PR and organisations to listen to their publics without so many interferences or mediations, there are too many people talking and requesting different things – which makes it much harder for PRs and organisations to accommodate everyone’s demands. And finally, it is much wider if we think not only about customer’s needs but take into consideration all kind of publics of each organisation. 

Lara cited an example of Netflix in Brazil which started to add Harry Potter movies to its catalogue following requests from customers – although this decision could be reversed! She also talks about the need for diversity within senior management and board level in large institutions – and until that is achieved then symmetrical communication with less represented publics remains an ideal.

Tongtong mentioned difficulties with measuring and evaluating PR outcomes in his view that symmetrical communication is an aspiration. If we take quantitative measurement into consideration, it will be easy to judge. This standard depends on the ratio of earned benefits of each side in the 2-way communication. If the ratio is 50 to 50, it absolutely can be a perfect symmetrical communication, otherwise it’s asymmetrical. Take diplomacy as an example, there is usually a more developed and powerful region or country relying on its power, whatever economic or military, etc., forcing the other to compromise and accept the less benefit.

Jiayi offers an optimistic view and says: “2-way symmetrical communication can be a reality. We are now living in an age of advanced information technology, we have lots of online and offline platforms to gather information as well as share our voices. If organizations or companies always try to “manipulate” their clients or customers, people will find out one day. For example, tweets talking about bad services and cunning marketing strategies of a company can be viewed by thousands of people and  even more. In a long term, the reputation of that company will break down and it will be rather difficult for the company to find a place in market. With that regard, if companies want to survive in severe competition, the better choice is to build balanced relationship with their customers and truly listen to them.” That sounds a lovely, but perhaps quite idealistic perspective.

And Jinai’s view: “I used to agree with this model, but it’s almost impossible to achieve because everyone has a different view of the world, there are hundreds or even thousands of interpretations of the same information text. How can we make sure that everyone’s understanding is exactly the same? At the same time, this model also reminds me of the “information cocoon” theory in communication. It may lead to more and more closed information and greater differences.”

Certainly, some food for thought with those closing comments.

‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter here’

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The art of abandonment: how to kick start your academic year and stand up to the challenge

By Ramona Slusarczyk

Fear not: the title of this entry, taken from Dante-esque Hell, is just a tease – that’s how evil I am! – but what I really want to say is this:

 

Shyness, embarrassment, and anxiety are natural responses to public speaking, which, according to some surveys, is feared more than death, spiders and heights.

After years in academia, I very much prefer public speaking than spiders, no matter how cute they are.

The bad news is that throughout your studies – in both our online and offline sessions, you’ll have to speak in front of other people. A lot.

And then some more.

You’ll meet clients. Experts in the field. You’ll lead some sessions.

Our students, braving through a crisis press conference.

Blunders happen to all of us, yours truly included

No one likes to look like a fool, but the positive side is that all of us have similar fears and we all fail every now and then.

To prove my point, I’ll share the most embarrassing job interview anecdote (you can’t use it against me though) – and not just for any job, but for my most-dreamt-of and craved position of a university lecturer. Read: high stakes, weeks of preparation, and new formal clothes (obviously).

Understandably, I was nervous. Understandably, I was anxious. Unexpectedly, I was sick from food poisoning the evening before (side lesson: don’t do your final job interview prep over dinner out; the restaurant staff may try to poison you).

Having spent most of the night in hospital pleading with doctors to make me feel better – ‘I have a dream job interview in the morning!’ – I arrived at the university (it wasn’t Newcastle) with a green face, fluttering stomach, and sweaty hands.

To explain my state to the interviewing panel, I uttered a half-hearted warning about the said restaurant. Without batting an eyelid, the programme director said: ‘Are you warning us, Ramona, that you’ll be vomiting on us during the interview?’

Ha.

But the worst part was when one panel member asked me how I’d explain the difference between PR and advertising to students – something they usually struggle with at the beginning of the academic year (don’t feel bad about yourself if you do unless you’re at the end of your studies!).

I’d like to say that my mind went blank from stress (and hunger, and exhaustion). I think that actually would’ve been better than what it started projecting.

At such a crucial moment, my unsubordinate brain decided to get stuck on a quote I got from one of my research participants who cracked an old joke in response to my question about his perception of PR – the following cartoon illustrates his views:

DO NOT use this comparison   

in your essays.

The only thing whirling in my head was that humorous – if not entirely inappropriate – parallel between first- and third party endorsement (something we will discussalong the conceptof trust A LOT) but I was clearheaded enough not to voice it; I doubt whether the panel would have appreciated it. Maybe they’d have been amused. Impressed – not so much. 

Instead, I asked the interviewer to allow me to revisit the question a bit later and we moved on with the interview. I relaxed, the conversation flowed, and I went back to the PR vs. Advertising question – we’ll discuss that distinction a lot during the course of your studies, so bear the suspense!

But!

At the age of 29 I got my first lecturing job at an Australian university! Champagne!

It happened only because:

1. I was overall well-prepared,

2. I planned how to handle different/difficult questions,

3. I revisited the question and thus didn’t miss the opportunity to show my expertise.

And this is how I want you to think about your classes whether online or on campus: do your homework – do the readings and make notes and think what you’re going to say.

Keep your eyes on the prize: make the most of your time in our sessions and —

Very often, students worry: what if my answer is wrong aka what if I make an idiot of myself?

My answer is: SO WHAT.

Is it going to matter in twelve months’ time? No.

In three months’ time? No.

Are you being assessed on giving wrong answers in our sessions? No.

No?

Those sessions are like a playground: you can test your ideas and we can debate why they work. Or why they don’t.

Pause, look around, take a breath. Gather your courage.

We are all learning.

It’s perfectly normal to get things wrong – it’s part of the learning process – but when you don’t take those opportunities and wait until you submit your paper via Canvas, then it’s too late to make any amendments and amends!

Eyes on the prize aka abandon yourself to experiences

Let’s go back to the beginning of my studies: early 2000s, University of Wroclaw, Poland. In the second year of my BA in Journalism and Communications, I chose a PR module as my option and that was it: I loved the module, the principles of strategic planning, the storytelling, the ethics of the profession… Everything!

It was love at first sight (seminar).

I wanted to develop my writing skills, so I wrote for the university’s weekly, got an internship at a magazine publishing company – I won’t tell you how many rookie mistakes I made there! – and then spent the summer working at a PR agency.

Fast-forward to my MA studies in Media and PR at nowhere else, but Newcastle University – I am a graduate of the same course you’re just about to start! – where I chose a practical module which required students to design and execute PR campaigns for local businesses.

The experience was petrifying – I had to pitch ‘our’ story to the local media, like, actually phone journalists and promote our client’s initiative – but it taught me how to be resourceful and that most practitioners in the communications industry are very, very nice people (I also learnt NOT to start a press release with ‘yesterday’ – do make a note of that!)

My younger, student-self at the backstage
of a fundraising event
with our client.

So, here’s my tip for you: do get involved in anything the University offers, and most opportunities are accessible both to the domestic and international students.

Take our project-based assessments seriously: they can serve as a showcase for your future employment and they can be extremely rewarding – see the result of the Pencil Case Project campaign our students ran as volunteers at the University:

[<iframe width=”932″ height=”524″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gj3RfJwO6iI” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe> – if the vid is possible to embed on Canvas]

What our students did was sometimes glam, including a fundraising gala at beautiful Kew Gardens in London.

Currently, our alumni are running a fun social media campaign – check it out by clicking on #peelorpay

Eyes on the prize: language challenge

My acceptance letter left me in tears of joy, but I wasn’t eligible for a student loan, so I had to self-fund by keeping a full-time job and studying part-time

Remember my love for storytelling and writing?

Even though I scored 7.5 in ILETS test and received an unconditional offer, I was dying from anxiety at the prospect of studying in English – studying in English ON THE MA LEVEL!

Like most of international students, I sat the additional language competency test and I passed, but I still attended workshops at what is known now as INTO because I wanted to become as fluent as I was in my mother tongue.

And here comes advice that may seem extreme, but it’s the best piece of advice I can give you:

Stop reading. Stop listening. Stop talking.

Stop all those things in your mother tongue.

Not forever, but for the course of your studies. You’ll never forget your language and you won’t lose your accent; I promise.

What you’ll gain is invaluable: you’ll become confident at expressing your thoughts in speaking and writing without the need to translate. Is it easy? Absolutely not.

But it’s totally worth it.

What I did was this: I stopped reading and writing in my native language. That’s it. I knew my vocabulary and the command of Polish was great because I read a lot. So it was obvious to me that the only way to develop my language skills was to do it in English only.

Immerse yourself in the language and culture

And accept that you’re not going to understand everything and that’s fine.

I used to start the day by catching up with news (and I still do): BBC, Euronews, The Guardian, The Chronicle, The Northern Echo – and that’s all you really need to do (unless you study Global PR – then throw in Reuters, AP, Politico and Al Jazeera, to name just a few).

The first novel I read in English was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. It’s a beautiful story of two Afghani women and I got the plot, but vocabulary-wise…

Maybe I understood two-thirds of the words because otherwise I’d have to stop reading every few minutes to consult a dictionary and would’ve been extremely frustrating (apologies to Mr Hosseini for missing out on a lot of his brilliant narrative!).

This is obviously not ideal, but you can (and should) revisit your readings. The key point is to try to understand in English and in English only. With time, it’ll become comfortable. I promise.  

The worst thing you can do is use an online translator or a running translation as you listen to us talking. I can hear you saying: ‘but I won’t understand everything.’

That’s why preparing for all sessions is key: if you do the readings, you’ll be ready to take part in discussions which will clarify your understanding of the ideas in English and connect the dots as we talk about the things you’ve read and beyond. You’ll enjoy yourself and you’ll be amazed at your progress.

I’ll say it again: eyes on the prize – and did I mention preparing for all our sessions?

Prep with courage, prep as if there was no tomorrow, prep as if your marks depended on it (and they do). And in English only please.

This entry is all about courage to test oneself and experiment and can only end with a decent, fun challenge for you:

How did you feel when you got your acceptance letter? What are your first impressions of Newcastle, the University, your peers?

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Have you got yourself into an embarrassing situation already?

Dare to share

– we’ll love to read your stories