Note:  These chapter notes and study questions should not be viewed as substitutes for coming to class and joining in the lecture and discussion.  Rather, they should be viewed as a starting point for lecture and discussion.  These notes will be heavily supplemented with discussion, examples and debate in class.  To do well in class, you should read the text and make some notes on the reading, read these on-line notes and study questions, come to class, make your own notes and be ready to discuss what you have read and studied intelligently. --Dr. John M. King

Wilcox Ch. 11 Notes
The Audience and How To Reach It
3/7,9/2000

The Nature of the Audience

The audience is not monolithic, but diverse.
Diversity takes many forms:  ethnicity, culture, religion, economic, educational, gender, regional, professional, lifestyle, etc.

PR campaigns must target publics amenable to the messages.  To do this we must choose appropriate channels.

Some prepackaged publics are easy to reach:  members of the NRA, PETA, PTA, Democrats, Republicans, college professors who teach PR and other recognized groups.

Data sources are mostly computerized.  Firms specialize in delivering PR professionals highly specialized lists of people based on numerous demographic and lifestyle variables.

Senior and Ethnic Markets
Seniors
In 2000, 35 million Americans will be 65 or older.
By 2010, baby boomers, a huge segment of the population, will reach age 65.

PR professionals should ignore stereotypes of older people.

Older Americans:
-are harder to persuade than young adults
-demand value in purchases
-are not swayed by fads
-vote more frequently than younger people
-read newspapers
-are an excellent source of volunteers
-are very health conscious

Ethnic Groups
Numbers of Hispanics, African Americans, Asians and Native Americans are growing five times faster than Caucasians.
By 2010, Hispanics and African Americans will constitute 26 percent (13 percent each) of the population.
By 2050, Hispanics will outnumber African Americans.
By 2050, minority groups all together will outnumber Caucasians.

Minority groups are not monolithic.

Minority media are growing, but many minorities pay attention to mainstream media as well.

Radio and television both have large Hispanic audiences.

PR professionals must be sensitive to minority audiences, just as they should any other audience.

Characteristics of the Audience
1/ public is increasingly visually oriented
2/ strong support is generated for single issues
3/ heavy emphasis is placed on personality and celebrity
4/ strong distrust of authority and suspicion of conspiracy exist
5/ international audience for PR is expanding rapidly

Matching Audience and Media
print media- better suited for complex messages
television- better suited for emotional messages
radio- flexibility and ability to reach specific target audiences
online media- good way to reach a well educated, more affluent audience interested in new ideas and fresh approaches

Technology Penetration
Print media- about 60% of households still read a daily paper.
TV- about 95% of households have TVs (higher percentage than telephones)
Radio- The average U.S. home has five or six radios (including cars)
Online- about 65 percent of households have access to the Internet (this is growing fast)

Media Relations
A few things to remember about editors and reporters:
1/ they are very busy people under tight deadlines
2/ they are the gatekeepers who make the decision about whether to publish
3/ if they discover they have been misled by a PR practitioner, credibility will suffer immeasurably
4/ they are underpaid and often under appreciated (a kind word will go a long way)
5/ they are often in need of good quality features and news stories
6/ above all, they love conflict in a story and increasingly stories about celebrities
7/ they increasingly depend on PR professionals to provide information
8/ they are under tremendous pressure to increase readership
9/ they are mostly college educated with a degree in journalism
10/ many have moved into the area from far away places

PR folks should remember:
1/ your job is to inform the public
2/ allow your story to be judged on its merits
3/ you can suggest story angles and tones to influence how the story is run
4/ a follow up call to comment on the positive impact of a story can help build a good relationship
5/ don't be a pest; give editors and reporters good story leads and ideas and they will use them
6/ don't offer food or other bribes to have stories run
7/ don't offer a paper an exclusive and then give the story to everyone
8/ visit newsrooms once in a while to keep your face and name fresh
9/ feed reporters and editors story ideas on a regular basis
10/ read and watch the news organizations you work with on a regular basis

PR Opportunities in Newspapers
News Releases/Fact Sheets
News releases should be submitted ready for publication.
Fact sheets or tip sheets are designed to help a reporter develop a story on her own.
News conferences should include news releases and/or fact sheets sent to the paper in advance.

Created Events
Newspapers are strongly oriented toward covering events rather than issues.
Events such as the Saturn Homecoming, Home Shows, Bridal Shows, Fashion Shows, Car Shows, Boat Shows, Town Hall Meetings, Parades, etc. are all organized to serve the public interest and generate news coverage.

Reporters and photographers love such events because they are easy to cover and often produce good stories and photos if good visual opportunities are included.

PR Opportunities in Magazines
More than 12,000 magazines are published in the United States.
Trend is toward increased narrowcasting.
Writer's Market and Bacon's directories provide lists of titles and contacts.

PR Opportunities in Books
Political issues and causes, cookbooks and home entertainment guides (especially those oriented toward specific agricultural industries- such as beef, poultry, fish, eggs, bread, beer, wine, cheese, etc.) can be serious PR tactics.

Most presidential political candidates write or use ghost writers to produce a tome of their political philosophy.

The keys to effective PR through books is placement of authors on TV (Oprah is influencing book sales very strongly) and radio talk shows and reviews by book editors of major newspapers, magazines and online news organizations.

PR Opportunities in Radio
Study station format to tailor your PR efforts.
All talk radio stations are particularly good for PR campaigns.

other possibilities:
1/ newscasts
2/ community calendars
3/ actualities
4/ talk shows
5/ editorials
6/ disc-jockey shows
7/ community events/sponsorships
8/ public service announcements
9/ live remotes- these are usually paid ad time

PR Opportunities in TV
Network Level
1/ guest appearances on news and talk shows
2/ news releases and story proposals to network news departments
3/ video news releases
4/ program ideas
5/ silent publicity
6/ public service announcements

Local Station Level
1/ guest appearances on local talk shows
2/ protest demonstrations
3/ videotapes for news shows
4/ general interest films
5/ guest appearances on local morning news programs
6/ guest appearances on evening news programs

PR Opportunities in Motion Pictures
Product placement is the best way (a fee is usually charged, might be able to donate cars, computers, etc. that your company makes)

Sponsored Films/Videotapes
Companies, Non-Profit Organizations, Schools, Colleges, etc. often use videotapes to train employees or promote a cause.

PR Opportunities in Online Media
Web sites allow PR professionals to bypass traditional media allowing them strong control over the content of the messages.

It is often necessary to use traditional media to point people to the web site.
But, it is also easy to register web sites with major search engines so that people will find your site when searching for information.

Virtually every PR firm, company, non-profit organization and government agency has a web site.
Production costs are relatively low and ability to reach a wide audience is almost immediate.
E-mail, newsgroups and chat rooms are becoming strong tools in reaching PR audiences for PR efforts.
It is very common now to send e-mail to groups of people pointing them to web sites.
Most political candidates have web sites as well.

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