Selecciones - Webs

568
Part Five Developing the Integrated Marketing Communications Program
Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
Exhibit 17-1 Segway used
publicity to launch its new
product
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
The Process of Public
Relations
Exhibit 17-2 Firestone
responds to negative
publicity
17. Public Relations,
Publicity, and Corporate
Advertising
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
The actual process of conducting public relations and integrating
it into the promotional mix involves a series of both traditional and
marketing-oriented tasks.
Determining and Evaluating Public Attitudes
You’ve learned that public relations is concerned with people’s attitudes toward the
firm or specific issues beyond those directed at a product or service. The first question
you may ask is why. Why is the firm so concerned with the public’s attitudes?
One reason is that these attitudes may affect sales of the firm’s products. A number
of companies have experienced sales declines as a result of consumer boycotts. Procter
& Gamble, Coors, Nike, and Bumble Bee Seafoods are just a few companies that
responded to organized pressures. A string of SUV accidents led to major problems for
102-year-old Bridgestone/Firestone. In response to the problem, Firestone replaced
nearly 900,000 tires and implemented a communications program to counter the negative
publicity, a program including television commercials, personal visits to dealers,
and print advertising such as that shown in Exhibit 17-2. As a result of the campaign,
Firestone lost none of its 10,000 independent tire dealers and
two years later was on the road to recovery.
Second, no one wants to be perceived as a bad citizen.
Corporations exist in communities, and their employees may
both work and live there. Negative attitudes carry over to
employee morale and may result in a less-than-optimal
working environment internally and in the community.
Due to their concerns about public perceptions, many privately
held corporations, publicly held companies, utilities,
and media survey public attitudes. The reasons for conducting
this research are many:
1. It provides input into the planning process. Once the firm
has determined public attitudes, they become the starting
point in the development of programs designed to maintain
favorable positions or change unfavorable ones.
2. It serves as an early warning system. Once a problem
exists, it may require substantial time and money to correct.
By conducting research, the firm may be able to identify
potential problems and handle them effectively before they
become serious issues.
3. It secures support internally. If research shows a problem
or potential problem exists, it will be much easier for the
public relations arm to gain the support it needs to address
this problem.
4. It increases the effectiveness of the communication. The
better it understands a problem, the better the firm can design
communications to deal with it. 12