Ch. 7 & 8 - Strategy, Planning and Scheduling & Tactics

Ok, my bad but this blog post is a week late!! Sorry!! :-)

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Without a good strategy or plan, any event can easily fall in a heap, with staff not knowing exactly what they should be doing, things not happening on time or being forgotten about entirely, venues not being booked - the list could go on! Effective planning, strategising and ensuring an accurate timeline is adhered to is important to ensure the success of any PR event.

There are many different methods of planning, from Gantt charts to checklist - my guess is that planning/scheduling techniques would vary (maybe only slightly) from organisation to organisation, depending on what works best for them. I remember an old saying from school - spend as much time planning as you do outworking. I think this is still quite applicable to any PR campaign. Without adequate planning, there is an increase in the possibility of having to go into crisis-management. Or the entire event could fall in a complete heap!!

This chapter also highlights the necessity for budgeting - without budgeting spending can go out of control. A PR practitioner needs to understand how much money is allocated to each area - from staff wages to venue hire and catering. It is just as important to stay as close to the budget as possible, without letting one area or another "blow out". The text points out that most budgets include a 10% contigency allocation, allowing additional funds for possible "blow outs". Still, while at times these things are unavoidable, it's best to stick to what the allowance is if it's at all possible. A good way of avoiding this is to ensure you have made allowances for EVERYTHING your campaign requires.

It's important to differentiate between strategy and tactics - as the text describes, strategy is the "umbrella" and tactics are the methods used with a purpose of achieving the strategic outcome.

The text illustrates the difference between controlled and uncontrolled communication - controlled being something that a PR practitioner has complete control over every aspect - eg a printed brochure, whereas uncontrolled communication is more something like a media release, where the PR practitioner has no control over the ultimate outcome.

The selection of which tactic/s to use are important to reach your public/s effectively - from media relations (eg media releases) to printed items (eg brochures, fliers), annual reports, and newsletters. The MP I work for regularly uses media releases and newsletters particularly, but all tactics are selected according to what will help reach the desired outcome. This is where effective research can be helpful.

There are gazillions of other tactics covered in this chapter, from events to celebrity spokespeople, but ultimately the success of the campaign is dependent on selecting the right type of tactic to reach the desired outcome. As the conclusion points out - "success relies on the analytical and creative skills of the public relations practitioner to consider tactics in the light o fa complex range of impacting factors. First and foremost, tactics must relate back to strategy..."