Chapter 11 and 16

When i read chapter 11 i was impressed at the few PR companies that has the mental strength to keep their cool in the face of disaster. This brings me memories of when SARS was seemingly omnipresent in Singapore, where they had no sure way of getting rid of it. However, the Singapore government acted admirably and thus, got a good and favourable result over the situation.

The book mentioned planning for a crisis in all circumstances. While that's well and good, sometimes even if very meticulous planning, we cannot plan for the unexpected. If it was expects, it will not be called a crisis at the first place. I think we should learn that, cause its obviously more important, on how to expect the unexpected. It definitely is beneficial for this chapter do not get me wrong, however i want to know how would i react in the face of a situation, and not to rely on notes to get me through. We cannot use the same strategy for every situation.

Chapter 16 talks about the doing PR in the Third sector. This is very important, for i can see the power that consumers have over the companies, which is a dynamic shift from the past years. To keep them happy, we have to give them what they want, but we cannot allow any change in our code of ethics. Moreover, we should not give it to "bullies" because we are afraid of losing revenue. If i was a PR practitioner for a CAG, i will strive to ensure more awareness regarding my group by first launching an event which will get people's attention, e.g. droga5's campaign for the Tap Project. Once i have this my group will have more say over some issues, and then we can acheive something.

Both sides of the coin i can take, but there can only be one code of ethics i can follow. :)

signing off,
joel

RE: a typical program of PR.

hey blog, this is a very interesting piece of work that Candy Tymson has given out.

One very important point is that i never knew that there must be a review of every PR program that has occurred, to evaluate the pros and cons of the program. I have always thought it all ends with you basking in the glory of the success of your program. :)

It is important to note that not being able to pass on the program to the next year does has its drawbacks. To ensure continued success we have to continually evaluate the program, and ensure that the modified programs does not move far from its purpose.

The target audience section is also very informative and it should provide a good base as to which i can peruse in the future, or maybe even for the Killa Balla project.

The budget part is very important. Clients will always love using less budget to accomplish the same effect. What must be continually done in the future, with the evaluation is also to review the budget portion. We must know which one to erase, which one to keep, which part to improve on, or which one needs more budget. this would help the various departments immensely and at the same time the companies will aso get a detailed summary every time.

Chapter 6 and Chapter 10

Having read chapter 6, i felt that this research methods that they have mentioned are important not just for PR, but for the communications industry. New ideas can be borne out of focus groups, truth can be extracted in face to face interviews and so on. However, we must remember to substantiate qualitative with quantitative, which is a delicate balance that we must not forget. However much we love one part of the research we must always remember the other. A wholesome study does not hinge on one research method but a few. the Internet also has much to offer, but as much as there is good information, there can also be inaccurate information regarding the same topic. and for this we must exercise discernment between mainstream and alternative media, which is credible and which is not.

In Chapter 10, this was the topic that was intricate to my sponsorship debate. Sponsorship covers many forms, but the most common and the most lucrative is definitely corporate sponsorship. With corporate sponsorship, the campaign gets a huge uplift in terms of funding and what not. More importantly, the coverage that the company could give would be a lot better, and the budget needed to advertise can be used to other places. However, we cannot accept any sponsorship, cause they may be beneficial to no one but themselves. Such selfish companies like that should not be helped to advertise. Therefore we must develop stringent methods to evaluating which sponsors to use.