PRSA APR EXAM 2026 UPDATE QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS ALREADY GREADED
A+ (BRAND NEW VISION)
You are the VP of Corporate Communications at a startup tech company. The company is five
years old, has grown to 60 employees and a publicly estimated value of $2.7 billion. The
founding investors have begun to discuss the possibility of an IPO, initial public offering. You
know that in general IPO offerings have been hit or miss for tech startups in the last 5 years. To
better prepare yourself and the investors for this discussion you decide to research possible
issues in the IPO and VC, venture capital, markets. You have identified some concerning trends
in the IPO market via industry publications and by looking at three comparable IPOs. What is
your next step? (choose one)
A. Report your findings to the CEO
B. Conduct more research
C. Craft a crisis response plan
D. Write a problem statement
E. Assemble a risk assessment team - ANS-Answer: B
Rationale: APR Study Guide page 108. Upon identifying an issue the public relations
professional is responsible for conducting further research to determine the cause, nature,
and scope of the issue in order to later recommend steps at address the issue. Answers C and
D are premature because more research is needed. Answers A and D may be appropriate after
you understand the issue better and its potential impact on the company.
Your organization has recently embarked on a positive culture change campaign. This has been
largely driven by senior management and six month into the campaign change is not happen
very fast. Many employees are pushing back "because we tried this last time and it didn't work"
and your previous company culture has not empowered employees to tried new things & learn
from failure. The company president now wants to implement an inspirational leadership series
on your intranet. This series would feature a collection of positive leadership articles, and
,leadership quotes with additional reflections from the president. As the PR manager, what
counsel would you offer the president on this idea? (choose one)
A. Implement this tactic as is
B. Implement this tactic but include upper and middle management in the quote reflection
series
C. Conduct a focus group of employees to learn if these tactics appeals to them
D. Conduct a - ANS-Answer: C
Rationale: EPR chapter 11, research Attitude pg 266 and APR study guide pg 30. Answers A
and B skip research and planning, and go straight to implementation without proper
understanding of the situation. Answer E is a good option but not useful enough to provide
counsel to the president at this stage of the decision process. Answer D is also a good option
however it would take longer to implement and the company has a firm grasp on the general
barriers. Answer C would allow you to dig deeper into the employee attitudes while also
discovering which communication tactics most appeal to them. Pending the focus group
results you would recommend an employee survey. The focus group would allow you to get
quick, useful decision making information to your president.
You've been hired as director of corporate communications for a privately-held manufacturing
company that includes both union and non-union employees. The company manufactures
chemical preservatives for the food industry. Some of the processes are volatile and present a
potential risk to employees and the community within a 10-mile radius. The company has an old
plan that was loosely put together by the plant manager. After a number of close calls,
management has decided to make your first order of business is to create a crisis
communication plan and present to the leadership team. What would you do first? (Choose 1):
A. Identify potential crisis scenarios and recommended responses, giving leadership an
opportunity to provide input.
B. Review OSHA logs and standard operating procedures to identify typical infractions, issues
and/or citations.
C. Identify any contractual obligations, potential liabilities regarding - ANS-ANSWER(S):
B
,RATIONALE:
A, D and E are all part of the planning process, but not the first considerations. Pre-empt a
crisis by first making sure codes of conduct, compliance and integrity are practiced.
Lukaszewski handout p. 6 "Readiness Planning Cycle." Also APR Guide p. 107 "Issue and Risk
Management" Apply "environmental scanning" to identify signs of opportunities or threats
that may influence current or future operations. C has no bearing on crisis comms.
A supermarket chain experienced a breach of its computer systems that may have given
criminals access to millions of credit and debit cards. Headline news stories blame the retailer
for failing to follow payment card industry standards on security. Research has established that
the company was hacked even though it appeared to be following all of the security rules laid
out by the credit card associations. The supermarket chain PR team has implemented its
detailed crisis communications plan to handle the hacking fallout. In addition, they have
contracted your PR firm to help them work on major goals for most crisis situations, which
include: Choose two.
A. Change the conversation by launching a fun PR campaign
B. Bury the story online with numerous educational social media and blog stories
C. Minimize problems ASAP
D. Educate the public about cybercrime and security measures
E. Erase the event from the minds of the - ANS-Answer:
C, E
Rationale: Study Guide page 109
Major goals for most crisis situations are to minimize the problems as soon as possible and
remove the event from the minds of the affected publics.
You want to reach X audience to promote the opening of a new G in your community. As part of
your awareness campaign you are creating a media relations strategy. In your pre-research you
, identify the audience's media consuming behavior and build your strategy accordingly. During
implementation, which evaluation method would ensure you are getting your message to the
right audience in a timely fashion? (choose 1)
A. Examining the number of media placements about the new G
B. Examining number of media placements against the medium's readership demographics
C. Website clicks on days when media placements ran
D. Telephone interviews
E. Repeat the pre-campaign audience research - ANS-Answer: B
Rationale: EPR chapter 14, pg 346-350 and figure 14.2. In this scenario you are conducting
mid-campaign evaluation to ensure the strategy and tactics are reaching the right audience.
Answers A and C do not take the audience into account. Answers D and E would not garner
your feedback in a timely fashion. Answer B would show you the media placement success as
well as show if you were being published in the right media for your audience.
Company A launched a campaign to achieve X. The campaign is halfway completed. The
campaign did not achieve the desired results despite garnering industry accolades for its
fabulous design & style. The PR staff has been tracking website clicks and media placements.
The campaign was based on 5 years of customer surveys and industry trend research. Which
type of evaluation would you recommend in order to identify the cause for the campaigns poor
performance? (choose 1)
A. Review the written material against the Gunning B. Fog Index
C. A content analysis to see how the messages align with the desired goals & objectives
D. Look at message distribution
E. Review the customer surveys - ANS-Answer: B
Rational EPR chapter 14 page 343. There are three phases of evaluation: preparation,
implementation, and impact. All must be completed in order to ensure a campaign is
effective. Answers A and C look at implementation, and should be addressed after all
preparation evaluation is complete. Answer D is a preparation evaluation tool and based on
the scenario appears to be solid. The scenario also address presentation quality by explaining
CORRECT VERIFIED ANSWERS ALREADY GREADED
A+ (BRAND NEW VISION)
You are the VP of Corporate Communications at a startup tech company. The company is five
years old, has grown to 60 employees and a publicly estimated value of $2.7 billion. The
founding investors have begun to discuss the possibility of an IPO, initial public offering. You
know that in general IPO offerings have been hit or miss for tech startups in the last 5 years. To
better prepare yourself and the investors for this discussion you decide to research possible
issues in the IPO and VC, venture capital, markets. You have identified some concerning trends
in the IPO market via industry publications and by looking at three comparable IPOs. What is
your next step? (choose one)
A. Report your findings to the CEO
B. Conduct more research
C. Craft a crisis response plan
D. Write a problem statement
E. Assemble a risk assessment team - ANS-Answer: B
Rationale: APR Study Guide page 108. Upon identifying an issue the public relations
professional is responsible for conducting further research to determine the cause, nature,
and scope of the issue in order to later recommend steps at address the issue. Answers C and
D are premature because more research is needed. Answers A and D may be appropriate after
you understand the issue better and its potential impact on the company.
Your organization has recently embarked on a positive culture change campaign. This has been
largely driven by senior management and six month into the campaign change is not happen
very fast. Many employees are pushing back "because we tried this last time and it didn't work"
and your previous company culture has not empowered employees to tried new things & learn
from failure. The company president now wants to implement an inspirational leadership series
on your intranet. This series would feature a collection of positive leadership articles, and
,leadership quotes with additional reflections from the president. As the PR manager, what
counsel would you offer the president on this idea? (choose one)
A. Implement this tactic as is
B. Implement this tactic but include upper and middle management in the quote reflection
series
C. Conduct a focus group of employees to learn if these tactics appeals to them
D. Conduct a - ANS-Answer: C
Rationale: EPR chapter 11, research Attitude pg 266 and APR study guide pg 30. Answers A
and B skip research and planning, and go straight to implementation without proper
understanding of the situation. Answer E is a good option but not useful enough to provide
counsel to the president at this stage of the decision process. Answer D is also a good option
however it would take longer to implement and the company has a firm grasp on the general
barriers. Answer C would allow you to dig deeper into the employee attitudes while also
discovering which communication tactics most appeal to them. Pending the focus group
results you would recommend an employee survey. The focus group would allow you to get
quick, useful decision making information to your president.
You've been hired as director of corporate communications for a privately-held manufacturing
company that includes both union and non-union employees. The company manufactures
chemical preservatives for the food industry. Some of the processes are volatile and present a
potential risk to employees and the community within a 10-mile radius. The company has an old
plan that was loosely put together by the plant manager. After a number of close calls,
management has decided to make your first order of business is to create a crisis
communication plan and present to the leadership team. What would you do first? (Choose 1):
A. Identify potential crisis scenarios and recommended responses, giving leadership an
opportunity to provide input.
B. Review OSHA logs and standard operating procedures to identify typical infractions, issues
and/or citations.
C. Identify any contractual obligations, potential liabilities regarding - ANS-ANSWER(S):
B
,RATIONALE:
A, D and E are all part of the planning process, but not the first considerations. Pre-empt a
crisis by first making sure codes of conduct, compliance and integrity are practiced.
Lukaszewski handout p. 6 "Readiness Planning Cycle." Also APR Guide p. 107 "Issue and Risk
Management" Apply "environmental scanning" to identify signs of opportunities or threats
that may influence current or future operations. C has no bearing on crisis comms.
A supermarket chain experienced a breach of its computer systems that may have given
criminals access to millions of credit and debit cards. Headline news stories blame the retailer
for failing to follow payment card industry standards on security. Research has established that
the company was hacked even though it appeared to be following all of the security rules laid
out by the credit card associations. The supermarket chain PR team has implemented its
detailed crisis communications plan to handle the hacking fallout. In addition, they have
contracted your PR firm to help them work on major goals for most crisis situations, which
include: Choose two.
A. Change the conversation by launching a fun PR campaign
B. Bury the story online with numerous educational social media and blog stories
C. Minimize problems ASAP
D. Educate the public about cybercrime and security measures
E. Erase the event from the minds of the - ANS-Answer:
C, E
Rationale: Study Guide page 109
Major goals for most crisis situations are to minimize the problems as soon as possible and
remove the event from the minds of the affected publics.
You want to reach X audience to promote the opening of a new G in your community. As part of
your awareness campaign you are creating a media relations strategy. In your pre-research you
, identify the audience's media consuming behavior and build your strategy accordingly. During
implementation, which evaluation method would ensure you are getting your message to the
right audience in a timely fashion? (choose 1)
A. Examining the number of media placements about the new G
B. Examining number of media placements against the medium's readership demographics
C. Website clicks on days when media placements ran
D. Telephone interviews
E. Repeat the pre-campaign audience research - ANS-Answer: B
Rationale: EPR chapter 14, pg 346-350 and figure 14.2. In this scenario you are conducting
mid-campaign evaluation to ensure the strategy and tactics are reaching the right audience.
Answers A and C do not take the audience into account. Answers D and E would not garner
your feedback in a timely fashion. Answer B would show you the media placement success as
well as show if you were being published in the right media for your audience.
Company A launched a campaign to achieve X. The campaign is halfway completed. The
campaign did not achieve the desired results despite garnering industry accolades for its
fabulous design & style. The PR staff has been tracking website clicks and media placements.
The campaign was based on 5 years of customer surveys and industry trend research. Which
type of evaluation would you recommend in order to identify the cause for the campaigns poor
performance? (choose 1)
A. Review the written material against the Gunning B. Fog Index
C. A content analysis to see how the messages align with the desired goals & objectives
D. Look at message distribution
E. Review the customer surveys - ANS-Answer: B
Rational EPR chapter 14 page 343. There are three phases of evaluation: preparation,
implementation, and impact. All must be completed in order to ensure a campaign is
effective. Answers A and C look at implementation, and should be addressed after all
preparation evaluation is complete. Answer D is a preparation evaluation tool and based on
the scenario appears to be solid. The scenario also address presentation quality by explaining
