College aantekeningen Public Relations and Reputation Management
Session 1: Intoduction and Stakeholder Communications
Objections of the course
After completion of the course, you should know more about the theories, strategies, instruments
and effects of PR & Reputation Management.
➔ Describe the interplay of media, organizations, publics.
➔ Develop PR-strategies and reflect on their effects.
➔ Know the instruments of PR and their specific field of application.
Public + relations: Publics are the groups of people that have some interest on the organizations and
that the organizations has interest on.
→ There is the publics and the relations that the organisation have.
How much in society is dictated by public relations. There are people who are lobbying for the
envelopindustrie. There is PR for anything.
Three core definitions:
Management of Communication of the Organization, e.g., negotiation on points of
view & bridging interests. (Grunig)
Management of a mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.(Cutlip)
The development of relationships to help communicate about an organization, an issue, a
person or a product. (Gordon)
VB: First thing you think about: Shell
→ Evil, oil, disaster
→ This is NOT how shell wants to be seen
→ So it’s an negotiation of how people see the organization and how the organizations wants to be
seen.
→ Point of view: mutual understanding
Public Relations defines the function or activity that aims to establish and protect the reputation of
a company or brand, and to create mutual understanding between the organization and the
segments of the public with whom it needs to communicate.
Cornelissen, 2017
Reputation = how we feel about something
→ Long lasting feeling about an organizations or thing
→ Enduring feeling
→ Its harder to affect than a feeling in a moment.
→ It’s an emotional reacting
→ Hard to change: exect in a crisis.
Reputation is the overall assessment of an organization by its stakeholders.
(van Riel & Fombrun, 2007)
It represents the emotional reaction (good, bad, weak or strong) of customers, investors, employees,
& public. (Fombrun, 1996)
1
,It encompasses dimensions, such as product quality, innovation, investment value, people
management and responsibility.
Corporate communication = manages communication of corporatings, not only about corporations,
it’s about people, universities, it’s about anything public. Focusses on 1) internal and 2) external
communication.
Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the effective
coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of
establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the
organization is dependent.
Cornelissen, 2017
Waarom public relations?
Relaties ontstaan en mutual understanding tussen deze drie onderdelen.
Het is complex
But why is it relevant?
Rumors about Kate, surgery in the year en nu is de absent, veel speculaties.
→ Ze plaatste daarna een video van zichzelf, was dit effectief? Voor PR is dit perfect gedaan, ze heeft
verteld wat er aan de hand is en mensen laten haar alleen. Toch blijven er mensen zijn die gaan
roddelen over of het echt is.
→ Ze heeft het duidelijk uitgelegd met goede woorden, ze creëerde empathie, ze is nu haar eigen
verhaal aan het vertellen, in plaats van roddels, ‘telling her own story’→ regaining control of the
2
,narrative.
→ It’s about controlling, about the narrative about yourself.
History
Public Relations have always existed somewhat informally: they have a role in
capturing the attention of the public and mobilizing citizens. It is not a surprise
that some of the oldest PR material we have today is connected to political
propaganda, or recruitment for wars.
→ Market of adversing
→ Allereerste marketing van een Parfum
In the early 1900s, with the Industrial Revolution, and the development of
advertisement as a structured concept, Public Relations became more
formalized. In 1900 the Publicity Bureau is founded in Boston. Meanwhile, similar institutions begin
to appear in the UK.
Edward Bernays
➔ Considered to be the founding father of Public Relations as a discipline
➔ Was the nephew of Freud and deeply influenced by his theories about the subconscious
➔ Introduced the concept of the focus group and worked with tobacco brands and other
controversial products.
➔ Edward Bernays = vader van PR
If you want to know more about Bernays and how PR emerged watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0OrT-8gXMs&t=121s
Bacon & Eggs
"When Bernays was asked by the Beechnut Hacking Company to improve its bacon sales, he devised
a campaign to turn bacon and eggs into the quintessential American breakfast. First, he surveyed a
group of medical professionals to get their recommendations that people eat hearty, nutritious
breakfasts. Then, he sent the survey results to 5,000 physicians, along with publicity touting bacon
and eggs as a nutritious breakfast."
Bernays werd door de Beechnut Hacking Company gevraagd om de verkoop van bacon te verbeteren.
Hij voerde een campagne uit waarbij hij eerst medische professionals ondervroeg om hun
aanbevelingen voor een voedzaam ontbijt te krijgen. Vervolgens stuurde hij de resultaten van deze
enquête naar 5.000 artsen, samen met publiciteit waarin bacon en eieren werden geprezen als een
gezond ontbijt. Hiermee probeerde hij bacon en eieren als het typisch Amerikaanse ontbijt te
promoten.
→ Melk en kaas is in Nederlands belangrijk. Er was een behoefte om een markt te creëren voor melk.
Torches of Liberty
Bernays organiseerde in 1929 een opmerkelijke publiciteitsstunt waarbij debutantes in New York City
tijdens de paasparade openlijk sigaretten rookten. Dit werd destijds als onvrouwelijk beschouwd,
maar Bernays stuurde foto's van het evenement naar kranten en noemde het de "toortsen van
vrijheid", waarmee hij suggereerde dat het een daad van rebellie tegen de mannelijke dominantie
was. Hij vermeldde echter niet dat hij was betaald door de American Tobacco Company om het taboe
tegen vrouwelijk roken te doorbreken. De campagne had het gewenste effect.
3
, Public relations in 1980
Restructuring trend: all activities within an organization evaluated on the basis of what they
contribute to the organization.
Communication professionals are consolidated in PR departments and procedures (e.g.,
Communication guidelines) are established for the whole organization.
+ Public Relations start being recognized as a function the whole organization benefits from
- No consideration is given for the role of stakeholders.
Public relations in 1990
Strategic Positioning: organizations use PR as a way to achieve a competitive corporate identity.
Communication professionals have the role to shape an organization’s brand, which can be
conveniently “positioned” within the minds of stakeholders.
+ Public Relations become a crucial strategic tool for organizations to be more profitable.
- Stakeholders are considered passively, as receivers of messages that can easily be controlled and
managed.
Public relations in 2000
Stakeholder Engagement: thanks to new media, stakeholders become real participants in an
organization’s public relations.
Old principles of strategic communication still apply, but the relationship with stakeholders becomes
a dialogue rather than a one-directional communication.
+ Stakeholders can be ”activated” and become advocates for the organization.
- Organizations will be held to substantially higher standards of transparency and genuine behavior.
More complex → meer media, two way communication
→ Mensen kunnen hun ideeën makkelijker verspreiding
→ Meer een dialoog dan directional communication, meer complex
→ Challenges and oppurtunities
Public relations today
Nowadays…
➔ PR is more complex, technical and precise
➔ Divided into different areas, require different talents and
specializations
➔ Driven by technological changes (new media)
4
Session 1: Intoduction and Stakeholder Communications
Objections of the course
After completion of the course, you should know more about the theories, strategies, instruments
and effects of PR & Reputation Management.
➔ Describe the interplay of media, organizations, publics.
➔ Develop PR-strategies and reflect on their effects.
➔ Know the instruments of PR and their specific field of application.
Public + relations: Publics are the groups of people that have some interest on the organizations and
that the organizations has interest on.
→ There is the publics and the relations that the organisation have.
How much in society is dictated by public relations. There are people who are lobbying for the
envelopindustrie. There is PR for anything.
Three core definitions:
Management of Communication of the Organization, e.g., negotiation on points of
view & bridging interests. (Grunig)
Management of a mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.(Cutlip)
The development of relationships to help communicate about an organization, an issue, a
person or a product. (Gordon)
VB: First thing you think about: Shell
→ Evil, oil, disaster
→ This is NOT how shell wants to be seen
→ So it’s an negotiation of how people see the organization and how the organizations wants to be
seen.
→ Point of view: mutual understanding
Public Relations defines the function or activity that aims to establish and protect the reputation of
a company or brand, and to create mutual understanding between the organization and the
segments of the public with whom it needs to communicate.
Cornelissen, 2017
Reputation = how we feel about something
→ Long lasting feeling about an organizations or thing
→ Enduring feeling
→ Its harder to affect than a feeling in a moment.
→ It’s an emotional reacting
→ Hard to change: exect in a crisis.
Reputation is the overall assessment of an organization by its stakeholders.
(van Riel & Fombrun, 2007)
It represents the emotional reaction (good, bad, weak or strong) of customers, investors, employees,
& public. (Fombrun, 1996)
1
,It encompasses dimensions, such as product quality, innovation, investment value, people
management and responsibility.
Corporate communication = manages communication of corporatings, not only about corporations,
it’s about people, universities, it’s about anything public. Focusses on 1) internal and 2) external
communication.
Corporate communication is a management function that offers a framework for the effective
coordination of all internal and external communication with the overall purpose of
establishing and maintaining favorable reputations with stakeholder groups upon which the
organization is dependent.
Cornelissen, 2017
Waarom public relations?
Relaties ontstaan en mutual understanding tussen deze drie onderdelen.
Het is complex
But why is it relevant?
Rumors about Kate, surgery in the year en nu is de absent, veel speculaties.
→ Ze plaatste daarna een video van zichzelf, was dit effectief? Voor PR is dit perfect gedaan, ze heeft
verteld wat er aan de hand is en mensen laten haar alleen. Toch blijven er mensen zijn die gaan
roddelen over of het echt is.
→ Ze heeft het duidelijk uitgelegd met goede woorden, ze creëerde empathie, ze is nu haar eigen
verhaal aan het vertellen, in plaats van roddels, ‘telling her own story’→ regaining control of the
2
,narrative.
→ It’s about controlling, about the narrative about yourself.
History
Public Relations have always existed somewhat informally: they have a role in
capturing the attention of the public and mobilizing citizens. It is not a surprise
that some of the oldest PR material we have today is connected to political
propaganda, or recruitment for wars.
→ Market of adversing
→ Allereerste marketing van een Parfum
In the early 1900s, with the Industrial Revolution, and the development of
advertisement as a structured concept, Public Relations became more
formalized. In 1900 the Publicity Bureau is founded in Boston. Meanwhile, similar institutions begin
to appear in the UK.
Edward Bernays
➔ Considered to be the founding father of Public Relations as a discipline
➔ Was the nephew of Freud and deeply influenced by his theories about the subconscious
➔ Introduced the concept of the focus group and worked with tobacco brands and other
controversial products.
➔ Edward Bernays = vader van PR
If you want to know more about Bernays and how PR emerged watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0OrT-8gXMs&t=121s
Bacon & Eggs
"When Bernays was asked by the Beechnut Hacking Company to improve its bacon sales, he devised
a campaign to turn bacon and eggs into the quintessential American breakfast. First, he surveyed a
group of medical professionals to get their recommendations that people eat hearty, nutritious
breakfasts. Then, he sent the survey results to 5,000 physicians, along with publicity touting bacon
and eggs as a nutritious breakfast."
Bernays werd door de Beechnut Hacking Company gevraagd om de verkoop van bacon te verbeteren.
Hij voerde een campagne uit waarbij hij eerst medische professionals ondervroeg om hun
aanbevelingen voor een voedzaam ontbijt te krijgen. Vervolgens stuurde hij de resultaten van deze
enquête naar 5.000 artsen, samen met publiciteit waarin bacon en eieren werden geprezen als een
gezond ontbijt. Hiermee probeerde hij bacon en eieren als het typisch Amerikaanse ontbijt te
promoten.
→ Melk en kaas is in Nederlands belangrijk. Er was een behoefte om een markt te creëren voor melk.
Torches of Liberty
Bernays organiseerde in 1929 een opmerkelijke publiciteitsstunt waarbij debutantes in New York City
tijdens de paasparade openlijk sigaretten rookten. Dit werd destijds als onvrouwelijk beschouwd,
maar Bernays stuurde foto's van het evenement naar kranten en noemde het de "toortsen van
vrijheid", waarmee hij suggereerde dat het een daad van rebellie tegen de mannelijke dominantie
was. Hij vermeldde echter niet dat hij was betaald door de American Tobacco Company om het taboe
tegen vrouwelijk roken te doorbreken. De campagne had het gewenste effect.
3
, Public relations in 1980
Restructuring trend: all activities within an organization evaluated on the basis of what they
contribute to the organization.
Communication professionals are consolidated in PR departments and procedures (e.g.,
Communication guidelines) are established for the whole organization.
+ Public Relations start being recognized as a function the whole organization benefits from
- No consideration is given for the role of stakeholders.
Public relations in 1990
Strategic Positioning: organizations use PR as a way to achieve a competitive corporate identity.
Communication professionals have the role to shape an organization’s brand, which can be
conveniently “positioned” within the minds of stakeholders.
+ Public Relations become a crucial strategic tool for organizations to be more profitable.
- Stakeholders are considered passively, as receivers of messages that can easily be controlled and
managed.
Public relations in 2000
Stakeholder Engagement: thanks to new media, stakeholders become real participants in an
organization’s public relations.
Old principles of strategic communication still apply, but the relationship with stakeholders becomes
a dialogue rather than a one-directional communication.
+ Stakeholders can be ”activated” and become advocates for the organization.
- Organizations will be held to substantially higher standards of transparency and genuine behavior.
More complex → meer media, two way communication
→ Mensen kunnen hun ideeën makkelijker verspreiding
→ Meer een dialoog dan directional communication, meer complex
→ Challenges and oppurtunities
Public relations today
Nowadays…
➔ PR is more complex, technical and precise
➔ Divided into different areas, require different talents and
specializations
➔ Driven by technological changes (new media)
4
