Exam 18: Public Relations, Influencer Marketing, and Corporate Advertising

Corporate advertising is gaining favor worldwide as well-known firms and established companies invest in this form of promotion.

Buzz marketing and viral marketing have many similarities and overlaps.One way to distinguish them is that, in general, buzz marketing involves ____ and viral marketing involves ____.

In the summer of 2010, oil giant BP runs TV commercials showing its employees talking about their part in cleaning up the Gulf oil spill and getting coastal towns back on their feet.This is an example of

Advocacy advertising occurs when a company promotes a discussion or dialogue about selected social, political, or environmental issues, but does not take a stand or give an opinion on these issues.

Public relations strategies can be broadly categorized as either ____ or ____.

Author Steven Brown talks about the factors that are ushering in a "new era" for public relations by pointing out that we

Lobbying.The public relations function can assist a firm in dealing with government officials and pending legislation.

Scenario 18-3 For some years now, enterprising individuals have gotten their own ideas, forums, and entertainment programs out in front of the public with no help from big tech firms, media conglomerates, or ad agencies.They simply posted their creations on the Internet.It began with blogs, moved to podcasts, expanded to social networks, moved on to YouTube videos, and transferred to Twitter.And it just keeps going.Audience members can download these technological tidbits-text, visual, and audio formats-to their laptops as well as to cell phones, Blackberries, iPods, iPads, and every other mobile gadget that hits the market.Eventually, public relations companies started getting into the act. -(Scenario 18-3) A medium-sized, family-owned organic farm in California packages its fresh produce and distributes it to grocers around the country.It is now rumored to be part of an e-coli outbreak that is attacking spinach grown at nearby farms.This is absolutely false, so the family acts fast by clarifying the situation through Twitter releases, blog responses, and announcements on its home page, as well as several more traditional tactics.This kind of activity focuses on problems to be solved rather than opportunities to be considered, and requires that a company take defensive measures.What is it?

Public relations is the one and only tool that can provide damage control after bad publicity hits.

Promoting a product or service through press releases or events is a public relations tactic to increase public awareness of a brand.

Counteracting negative publicity.The attempt here is not to cover up negative events, but rather to prevent the negative publicity from damaging the image of a firm and its brands.

An automaker runs a commercial talking about the clean energy of its new hybrid, showing it zooming past pristine sandy beaches and next to sparkling mountain springs.What is the automaker using?

When pet food manufacturers provide product samples and informational brochures to veterinarians, who then recommend them to visiting pet owners, they are conducting influencer marketing.

In essence, the goal of corporate advertising is to

Scenario 18-1 The giant brewing companies of the U.S.love to use public relations to keep their company names in the minds of Americans and to promote their many brands of beer and ale.Both traditional and innovative public relations activities-using both traditional and innovative media-help to promote a positive public image, create brand awareness, highlight the product line, and act as cost-effective ways to enhance the overall IBP campaign.And these brewers use a variety of objectives and tools that support the field of public relations. -(Scenario 18-1) The manager of a Milwaukee brewing plant notices employees passing a paper around that everyone reads.He later sees a similar paper circulating around the break room.He asks to see it, and finds that it's a copy of a news article on projected plant closings in Milwaukee in the near future.He sees the need for a public relations response.What would be its main objective?

Today, the field of public relations has moved beyond its traditional role of managing "relations" with a company's many "publics."

The marketers for the hugely successful Charmin Restrooms IBP effort in Times Square had as its slogan, "Enjoy the Go!"

A clothing company that targets preteens and young teens has to respond quickly when its celebrity spokesperson, a 19-year-old pop singer, is arrested for drunk driving and cocaine possession.Some time later, its new public relations specialist reviews this situation and how it was handled.She can understand the need for the company's ____ approach at the time, but now she suggests shifting to a ____ strategy by launching a more positive initiative.

Of the six main objectives of public relations, which one almost exclusively involves damage control?

Giving advice and counsel.The public relations effort can assist management in determining what (if any) position to take on public issues, prepare employees for public appearances, and help management anticipate public reactions.Student examples will vary.