Department of Communication Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1h9PMRNqUKPhLph59tUZMEBd3fZNBTgUOgPcECan3b5s/edit?usp=sharing

Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences Presentation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hatn8v6r3chtgka/Accent%20Management%202017.ppt?dl=0A

Accents in America from AT 2 26.mp4

https://www.dropbox.com/s/it4q8uqqoaopgqr/Accents%20in%20America%20from%20AT%202%2026.mp4?dl=0

Slides for the presentation to the College of Engineering graduate students:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1heuO3pYor1JUT9EhTxBkpKMRn2ddLQBipAwo35d-zZo/edit?usp=sharing

Title Page

Introduction (p. 9, Bloomberg and Volpe): “The introduction includes an overview of the purpose and focus of the study, why it is significant, how it is [will be] conducted, and how it will contribute to professional knowledge and practice.”

Review of Relevant Literature and Conceptual Framework (p. 10, Bloomberg and Volpe): This section will “situate the study in the context of previous research and scholarly material pertaining to the topic, presents a critical synthesis of empirical literature…., justifies how the study addresses a gap or problem in the literature and outlines the theoretical or conceptual framework of the study.”

Research Questions

Methodology (pp. 11-12, Bloomberg and Volpe): In this section, you will include “a detailed description of all aspects of the design and procedures of the study.” This include (1) rationale for research approach, (2) research setting and/or context, (3) research sample, (4) proposed data collection method, (5) proposed data analysis methods, and (6) issues of trustworthiness.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TxxaGegyhPAIY82-GgNUsWbixeDXGN_845dSssfcBLk/edit?usp=sharing

Here is my research presentation for the Office of Undergraduate Research:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ApBFmnthER0mdlmNEcgPVH6nJ-vZQUW1xGq0tr4Bl00/edit?usp=sharing

Group Assignment:

 

• Your client information can be found here: http://prssa.prsa.org/scholarships_competitions/bateman/

• Once given your client, research your topic, which is mental health in the United States. You should conduct environmental scanning on the issue. This means that you must immerse yourself into the background details, statistics, facts, and figures.
  • Get a good understanding and grasp of your topic. Scan how the topic is covered in the media (e.g, national and local press, popular culture), and also have a firm knowledge of how the topic is understood by scholars and academics. You will need to listen, observe, absorb, and condense a lot of information quickly. Here are resources that can assist you with this:
    • Campaign to Change Direction materials: http://prssa.prsa.org/scholarships_competitions/bateman/Change%20Direction%20Materials_October%202016_Main.pdf (specific about the organization and the issue)
    • Mental Health Texas: https://mentalhealthtx.org/
    • Spindletop Center: http://stmhmr.org/MHMR_MH.html
    • World Public Opinion: http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/
    • Gallup Poll: http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx
    • National Library of Medicine: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/
    • PubMed/MedLine search for “mental health” “college students”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22mental+health%22+%22college+students%22; PubMed/MedLine search for “mental health” “college students” “African Americans”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22mental+health%22+%22African+american%22+%22College+students%22; PubMed/MedLine search for “mental health” “college students” “Hispanic”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22mental+health%22+%22Hispanic%22+%22College+students%22; PubMed/MedLine search for “mental health” “college students” “Asian American”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22mental+health%22+%22asian+american%22+%22College+students%22
    • PubMed/MedLine search for “mental health” “older adults”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22mental+health%22+%22older+adults%22; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22mental+health%22+%22asian+american%22+%22older+adults%22; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22mental+health%22+%22african+american%22+%22older+adults%22

• Consider your publics. According to your book and the APR study exam, publics are groups of people tied together by some common element. “Before starting to plan, public relations practitioners need to clearly define groups with which an organization needs to foster mutually beneficial relationships. Objectives need to say which public a public relations strategy is designed to reach.” Gather information on your groups. Break down your publics using geographics, demographics, psychographics, social technographics, and issue behavior.
  • A quick refresher:
    • Geographics: where your public actually is, where your public physically lives or attends school — For your campaign, you must plan for it to happen in the Golden Triangle area.
    • Demographics: who people are (race, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, education, nationality, religion, income); quantifiable characteristics of a population
      • Resources for demographics:
        • University populations (Department of Education): https://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/
        • American Fact Finder (US Census Bureau): https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
        • American Community Survey: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/ 
        • ESRI ZIP Code Lookup: http://www.esri.com/data/esri_data/ziptapestry
        • AdAge: http://adage.com/results?search_phrase=demographics
  • Psychographics: what people care about, what your publics’ consumer patterns, beliefs, and attitudes are
    • Claritas Segmentation based on ZIP code: https://segmentationsolutions.nielsen.com/mybestsegments/Default.jsp?ID=30 (The Segment Details is an interactive tool that lets you examine segment groups based on demographics and behaviors. Once you have identified a segment group, you can click on each segment tile to view more details about the segment’s traits.)
    • YPulse (Millennial marketing insights): https://www.ypulse.com/youth-insight
    • Kantar Futures: http://thefuturescompany.com/our-thinking/
    • Ad Age: http://adage.com/results?search_phrase=psychographics
    • Nielsen: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports.html 
      • http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/journal-of-measurement/volume-1-issue-3/understanding-memory-in-advertising.html
      • A Fresh Look at Multicultural Consumers http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2017/a-fresh-look-at-multicultural-consumers.html
      • Multicultural Millennials: The Multiplier Effect  http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2017/multicultural-millennials–the-multiplier-effect.html
  • Social technographics: how does your public behave and interact online
    • Forrester “group(s) consumers into four groups: Social Skippers, Snackers, Savvies and Stars—the Skippers spurn commercial social interactions and the Stars demand it.” In their 2016 report, “In 2016, the average US online adult receives an overall score of 40 and fits into our Social Savvies category. Social Savvies consider social tools a part of their everyday lives. On average, US online adults score highly for explore and discover— they use social tools to discover new products and also to explore them when they’re considering their purchases. Compared to last year, US consumers are slightly more social media savvy in 2016: The Social Technographics Score for the average US online adult has increased from 37 in 2015 to 40 in 2016. “
    • Nielsen Social Media Report: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2017/2016-nielsen-social-media-report.html
    • YPulse (Millennial marketing insights): https://www.ypulse.com/youth-insight
    • Kantar Futures: http://thefuturescompany.com/our-thinking/
    • Pew Center: http://www.pewinternet.org/
      • Social media demographics and behaviors by generation: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/
  • Issue behavior: This is linked to the situational theory of publics. At this level, you have to understand how your public is connected to the issue. What is their level of involvement? What is their problem recognition? Do they see mental health as a concern or view it as equal to their physical health? What constraints do they have about the issue of mental health? Do they have any stigmas?
    • At this stage, it would require you to do survey research, focus group research, or interviews.
• Now develop your goals. Based on your research, what publics do you want to reach, and what goals do you want to address? What will be your objectives?

• Create a basic campaign strategy for your client. You must set goals and objectives based on research findings. Your basic campaign strategy should include: 

1. Goal:Goals are longer-term, broad, global and future statements of “being.” Goals may include how an organization is uniquely distinguished in the minds of its key publics.
   1. Your client gave you a goal. Tinker with it based on your research.
2. Theoretical Basis for the Campaign
3. Objectives: Objectives focus on a shorter term than goals. Objectives are written after research on all publics is done.
   1. Objectives (1) define WHAT opinion, attitude or behavior you want to achieve from specific publics, (2) specify how much change you want to achieve from each public, and (3) tell by when you want to achieve that change.
   2. Objectives should be SMART: Specific (both action to be taken and public involved); Measurable; Achievable; Realistic (or relevant or results (outcome) oriented); and Time-specific.
   3. Objectives establish standards for assessing the success of your public relations efforts.
   4. Objectives come in three general types: Output objectives measure activities, e.g., issue 10 news releases during the month or post three tweets per day. Outputs can help monitor your work but have no direct value in measuring the effectiveness of a campaign. The Barcelona Principles discourage the use of output objectives. Process objectives call for you to “inform” or “educate” publics. Outcome objectives specify changes in awareness, opinions, behavior or support. (For example, “Increase downloads of our product coupon by 25 percent from October levels by Dec. 31.”) Outcome objectives require high-level strategic thinking. You must determine, for instance, which changes would be consistent with organizational goals and demonstrate public relations effectiveness to management. 
4. Strategy
   1. Strategies provide the roadmap to your objectives. (Communication strategies target publics for change. Action strategies focus on organizations’ internal changes.)
   2. Strategies describe HOW to reach your objectives.
   3. Strategies include “enlist community influentials to …,” “accelerate involvement with …,” “position the company as …” or “establish strategic partnerships with … .”
5. Tactics
   1. Tactics are your tools.
   2. Tactics are specific elements of a strategy or tools for accomplishing a strategy.
   3. Examples include meetings, publications, product tie-ins, community events, news releases, online information dissemination and social networks.
   4. Activities are details of tactics: six meetings, four publications, three blog posts and one tweet per day. Activities have dates, indicate who is in charge and tell what attendance or outcome is expected.
6. Evaluation/measurement of success
   1. Measure effectiveness of the program against objectives.
   2. Outcome objectives generally call for changes in awareness, opinions, behavior or support. Behavior change is usually considered the ultimate sign of public relations effectiveness. But some assessments consider long-term outgrowths of public relations actions as well. The highest level of public relations impact could be social or cultural changes.
   3. Determine how members of each key public interpreted messages. (Meaning comes from individual interpretations.)
   4. Identify ways to improve, and develop recommendations for the future.
   5. Adjust the plan, materials, messages and activities before going forward.
   6.  Collect data and record information for use in research phase of next program.

• Create media materials for the campaign. For example:
  • create a full media kit with the following components with a pitch letter to a TARGETED MEDIA CONTACT. This letter should “clearly identify the contents of the media kit, state why the event deserves coverage, give the names of the persons to contact for further information, and explain why the information is being sent. The letter should be written in a way that will entice readers to review the contents of the media kit” (Diggs-Brown, p. 69). Review the bad pitches on the Bad Pitch Blog and the good pitches on the D2L links and content pages for inspiration.
  • Write a media advisory about your media conference.
  • Write an issue backgrounder.
  • Write a media release for the news conference announcing the launch of the campaign, or write a media release announcing another facet of your campaign.
  • Write 2 fact sheets – one must be an organizational fact sheet (all about your organization). The other must focus on your issue. Both must be one page.

 

Remember: (1) Double-space, (2)Spell-check, (3) Proofread, (4) Format

Include: Relevant sources of information, Relevant documents you chose to work from, Completed Writing Outline

Completed Writing Outline

The purpose of this writing outline is to force you to think through your writing of the campaign tactics. This form is what many agencies require their writers to complete prior to submitting their work for client approval.

* * *

Writing Product Type:

Your Organization:

Brief background on your organization:

Specific targeted public(s):

Secondary public(s) if any:

       

Outcome desired from public(s) – Select the most appropriate one from the list:

1. Knowledge
2. Attitude
3. Behavior

How the outcome is tied into the self-interest of the public(s), i.e., why they should care:

Main information or message to be conveyed:

Secondary information or messages:

Specific media or method for dissemination of this writing piece:

Follow-up activities with media, if applicable:

Sources of information:

 

Examples of final campaign projects:

 

Announcements:

• Alumni Event
• 2 Career Center Events

Review:

• The R in the RPIE Process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs8KNq_kzTc

Group In-Class Activity:

Scavenger Hunt: 

Look through the Bateman Case Study site and the available documents to answer the following questions.**

1. Who sponsors the Bateman Case Study Competition?
2. Who is the client for this campaign?
3. What does the client do? 
4. What is its mission? 
5. What inspired the initiative? 
6. Is your client a nonprofit? 
7. Is this campaign focused on internal or external communication? 
8. What is your charge for this campaign?
9. Fill in the blank: “A comprehensive campaign should be aimed at __________________________, encouraging everyone to pay attention to emotional well-being and educating about the _________________. A successful campaign will also strive to understand audiences by using outreach and data collection to evaluate how ___________________________________________________________________________.”
10. Is this an international campaign, a national campaign, a regional campaign, or a  local campaign?
11. What specific audiences should you target?
12. Pick one of those targets. Where can you get additional information about that group’s psychographics, demographics, infographics, communication networks, and beliefs about mental health? (List all resources. Use only credible, verifiable sources.)
13. What facts does the client provide about mental health in the United States?
14. What local organizations could you partner with for this hypothetical campaign?
15. Fill in the blank: “An essential element to the campaign will be the ______________ component through measurement of ________________ and _______________. This can be achieved through _________________________________.”
16. What is an emoticon? 
17. What are the Five Signs emoticons? What colors are the emoticons? 
18. What are the colors of the arrows used the client?
19. The client expects you to “develop a public relations campaign to further the goals and reach of the Campaign to Change Direction.” What does this include?

 

** Here are the documents you may need:

• Project Brief:  http://prssa.prsa.org/scholarships_competitions/bateman/2017BatemanProjectBrief.pdf
• The Campaign to Change Direction:  http://prssa.prsa.org/scholarships_competitions/bateman/Change%20Direction%20Materials_October%202016_Main.pdf
• National Alliance on Mental Illness: http://www.nami.org/
• US Department of Health and Human Services: https://www.mentalhealth.gov/
• Mental Health Texas: https://mentalhealthtx.org/

God does not play dice with the universe. -Albert Einstein

It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn’ t matter how smart you are. If it doesn’t agree with experiment, it’s wrong.” – Richard P. Feynman

Slideshow:

• Theoretical Influences on Public Relations Writing
• Message Planning

Podcasts:

• What is theory? Why do I need to care about theory as a PR professional?
• Basic Communication Theories
• Understanding the situational theory of publics

Helpful breakdown of the theories and their applications to public relations:

• Accreditation for Public Relations Study Guide, starting at p. 112

Questions for Class:

Current events and theory: Think of a current event. Create new examples for the theories listed on page 112 (magic bullet, two-step flow).

Agenda building and agenda setting: Choose 3 major media outlets in your region–they can be newspapers, television stations or radio stations (or any of those). Review the front page of the outlets’ webpages. For each outlet make a list of all the stories that are covered on the front page or in that news program. Then write up a comparison of how the media covered the news on that same day. You will want to consider such questions as:

• How many of the stories from each outlet are local, how many are national, how many are international?
• Which stories are covered by all three outlets?
• Which stories are unique to one outlet?
• Which stories do you think will get people talking?

Agenda setting: Do you think the musicians who get the most attention on the radio or on television or via other media are the “best” musicians? What role does money play in bringing those musicians to everyone’s attention?

• Select a major musician or musical group in your area and research how that musician or group makes its money. Is the musician supported by a major record label or other corporation? Are there any business links between the musician, the recording company and the media outlets?

Behavior change: Think of a behavior you really need to change. Who is the person who could best encourage you to make that behavior change? Support your idea with theory.

Public opinion: Select a current events issue and apply each dimension of public opinion to the issue.

Diffusion of innovation: Think of a new product or service that has launched in the past three years. How are strategies and tactics likely to change from one stage to the next or as communication technology evolves?

 

Portfolio Building

Creating a knockout online portfolio (via 99U); 5 tips for creating an online portfolio (via Tehama Group PR)

10 great resources for building your online portfolio (via Intern Queen)

Top 17 services for creating an online portfolio website in 2016 (via ColorLib)

10 things every PR portfolio needs (via Ragan’s PR Daily)

Your PR Portfolio (Hard Copy and Electronic) (via Karen Russell)

Guest Speaker

Today’s guest speaker is John Rollins, United Way of Beaumont and North Jefferson County

United Way improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good.

In 1925, a group of community leaders organized the Beaumont Community Chest as a vehicle to help local citizens in need.  The name was changed to United Appeals in 1952 and in 1979, the organization became United Way of Beaumont & North Jefferson County.  Through the years, thousands of your neighbors have received help from the partner agencies funded by the United Way.