COM215 Survey of Public relations, Spring 2008

public relations Campaign project guideline

Whether through TV, radio, newspapers, magazines or even the Internet, we as public relations stakeholders are often faced with public relations campaigns that attempt to influence or persuade us to adopt a certain mode of behavior, outlook or tolerance for an ideology or worldview. Examples of such campaigns include:

  • Truth:Discourages youth from starting smoking
  • Mothers Against Drunk Driving: Combats drinking and driving
  • Got Milk?: Tries to convince people of the benefits of milk; and
  • McGruff the Crime Dog: Encourages citizens to help control crime in their neighborhoods

With enough exposure, these campaign messages can become major influencers on how we behave or think. This is even more noticeable when one thinks of the programs that children have been subject to since their kindergarten years or earlier. Think of the “Stop, Drop and Roll” campaign used to educate young children on what to do if they catch fire, or Smokey the Bear who states “Only you can prevent forest fires,” or Nancy Reagan’s famous line, “Just Say No!”, in response to rampant drug use in the 1980s, helping launch the DARE program. More recent examples include organizations trying to influence voting behavior such as MTV’s “Rock the Vote” project.

Now it is your turn. As future employees and employers in the field of communication, as a PR specialist, it is highly likely that one day you will be involved in a project that will require you to educate, empower or influence a group of people to accept your ideas. Therefore, the following assignment has been designed to give you hands-on opportunity to make communication campaign materials.

Assignment: Working in groups of 4 to 6 members, you will create a public relationscampaign that targets your specific audiences (e.g., elementary, middle, or high school students,their parents, consumer, or constituents) with issues that deserve to be considered. Your group, in consultation with me, will select a specific topic for your project. A few possible topic areas include:

  • Negative effects of advertising to children
  • Sexually explicit lyrics in popular music
  • Body image effects and gender
  • Violence and sexuality in media
  • Music video effects
  • Effects of viewing cartoons or frightening media content
  • Alcohol or Smoking prevention campaign
  • STD prevention campaign
  • RED campaign
  • Etc.

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Requirements: The project will consist of the several stages of review:

  • Project Topic (due March 6): Submission of project topic with situation analysis and objectives (1 page)
  • Proposal Presentation (due March 18): A full (typed) outline with eight step processes (Situation analysis – Objectives – Audiences – Strategies – Tactics – Calendar – Budget – Evaluation) and other key information you deem necessary to complete the assignment must be submitted. You need to make a “time table” that is specific enough to dictate your project process.
  • In-class presentation (May 6 & 8)
  • Final paperand materials (due on May 8): The paper must be 10 ~ 12 pages. Your paper structure should follow the “Public Relations Strategic Planning Process” (see page 319 in text). Your paper should include references at least 10 primary research studies. Only 5 of these sources can be web sites; the rest must come from books and journals.

Options: Your group may choose one of the following strategies for your campaign. Listed here are minimum requirements for each option; additional supporting materials are encouraged.

Option #1: Documentary film

  • PowerPoint presentation (with script) to introduce contents (e.g., strategies, theme, audience) of documentary.
  • 10-15-minute documentary
  • Final paper

Option #2: Website

  • Create a fully functioning, professional website (should take about 30 minutes to get through all content)
  • PowerPoint presentation (with script) to introduce topic of website to class.
  • Final paper

Option #3: School media blitz

  • Five 30-second radio spots to be aired on school-wideradio system.; OR Two 30-second public service announcements to be shown on school-wide television system provided on DVD
  • PowerPoint presentation (with script) to introduce campaign to students (about 15minutes)
  • Final paper

When creating your campaign your group should use as much creativity as possible. However, you should also remember that your key job is to inform people. Strike a balance between the two, but never let your creativity overshadow your primary campaign goals. Also, do not make up any sources, characters, or other content. Deal with facts and actual people, and be sure to provide references and citations for any ideas or words you use that were not your own.

Grading Criteria: As stated in the syllabus, the final report and campaign materials will be due May 8th.The project grade will include the evaluation of four components: (1) final written report (12-15 pages; 40% of grade), (2) campaign materials designed (40%), (3) group presentation to class (10%), and final peer-evaluation (10%).

1. Final written paper will be graded based on clarity of ideas and structures, thoroughness of research (e.g., appropriate selection of references), and technical perfection (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation, and organization).

2. The final campaign materials will be graded based on creativity and completeness.

3. Group presentation will be graded based on the clarity and rapport with audience.

Each person will also have an opportunity to evaluate his or herproject members,with regard to participation in the project.I will consider these group evaluations when assigning individual grades for the project.

Examples: You may want to explore the following links to help better understand and get ideas for the project.

  • Alliance for Community Media:
  • Christian Media Literacy Project
  • MediaChannel.org
  • AdBusters:
  • Move America Forward:
  • MoveOn.org:

For help in creating promotional materials, please consult writings for public relations, social marketing, or writing for mass media textbook. I have some of these books available for you to borrow, as does Penfield library.

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