In this course, you will master the elements of a strategic communications campaign. You will learn how to plan, pitch and implement a public relations campaign. You will also learn the techniques and skills needed to develop campaign strategies to promote a cause, idea, person, or organization.
You will use your creative and analytical skills as you develop a campaign to meet your client’s needs. Throughout the training you will apply what you learn about public relations theory, research, planning, problem solving, writing, design, communications tools, and evaluation techniques to a client’s case.
Objectives
This course is aimed to introduce you to concepts and methods of public relations campaign planning and communication management and to enhance your understanding of how strategic public relations planning fits within the broader framework of organizational goals. It offers a simulated work experience in strategic campaign practice and sharpens your overall skills in research, planning, organizing, managing time, and evaluation, as well as communicating with clients and colleagues in writing and in person.
This course provides experience in the writing of a comprehensive strategic plan
The course’s major objectives are:
- You will understand and be able to complete the components of a successful strategic communications plan.
- You will understand how to earn and work with a client in a way that demonstrates confidence, professionalism, and an ability to earn your client’s trust.
- You will develop project management skills.
- You will learn to think strategically and courageously on behalf of a client or cause.
- You will develop client communication skills, including an ability to listen to, understand and respond to client expectations, and how to persuade your client to change their approach should research and strategy suggest it.
- You will learn to represent yourself as a knowledgeable, competent and confident professional.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course the participant will be able to:
- Identify strategic communication campaigns in your communities;
- Analyze components of strategic communication campaigns;
- Apply relevant research findings and theory in discussing communication campaigns;
- Develop strategic communication campaign plans;
- Integrate social media into campaign plans; and
- Critically evaluate communication campaign processes, uses and effects.
Who benefits from this course
- Communication managers
- Communication officers
- Image consultants
- Marketing managers and officers
- PR managers and officers
- Every person who wants to improve their PR and communication theoretical knowledge and practical skills
Course Outline
1- Planning and managing: the context
- What is the point of planning?
- The role of public relations in organizations
- The role of the public relations professional within organizations
- The position of public relations within organizations
- Organizing for action
- Who does what in public relations?
2- Public relations in context
- Context is vitally important
- Stakeholders and publics
- Sectoral considerations
- Organizational development – business stage
- Organizational characteristics
- Issues
- Public opinion
- Timescales
- Resources
3- Starting the planning process
- Responsibilities of practitioners
- Public relations policy
- Why planning is important
- Basic questions in planning
- The 12 stages of planning
- Linking programme planning to the bigger picture
4- Research and analysis
- Embedding research in the planning process
- The first planning step
- Analyzing the environment
- Analyzing the organization
- Analyzing the stakeholder
- Who should undertake the research?
- Research techniques
- Investment in research pays – two cases in point
5- Communication theory and setting aims and objectives
- Knowing where you’re going
- Attitude is all important
- The communication chain
- How ‘receivers’ use information
- Setting realistic aims and objectives
- Golden rules of objective setting
- Constraints on aims and objectives
- Different levels of aims and objectives
6- Knowing the publics and messages
- Who shall we talk to and what shall we say?
- What is public opinion?
- Types of publics
- Using other segmentation techniques
- So what about the media?
- The implications for targeting publics
- How to prioritize publics
- What shall we say?
- Constructing the content
- Crafting messages
- How the message should be presented
7- Strategy and tactics
- Getting the strategy right
- What is strategy?
- From strategy to tactics
- What tactics should be employed?
- Different campaigns need different tactics
- Sustaining long-term programms
- Contingency and risk planning
8- Timescales and resources
- Timescales
- Task planning techniques
- Critical path analysis
- Longer-term plans
- Resources
9- Knowing what has been achieved: evaluation and review
- Measuring success
- The benefits of evaluation
- Why practitioners don’t evaluate
- Principles of evaluation
- Evaluation terminology
- Levels of evaluation
- A programme evaluation model and some other measures
- Media analysis
- Reviewing the situation