Making Public Relations “Sticky”

(Image from madetostick.com.)

My PR writing education at the current moment is focused on “stickiness.” When I say “stickiness,” I am referring to making ideas stick; creating memorable ideas that will stand the test of time.

I am currently reading (or through the first chapter) of Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick. This book illustrates why some ideas thrive and others die.

Mark Twain once observed, “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.” There is truth to this observation, and the Heath brothers lay it all out in Made to Stick: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus public-health scares circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas—businessmen, educators, politicians, journalists, and others—struggle to make their ideas “stick.”

So how do we, as public relations professionals, make our ideas stick? The Heath brothers have found that sticky ideas have six key attributes in common: simplicity, unexpectedness, concretenes, credibility, emotions and stories.

Think: You are John F. Kennedy and your PR plan is to put a man on the moon.

Strategy:

“To become a leader in the space industry through a maximum, team-centered innovation to specifically target successful aerospace initiatives.” (Blah, blah, blah.)

OR…

“Put a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade.”

Is this idea simple? Yes. Unexpected? Very. Concrete? Yes. Credible? The idea seems crazy, but the source is certainly credible. Emotional? Yes. Story? Yes.

Abstract, dense messages don’t motivate or inspire people. Concise, relatable messages do.

I suggest all aspiring, current and up-and-coming PR practitioners check out this book. It would be great for all of you advertising hopefuls, too. This book is opening my eyes to how I can make my public relations ideas stick. My PR plans will survive, not die, and yours should too.

A PR Look at Starbucks’ Environmental Impact

Pictured above: A Starbucks sleeve you get with your coffee so you don’t burn your fingers. It’s not just a “CAUTION: VERY HOT” warning though, it serves as PR for their social responsibility program:

“Starbucks is committed to increasing the amount of recycling in all our company-operated stores, but it comes with certain challenges. For one, we don’t oversee waste management in all of our company-operated stores and must rely on our various landlords to place a high priority on recycling, as well as track their efforts. In addition, some of our stores are located in communities where commercial recycling facilities are not available. Nevertheless, we strive to increase the number of company-operated stores that participate in a recycling program.”

When I received this sleeve on my usual grande, 1%, no-whip mocha, I noticed two interesting, “errors in judgement,” as I like to categorize them:

1. There is no recycle symbol on the sleeve
2. It says, “For single use only.”

The recycling symbol omission and “for single use only” statement seem to contradict everything else that Starbucks claims regarding their environmental policies and programs. All of us PR practitioners, current and aspiring, know the importance of effective message placement. The recycling symbol universally lets the public know the material they hold in their hand can be recycled. This sleeve gives the impression that we are not to recycle it, just throw it out with the rest of the trash?

Which brings me to my next point: I have been in various Starbucks stores- most frequently: the University of Oregon campus location in Eugene and various locations in Portland, Ore., none of which have any sort of recycling program implemented. I know recycling is a high priority in Eugene and Portland alike, and I also know that commercial recycling facilities are available in both areas. Each store has an ample garbage can to fit all the paper cups and post-consumer fiber sleeves, but no recycling bins.

I propose that Starbucks revamp their social responsibility PR program. Recycling should be a more important aspect of the Starbucks corporation and an effective PR plan to implement this would be a challenge Starbucks could successfully face head-on.

 

 

 

Stop AIDS, Love Life: An Example of Social Marketing

Social marketing is an important aspect of PR that all aspiring public relations professionals should be familiar with when entering the real world of public relations.

So, what is Social Marketing?

Social marketing is defined as: the application of commercial marketing technologies designed to influence the behavior of the target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society. – Alan Andreason.

Social marketing is:

* A social behavior change strategy
* Consumer-focused
* Most effective when it activates people
* Targeted to those who have a reason to care
* Strategic and requires an efficient use of resource
* Integrated, and work on the installment plan

Stop AIDS, Love Life a campaign, which took place from 1999-2003 in Ghana, South Africa, aimed to increase awareness and knowledge about HIV/AIDS, contribute to more positive social norms concerning the disease and its prevention, and increase the use of condoms through specific social marketing strategies. Project objectives included:

* Promote and model HIV/AIDS prevention behavior

* Increase adoption of safer sex behaviors

* Decrease the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS

* Encourage compassion, care, and support for people living with HIV/AID

To achieve these goals, grassroots organizations in Ghana engaged in the following activities:

* Development and distribution of print materials.
* Production of an HIV/AIDS music video featuring Ghanaian hip-life, highlife, and gospel musicians with safer sex messages of abstinence, fidelity, and condom use.
* Testimonies featuring HIV positive Ghanaians telling their stories.
* Peer counseling workshops.
* Launch of Journey of Hope campaign.
* Things We Do For Love television series.

Surveys have showed that the Ghanaian public has had high exposure to these communication activities: 60% of men and 55% percent of women interviewed were able to, without being prompted, identify a slogan associated with the campaign.

This campaign illustrates the importance of social marketing and its effect on social behavior change. To read more about the Stop AIDS, Love Life social marketing campaign visit: CCP: Stop AIDS. Love Life. Campaign in Ghana.

(Information from a class lecture by Kelli Matthews, professor of public relations at the University of Oregon.)

images from www.m-mc.org