Diploma in Media & Communication

Lecture 5
DPHU1002 Professional Elements 1 –
PR & Briefing & Research
Advertising
Lecturer
Amy Miller
Email: A.Miller@unswcollege.edu.au​
 Acknowledgement of Country

I would like to acknowledge the Bedegal people who are the Traditional
Custodians of the land on which UNSW sits. I would also like to pay my
respects to the Elders both past, present and emerging, and extend that
respect to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who are present
here today.
 This is important to
understand for
Review of week 4 Assessment 2 Report

1.Promotional Texts​
2.Encoding & Decoding ​
3.Ad Campaigns – the What, Why, and
How​
4.Public Relations Campaigns​
 QUIZ 2 – WEEK 5

QUIZ'S QUIZ 3 – WEEK 6

QUIZ 2 & 3 – 10 QUESTIONS - MARKS 10

 In-class – you will be given 10 minutes to

complete
 Questions are based on today's lecture content
– Brief & Research
 Assessment 2 report
1.

GOOGLE
RESEARCH!
2.
3.
Structure & Readings
Where are we this week?
1. Welcome & Introducing Public Relations and Advertising 1 THEORY
2. Introducing Public Relations and Advertising 2
3. Promotional Cultures AND
4. PR and Advertising Campaigns & Texts CONTEXT
5. Elements (I): Publics, Briefing and Researching
6. Client Brief & Analysing Publics 2 PUBLIC RELATIONS
7. A2: DUE
8. Elements (II): Stories, Key Messages & Objectives
& ADVERTISING
9. Elements (III): Strategy & Tactics, Evaluation IN PRACTICE
10. Elements (IV): Media Forms & Social Content

11. Professional Practice (I): How to Pitch

12. Professional Practice (II): Views from the Industry (A3 Due)
INDUSTRY
Week 5 – Publics, Briefing & Research
This topic will be part of your Assessment 3
AND
Quiz in Week 6
What is a public?
A public is a group of people that shares a common interest vis-à-vis an
organisation , recognises its significance, and sets out to do something about it.
Publics are homogenous in that they are similar in interests and characteristics
(J.Dewey)

Characteristics –
Distinguishability - recognisable group of
Homogeneity – similar in their interests
individuals e.g not everyone who wants Importance – those that impact on an Large Size – large enough for attention of
and characteristics, they may not know Accessibility - able to interact and have
to buy jewellery, but people with organisations bottom line and affect a strategic plan, however a small
each other but shares traits e.g baby access to easily
incomes above 50K who wants to buy progress on mission forward lobbying group can also be viable
boomers, Millennials
jewellery
 What other titles can
you think of for a
Other types of groups group?

• Publics – Have interaction and interdependency with an organisation or because both

they and the organisation face a common issue.
• Market – They pick you, you pick them Like friends, and they are particular types of
publics where organisations develop marketing efforts to those they intend to do
business with. Like a segment and can be defined via income, lifestyle and helps orgs
reach their bottom line and overall success
• Audiences - people who pay attention to a particular medium and receive messages,
Time can be brief and can be temporary.
• Stakeholder – stakeholders relate to an organisation through its potential impact on the
org’s mission and objectives and are conscious of its relationship with the org – can
also be similar to ‘public’
• Customers - receive products or services from organisations, they may be
purchasers, clients, students, patients, fans, shoppers etc
Prioritising key publics
• A major element in a campaign is identifying key publics of
strategic publics.

• Key publics are the people you want to engage in a

communication process.

• Identify key publics that warrant your attention .e.g a recruitment

organisation might not need to address current students with their
communication as they pursue new ones.
Types of groups

What type of
What type of What type of
group are you
group are you at a group are you at
here at UNSW
concert? the gym?
College?
Key characteristics
• The public relations situation – needs, wants, interests and expectations with
the org/issue.

• Organisation – their relationship with the organisation? Visibility to them and

reputation.

• Communication behaviour – where do they communicate? What channels. Do

they engage? Are they seeking information?

• Demographics – age, income, gender, socio-economic

• Personality preferences – psychological and temperamental preferences.

Briefs
 CHECK OUR A3 BRIEF!
IF ANY HOLES – WE
What’s in a brief? (I) WILL NEED TO FILL
THESE IN WITH OUR
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Background
Who are you? What has led you to this campaign or project?
• Communications objectives
What are the specific goals you want to achieve through communications
activity?
• Target audiences
Who are you aiming to influence? Do you want to reach different groups for
different reasons?
• Communications channels
What are the best ways to reach your audiences?
What’s in a brief? (II)
• Messages
What do you want them to understand or do as a result of your communications
work?
• Potential challenges
Are you aware of any difficulties which will need to be addressed?
• Timescale
When do you want activities to happen? How long do you have to prepare?
• Budget
How much do you have to spend? This may affect the choice of activities.
• Evaluation
How will you judge if activity has been successful?
Brief: Examples (MLA)
THIS ADV BRIEF IS
SIMILAR TO OUR PR
BRIEF
Briefing Responsibilities (II)
Even when the client brief is professionally written
key areas may still need refining such as objectives Many agencies complain that the briefs
they receive from clients are missing
and additional research. key information.
Explaining to the client what areas will need
refining or further research demonstrates For example, the preferred metrics for
professionalism and value adding. Remember the success. ​
client’s ego! It is the responsibility of the agency
A combination of written and verbal briefing is to rectify these gaps before
ideal. commencing work.​

This clarifies any misunderstandings and continues DON'T WRITE your own.​
the important process of relationship building.
Understanding your role is vital. Agency, Consultant
or Internal.
Briefing: Forging an effective
partnership

• A good brief is brief.

• Clarity and focus creates the platform for a great strategic leap.
• Understanding brand position means understanding a key
customer/audience insight

Cornelissen, J. (2005). Corporate Communication Theory and

Practice, SAGE, London.
 From Client Brief to Creative Brief

The Client Brief is the foundation

for the Creative Brief. “At its most simplistic, it [the creative brief] is
an outline created by account management for
the creative team to use as a springboard to
Every agency is different. solving the client’s business and, thus,
advertising problem.”

Writing the creative brief is a Blakeman, R & Taylor, M (2018)

process through which the agency
deepens its understanding of the
client, the situation and their
needs.
Creative Briefs
Great creative briefs will:
 Unlock the talents and imagination of the agency’s creative people.
 Be thoroughly researched.
 Ideally, be no more than a page long.
 Define the target audience, objectives and outline the tactics.
 Be a means to an end; not the end result itself
de Waal Malefyt T & Morais R (2010); Burns W (2012)
Two Essential Briefs in PR & Adv
1. The Client Brief
2. The Creative Brief

In the Client Brief, the client briefs the PR/Advertising team on

their organisation, situation, needs and budget.

In the Creative Brief, the PR/Advertising team briefs itself about

the creative work needed to fulfill the Client Brief.
Every Brief...
1. Takes the form of both a
written document…

2. ...and a face-to-face
conversation.
Why write a client brief?
1. It leads to better, more effective and measurable work
2. It saves time and money
3. It makes remuneration fairer

It negotiates and facilitates mutual understanding between the

agency and client.

In short, the brief establishes a two-way symmetrical

relationship between the agency and client – just like the best
PR achieves!
 This is
What does a brief look like? our A3
BRIEF

Goals?
Who?

BY CREATING A
Why? How? PR/ADV CAMPAIGN
TO COMMUNICATE KEY
MESSAGES AND
DRIVE CHANGES IN
THE PUBLIC
What do we
do next?
• Research

• Recommend Ideas

• Pitch those Ideas

• WIN the business!

Research for Adv &
PR Campaigns
The importance of
Research

• After the Client Brief, two things

happen straight away:
1. Practitioners interrogate, analyse and
deconstruct the brief.
2. Practitioners fill in the holes of the brief
and begin research.
The importance of
Research
• Research is what underpins everything
that comes after: strategy, tactics, messages,
media – everything!

• Research is essential to what practitioners

take back to the Client when they pitch their
solutions.

• The essential task of research

is to define and understand the
target audience.
 The importance of Research
• Research is essential for any promotional
campaign.
• Research is used to identify strategic publics,
issues, threats and opportunities within an
organisation's operating environment. SWOT
• Analyse the corporation and its values
and structure.
• All promotional strategies must be
based on evidence.
• Clients and managers do not want you operating
on hunches. Indeed, they want your activities
informed by case studies and evidence-
based practice.
• Research
also means understanding cultural contexts and
codes (what we’ve been talking about in class
these last weeks
 You will write a

Identify the ‘Situation’ Situational Analysis

for Assessment 3

• In assessment 3 you will be asked to identify the situation for the client.

• This is developed from your research including your SWOT.

• The situational analysis can also be found in the brief

• This is written in an analysis (often 500 words once research is completed)

with the SWOT table and supportive research following in points.
Situational Analysis
Here are some questions to help you define what you will present in this first section. This also acts as an overview
for the client to read before they read the rest of your pitch, It gives your client a very good idea that you know what
you are talking about and know the situation they are in.

• WHY - PR Situation: Why the campaign? - Describe the client and the reason why
it came to the Agency. You can find information on the brief to help define this as a
problem/opportunity.

• WHAT - SWOT - One or two pieces of key evidence (statistics/data) that link to your
plan and your campaign strategy, the key idea (or insight) behind it. For example what
did you find from your SWOT research and publics that will support a campaign?

• HOW - What your campaign will do? Then finish with an overview as how your
campaign is going to tackle this problem/challenge/opportunity. You have an
opportunity here to discuss the strategy and a few tactics possibly, adding in time-
frame and timings.
 Starting with a SWOT

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/public-relations-foundations-2019/applying-swot-to-move-forward?resume=false&u=20
740
Starting with a SWOT
STRENGTHS – INTERNAL positive tangible and WEAKNESSES – INTERNAL factors – what areas of
intangible attributes OF THE communication could be improved?
CLIENTS COMMUNICATION.
What can we see or source or identify – e.g look at
- internal, owned channels, within organisations communication channels
control

OPPORTUNITIES – EXTERNAL INFLUENCES - THREATS – EXTERNAL INFLUENCES.

- What opportunities exist in the environment that - use the PESTLE guide to identify external treats
will leverage the campaign– use PESTLE – political, that may impact the organisation/CAMPAIGN.
environmental, social, technological, legal and Competitors, trends.
economic opportunities

Harrison, k. Strategic Public Relations 2011

Example SWOT
Example – let’s work through
• OUR CLIENT IS AUDIBLE

• Audible want to release a new ‘Audible for Dogs’ product and

encourage dog owners to engage with the new product

• Audible is ‘audio book’s – people listen to books rather than reading.

However, this product is for dogs! Let's watch video on next page

• Why is audible releasing this kind of product – does anyone have any
theories?

• How would we start a SWOT on Audible and their communications

and opportunities?
Example of a SWOT

Client example
only

LINK
Strengths....WOT
STRENGTHS – positive tangible and intangible attributes, internal, owned channels, within organisations
control

- Great product idea which is Fulfilling an emotional need in pet owners, who are feeling guilty when leaving
for work and leaving their pets at home alone

- Pets are becoming very important to owners – post-Covid. How much did pet ownership increase in
Australia during covid? 61-69% increase! (AMA, 2021, pg 9) see below for in-text referencing note and
reference list

- There are 29milliion pet owner in Australian with over 40% of households owning a dog (RSPCA 2022)

- Media stories that talk about audiobooks for dogs have been positive – lots of ‘tips’ articles

- Spokesperson – Osher Gundberg – well known and gives the brand a cut-through

- Quirky an interesting product – which lends itself to interesting news stories – what else is newsworthy?
S Weakness OT
WEAKNESSES – internal factors – what areas could be improved? What can we see or source
or identify – e.g look at communication channels

- Do they have all social channels? Is it a weakness that they do/don’t (research and list)

- Have they communicated audio books clearly on their website/social pages? (analyse their
communications) Would people understand? Are all publics communicated to or just one?

- Do they have a podcast? (source?)

- Have the media spoken about it positively? *Find examples

- Do all people know Osher?

SW Opportunities T
OPPORTUNITIES – What opportunities exist in the environment that will leverage the
campaign – can also look at PESTLE – political, environmental, social, technological, legal
and economic opportunities

- Environmentally - Covid pet increase – families are owning more pets today than ever . Also
it is a benefit for mental health to have a pet (find research to support claim) (RSPCA 2022)

- socially? We are going out more - provides a need for this type of product for pet owners

- technologically? – increase in accessibility – people may access audiobooks more . More

people know how to use technology

- economically? Tech is cheaper, phone access is cheaper so presents an opportunity for the
brand to engage with more people .
SWO Threats
THREATS – similarly you can use the PESTLE guide to identify external treats that may impact the
organisation/brand and campaign such as competitors, trends.

- Cat owners are on the rise – easier to own! – is there more cats than dogs? We would need to prove
with stats (RSPCA 2022)

- Trending in technology - people might listen to podcasts not audio books

- What’s trending in pet ownership - Might be to buy a bird!

- Socially – not many people want a pet because they are going outside now - behaviour changes are a
threat to this brand/product

- Economically? Dogs can be expensive, its also expensive to maintain a pet (ABC online 2021 – how
much does it cost to own a dog?)

- Environmentally – active groups say dogs are not environmentally clean or that dogs should be kept in
the home all day – its cruel to keep them inside and listen to human technology.
 References for SWOT Research
REFERENCE LIST
• RSPCA, 2020, rspca.org.au, viewed 12 October 2022,
https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/how-many-pets-are-there-in-australia/

• Watson, M, ABC article online, 19 October 2021. How much does it cost to own a dog? Viewed
12 October 2022.
https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-much-does-it-cost-to-own-a-dog-money-diary/10040
2694

• Williams, L, 2021. AMA, Animal Medicines Australia, Viewed October 12, 2022,
https://animalmedicinesaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/AMAU005-PATP-Rep
ort21_v1.4_WEB.pdf

REFERENCING EXAMPLES
Note: *Please add any readings, articles and websites you find statistics and information as an in-
text reference and to your reference list.
See UNSW Harvard Referencing Guide HERE
 There are many different research methodologies that media relations
units employ in their activities.
• All research methods have been appropriated from the social
and behavioural sciences.

Qualitative • However, unlike social scientists, PR&A practitioners have much

greater latitude regarding how they conduct their research.
• Methodologies can be qualitative, quantitative, textual or informal.

Qualitative research allows public

relations practitioners to “discover rather
than test” ideas (Broom & Dozier, 1990,
p. 400).
• The purpose of qualitative research is
to provide a rich, in-depth
understanding of how certain people
think or feel about a subject.

How do we measure qualitative feedback

here?
 How do we measure quantitative feedback
here?

Quantitative

Quantitative research “is the

controlled, objective, and systematic
gathering of data” (Stacks, 2002, p. 6),
which can be generalized to larger
populations.
• The purpose of quantitative research
is to provide statistical data about
how certain people think or feel about
a subject.
Online: Qualitative & Quantitative
Key online metrics, will incorporate the qualitative and the
quantitative:
QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE
Mentions ie how many times is the business, or Sentiment ie how positive or negative the
product cited. commentary is directed at the business or product.

Share of Voice ie mentions, vis a vis your competitors. Customer Satisfaction ie how happy users are with
your business or product.

Engagement numbers ie how many times the Influencers ie the commentary coming from specific
business is ‘liked’, or the mention ‘shared’. thought leaders.

Detractors ie how many don’t like the business. Net Promoter: how likely users will be to recommend
your business or product.
How to we measure Qualitative?
Methods: In-Depth Interviews
Useful at the
Open-ended
formative stages of
interviews, often
research (Broom &
conducted in person. ​
Dozier, 1990).
Pros:
Lots of detail
Flexible
Key informant insights

Based on a line of
questioning, but
45 minutes to researcher may move
several hours. ​ beyond it to probe
deeper into the
Cons:
subject’s comments. ​
Singular viewpoint
Time consuming
Not good for testing
Structured (detailed
interview schedule)
and unstructured
interviews (talk freely)​
How to we measure Qualitative?
Methods: Field Observations
Pros:
“A qualitative observation technique Realistic setting
that puts you among the public you
are studying in a naturalistic setting”
Ethnographic research Subject matter in action
(Broom & Dozier, 1990, p. 149).

Cons:
Field notes (text, photos, video, etc) Can be active (participant observer)
More subjective
Checking validity
How do we measure Quantitative
Methods: Content Analysis
Systematic analysis of the content of
communication to determine the frequency of Pros:
units of analysis, and their efficacy with Systematic
audiences. Broad scope
Data reliability
• News – No's. Reach, circulation, readership
• Television, radio, print – as above and
also messages included Cons:
Limited insight
• Speech, interviews – No. Of messages Lacks context
communicated
• Focus group results - feedback
How do we measure Quantitative?
Methods: Surveys
A survey may focus on factual information
about products, or it might aim to obtain the Pros:
opinions of the survey takers. Broad Audience scope
Focused design
• Data collection tool
• Response options
• Types of surveys: mail, internet, app. Cons:
• Survey method: Limited insight
• Online e.g. Survey Monkey Lacks context
• One-to-one (paper)
• Telephone
.
Many of the audience theories that you study can help in
promotional research.

Triangulation involves the

practice of viewing things
from more than one
perspective.
Communication
Research Trends
 The onset of ‘big data’ leads to a need for employees
who can use data and who can confidently explain the
meaning of data-driven studies.

 Social Media surveillance tools (Sprinklr, Radian 6) can

be used to monitor and gauge developing trends

 The growth in unstructured data - such as scanned

supermarket products and fitbit information -

 Influencers

EEggensperger, J &
Redcross, N (2018)
Assessment 3 'Agency' Groups in week 6 tutorial - IMPORTANT! WEEK
6 TUTORIAL!
YOU MUST ATTEND TO BE ASSIGNED TO A GROUP
Then weeks 8-12 is
agency work
 Go to week 5 in
Assessment 2 Moodle – under the
Planning (Due Monday lecture 5 is a POLL.
Take now :)
Week 7)
Next Week (6) - Publics 2 & Components of a Campaign