Publicity and Marketing Communications

Publicity is more properly considered a technique of public relations than a specialty of its own. It is used in all branches of the business. But when it is considered in any organization to be an aspect of marketing, the subtle change in objective transforms the press relations, or publicity function, into one related to sales rather than policy. Even so, the talent required for marketing communications usually resides in the public relations department. In a corporation, marketing publicity is akin to the fund-raising publicity often considered a public relations function in nonprofit organizations.

Publicity is a potent force in marketing because people are more inclined to believe what they read or hear in an editorial context than to accept the same information in advertising. To undertake this kind of communication requires a strong marketing orientation.

There is a special skill in discerning what it is about a commercial product or service that can be made interesting to the media in the form of news, features, or visual attractions. It requires a detailed knowledge of potential media and their criteria for accepting or rejecting such factors. In some cases, technical experience or education may also be required.

The marketing communications specialist works toward objectives that quantify sales quotas, profitability, and advertising investment. He or she is part of a business-oriented team, required to think and perform more as salesperson than strategist. In addition to product publicity, professional effort may be required to handle motivational communications with the sales stuff, prepare materials for dealers, and establish tie-in promotions with retailers and others.

The Specialists

The foregoing branches of PR can be considered mainly because the functions are different, not because the audiences differ. The great changes in society that have led to the rapid growth of public relations in recent years have required a good deal of specialization by people in the field, but not necessarily the development of new forms of PR.

Environmentalism is an excellent example. This movement gave rise to widespread fears about the degradation of the modern world. It led to further legislation and regulation. Because the environment is a pervasive subject, it has to be dealt with at every level of public relations. No new branch of PR has evolved to deal with this vast subject. New PR people capable of mastering all the facts of the subject have certainly been required, and their special knowledge is applied across the entire field of PR.

To keep abreast of developments in such a broad sphere requires a major effort. Only specialists can do this adequately. The same is true of other developments – health, education, food crisis, urban problems. There is no indication that the trend to specialization will slow down. More and more public and governmental concerns are being affected by the incalculable growth of knowledge that makes the simplest human relationships more complicated than ever. The functions of PR are not likely to alter radically – not in the near future, at least. A higher degree of specialization among PR professionals will be required.

Word Study

· 4.1. Pay heed to how some international words are used in the text and compare their semantic scopes with those of Russian homophones. Say where the meaning is narrower or wider:

Premium, nomenclature, construction, location, natural, particular, occupation, intelligent, decade.

· 4.2. Combine the nouns and the adjectives below (see the text):

A spokesman	Incalculable
A spokesperson	Applicable
Ways of action	Adaptable
A technique	Believable
Terminology	Workable
A theory	Credible
Growth of knowledge	Interchangeable

· 4.3. Choose the prepositions (over, to, for, between, on, about) to use after the following nouns:

Control, a trend, an approach, the fears, consideration, a counsel, distinctions, a reaction, a report.

· 4.4. Explain the difference, if any, between the words below (see the text):

- different forms – differing interests

- a specialty – a speciality – specialization

- a customer – a consumer – a client

- a counseling firm –a consulting firm

- a standpoint – a viewpoint

- a potent force – a potential force

- relations – relationships

- professional – occupational.

· 4.5. Spot the tricks and right the wrong in the phrases of the text (couple the neighbours). Try to make use of the phrases in your sentences:

- to bridge a premium on smth.

- to put a gap between smb.;

- to gain a peak;

- to reach experience;

- to channel toward objectives;

- to work the flow of information;

- to give abreast of smth.;

- to keep rise to smth.

· 4.6. Use the lexical units you are more accustomed to change the following bookish phrases:

to abate attacks;

to eschew the words

to encompass all activities (the audiences);

generic use of terminology;

to revert to common use;

to function in this milieu;

to monitor developments;

to be deemed important;

the full array of media;

disposition of the citizens;

exposure of the company story through films;

a potent force;

a pervasive subject;

the foregoing branches.

· 4.7. Complement some phrases looking like professional terminology to your vocabulary (with Russian equivalents to that):

to speak one’s mind;

to put out a release;

personal (person-to-person) interchanges;

a face-to-face discussion;

to cover an event;

to attribute a statement to smb.;

to preempt some role;

to speak on a topic;

employee- spokesperson technique;

to transcend the role (the assignment);

to promote misunderstanding;

to make an announcement;

to tailor communications with smb.;

to moderate criticism.

· 4.8. Translate the sentences as close to the text’s sentences as possible.

- Его слова считаются исходящими из первых уст.

- Все подмены совсем не столь эффективны.

- Работники не должны переступать пределы тех задач, что поставлены перед ними.

- У коммунального предприятия энергоснабжения имеются хорошие новости.

- Первая забота фирмы – это различные интересы общественности.

- Где специализация поднимается до профессиональных вершин, так это в консалтинговых фирмах, занимающихся PR.

- Могут потребоваться профессиональные усилия для установления тесного сотрудничества с розничной торговлей.

Scanning

· 4.9. Answer the following questions:

a) Most departments are small, but the problems and assignments are many. Can a small department cope with the influence of issues? What can bring success?

b) The position of a spokesperson seems to be attractive and of prestige. Is it because this person is popular and respectable? What quality comes first? Or does everything depend on what organization the person speaks for? Or on the CEO?

c) Does a PR practitioner have a right to sort out the public or the audience which to communicate with? The act of communicating is half a job, is it not? Must PR specify the public in its programs?

d) Will it please you if you are assigned various types of activity by your PR boss? Yet may it be interesting?

e) Which branch is the most boring - financial relations, internal communications, or community relations? In this case you must be either finance-educated or psychology-trained, mustn’t you? Which would you select among the three?

f) You’re a linguist, also trained in history, literature and psychology. Would you like to practise public affairs? When will you feel fit for this function? Here to be a looker and a talker is far from enough. A public affairs practitioner is another politician. Is he/she?

g) A PR person working in the line of publicity and marketing communications is supposed to be economics-educated. If he or she is not, but assigned this task, what could help to deal with trading and manufacturing companies? Would the person rush to get economics-oriented education?

h) Is PR a rewarding and promising occupation? What prospects are in store for a young practitioner?

i) In practice, a PR specialist can’t be a nine-to-fiver. It is over-time work that determines his/her life style. Will he survive?

Unit 5