A Manager's Guide to PR Projects

Patricia J. Parsons spent 26 years as a Professor of Public Relations in the Department of Communication Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada after a career in health communication and writing. She is the author of a dozen books including Ethics in Public Relations: A Guide to Best Practice and Beyond Persuasion: Communication Strategies for Healthcare Managers in the Digital Age.

List of Figures

Preface to the Second Edition

Chapter 1 PR Project Planning in the Twenty-first Century

Defining Public Relations

Defining Management

Defining a "Project"

Public Relations Process: A Systems Explanation

Updating the PR Process for the Twenty-first Century

Ethics and Integrity in PR Planning

Using this Book

Worksheet 1.1 Ethics Checklist

Chapter 2 The Research Phase

Data-gathering: An Everyday Process

What Research can Accomplish

Problem or Opportunity?

How Research is Done

Media Monitoring: Traditional and Social

The Public Relations/Communication Audit

Environmental Scanning

Social Media Metrics

Characterizing Relationships

Completing the Analysis

The Importance of Academic Research to Practitioners

Using the Worksheets

Worksheet 2.1 Data Table

Worksheet 2.2 Problem/Opportunity Analysis

Worksheet 2.3 Data Analysis Checklist

Chapter 3: The Planning Phase

The Plan

Strategies versus Tactics

Defining Publics

Constructing Objectives

Relationship Objectives

Considering Processes

Keying Objectives to Specific Publics

Developing Messages

Choosing Public Relations Tactics and Vehicles

Planning the Social Media Component of PR Projects

Rationales for Channels and Strategies

Summarizing the Planning Stage

Using the Worksheets

Worksheet 3.1 Identification and Categorization of Publics

Worksheet 3.2 Checklist for Outcome Objectives

Worksheet 3.3 Public Relations Plan Worksheet

Worksheet 3.4 Social Media Worksheet

Chapter 4 Managing Implementation

Revisiting Management Definitions

The Historical Context

Management and Leadership

Budgets as Management Tools

Deadlines and Time Management

Maintaining Quality Control

Managing People: Working With and Through

Using the Worksheets

Worksheet 4.1 Budget Worksheet

Worksheet 4.2 Time Management

Worksheet 4.3 Quality Control Checklist

Chapter 5 Evaluation

A Practical Definition

Why Evaluate At All?

The "Barcelona Principles"

What we Evaluate

Evaluating Relationships

Measuring Social Media Outcomes

The "Benchmark"

Using the Worksheets

Worksheet 5.1 Media Monitoring Tracking Sheet

Worksheet 5.2 Checklist for On-going Social Media Tracking

Chapter 6 A Resource List for PR Managers

Appendix: Public Relations Plan: Sample Format