How to Manage Public Relations in the Face of Obstacles

The field of public relations is a complex one full of various different twists and turns that can make it difficult to apply theory to reality. One has to consider the many obstacles that can get in the way of reaching audiences, which is a difficult topic alone. Public relations is about staying one step ahead of the game, being aware of what’s going on around you, and using surrounding towards one advantage. A complicated subject, public relations comes with obstacles that can be difficult to pass; but with the proper understanding of these obstacles, one can be better prepared to preemptively counter them if necessary. To conduct public relations properly, one needs to think strategically and methodically, mitigating any and all obstacles that might stand in the way of a successful campaign. The following three case studies are prime examples of how public relations can successfully operate around obstacles that could hinder or damage a campaign and its intended message.

Making Way for the Euro

The world is a complicated and diverse place full of hundreds of different cultures, languages, and peoples that all view the world differently. The history of Europe is a complicated one, full of rivalries, conflict, and war; in fact, the lasting peace we’ve had now since World War II has been the longest stretch of peace between European countries in history. When taking this into consideration, it was not a surprise to anyone that the implementation of the European Euro across national and geographic borders was one of the largest public relations campaigns ever conducted. The implementation of the Euro spread between at least ten different countries, cultures, and languages, with only three European countries- Britain, Denmark, and Sweden- choosing to keep their own current currencies. One also has to take into consideration the population sizes of each of these countries as well; France alone is home to over a million people, and that’s not counting French territories or countries who still used the franc as their main form of currency. Saying that the Euro campaign was a massive public relations undertaking is an understatement.

Taking the whole situation into consideration, governments agreeing to adopt the Euro has several large obstacles in their way: language, culture, national opinion, time management, reaching targeted audiences, reaching these audiences effectively, and conducting the whole operation feasibly and with as minimal political fuss as possible to name a few. In order to combat these obstacles, each European nation implements their own public relations campaign to market to their own unique constituency. One of the main examples of this was on a cultural level. Contemplating on the straight-forward, no-nonsense attitude of the German population, the German government implemented a public relations campaign that was just that- straight-forward and with no-nonsense. To the German people, their government merely laid out the dates, times and procedures with an undertone of “This will be happening, and this is how it will happen” worked perfectly for getting the German people on board with abandoning the franc. In contrast, the more romantic countries of Spain, Portugal, and Italy used more carefree and sultry campaigns, capitalizing on the “sexiness” of the euro and all the new, sleek designs that would be offered on each bill in order to get their peoples more excited about the switch. Greece did much the same, but with more historical designs catering towards the Ancient Greeks while France took to marketing the euro using young, beautiful women who were as “fresh and new” as the euro would be. Ireland even offered free calculators for citizens to pick up when they came to exchange their currency in order to make the process easier and more welcoming.

These countries also capitalized on infrastructure, and PSA’s to make people aware of the time and date of the currency switch- January 1, 2001. Italy used its New Year’s countdown boards to countdown the days towards the switch while France and Finland implemented PSA’s to broadcast the date of the switch; France’s being that of a little girl ready to smash her piggy bank in order to exchange francs for euros, and Finland’s featuring a truck driver claiming how much easier it would be for him to now cross boarders when making deliveries - all mentioned the date of the switch at some point during the video. The overall end results? The European Union took a “divide and conquer” campaign strategy in order to market the euro to each different culture in order to produce the same overwhelming acceptance of making the switch.

What the NFL is Doing to Reach Women

Looking at a case study closer towards home, the NFL recently took up the challenge of rebranding its image after a series of scandals involving cases of domestic disputes. While the sport of American football is traditionally a male sport, recent polls conducted showed how in modern times, women make up almost 51 percent of the NFL’s fanbase- an overwhelming majority that the NFL was in danger of losing in light of these recent scandals. When considering this case, the main focus of the NFL campaign was to rebrand its image and capitalize on the new population of fans. This, however, brought up some obstacles that weren’t easy for the association of face: it’s past as a male-dominated sport, and its current image as anti-women. Thus, the NFL needed to implement a campaign that not only addressed these problems, but also was authentic enough to not seem as a cover-up or a money-grab.

In order to help with image repair, the NFL started with cutting ties and condemning players who had been accused and found guilty of domestic abuse. A seemingly simple and obvious tactic, this acknowledgment of wrongdoing and pledge to do better was the apology women needed in order to feel validated and heard within the sports community. This public condemnation was followed up by several PSA announcements that formed a campaign called “NO MORE”, each featuring several prominent players in the NFL community that pledged towards better behavior on and off the field. The NFL followed up on its campaign with a rebranding of sportwear fan apparel, opening new lines of clothing and items made especially for women that weren’t shrunken and made pink. These efforts combined to create a more inclusive atmosphere towards women and the NFL fanbase as a whole as the targeted audience acknowledged the associations efforts towards doing better. Women were made to feel like a part of the community, and the NFL became an environment made for everyone; a group that was open and welcome to anyone who loved American football. As a result, the NFL became an experience that everyone could enjoy and connect to without feeling left out or unsafe in- a result that simultaneously doubled NFL sales and viewer participation of television and the following year’s Super Bowl.

The College Bribery Scandal

A similar case study dealing with image repair management is the college bribery scandal that broke earlier year. The story? Rich parents, including prominent actress Lori Laughtin were found to be guilty of forging their children’s SAT admissions scores, along with lying about extracurricular activities that their children participated in in order to gain admission into accredited and nationally acclaimed universities. The problem their children are facing now? Many of these students were complicit with their parents’ schemes, but those who weren’t are now facing the public backlash; they can’t get jobs, and some are even being expelled or graduating without degrees. The end result is that money and time has been wasted at the expense of others.

The problem that public relations practitioners are now facing is how to address the situation surrounding their clients without garnering more negative press on behalf of their client. One of the main tactics that Robert’s mentions in his article is Google and how to get their clients bad deeds out of the limelight. While staying off of social media and keeping quiet admit the scandal is good, the client’s names are still able to be googled along with their participation in the scandal. In order to burying the scandal within Google, public relations specialists have taken to pushing their clients’ good deeds towards the forefront of the Google search. This allows for searchers to see the good deeds and services their client as done before news of the scandal comes up. The public relations practitioners have also taken towards rebuilding their clients’ images through paying magazines and newspapers to publish articles on their better deeds in school and around their communities. This allows for readers to form a positive opinion before a negative one, making the final impact of the scandal softer than if the process was vice-versa. This case study overall shows how the obstacle of public opinion and large national scandal, which generate negative image-branding can be mitigated to a lesser result.