Interview with Businessmen

Harold Burson is a legendary public relations practitioner. He is chairman of Burson-Marsteller, a worldwide public relations firm with 2,500 employees and 50 offices in 27 countries. He was CEO of Burston-Marsteller from its founding in 1953 until January 1988. Mr. Burson, widely cited as the standard bearer of public relations ethics, has received virtually every major honor awarded by the profession and in 1999 was named by Inside PR magazine as “the most distinguished public relations professional of the 20^th century.”

Test your Workplace Ethics

The question of ethics looms larger today than at any previous time, especially with the advent of technology and the potential abuses it brings. To test how you might measure up as an ethical worker, answer the following questions.

Virtual Morality

In recent years, the venerable Lockheed Martin Corporation has been no stranger to ethical dilemmas. On the verge of its merger with Martin Marietta Corporation in 1995, aerospace giant Lockheed Corporation agreed to pay a $24.8 million fine and plead guilty to conspiring to violate U. S. ant bribery laws. Lockheed admitted that it illegally paid $1 million to an Egyptian lawmaker for helping sell its C-130 aircraft to that country. As a huge government contract recipient, Lockheed Martin has fired more than 200 people in the last five years of the century for ethical violations from conflicts of interest to misuse of assets.

4. ПЛАН СЕМИНАРСКИХ ЗАНЯТИЙ

Introduction to PR

1. Current events.

2. Working definitions of principal concepts.

3. Functions of PR.

4. Areas of PR work.

5. Public relations Society of America (PRSA) official statement on PR.

6. Speaking practice and role-games.

The Relationship of PR to Journalist, Advertising

1. Current events.

2. Discussion and reports on the previous topic.

3. PR and journalism.

4. PR and advertising.

5. PR and marketing.

6. Speaking practice and role-game.

Types of PR Work. Type I

1. Current events.

2. Discussion and reports on the previous topic.

3. Working definitions of principal concepts.

4. The main elements of PR activity.

5. PR in commercial and non-profitable organizations.

6. Speaking practice and role-games.

Types of PR Work. Type II

1. Current events.

2. Discussion and report on the previous topic.

3. Political PR.

4. Crisis PR.

5. Financial and investor PR.

6. Speaking practice and role-games.

Types of PR Work. Type III

1. Current events.

2. Discussion and reports on the previous topic.

3. Employee communication.

4. PR in the Trade Union.

5. PR activity in entertainment, sport and tourism.

6. Speaking practice and role-games.

The Management and Organization of PR Work

1. Current events.

2. Discussion and reports on the previous topic.

3. Working definitions of principal concepts.

4. Organization of a staff PR department.

5. Organization of a specialized PR consultancy.

6. Speaking practice and role-games.

The Main Fee Systems

1. Current events.

2. Discussion and reports on the previous topic.

3. Working definitions of principal concepts.

4. Fixed fee.

5. Retainer fee and hourly charges.

6. Speaking practice and role-games.

Instruments of PR. Type I

1. Current events.

2. Discussion and reports on the previous topic.

3. Working definitions of principal concepts.

4. PR planning model.

5. Methods of research.

6. Speaking practice and role-games.

Instruments of PR. Type II

1. Current events.

2. Discussion and reports on the previous topic.

3. PR publics.

4. PR techniques.

5. Principles of budgeting.

6. Speaking practice and role-games.

The Ethics of PR

1. Current events.

2. Discussion and reports on the previous topic.

3. PRSA’s Code of professional standards for the practice of PR.

4. PR practitioner’s personality.

5. The main principles of PR ethics.

6. Speaking practice and role-games.

5. Cases

Case 1

Ambassadors — Clearly there's no substitute

Media spin:

‘Keane saga exposes high risk of personality ads’

The tactic of using a sports star or celebrity as the public face of a brand has been deployed to great effect on numerous occasions. A 'brand ambassador' can bring a product to life, lending his or her unique personality traits to an otherwise inanimate product. And, when the star is in the media spotlight, the brand is able to use PR tactics to increase its own profile - gaining fame by association - and secure a greater share of media voice. The Pepsi-owned soft drink brand 7UP sought to 'up' its visibility and credibility by making the Republic of Ireland and Manchester United soccer captain, Roy Keane, its 'ambassador' in the Emerald Isle.

Keane to communicate

The deal with the Hibernian hard man known affectionately as 'Keano', was an absolute beano for 7UP and its biggest-ever promo­tion in the Republic of Ireland. The soft drink hooked up with Ireland's most famous sporting son at a time when the Irish team was about to compete in the world's biggest and most watched soccer tournament, the World Cup in 2002. The deal allowed 7UP to use Keane's picture in a national advertising promotion that boldly asserted that when it comes to soft drinks, 'Clearly there's no substitute'.

At this time, TUP was also the sole sponsor of the Irish Schoolboys Football Association, so intended to use Keane to influence kids, its key target audience. The 'Clearly There's No Substitute' slogan resonated strongly given that Keane was viewed as an immovable foundation stone in Ireland's attempt to do well in the Korea/Japan tournament. Keano's immediately recognizable, stone-chiselled face was featured on 7UP billboards, cans, bottles, packaging and in-store merchandise and he also appeared in TV and radio advertisements courtesy of a reputed £750,000 marketing spend.

Sending-off offence

As news of the sponsorship hit news pages everywhere, awareness of 7UP - and its involvement with the apparently indispensable Keane -went sky high, doubtless sending the 7Uppers into seventh heaven.

However, in the team's pre-tournament preparations, the fiery-tempered Keane was involved in a major bust up with the team's man­ager and former Ireland international, Mick McCarthy. It was widely reported that Keane had launched a vitriolic attack on what he believed were his country's shambolic pre-tournament preparations. In front of a full squad meeting, Keane directed his ire at manager McCarthy calling into question his capability, suitability, nationality and, as ranting sports stars are wont to do, his parentage.

McCarthy, sensing his authority not so much being undermined as blown to smithereens, consulted the squad's senior players and offi­cials. Labelling playmaker Keane as 'a disruptive influence', they sent the hot-headed captain home to Ireland. The spat polarized the entire Irish nation. Most adored Keano, but felt angry that he was letting their team down by his self-engineered exclusion.

Meanwhile 7UP's position was becoming uncomfortable to say the least. All over Ireland, people were defacing 7UP's Roy Keane posters and publicity material. Their anger was directed at the brand that was providing visible and painful reminders of the nation's angst.

7UP couldn't disassociate itself from Keane, the public face - albeit a red one - of the brand. Changing its campaign or ordering a product recall at such a late stage would also have cost the brand a fortune and shown it to be weak-willed. Yet every time Keane commented on the spat - and the media hung on his every word - it cast the 7UP brand in a particularly unflattering light, especially given the player's surly intransigence. The irony of the situation facing 7UP was reaffirmed when the Football Association of Ireland drafted in a virtually unknown player to replace Keane.

Clearly, there was a substitute.

Attacking options

The 7UP brand was thrust into crisis management mode and contro­versy by a petulant display of temper from someone who had been paid a handsome sum to be its ambassador. 7UP had aligned itself with Keane, believing that the player granted it proxy access to the hearts of the Irish nation. Yet this incident makes it easy to see how involvement with celebrities and sports stars is a double-edged sword. Did no one at 7UP think to question the wisdom of sponsoring a player whose abrasiveness, volatility, conceit and 'play hard' lifestyle were widely known? To borrow or hire Keane's good character traits -passionately Irish, unflinchingly reliable and a peak performer - neces­sitated an evaluation of some of his negative ones, too. These included petulance, loner status, lack of respect for others and perhaps emo­tional immaturity. As many of the ads that Keane had been involved in for a clutch of other sponsors played on his aggressive image, could 7UP really have expected sweetness and light?

Lessons learnt

A brand is a living entity whose image is mirrored by those who are seen as its representatives. Caution and carе are required when choosing a brand ambassador, especially one whose sell-control and destructive tendencies have a habit of exploding – on and off-the field - with documented regularity.