Chapter Overviews
Here’s what you’ll find in Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street: How to Practice Global Public Relations and Strategic Communication:
Chapter 1
This chapter defines international public relations and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of developing international public relations campaigns, in which different public relations strategies and tactics are utilized in different markets. While such campaigns are more likely to be appropriate at the local level, they are often cost prohibitive and leave organizations lacking a coherent global identity. The chapter also defines and discusses global public relations campaigns, which have central themes that are adapted for different locations. Practitioners who utilize this approach believe that there are certain best practices and messages that are generally successful across countries and cultures and typically believe that their organizations benefit from having a consistent global brand identity. Another advantage of establishing common public relations practices at the global level is that it allows practitioners to enforce universal ethical principles. The chapter also explains the generic/specific theory of public relations practice, which calls for global public relations strategies to be adapted based upon a country’s political-economic system, culture, extent of activism, level of development, and media system. The author adds two more dimensions to this theory, arguing that global public relations strategies must also take account of social expectations and local influencers in different environments.
Chapter 2
This chapter discusses key dimensions on which cultures around the world will differ, as global public relations practitioners will need to adapt their messages, strategies, tactics, and workplace behavior accordingly. The chapter explains Hofstede’s cultural dimensions – power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation – as well as other ways in which cultures vary, such as on their levels of indulgence, performance orientations, humane orientations, approaches to time, values, taboos, expectations for emotion, ethical codes, symbols, business practices, ways of building trust, and nonverbal communications. The author provides a comprehensive list of resources for global public relations practitioners to consult in order to learn more about the particular cultures in which they work, so that they can adapt their public relations and strategic communication messages, strategies, and tactics accordingly.
Chapter 3
This chapter discusses how to build, manage, and evaluate a global public relations team. The author discusses the advantages and disadvantages of four different options for hiring members of a global public relations team: hiring full-time public relations practitioners, hiring freelancers, hiring global public relations agencies, and hiring smaller, local public relations agencies. The section also discusses important qualities of global public relations practitioners, including tolerance for ambiguity. Next, the chapter explains how to manage a global public relations team comprised of practitioners located in different offices around the world, who will have widely divergent workplace practices and expectations. The author provides twelve principles for managing a diverse public relations team. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of different methods and criteria for evaluating the results of global public relations strategies and campaigns, including measuring public relations outcomes and the quality of an organization’s relationships and reputation.
Chapter 4
This chapter discusses how to practice global public relations on behalf of corporations. The chapter emphasizes the importance of listening to members of a community before beginning to do business in a new location, in order to gain insight into how to meaningfully engage with local peoples. The chapter also describes how to conduct local audits before working in a new environment and how to practice corporate social responsibility; it explains why ensuring that a corporation has a positive environmental and social impact is good public relations practice and good for an organization’s “bottom line.” Additionally, the chapter explains how to position companies in new markets, by first determining whether a brand is a “prestige brand” (valued for its country of origin), a “master brand” (valued for the global qualities with which it is associated), or “GloCal” (produced by a global company but viewed as local). Finally, the chapter discusses two tactics which should be considered as part of any global public relations campaign, but are often particularly effective for corporations: associations with global events such as the Olympics or World Cup and issuing global reports which can be adapted for release at the regional and local levels.
Chapter 5
This chapter discusses how to practice global public relations on behalf of non-profit organizations and causes. The chapter begins by outlining resources to consult when conducting research on issues that will be part of global advocacy campaigns. Next, the chapter discusses decisions that non-profit organizations need to make before crafting global public relations strategies – such as to what degree they seek to promote their cause and to what degree they seek to promote their organization and how comfortable they are with controversial tactics. The chapter also discusses how to craft messages that will be most effective in building support for global causes and how to partner with like-minded organizations in order to achieve global public relations goals. Additionally, the chapter explains the four key strategies that global non-profit public relations practitioners use: information, symbols, leverage, and accountability. Finally, the chapter discusses two tactics which should be considered as part of any global public relations campaign, but are often particularly effective for non-profits: influencer engagement and encouraging people around the world to stage simultaneous local events.
Chapter 6
This chapter discusses how to practice global public relations on behalf of governments. The chapter begins by defining public diplomacy. It explains how to practice “nation branding,” which Anholt now calls “competitive identity,” in order to help a country craft a positive global reputation. Next, the chapter discusses different types of public diplomacy tactics – including cultural and educational exchange programs; visits by heads of state to other countries; cultural and language institutes; development aid projects; “twinning” arrangements that partner cities or towns as “sister cities;” campaigns that seek to build relationships between publics in other countries; “non-political networking schemes;” building coalitions with other nations and non-state actors to achieve policy goals; and media diplomacy. The chapter also discusses how to craft effective public diplomacy messages and how to work with local embassies and consulates in order to execute local public relations strategies. Additionally, the chapter discusses how governments are attempting to combat terrorist propaganda on social media. Finally, the chapter discusses two tactics which should be considered as part of any global public relations campaign, but are often particularly effective for governments: interpersonal communication and social media diplomacy, or “twiplomacy.”
Chapter 7
This chapter explains how global public relations practitioners should work with the traditional global media and utilize social media platforms. The chapter begins by offering advice for media relations with key global news organizations. Next, it profiles media outlets that reach truly global audiences: Al Jazeera, BBC World News and World Service, Bloomberg, CCTV News, the China Xinhua News Network Corporation, CNN en Español, CNN International, Deutsche Welle, France 24, NHK World, RT, Sky News International, Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, EFE, Reuters, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The International New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. The chapter also explains how to use social media platforms as part of global public relations campaigns. It profiles key social networks that are used around the world – Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr – and explains how to use them as part of public relations campaigns. Finally, a separate section explains how to use social media platforms in China and profiles Weibo and WeChat.
Chapter 8
This chapter describes how to practice public relations and strategic communication in Asia and the Pacific. The chapter describes how to practice public relations within each of the region’s three cultural clusters. It includes sections on how to practice public relations in China, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, and Australia, including key media outlets and social media platforms in these countries. Practitioners discuss the public relations and strategic communication messages, strategies, and tactics that work best in countries in the region – including engaging social media influencers who are more trusted than the government-censored press in China; emphasizing that behaviors promoted in Japan are truly “Japanese”; releasing information to all reporters simultaneously in South Korea; segmenting audiences in the diverse nation of India; being social and visual in Indonesia; and preparing for tough questions from Australian journalists. The chapter includes a profile of Chen Liang, Account Executive for the public relations firm Rudder Finn in Hong Kong, as well as a case study of the remarkable P.R. strategy adopted by Bordeaux wineries in China that focused on personal relationship building and led to a staggering 26,900 percent increase in sales.
Chapter 9
This chapter describes how to practice public relations and strategic communication in Europe. The chapter explains how to practice public relations within each of the region’s five cultural groups. It includes sections on how to practice public relations in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, and Russia, including key media outlets and social media platforms in these countries. Practitioners discuss the public relations and strategic communication messages, strategies, and tactics that work best in countries in the region – including preparing for debate and tough questions in the U.K. and France; building relationships and pitching local media in Italy; complying with Germany’s strict privacy laws; emphasizing transparency and internal communications in Sweden; and being prepared to be solicited for money by reporters in Russia. The chapter includes a profile of Jack Lundie, Director of Communications for Oxfam Great Britain, and a profile of @Sweden, which turns over control of Sweden’s official Twitter handle to a different citizen each week in order to showcase the lives of Swedish people to the world.
Chapter 10
This chapter describes how to practice public relations and strategic communication in the Middle East and North Africa. The chapter opens with an overall description of public relations practice in the Middle East. It includes sections on how to practice public relations in Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, including key media outlets and social media platforms. Practitioners discuss the public relations and strategic communication messages, strategies, and tactics that work best in the region, including the importance of building relationships, engaging local influencers, demonstrating appropriate emotional responses, and using social media and mobile technology to reach the region’s large youth population. The chapter includes a profile of Rania Azab, Chief Executive Officer of the 4PR Group in Egypt, and a case study of the tactics used on the Facebook Arabic page “We Are All Khaled Said” in order to promote Egypt’s 2011 revolution.
Chapter 11
This chapter describes how to practice public relations and strategic communication in North and Latin America. The chapter opens with a description of the Anglo cultural group, before describing public relations practice in Canada and the United States of America. North American practitioners recommend a range of approaches, including avoiding criticism of the opposition or competition in Canada. The chapter next describes Latin America and the Latin American school of public relations. It includes sections on how to practice public relations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico and key media outlets in these countries. Practitioners discuss the public relations and strategic communication messages, strategies, and tactics that work best in the region, including how increased citizen activism is impacting the practice of public relations in Latin America and the importance of telenovelas, social media, and personal relationships in the region. The chapter includes a profile of Paulo Henrique Soares, the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-based Head of Communications for Vale, one of the world’s largest mining companies. It also includes a case study of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and how the use of “social tagging” helped the campaign go viral on social media during the summer of 2014.
Chapter 12
This chapter describes how to practice public relations and strategic communication in Sub-Saharan Africa. The chapter opens with an overall description of Sub-Saharan Africa, including the region’s growing importance as a consumer market and the huge penetration of mobile phones. It includes sections on how to practice public relations and strategic communication in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. African practitioners recommend a range of approaches, from influencer engagement to indigenous forms of outreach, and stress the importance of segmenting audiences in diverse nations such as Kenya and South Africa. The challenge of “brown envelopism” (the expectation that reporters will be paid for coverage) and the importance of corporate social responsibility are discussed. The chapter includes a profile of Solly Moeng, Managing Director of Don Valley, a corporate reputation management firm based in Cape Town, South Africa. It also includes a case study of the public relations strategy and tactics utilized as part of the Uwiano Platform for Peace, which successfully promoted peace and reduced ethnic tensions during Kenya’s 2010 referendum on a new constitution, as well as during the country’s general election in 2013.