After missing my first PR class last week, I was determined to be fresh, prepared, and very early for this week's class. I left at 5pm (leaving 1,5 hour to get to campus), but I somehow still managed to arrive almost an hour late.
I think luck not only turned its back to me, it threw me to the other side of the spectrum. While I was just trying to get to an evening class I: 1. got stuck in rain-related-traffic 2. discovered I went to the wrong campus 3. waited on a tornado to pass by downtown Dallas 4. could not find a parking spot 5. found a parking spot, did not have cash.
Sigh. I almost drove home several times, thinking that me and this class are just not meant to be. But I kept thinking... when something is very, very, hard to get to: it must be very, very good! And it was. Glorious.
Well, that might be a little over the top, but I certainly learned some great things. First of all, I learned a new word, which is always exciting: Greenwashing.
Source: Greenertrends.comIt's when companies frame a new move or product with a 'green' message, when it actually helps the business in other (financial) ways. I remember when Target announced they would give customers a 5ct discount for every reusable bag they use instead of a plastic bag. The commercials made this seem like a great way to save money and a wonderful green initiative: saving the world one bag at a time. But think about how much money Target would save by not providing free plastic bags for all their customers!! This move could also be out of self-interest: greenwashing.
Don't get me wrong, I love reusable shopping bags. I think it's a good initative. I myself have 3 piles of plastic bags laying around my house (all used no more than 1 time) - and I would love for stores to do it the Dutch way: start charging for plastic bags! That will motivate. Might not attract a lot of new customers though. And I learned yesterday, when it comes to PR, it's all about planning.
For example, a few months ago, XTO Energy wanted to drill gas close by my neighborhood. A small community group came together, to try to educate neighbors on gas drilling in their neighborhood. We had several things in mind, our major goals (raise awareness on North Texas drilling), and shorter-term objectives (get 200+ people to a local City Hall hearing). One of our output-objectives was to put flyers at the homes of about 800 residents. Then, a strategy needed to be determined. How are we going to get those flyers there? Who is going to volunteer? How are we dividing the roads between the volunteers? Of course, you need to know your audience for the right media-tool. As I learned in class, the objectives should be measured at several points in time. Did we get 200 people at a local City Hall hearing? If so, where did they hear about the hearing? There were some people we ran into that just did not want to believe a word we said.
That brings me to the cognitive dissonance theory. It's when people don't believe a message when it's contrary to their predepositions.
Take JFK conspirers, or people who believe that 9/11 was caused by the government. You will not change these people's opinion. However, changing people's opinion on the type of laundry detergent they use can be possible. Depending on the product/service's relative advantage, compatability, complexity, triability (can you play with it?), and obvservability -- it might definitely be possible! That's what's PR is all about. Trying to raise awareness, gain interest, and make people adopt an opinion or buy a product. And who knows, maybe someday, piles of once-used plastic bags won't be an issue anymore. We might just be making bags from newspapers:
I think luck not only turned its back to me, it threw me to the other side of the spectrum. While I was just trying to get to an evening class I: 1. got stuck in rain-related-traffic 2. discovered I went to the wrong campus 3. waited on a tornado to pass by downtown Dallas 4. could not find a parking spot 5. found a parking spot, did not have cash.
Sigh. I almost drove home several times, thinking that me and this class are just not meant to be. But I kept thinking... when something is very, very, hard to get to: it must be very, very good! And it was. Glorious.
Well, that might be a little over the top, but I certainly learned some great things. First of all, I learned a new word, which is always exciting: Greenwashing.
Source: Greenertrends.comIt's when companies frame a new move or product with a 'green' message, when it actually helps the business in other (financial) ways. I remember when Target announced they would give customers a 5ct discount for every reusable bag they use instead of a plastic bag. The commercials made this seem like a great way to save money and a wonderful green initiative: saving the world one bag at a time. But think about how much money Target would save by not providing free plastic bags for all their customers!! This move could also be out of self-interest: greenwashing.Don't get me wrong, I love reusable shopping bags. I think it's a good initative. I myself have 3 piles of plastic bags laying around my house (all used no more than 1 time) - and I would love for stores to do it the Dutch way: start charging for plastic bags! That will motivate. Might not attract a lot of new customers though. And I learned yesterday, when it comes to PR, it's all about planning.
For example, a few months ago, XTO Energy wanted to drill gas close by my neighborhood. A small community group came together, to try to educate neighbors on gas drilling in their neighborhood. We had several things in mind, our major goals (raise awareness on North Texas drilling), and shorter-term objectives (get 200+ people to a local City Hall hearing). One of our output-objectives was to put flyers at the homes of about 800 residents. Then, a strategy needed to be determined. How are we going to get those flyers there? Who is going to volunteer? How are we dividing the roads between the volunteers? Of course, you need to know your audience for the right media-tool. As I learned in class, the objectives should be measured at several points in time. Did we get 200 people at a local City Hall hearing? If so, where did they hear about the hearing? There were some people we ran into that just did not want to believe a word we said.
That brings me to the cognitive dissonance theory. It's when people don't believe a message when it's contrary to their predepositions.
Take JFK conspirers, or people who believe that 9/11 was caused by the government. You will not change these people's opinion. However, changing people's opinion on the type of laundry detergent they use can be possible. Depending on the product/service's relative advantage, compatability, complexity, triability (can you play with it?), and obvservability -- it might definitely be possible! That's what's PR is all about. Trying to raise awareness, gain interest, and make people adopt an opinion or buy a product. And who knows, maybe someday, piles of once-used plastic bags won't be an issue anymore. We might just be making bags from newspapers:
