PR And New Media Essay Example for Free

PR And New Media Essay Public relations (PR) are the management of internal and external communication environment of an organization to generate and sustain a positive image and goodwill. It often involves in activities like popularizing successes or exaggerating success, rejecting failures or hiding the weakness of company, announcement of new promotion campaigns, detailing new strategies involving public, media and investors. It should be mentioned that Public relations is also viewed as an art or technique to endorse, encourage, sponsor goodwill in the external environment like media and public. Thus, it is essential to incorporate a proper campaign related to public health program in the context of public health like the one the campaign targeted in this case: An anti-smoking health campaign for the UK department of Health, aimed at encouraging 35-45 year old smokers, primarily in disadvantaged areas, to access NHS smoking cessation services. This group is traditionally considered difficult to reach. Public health relates to all the threats for the general Health of the society, focusing on the resident’s and non-resident’s health analysis. Health can be defined as complete body, mind and social welfare, but not simply the failure to be suffering from a disease or infirmity. It can be stated that diet, religious nourishment and brain balance, determine someone’s health. Health can be environmental, epidemiological, and professional/Occupational. The nation’s resources should be spent in saving lives and improving living conditions. Research and development on public health is necessary to determine the cause of disease and cure or prevention for the diseases. Thus, a public health campaign is essential for UK in the context of Anti smoking awareness. Public relation is an important management function of any organization and in this issue of anti smoking campaign. It dictates the communication environment be it internal or external, of an organization. It is often done to create and maintain an optimistic image and goodwill of the organization. Public relation is also viewed as a process to support, encourage and sponsor goodwill. It effects in not only the external environment like media, investors and public but also the internal environment like employee and investors. As Mr. Robert L. Heath said Public Relations is a set of management, supervisory, and technical functions that foster an organizations ability to strategically listen to, appreciate, and respond to those persons whose mutually beneficial relationships with the organization are necessary if it is to achieve its missions and values. (Wiki, 2007) With changing world perception, public relation starts from collection of data, identifying challenges and problem areas, and finally making strategies for implementing goals. So when it comes to health it Public Relation becomes more so important. It is not only health awareness but also controlling various health factors like cancer, tropical diseases etc. Here methodologies used for Public Relations are press releases, press kits, advertisements in newspaper, satellite feeds, web casts, wire service distribution of information and internet placement. Other indirect tools can be include entertainment product placement (television, events, celebrity), product launches, press conferences, media seminars, producing events, speechwriting and establishing partnerships. The most important aspect here is use of right media for right purpose. Anti-smoking health campaign for the UK department of Health One of the main challenges in facing the world is smoking. Every year hundreds of thousands of people around the world die from diseases caused by smoking, directly or indirectly. One in two lifetime smokers have been seen to die from this habit. Half of these deaths will occur in middle age usually in the age group of 35-45. Tobacco smoke itself is the reason of number of  cancers. The resultant mixture of nicotine and carbon monoxide, in each cigarette smoke can temporarily increase ones heart rate and blood pressure, straining the heart and blood vessels. This causes heart attacks and stroke. It slows your blood flow, cutting off oxygen to your feet and hands to the brain. Some smokers end up having their limbs amputated. Tar coats on lungs like soot in a chimney and causes cancer. A 20-a-day smoker on average breathes in up to a full cup (210 g) of tar in a year. Carbon monoxide can cause depletion of muscles, brain and body tissue of oxygen, making the whole body and especially the heart work harder. Over time, airways swell up and let less air into your lungs. Heart disease and strokes are seen to be more common among smokers than non-smokers. It also causes fat deposits to narrow and block blood vessels, which lead to heart attack. (QSS, 2007) The National Health Service (NHS) a publicly funded healthcare system in Great Britain provides healthcare to everyone normally resident in the UK. It is funded exclusively through income tax, and provides many services are free of charge to the patient. Other than normal healthcare NHS has been required to take on pro-active socially directive policies, for example, in respect of smoking and obesity. Here National Health Service can involve new media in its Public relation activities. The National Health Service of Great Britain has been using stop smoking clinics for quite some time now. It has been called a success after figures showed significant progress in disadvantaged areas. The study found 8.8% of smokers in poorer areas had quit at the four-week mark, compared with 7.8% elsewhere. The comparison is particularly relevant as smoking is a key factor in health inequalities with those from deprived backgrounds more likely to smoke. Smoking cessation clinics, offering counseling and treatment in the form of nicotine replacement therapy, were set up in 1999. (News.BBC, 2007) The age group of 35-45 for smokers is of particular interest to NHS. This age group primarily consists of new mothers and fathers to middle aged people. This age-group has been found particularly difficult to reach because of job related problems. In study it has been found children whose parents smoke during pregnancy or in the early years of childhood are more likely to smokers than those whose parents are not. This age group is also the most stressed among other groups leading or finding excuse in smoking. It has been found that quitting trends of smoking has been lower in populations in disadvantaged areas. NHS can use different methodologies with the help of new media to propagate these services. Disadvantaged areas or not internet and television are more or less available to most people on UK. On of the better techniques that can be use by NHS can be blogs, news feeds, social networking sites, news sites, patient review sites, experience or photo sharing sites, even games or interactive media. These can offer the latest insights to new technologies available for stop smoking. These pod casts can also be use to tell the participating audiences about camps going around and take updates from them about their current status of smoking habits on weekly basis as is normally done. This also ensures that the privacy for the participating audiences and even participate in some activities anonymously. NHS can optimize use of blogs and social networks for maximize positive exposure. It can harness the potential of the full range of new media channels like live-feeds, podcasts, life casts of smokers quitting smoking. Here patients can create their own content, writing their experiences of quitting; posting pictures and videos, and can also offer their experiences to other fellow counterparts. Patients can be allowed questions to a panel of elite professionals and gain valuable insights into how they wish to be cured and continue after the quit smoking exercise has been done. At the same time, evaluated results can also seen and effectively the impact of PR strategy with the help of Public Relation Strategy can found and if needed be altered. However, there is a significant advantage of the new media. New Media works best among a focus group of like-minded people. Visitors should be spreading the word to friends that will be interested in the topic, not to everyone else. Thus, in this context, the target audience (aged 35-45) would be accessed easily once the advertisement is properly carried out. When visitors are not even sure about the significance or meaning of targeting, how can they be made to act as advocates? The reward should be relevant to the target audience. The size of the reward should not be so large that customers resort to cheating. Again, the advertiser should control the response by ensuring that products are carried to specific groups interested in it. CNET regularly gives away technical content free to users. In return, subscribers need to take a link to CNET. This feature allows users to put up technical content in their websites. Participants in the program will naturally be placing the stories to visitors who will be concerned with trade or industry news. The relevance of the giveaway (free content) effortlessly brings in the target audience. The costs of improper planning, analysis and the wrong products can tip the scales instantaneously on a campaign. Though viral marketing is a relatively low cost advertising strategy, the wrong move could disable a company or product. A lot more is anticipated on this subject. However, to incorporate user-generated content into this communication plan it is important to process a well-formulated feedback plan from the visitors on the subject. For the purpose, a questioner on the subject would be presented and the response would collect, as it would prove to be the benchmark of this project and determinant of its success and failure. Nevertheless, a high amount of feedback returns would be almost synonymous for the success of this campaign. However, here is a shortcoming of the new media, it is the small working groups, and often numerous numbers of such sites can make difficultly for NHS. New Media tactics are designed to spread rapidly. One tells two friends who tell two others and so on till the numbers reach a highly critical mass. This is the same principle working in real time direct marketing programs. In the ambience of the web, growth is instant and so is the reaction. A good joke spreads to thousands in one day because it is so convenient to click Forward, and hit Send.   Such is the potential of a New Media program. We have often seen those â€Å"distress† messages operating similarly. When dealing with a web site the respondents might have to enter a site, registering, download a large file, buy things or request free deals. A 100-fold increase in traffic might result in just one day, providing the message is compelling enough and the proposition is motivating. More to the point is whether the advertiser’s server is ready to take this flood.   Is staff ready for this onslaught? If proactive plans are not in place, then the huge response will most likely end up in a backlash. However, other media programs would also be instrumental in the issue. Measures would be taken to fulfill the approach under various parameters. A multiple mode of public relation applications would be used like radio, print media, TV and live campaigns. Programs related to public heath would be aired on radio and TV to make the mass aware of the smoking hazard and the protection needed against these smoking related diseases. Live campaigns and kiosks would be incorporated in public spaces and within vulnerable communities to create awareness. Special units would also be prepared to persuade the health ministry with participants from all walks of life with possible influential backgrounds. It is important to create awareness both in the parameters of public and administrative strata and without the help of both the overall objectives of the public health program would not be fruitful. Conclusion In conclusion it can well be stated that crisis in western capitalism generated the operation of an interventionist welfare state has been resolved by transferring the burden of crisis to some groups among welfare state consumers, as earlier   discussion of the realignment of welfare policy in accordance to public healthcare programs formulation, specifically related to the anti-smoking issue. This shift to a theoretical model whereby the welfare state is seen as in process of ‘modernisation’ or as in ‘transition’ may well have supplanted earlier crisis theory at a time when the real crisis for the welfare state, in the case of public healthcare program formulation at least, may finally arrived. 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