Strat Comm Exam 2
CH.6 What is Formative Research?
Forming ideas about who the organization is and who the stakeholders are. You do this before you start anything.
CH.6 What is Summative Research?
You go back to evaluate how well you did.
CH.6 Types of Quantative Research?
Survey and Content Analysis.
CH.6 What are Surveys?
A single, cross-sectional study that generates a snapshot in time. Random sample of a relatively large population, uses questionnaires, the data comes from self-reports and uncovers attitudes and opinions of large populations.
CH.6 What is Content Analysis?
Describes what the typical viewer/reader sees over time in the media. Quantitative Method employs counting of images, actions, words, portrayals, etc. Descriptive only and cannot establish cause/effect, attitudes or social impact.
CH.6 Types of Qualitative Research?
Interviews, Focus groups, Ethnography, and Observation Study Behavior.
CH.6 What are Interviews?
Personal interviews between one person and the researcher. May be face-to-face, on the phone, or over the internet. Beliefs, values, and opinions.
CH.6 What are Focus Groups?
A specialized interview that brings together a group of people (6-10) to talk naturally about a topic or group of topics. Usually 2 hours long, the moderator leads the discussion, typically recorded by video or audio and is held in a two-way room with a mirror.
CH.6 What is Ethnography?
Typically involves the researcher immersing himself or herself into a particular culture or content to understand communication rules and meanings for that culture or context. Must take place in the natural environment for the groups under study and the particular methods used adjusted on the basis of what is occurring in that environment.
CH.6 What is Observation Study Behavior?
Researcher observes ongoing behavior, studies the behavior that happens naturally in the natural settings and can be descriptive or correlational, but does not allow for causal explanations.
CH.6 What is the Research Planning Process?
Determine the objective of the Research, Select a problem, Review exsisting information, Develop a hypothesis or Research Question, Determine appropriate methodology/research design, Collect Relavent Data, Analyze Data, Interpret the results, Present the results in an appropriate form and Take action to solve the Problem.
CH.6 How do you Determine the Objective of the Research?
What should our research achieve? The objective may be that a problem needs to be solved, “how do we improve our company’s image?”. Since research requires time and money to conduct, launching a research project should not be taken lightly or attempted for questions that are unimportant or not well defined. Constraints include time, money and ambiguity.
CH.6 How do we Select a Problem?
You need to narrow down the overall objectives to a specific problem or problems. Exploring all the aspects of the question and selecting one or two problems to answer will produce better and more usable research results for the organization. Who are the stakeholders for my communication, Which media are best for reaching this audience, How much money should be spent to reach this audience most effectively, and Which messages should be used most effectively?
CH.6 How do we Review Exsisting Research?
Sometimes the answers to problems and questions are already available in existing information and there is no need to gather new data. Secondary research–the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing data– is often faster and less expensive to obtain. A good researcher should always start any research project by finding out more about the problem or issue from already existing sources. Ex: Internal: sales reports and/or findings from previously conducted studies. External: articles in trade magazines or on government databases can also be helpful to answering research problems.
CH.6 How do we Develop a Hypothesis or Research Question?
This can be the most difficult part of the research process because hypotheses or a research question are difficult to formulate, especially if you do not fully understand the topic under study. If you cannot find the answer(s) you need in a secondary research, you will conduct a primary research study. Ex: Awareness (asking unaided questions), Aided (providing answer choices), Knowledge (giving information in the question and answer), Conviction (thinking about one's own choices), Attitude/opinion (how they would categorize things), and Brand image (how they perceive brands).
CH.6 How do we Determine Methodology/Research Design?
The design describes the type of study, and the method refers to how the data will be collected. Descriptive Studies, Correlational Studies, and Casual Studies.
CH.6 How do we Collect Relavent Data?
Takes the most time and effort, and therefore usually involves an outside commercial research firm who selects the actual participants and collects the data using professional research protocols and ethical guidelines.
CH.6 How do we Analyze Data?
Analyzed using statistical techniques or in the case of qualitative data, through coding and interpretation by the researcher. Qualtrics, Survey Monkey, Excel, SPSS.
CH.6 How do we Interpret the Results?
The strategic communication researcher uses their skills and insights to understand what the data are saying and attempts to answer the research questions and/or hypotheses.
CH.6 How do we Present the Results in an Appropriate Form?
The researchers must write their results, conclusion and recommendations based on their unbiased interpretation of the data. They should include an introduction that explains the project, the objectives of the study, the findings of secondary research, the primary research questions and the method for gathering the data, including how the sample was drawn and what instruments were used. Should also include the statistical analysis and possibly the raw data in a large binder or online.
CH.6 How do we Take Action to Solve the Problem?
The purpose of research is to assist managers in making decisions and taking action that will benefit the organization and help achieve its objectives.
CH.6 What is Sydicated Research?
Large scale studies conducted by outside, commercial research firms and sold to multiple clients who need information. Large ongoing study, Not specific to one client’s needs and expensive.
CH.6 What is Trade and Popular Press?
Report national studies that often contain information about the communication industry, including salary surveys, listings of agencies, and annual information on media spending. Easily available based on large, national samples, Not always specific to your client’s needs and very broad in scope.
CH.6 What are Academic Journals?
Publish academic research about strategic communication topics. Helpful for gathering broad, theoretical information. Often difficult to understand and interpret, May not relate to the “Real World” problems of the client.
CH.6 What are Associations?
Release studies relevant to the industry sector they’re associated with. Provide highly relevant data to their members. Narrow to one industry and Sometimes the research is influenced by the association’s personal agenda.
CH.6 What is Government?
Excellent source of secondary data on demographics, etc. Free and available from a database on the web. Information is very general.
CH.6 What are Online Metrics?
Provide information about website visits, social media sentiment, and click rates. Free/Flat rate, depending on source. Need some training to interpret data and understand how the variables are measured.
CH.6 What is Exsisting Client Data?
Most companies conduct their own research studies. Can save time collecting new data, Data are highly relevant to their products, employees, and sales trends. May be out-of-date, incomplete or poorly collected. Information about the method and procedure for collecting the data is not always available.
CH.6 What are Descriptive Studies?
Help describe the state or condition of a phenomenon. Compare 2 or more e.g. A/B testing.
CH.6 What are Correlational Studies?
Attempt to determine the relationship between variables. Testing for a relationship between two variables. (do not cause/effect).
CH.6 What are Casual Studies?
Seek to identify the precise cause of certain effects. Causation, A B testing. Gathering information informally. (“Pick brains”).
CH.6 What are the Research Designs to choose from?
Longitudinal Designs, Pre/Post Tests, Field Tests and Laboratory.
CH.6 What are Longitudinal Designs?
Made up of a series of individual one-shot studies done the same way over time to measure change or trends. Can be predictive of the future.
CH.6 What are Pre/Post Tests?
Measure the effects before and after a particular action. Advertisers often measure product awareness before a campaign and compare it to awareness levels for the product after the campaign finishes to see if there is an impact from the messaging.
CH.6 What are Field Tests?
Often used in marketing communications research because they measure cause and effect in real situations.
CH.6 What is Laboratory?
Measure cause and effect in a controlled laboratory setting. The ability to control variables not under study is an advantage of a laboratory experiment, while the artificial environment of the lab can be a negative because research subjects may not behave normally in the artificial environment.
CH.6 What is the Strategic Communication Process?
We plan, RFP Request for Proposals, for Communication program plan or a campaign plan. Planning is important, tight deadlines, every aspect is planned: from the client’s main issue to developing tactics to target to the budget and timeline. Must know everything about your client, what client wants and what client needs.
- Develop the top-line foundational goals of the organization.
- Determine the SMART objectives for each activity of the
organization.
SMART: Specific, Measurable, attainable, Realistic and
Timely.
- Develop strategies and tactics to achieve each objective that
will aim at meeting the foundational goals.
CH.6 Steps in Planning?
Analyze the Situation and Problem and Oppurtunities.
CH.6 How do you Analyze the Situation?
(Situation Analysis) To explain the recent history and current situation and to create a framework for future recommendations. Helps reveal the areas where more information is needed and gives background information about the organization’s history, sales, products, customers and competitors. Formative Research - Situation, Organization, Stakeholders (publics and audiences). Single document.
CH.6 What are Product/Brand?
Description of product/brand, benefits/features, history, current market, pricing, distribution, current sales, current comm strats.
CH.6 What is Stakeholder Analysis?
Demographics, Psychographics, Geographic, Behaviors, Purchase Cycle.
CH.6 What is Competitor Analysis?
Strongest Competitor, Market Share, Positioning, and Promotional history.
CH.6 What are Problem and Opportunities?
(Research) Both internal and external–is extremely important to writing a good strategic communication plan. Focused on gathering information in both primary and secondary stages. The research is collected, analyzed and presented, there is one more step before developing the objectives and strategy for a plan. Often think…the situation is a problem! Obstacles limit the organization… mission. Problems are Obstacles are opportunities. Problem-opportunity statements. Problems and Opportunities Phase: The process of strategically converting research findings into organizational goals and objectives. Links the situation analysis (past) and research (currently) to the plan (future). Very difficult, but the most important step, key to your plan.
Ex: Client is a beverage company who sells seltzers. Trend that Gen Z is focusing more on health. Problem-Opportunity market seltzers as a healthier option than sugar drinks to Gen Z.
CH.6 What is SWOT Analysis?
Planning and visual tool. Summarizes the key points from your situational analysis. Aids in determining the best path for you plan: Strengths (Internal positive qualities of the organization: Employer mental health, 401K, training), Weaknesses (Internal negative qualities of the organization: Retention, no Bonus, equal opportunities/employment, Security, No training), Opportunities (External positive to the organization: “do not refer to what you should do in the future” Untapped market, Failing competitor, Trend), and Threats (External negative to the organization: Spokesperson has negative publicity, Social Movement). We do not consider tactics in situational analysis. Devised only after you have smart objectives.
CH.6 What is Internal?
You have control; company records, annual reports, sales data, previous research.
CH.6 What is External?
You have no control; trade articles, industry research, consumer trends data, etc.
CH.6 What is Primary Research?
Reported by the person who conducted it. Typically published in peer-reviewed academic journals.
CH.6 What is Secondary Research?
Reported by someone other than the person who conducted it. Reported in newspapers, popular or trade magazines, handbooks and textbooks, and, frequently, the internet.
CH.7 What are Objectives and Goals?
Objectives (where do you want to go?), Strategies (how are you going to get there?), and Tactics (executional details).
CH.7 What is Canidate Level?
Objective-get elected. Strategy-brainstorm with division managers to come up with objectives and best practices for each unit.
CH.7 What is Division Level?
Communications: Objective-persuade 51% of likely voters to choose the candidate. Strategy-utilize research to determine best message strategy; creates tools for campaigns to persuade target voters.
CH.7 What is Unit Level-Design, Advertising, PR?
Objective-develop specific communications tools to increase name recognition and fundraising by 30%. Strategy-create website with messaging, fundraising and volunteer options; design door cards for field team; utilize social media to emphasize messaging.
CH.7 The Triangle Thing?
Goals are broad, objectives and strategies are specific and tactics are more specific.
CH.7 Goals?
Reputation: Enhance hospital’s prestige as a center for sports medicine.
Relationships: Maintain favorable relationships amid social/organizational change.
Task: Attract a sell-out to a fundraising event.
CH.7 What is Objective?
Specific outcomes, emerges from goals, Smart (Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely), focuses on awareness, acceptance and action. Awareness: your attention (calling it out) and comprehension(understanding) of retention (how well they remember). Acceptance: the interest and attitude towards individuals, positive or negative. Feelings.
CH.7 Example of Objective?
Should be concrete and measurable, define the stakeholder, benchmark the degree of the change sought, and specify time period. Start with “to” followed by an active (or power) verb. Ex: Address, delegate, guide, record, analyze, build, arrange, make, etc.
CH.7 How to Write Objective?
Simple: To create… Use SMART, define stakeholders.
EG: To increase sales by 10% for Grape Nehi among young adults (18-24) in the U.S. by the end of the 8-week campaign period.
CH.7 ROPES Model?
Research, Objectives, Programming, Evaluation, Stewardship.
CH.8 Stakeholders?
External, Key, Latent, Aware, Active, Gruing & Hunt Groups.
CH.8 What are Stakeholders?
The people to whom the communicative entity aims to send messages. Individuals and groups that can affect or be affected by the messages, actions, goals and policies of the CE. Groups or individuals who are impacted by the decision and actions of an organization, Have a stake in the organization, and two-way communication. Voters, citizens, employees or elected officials.
CH.8 Who are Consumers?
Customers or target markets.
CH.8 Who are the public?
Public Relations: “Publics arise on their own and choose the organization for attention” (Grunig and Repper, 1992, p.128). Have direct or indirect interest.
CH.8 Who is the Audience?
Advertising: Those who will receive your message, either directly or indirectly. Receivers = one-way communication.
CH.8 Who are Internal Stakeholders?
Are people whose interest in a company comes through a direct relationship. E.G. employees, employment, owners, members of management, or investors.
CH.8 Who are External Stakeholders?
Are people who do not directly work with a company but are affected somehow by the actions and outcomes of the business. E.G. suppliers, creditors, customers, investors, partners, society, and government.
CH.8 What are Primary Stakeholders?
Impacted directly-positively or negatively-by the actions of the organization.
CH.8 What are Secondary Stakeholders?
Affected indirectly by the organization.
CH.8 What are Active Stakeholders?
Respond with action. Motivated by their beliefs and desires and are easily persuaded by the goals of an organization or the ideas of their peers. In class: Motivation by own beliefs, persuaded by peers/org, most loyal. Ex: Swifties and Aggies.
CH.8 What are Passive Stakeholders?
Passively respond to media messages rather than emotionally or intellectually engage in the content. In class: Most people belong here, Not invested enough to actively engage, might not be donors or follow news coverage, wallflowers.
CH.8 Stakeholder Groups: Grunig and Hunt?
Enabaling, Functional, Normative, and Diffused Stakeholders.
CH.8 What are Enabaling Stakeholders?
Have some control and authority over the organization. E.G. Stakeholders, board of directors, stockholders, elected officials, governmental legislators and regulators.
CH.8 What are Functional Stakeholders?
Are essential to the operations of the organization. Divided between
Input- providing labor and resources to create products or services (such as employees and suppliers).
Output- receiving the products or services (such as consumers and retailers).
CH.8 What are Normative Stakeholders?
Are associations or groups with which the organization has a common interest. These stakeholders share similar values, goals, or problems. E.G. Typically include competitors.
CH.8 What are Diffused Stakeholders?
Are the most difficult to identify. Have frequent interaction with the organization but become involved based on the actions of the organization. Are different according to the situation. Publics that arise in times of a crisis. E.G. the media, the community, activists, and other special interest groups.
CH.8 Kinds of Publics?
Non-publics, Latent, Aware, and Active Publics.
CH.8 What are Non-publics?
Stakeholders who are not affected by the CE and do not interact with it.
CH.8 What are Latent Publics?
Those who see a situation but don’t see it as a problem or are not affected by it. They have the potential to become active.
CH.8 What are Aware Publics?
Those who are aware the organization or issue is affecting them but are waiting for an event to trigger them into action.
CH.8 What are Active Publics?
Groups that are aware of an event and are actively seeking information about the situation.
CH.8 What are Key Publics?
Group you want to communicate with first. They may have the greatest influential power, urgency or most involvement, either negative or positive.
CH.8 Generational Advertising?
Baby Boomers: 1946-1964, skeptical, less influenced by fads, reliable voters, look for “best value”.
Generation X: 1965-1980, suspicious of Iarge corporations, traditional, facebook.
Generation Y (Millennials): 1981-1996, competitive, aligned careers with passions, social consciousness.
Generation Z: 1996-2012, care about mental health, less likely to stay at a job for longer, value sustainability.
Generational Alphas: 2013-2025, Very digitally minded, keep the parents in mind.
CH.8 What is Segmentation?
Breaking the total population into smaller homogenous groups. You can send one message that will appeal to many people. Must have effective and efficient messaging. It is important that they are distinguishable, homogeneous, important, large enough to matter and reachable.
CH.8 What is Distinguishable Segmentation?
Must distinguish who you are targeting so you can be efficient with your messaging.
CH.8 What is Homogeneous Segmentation?
To be the same or alike. You should find characteristics that unit the group. Many of your message strategies can be uniformly tailored toward them.
CH.8 What is Important Segmentation?
The segment needs to be important to justify the time and energy spent to reach it.
CH.8 What is Large Enough to Matter Segmentation?
When a small group becomes large enough to be important, the organization they are targeting will sit up and pay attention.
CH.8 What is Reachable Segmentation?
It’s up to you to determine if you can get their attention and how much it might cost you to do it.
CH.8 What are Demographics?
“Who you are” The statistical study of populations, especially human beings; age, race, gender, income, educational level, and profession.
CH.8 What are Geographics?
“Where you are” The location that your stakeholder is in, can tell you a lot about them; Zip code, city, state, nation, and Urban/Suburban/Rural.
CH.8 What are Psychographics?
“Why you are” Dive deeply into the human psyche; Lifestyle, activities, interests, and opinions.
CH.8 What are Behavioral Characteristics?
“How you are” Information about the rate of use, what benefits the consumer is seeking from the product, how loyal they are to the CE and how ready they are to purchase; Usage patterns, loyalty, and shopping patterns.
CH.8 What is Aggregation?
Now (today); today's analytics. To start with individual customers and try to group them into like-behaving units. Takes individual data and groups it into larger meaningful segments.
CH.9 What are the 5 C's?
Context, Character, Conflict, Climax, Conclusion.
CH.9 What is Context?
The environment, bringing life, taste, sound, feeling. Introduces the environment and provides rich details to understand place, time, social order and who the characters are.
CH.9 What is Character?
Most characters need to be a hero. Good stories have interesting characters whom the readers/viewers can relate to.
CH.9 What is Conflict?
Achieving something. Drives the story and helps the hero achieve his/her goal.
CH.9 What is Climax?
The turning point. No good story is complete without it.
CH.9 What is Conclusion?
Helps change your mind or your behavior. Story should be consistent.
CH.9 What is the origin of a good story?
In strategic communication, CE needs to tell stories with rich detail in which their customers or stakeholders are the heroes of their stories and the product or service should help the heroes to overcome its enemies, but not without an epic battle that reaches a pinnacle. Theme is important, and the action you want the audience to walk away with is just as important.
CH.9 Tactics?
Messaging, Orginizational, Traditional Media, Advertising, Interpersonal, Publicity, Experimental and Sales Promotion.
CH.9 What is Messaging?
Involves how an organization portrays itself, shares information about itself and the value it provides.
CH.9 What are Organizational Tactics?
Informative, easy-to-navigate website and professionally produced collateral materials, communicate with internal audiences, company newsletter, employee events and incentive programs.
CH.9 What is Traditional Media?
Press release or media release, FAQs, Backgrounds, Feature Articles (B-roll, VNRs, ANRs) Test Question, Media Kit (include fact sheet about the organization or event, biographical sketch of the major people involved, a straight news story, news-column material, a news feature, a brochure, photographs, and audio and video segments) and Photos.
CH.9 What is Advertising?
A form of persuasive communication that is run in the media and paid for by an identified sponsor. Ex: Newspaper ads, Magazine ads, Billboards, Yard signage, Promoted posts, Digital marketing, Celebrity endorsements and Product placement.
CH.9 What is Interpersonal?
Volunteering, Donations, Speech, Demonstrations, Meet and greets, Door knocking, and Product exhibitions.
CH.9 What is Publicty?
Media Advisory (media alerts), Story Pitch, Letter to Editor, News Conference, Media Tour, and Partnerships. Ex: CDC announcement.
CH.9 What is Experimental?
Guerilla marketing, Sporting events, Content, Holiday events, Happy hour, and Fundraising.
CH.9 What are Sales Promotions?
Designed to increase sales or encourage the use or trial of a product or service. Ex: Coupons, In-store sampling, Postcards, Catalogs, and Direct Mail items, Contests, Free Trial, Shared Programs and experiences.
CH.9 What is the PESO Model?
P: Paid: Any type of strategic communication content that involves paying for exposure-most common paid media is advertising. Ex: Advertising, sponsorship and boosted content of social media, pay per click.
E: Earned: Publicity gained through media relations in order to benefit from third party credibility most commonly associated with public relations. Ex: Mentions in publications, guest blogging, guests on podcasts. (the most trusted media)
S: Shared: The posting of a communicative entity’s content by stakeholders (fans or followers) on social media. Share media, like earned, is free and provides third party credibility. Ex: Social media, word of mouth, referrals.
O: Owned: The sharing of content by the CE on its own media. Ex: Website, blog, social media, blog, and email.