Public Relations Writing & Media Techniques

Assessment Item (Individual Report). PR Plan and ‘Pitch' Presentation for a Real-Life Client: Written report.

Length: 2,500 - 3,000 words written (excluding references)

Task: For your major project, you will be required to produce a Public & Media relations plan for a real life organisation of your choice and present the plan to the class (role playing of a PR consultant, presenting your PR Plan ideas to the management team of your client).

You may choose any organisation you like - business or non-business (not-for-profit), local or overseas. But it MUST be a real organisation. If you choose a large organisation, it may be sensible to focus on one aspect or division of its operations. Often, small organisations may be ideal as your ‘client' for this assignment.

Your key aim should be to show what public relations can do for the organisation and to make some practical recommendations for action. Imagine you are a PR consultant and this document is your first written submission for a new client (give your consultancy a name).

Obviously you will need to gather background information about the organisation. Ideally talk to people who work there in addition to examining as much other material as you can, e.g. website, brochures, sales literature, annual reports, advertisements, relevant newspaper and magazine articles, etc. If possible visit the organisation to interview key employees/stakeholders. Choosing a firm you have worked for is a good idea.

Final Written PR Program Plan

Length: 2,500 - 3,000 words

You must use the guidelines provided below. However, here are a few headings for you to think about. Your program should be presented in business report format.

Successful campaigns will be easy to understand, simple to implement, comprise measurable objectives and be of significant interest and relevance to the target audience. Upon completion, your team will submit to your tutor / local lecturer a written PR Plan in class and via Turnitin of 2,500-3,000 words (approx. 15 pages), not including tables and the appendix, and in a font size and type of your choice.

Your PR Plan will comprise the following sections:

1 Executive summary
2 Contents Page
3 Introduction
4 Research and development
5 Situational analysis
6 Goals and objectives
7 Key target publics
8 Strategy
9 Tactics
10 Media Releases
10.1 Timeline
10.2 Budget
10.3 Evaluation
10.4 Appendix
10.5 References