Public Relations Plan for Merger and Acquisition - Essay Example

? Final Project Paper of Table of Content I. Introduction II. Public relations III. Public relations plan for merger and acquisition IV. Research in public relations V. Timescale, budget and evaluation VI. The essence of PR campaigns VII. Medium selection and cost consideration VIII. Fighting negative publicity IX. Organizing public relations tools X. Conclusion XI. Reference Introduction In the modern-day business world, many corporate organizations, private and public companies extensively implement strategies by which they buy, sell, divide and combine with one or more other business entities. The main reasons for which these businesses acquire or combine with others are that mergers and acquisitions allow businesses to support one another financially and managerially, thereby promoting rapid growth. Furthermore, a business may acquire another so that it expands its coverage of a given market, giving it a competitive edge over its competitors. Besides enabling a business to maintain and expand its grip on its customers or markets, mergers and acquisitions assist businesses to venture into new locations, thereby increasing productivity and profitability. Although they are closely related terms, merger and acquisition are two distinct concepts that should be easily distinguished from each other. In essence, acquisition refers to a scenario in which one business buys another business entity. Although any business may opt to merge with others, those seeking to expand their markets and those facing negative publicity due to their monopolistic characters, political influences or lack of public trust are found to be more likely to merge in order to survive in the competitive markets (Oliver, 2004). For such a company or a corporate organization, it is imperative that effective public relations strategies, plans and campaigns are established, implemented, evaluated and reformed in cases where they are not effective enough. It is therefore essential that an elaborate public relations plan is developed by such a corporate body. In addition to the planning of public relations, a corporate business entity intending to merge with or acquire other businesses must put in place all the necessary resources that would be used in the implementation and the drafting of its public relations plan (Oliver, 2004). Additionally, the most appropriate public relations tools and techniques must be availed to the concerned personnel. This paper outlines a public relations plan for a hypothetical stock-exchange-listed corporate business that intends to merge with another business to increase its growth and improve profitability. In addition, the hypothetical corporation, which intends to merge with another in the next three months faces a lot of negative publicity that it needs to respond to in time so that its merger may be positively received by its shareholders, customers and the public. The paper thus outlines some of the core elements that must be incorporated into the organization’s Public Relations (PR) campaign. Public Relations Public relations refer to all business strategies, operations, procedures and processes developed and implemented to enhance a business’ reputation (Oliver, 2004). Therefore, an organization must have its own or hired professional publicists, mandated to present the organization as an individual to the public. In fact, the presentation here must be in the best light possible, not only in the eye of the public but also in the media. Because of the competitive nature of the business world today, it is imperative that a business ensures it has a competitive advantage over its rivals by standing out from the crowd (Oliver, 2004). Public relations issues are however found to vary from one business situation to another. Nonetheless, there are certain core aspects of public relations that apply to all business organizations that are considering merging with others. First, there needs to be an elaborate public relations plan that comprises the provisions for the use of PR tools/techniques that are not only effective and credible but would also assist the organization navigate the diverse cultural and operational conditions prevailing in the markets (Oliver, 2004). In the plan, it would be helpful that the rationale and the anticipated implications of the expected merger are made apparent to the public. The expected impacts of the merger to the public and the employees of the corporate business must also be clarified. A good public relations plan for the corporate organization must meet certain requirements for it to help improve the image of the business. Of greatest importance, the plan must focus on the rationale of the impeding merger, giving the reasons the merger must be undertaken at the set time (Oliver, 2004). Public Relations Plan for Merger and Acquisition There are certain core steps that the corporate must implement for it to effectively positively portray itself to the public before merging with others to boost its performance. First, the organization must clearly define and write down the objectives for the public relations or publicity strategy/plan (Oliver, 2004). In such a plan, the manner in which the organization expects to design its PR campaigns must also be identified. Furthermore, it should be clear whether the PR campaign’s design would seek to portray the organization as a leading player in its trade to its competitors, the public or its customers. The design could also be intended to establish goodwill between the organization and its suppliers, competitors, customers and the public. Third, the design of the PR campaign could aim at reinforcing the organization’s brand, professionalism and corporate image (Oliver, 2004). Finally, the PR campaigns could be designed to create positive public perception on the organization’s identity and services or to alleviate the impact of negative publicity and/or a corporate crisis. One may wonder about the importance of the PR campaign designs to an organization intending to venture into merger with others. It should be noted that for the organization’s public relations and publicity plan to be successful, it is imperative that its objectives become clear to all stakeholders, particularly its customers and the public. The goals, as indicated in the PR plan, should be as clear, specific, measurable and result-oriented as possible (Oliver, 2004). Besides being in line with the overall business goals and strategies, the PR objectives must also be time-bound. It would be equally important that the organization identifies its target audience and the key message it intends to send to the audience. It will then require the organization to develop a timetable for its PR campaigns, establishing a synergy that relates the organization’s public relations plan with the other marketing and sales strategies of the business (Oliver, 2004). The other core element of PR that will definitely be vital in the publicity efforts are the public relations channels through which the intended message would reach the target audience. Among these PR vehicles are press releases, articles, letters, and customer success stories and media tours. The other common PR vehicles the organization may employ are press conferences, radio, television, seminars, press interviews and event sponsorship (Oliver, 2004). Finally, it would be necessary that a system for measuring the success of the PR campaign be developed and implemented to ascertain whether the set objectives have been achieved. For the above elements of public relations to be implemented effectively, relevant research on the requirements of the PR campaigns should be conducted. Research in Public Relations Research work is one of the most important activities in most, if not all of the activities that a business organization may undertake. Like the other business-related activities, public relations also need to be based on scientifically sound researches/studies (Oliver, 2004). Therefore, the corporate business must incorporate research in its PR strategies. The research methods to be used depend on the objectives of the organization. For instance, if the organization intends to know the public’s opinion on the impending merger, the use of nationwide/regional questionnaires could be an effective approach. On the other hand, if it intends to obtain employee opinions on the merger, the use of focus groups may prove valuable. The first approach to gather PR data/information for the corporate organization’s PR campaigns is primary research that would provide first-hand information through techniques such as one-on-one and telephone interviews, questionnaires and focus groups (Oliver, 2004). Secondary research on the other hand entails obtaining second-hand data from journals, libraries and the internet among other sources. The main benefit the organization would derive from carrying out a research on public relations is that the findings helps in defining the prevailing situations in the organization, regarding the campaign needs. By defining the organization’s market situation and how the public perceives it, it becomes easier to design its PR campaigns. Consequently, by analyzing its situation, the organization would be in a position to do a SWOT analysis on its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Oliver, 2004). The research would also be instrumental in enabling the organization to be aware of the problems it faces in its efforts to merge with other businesses. From the SWOT analysis, it becomes easier for the organization to strategize its PR campaigns, based on its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Timescale, Budget and Evaluation The other important factors that the corporate organization must consider in its PR campaigns are timescale, budget and evaluation. That is, ample time must be allocated to every strategy and tactic to be applied in promoting positive publicity for the organization. Tactics for executing each strategy should therefore be allotted time depending on their importance, technicality and complexity. Budgeting on the other hand allows for all the costs related to PR campaigns are accounted for so that the organization is aware of the aspects of the campaign it may achieve and those it cannot (Oliver, 2004). Among the costs to be considered are operating costs relating to administration, travel, seminars and distribution of PR tools such as letters and press releases. In addition, human costs such as overheads, salaries and expenses are quite vital in PR campaigns and should be taken into consideration. Equipment such as computers, telephones and furniture should also be considered in PR campaigns. Finally, evaluation should also be a central part in PR campaigns given that failures and risks and part of every business venture (Oliver, 2004). The evaluations should not only be on-going but should also be done at the end of the PR campaign. Nonetheless, it should be appreciated that it pays to understand the essence and importance of PR strategies to businesses intending to merge. The Essence of PR Campaigns Since public relations has become so central to the performance of many organizations, particularly large corporate competing in highly competitive markets, undertaking positive public image campaigns through public relations strategy helps an organization meet its objectives with a lot of ease. A corporate business intending to merge with others must therefore be ready to woo the public with astute and comforting messages on its strategies. Importantly, the PR strategies will have to capture the attention of the public by appreciating the essence of PR in breaking or making business reputation, customer loyalty and stakeholder confidence (Oliver, 2004). The PR strategies should therefore not be considered expensive, failed and doomed exercise, which will bear no returns for the organization. Instead, the organization should consider PR strategies vital components and tools of successful service delivery to its customers upon merging with other businesses. Among the other benefits of public strategies that the organization must target are integrated market, communication during crisis management, corporate communication and positive media relations. Assisted with the newly emerging modes of creating positive publicity, the organization should be in apposition to duly engage its stakeholders and customers by achieving their objectives and delivering on promises in times. Importantly, the PR strategies that the organization should use must cover all the stakeholders and situations that the business may encounter while in the process of merging or after the merger (Oliver, 2004). In other words, the PR strategies must be conclusive and flexible enough to ensure that not an aspect of the organization’s stakeholders’ reputation is at risk or discriminated. The need for flexibility and conclusiveness of PR campaigns calls for utmost caution while selecting the tools of PR to apply in campaigns. Medium Selection and Cost Consideration Another important element of PR relations for the organization would be the selection of the media or channel by which its PR strategies are to be implemented. With the myriad media outlets available for PR processes, the organization would be expected to use the most effective and appropriate combination so that the PR efforts are not only effective but are also cost effective (Oliver, 2004). That is, the stakeholders would be keen in knowing how their money is spent in PR processes and the rate of returns of the PR processes undertaken. Since the organization would expect results from investing in the PR processes, the shareholders must also be ready to invest fully in the implementation of such strategies. One way of investing in PR activities is by hiring professionals to spearhead and monitor/evaluate the s the processes. Besides hiring professionals, the organization will have to train its staff on good PR practices. Among the benefits that the business will derive from this PR training include the ability to internally formulate cost effective and efficient PR policies that incorporate all the internal stakeholders. In addition, the employees will be in a position to exploit the communication setup of the organization to prioritize their PR efforts and initiatives. The other advantage that the organization will enjoy from an internal PR training is the improved ability and capacity of its employees to select and use the most appropriate PR tools and techniques to yield more results as far as positive publicity is concerned (Oliver, 2004). Finally, the stakeholders of the organization will be able to establish and implement flexible PR processes, coupled with continuous monitoring and improvement. In fact, the PR training would also benefit the organization’s customers, shareholders, CEOs, Managing Directors, General Managers, Vice-Presidents, Directors, Senior Managers and Managers and the subordinate staff from all its departments. Among the departments bound to benefit greatly from the in-house PR training are Public Relations, Marketing, Media, Consumer Insights, Corporate Affairs, Consumer Marketing and Customer Relations Departments. In this regard, every stakeholder would be offered an opportunity to contribute to the response to negative publicity, which is the other central element of PR plans for organizations intending to merge. Fighting Negative Publicity The other important consideration to be included in the organizations plan is the need to respond to the public negativity occasioned by political influence, monopoly and public mistrust. The fact that many public corporations have their policies influenced by governments and politicians implies that the may suffer the adverse effects of public mistrust. The manner in which the organization will respond to negative publicity has huge implications on customer attitudes towards the organization and its products. It is therefore imperative that the organization opts for one or a combination of the commonly used types of responses to negative publicity. For instance, it may choose to respond with weak or strong arguments or the ‘no-comment’ option. Unfortunately, the latter kind of response would be counterproductive since they do not incorporate customer perspectives in responses. Nevertheless, the organization must be prepared to counter the non-compensated dissemination of damaging information on its products, services, name and entity by its competitors (Oliver, 2004). Depending on the nature and severity of the negative publicity, the organization may deny outright, fail to comment, voluntarily admit guilt or redirect the audience’s attention to other matters. The other ways in which the organization may respond to negative publicity include compliance with regulatory agencies concerned, implicitly admit guilt or undertake a voluntary proactive restitution action (Oliver, 2004). It remains the preserve of the organization’s management to decide on the most appropriate type of response to negative publicity to use in different situations. The list of responses given above is however not exhaustive. For instance, other authors and entrepreneurs have cited instinctive reactions such as the stonewalling tactics in which the organization would decide to fight or challenge the negative allegations all the way. The other proposed response is formal conformity due to the involvement of government agencies or, the organization may opt to seize the initiative and correct the alleged mistakes. Organizing Public Relations Tools An important aspect of the PR campaigns that the corporate organization should not overlook is the organization of the various tools/techniques by which it intends to disseminate its message to the target audience. Although recent times have seen more advanced PR tools being used in positive publicity campaigns, the traditional tools such as press releases, brochures, newsletters, annual reports, and letters and media kits are still effective at generating positive image of organizations and should therefore not be ignored or looked down upon (Oliver, 2004). In the contemporary society, there is evidence of intensified use of interactive social media such as blog sites and social media such as Facebook and twitter. These are some of the PR tools that the organization should use to establish positive public reputation. The reason the organization should exploit the interactive social media is that immediate feedback is easily obtained from the audience. This situation is unlike the case of traditional tools where immediate feedback is never possible. One of the most effective PR tools the organization may use is the media kit. The media kit is a file or a folder containing all the necessary promotional material an organization may require to promote its positive image to the public. Among the components of a media kit are press releases (or media releases), media alerts, brochures, newsletters, photographs with captions, biographies, fact sheets and copies of any media clips (Oliver, 2004). Another tool synonymous with PR campaigns is press release, which could be media relation materials such as video and audio news. The PR tool used notwithstanding, there are important activities that must be undertaken while organizing for PR campaigns. First, the target audience must be identified and the messages tailored to suit the audience. Among the demographics that may determine the channel and messages disseminated are audience’s social and economic statuses. However, the fluid nature of PR audiences implies that the firm should be flexible, more so regarding the values and culture of the target audience (Oliver, 2004). Occasionally, the divergent tastes, choices and interests of different classes of audiences call for the use of different channels and distinct but complementary messages. Conclusion Public relations, the business processes and strategies that intend to positively portray an organization to the media, its customers, shareholders and the public has become a rather important element of businesses in the contemporary society. The political influences and public mistrust that public corporate businesses face have made them more prone to negative publicity, particularly whenever they are on the verge of implementing major decisions such as merger and acquisition. It therefore becomes necessary that such corporate bodies, develop elaborative PR plans to help in the campaigns to portray the organization in good light to the public, its clients and its stakeholders. Among the core components of the PR plan should be the PR objectives, design, budget, timescale, evaluation/analysis, and research and PR channels among other components. Reference Oliver, S. (2004). A handbook of corporate communication and public relations, first edition. Routledge. Read More