Public Relations at Luddenden Village - Case Study Example

?Public Relations (Case Study) SWOT analysis As a business, Luddenden Village has several potentials for growth and expansion in the modern day society. Among its strategic strengths are the lower costs of housing in the neighborhood. As a traditional township, the population of the village is small thereby with a low demand on its housing units. This makes the natural resources in the village cheaper than in various parts of the country (Clow & Baack, 2010). The management of the village can therefore manipulate such coupled with the lack of strain on the fundamental resources such as sewer lines and waterways to attract more foreign investors. The village is currently barren; this makes it viable for any business opportunity ranging from tourism to manufacturing plants owing to the readily available resources. By exploiting such, the stakeholders can easily revamp the economy of the township. However, among the vital weaknesses in the structure of are the low population which also makes it a poor market and may probably discourage investment since labor is costlier in the less populated village. The current state of the village presents it with various investment opportunities key among which is tourism. The stakeholders can position the village as a tourist destination in the state and therefore attract both domestic and foreign tourists. The village’s rich cultural and political history coupled with various contemporary developments may position the village as the most favorable tourist destination in the state by attracting city residents who require a peaceful environment. The greatest threat to the development of the village is its social structure. The local authorities records accounts of drug abuse and rising crime rates in the village. Such trends would stifle the efforts to develop the village into a tourist destination in the state. PEST analysis Luddenden Village is part of the greater United Kingdom society; the village therefore enjoys effective governance and peaceful coexistence with the rest of the country. The key political factor that may influence its growth is any idea shared by the local political leaders in the country. However, the village enjoys cordial a peaceful and effective political leadership that will only foster the growth agenda as developed by the local stakeholders. The economic factors that affect the growth of the village include the lack of investment opportunities in the village. The rising crime rates and the abuse of drugs constitute specific social factors that affect the development of the village. Additionally, technological factors will equally affect the development of the country; the villagers must assume the new communication features and ways of doing business in other parts of the country (Davis, 2007). Legal factors such are consumer laws and employment laws apply in the country just as in any other part of the country. Environmentally, the village is a barren opportunity with desirable flora and fauna. Stakeholders map The individuals who are likely to influence any development plan in the Luddenden Village include the locals. The category includes the old people who have witnessed the growth of the village and the young people who seek to foster the development plan. Additionally, the involvement of the government is equally vital. This occurs sequentially with the involvement of the local leaders who relay the plans to the central government. The entire national population will also affect the development of the village. With the identification of the stakeholders in the village development project, stakeholders map provides for ways of reconciling conflicts among such and therefore determining an appropriate management system (Blackshaw, 2008). The rising crime rate and drug abuse among the youth is an eminent impairment in the cohesive generational transition. The villagers must therefore use every means possible including the incorporation of the local authorities in order to curb such since they are capable of thwarting the village’s development plan. Target audience The report targets a diverse audience group including the local population who must appreciate the new development plans and therefore readjust their lifestyles in order to accommodate such. The locals must concentrate on eradicating the drug abusers and contain the rising crime levels in the village. Another equally category of target audience is the national population. The report must appeal to the category since they constitute the potential investors in the village. Objectives The report seeks to: Improve both the publicity and the reputation of the village in order to attract more investors Position the village as an appropriate investment destination Improve the relationship between the remote village with the rest of the nation’s population. Public relations communication program A public relations communication program seeks to improve positive publicity. This way, it increases the reputation of the village thereby attracting more investors and tourists into the village. The program communicates the major points about the village thereby presenting its desirable features. However, the program should ensure truthfulness in order to encourage safer encounter with the outside population. As visitors come from various parts of the country, they must have appropriate information about the village. The public relations communication program must therefore portray the truthful nature of the society in order to improve the understanding of the opportunities that the village possesses. Luddenden Village is small and remote but has various opportunities for investors. The village stands in the remote parts of the country following the collapse of industries that had once operated in the region. Currently, the village stands as a reminder of the past vibrant economy in the region. This contributed to its rich cultural heritage, which makes it a favorable tourist destination. Additionally, the local authority has embarked on a renovation program with the view of attracting new residents into the village. This explains the renovation of the houses and the cleaning of the streets of the village in order to open up some of the parts that had remained closed following the prolonged inactivity in the village. The new housing units in the outskirts of the village will possibly attract more residents into the village (Grunig, 1992). The village enjoys peace and stability. Despite the slow economic activities, the residents of the village are cohesive as evident in their small conservation society. The small size of the village is an admirable feature of the village. Most parts of the country are full of people thus perpetuating the struggle for the vital resources most of which are readily available in Luddenden Village. However, just as in any part of the country, the village has recorded cases of drug abuse and a few other cases of criminal activities. The local authorities have since taken up the matter with the view of returning calm and peaceful coexistence among the residence of the village. The dedication and efficiency of the country’s Sherriff system will definitely contain the situation thereby making the village a safe, peaceful and secure location (Clow & Baack, 2010). Message strategy The strategies of communicating the message must ensure results for the subsequent campaign. The media used by the stakeholders must promise the desirable results. The program will therefore incorporate an extensive media campaign using strategic media, which will earn the village the desired reputation (Hunnicutt, 2009). Among such is television adverts portraying the desirable features of the village. Television is a modern day media enjoying massive success. The public relations communication program will therefore include collaborating with the local television channels to create and air small documentaries at strategic times. The documentary approach to the communication is strategic. Owing to the success of the media, the campaign will earn the village the desired publicity (Kent & Tara, 2011). The thirty minutes documentary should focus on the historical features of the village telling of the once vibrant economic system and the factors that led to its collapse. After such historical accounts, the documentary should also include the future prospects of the program and the face-lifting campaign in the village. The documentary would offer the village an effective opportunity to display its integral features that will attract numerous investors and tourists into the village thereby revising the economy. Besides the television programs, the society can also engage in active social media campaign. Social media is a modern day platform with millions of users. Furthermore, the media is cheaper than the mainstream media. It will therefore offer the stakeholders an opportunity to market their village on an international platform (Kim, 2008). Such social media as Facebook and twitter offers an effective platform for the village to display various multimedia content about the village. The media permit interactivity thus offering the villagers an opportunity to engage their target audience in interactive segments thus answering all their questions about the village. Coupled with extensive radio campaign, the public relations communication program will earn the village the desired publicity and possibly entice various investors and tourists thereby revitalizing the economy of the village (Bernays, 2009). Public relations activities The public relations program will include various activities, which will help position the village in the national and international community. The villagers must ensure that the village looks as beautiful as they portray it in the program. The public relations activities will therefore include an extensive street cleaning project. The cleaning and beautification project will include gardening activities like shaping edges, slashing the bushy parts of the village and ensuring that the landscape of the village looks attractive. The cleaning program should ensure that the old structures preserve their old designs most of which conveys the cultural heritage of the town. Despite the old designs, the structures must reveal details; this validates the extensive cleaning project that will refurbish the village making it acquire a contemporary look. This way, the place will reassure the tourists that it will in deed relive the histories while promising the investors of a profitable neighborhood (Cutlip, Allen & Glen, 2011). Additionally, the project must ensure that the streets are safe and the society is free from drugs. Such vices may deter the growth prospects of the village. In order to achieve a safe and drug free streets, the villagers must carry out an extensive street cleaning projects with the view of eliminating all the drug peddlers and arresting suspected criminal. The project of community policing will help achieve the peace and safety required for the development of the village. The project will include the rehabilitation of the addicted members of the society. The success of such a program would therefore improve the work force of the village since the addicted would concentrate their energies on profitable economic ventures. Timeline The project begins with an extensive cleaning and face-lifting project that should run for three weeks. Within the three weeks the society shall have achieved an appropriate landscape for the village. The project will run concurrently with the community policing and both the projects will not stop even after the attainment of a desirable village. With the attainment of the desirable village, the communication process begins. This will include an entire month of media content preparation as the developers look for specific features of the village to communicate to their target audience. After the development of the media content, the media campaign begins with the airing of the documentaries on televisions among other radio adverts. Evaluation and monitoring of the program Just as with any other program, the public relations project requires dedicated surveillance and periodic evaluation in order to determine its success. Monitoring occurs through the placement of various individuals to ensure the project maintains consistency. The people will carry out follow-ups and ensure the completion of the tasks assigned to different people. Evaluation on the other hand is systematic and arises from the feedback the project receives. The project should attract investors and tourists to the village. The type off feedback will therefore offer a platform evaluating the success of the project (Kotler & Kevin, 2010). References Bernays, E. L. (2009). Public Relations. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Blackshaw, P. (2008). Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000: Running a Business in Today's Consumer Driven World. New York: Doubleday. Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. (2010). Integrated Advertising, Promotion and Marketing Communication, 4th Edition. London: Pearson. Cutlip, S. M., Allen, H. C. & Glen, B. M. (2011). Effective Public Relations. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Davis, A. (2007). Mastering Public Relations, 2nd Edition. Palgrave: London. Grunig, J. E. (1992). Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence, Erlbaum. Hunnicutt, S. (2009). Corporate Social Responsibility. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. Kent, P. & Tara, C. (2011). Poor Richard's Internet Marketing and Promotions: How to Promote Yourself, Your Business, Your Ideas Online. Lakewood, CO: Top Floor Pub. Kim, J. N., et. al. (2008). Breaking Down the Stakeholder Environment in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. London: Pearson. Kotler, P. & Kevin, K. L. (2010). Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall. Read More