Axiom Strategic Communications - Essay Example

assignment only Public Relations Strategy - Insert here Axiom Strategic Communications A public relations strategy prepared for: BlueScope Steel Executive Summary Bluescope Steel, which is a market leader in the sector, is proud of its efforts to have established and pursued its commitment to the environment and the society through its water conservation project, which has involved about 500,000 primary school students in an ongoing water conservation education and training. As a sign of further commitment, Bluescope has been donating water recovery tanks to local schools whose students have been successful in the “Tank-a-day” challenge. In 2012, Bluescope Steel aims to further improve the current “Tank-a- day challenge” by the Tank-a-day campaign which aims to take the company’s commitment to the environment to a new level. The campaign will be focusing on its dedication to corporate social responsibility while also providing a valuable information base to a variety of audiences regarding water consumption and sustainability. The target audience of this campaign is/will be the parents of primary school children. Also targeted will be industry and the general population since the problem with water consumption affects the entire country. The financial cost of this initiative will be overcome by donations made by sponsors. This will be achieved by approaching industry leaders to volunteer to become campaign sponsors and establishing long-term relationships with these businesses. If the donations achieve the expected returns, the entire campaign will run for a period of six months. This will be sufficient in repositioning the company’s reputation in the market; taking it to the AMR Top 50 Companies list and providing more business revenues in the long-run. Enabling active participation of the general public is yet another essential step for the long term success of the campaign. Therefore, paid and volunteer groups will be trained to take part in the wider parent training program. CONTENTS Page Executive Summary 1 Situation Analysis 3 Strategy Goals 5 Objectives 5 Target Publics 5 Messages 6 Message Strategies 7 Tactics 7 Implementation Budget 10 Timeline 12 Evaluation 13 Situation Analysis BlueScope Steel is attempting to bolster its position as a market leader in its operating industry by conducting charitable activities associated with corporate social responsibility. The Tank-a-Day Challenge has, since its 2009 inception, brought a better ranking to the business in AMR Australia’s Top 50 Companies moving it from 10th to 8th place. Over one-third of Australian schools have adopted the Tank-a-Day Challenge with over 500,000 students completing the online water saving quiz provided by the company. To further improve its corporate ranking in the Top 50 Companies and also to also support the environment, the message should be much more diverse. Drought-stricken Australia is plagued by water consumption problems (Baker, 2011; Polintan, 2011) that impacts everyone in the community, from the everyday consumer to the industry. There has not been a single person in the community who has not been affected by the added costs of water usage and the risks associated with depleting city and regional water systems. Because the problem impacts everyone, it is necessary to adjust the current public relations campaign to target a broader audience unlike the previous campaign which targeted solely the younger generation. Multi-national supermarket Tesco has found considerable marketing success in a similar campaign involving water recovery systems on the roof of its facilities, creating new sustainability practices that have improved their revenue production (Chilton, Maidment, Marriott, Francis and Tobias 2000). Because of this campaign’s impact on positive outputs during the dissemination of sustainability practices, BlueScope will model some of the same marketing concepts benchmarked against Tesco’s sustainability model. The upcoming campaign is modelled for youth audiences with a secondary market to include industry leaders, educational administration and the public since the previous campaign has been unable to spark interest in a broader segment of the Australian population, in a world where “everyone is bombarded with hundreds of messages everyday”. (Therkelsen and Fiebich 2001: 377). The BlueScope campaign will cut through the proverbial clutter of competitive messages in multiple markets in order to gain public support and spread valuable knowledge of environmentalism at a time when Australia requires water conservation for multiple reasons. SWOT ANALYSIS OF CAMPAIGN The following represents the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with the revamped public relations campaign. Where BlueScope failed previously was failing to utilise psychographic segmentation and targeting strategies to foster more widespread support for the campaign. It is a universal concept that individuals in society have an inherent need for social affiliation, which in turn produces feelings of power and control. “Individuals need to feel that they have some affect on their environment” (Gambrel and Cianci 2003: 145). Therefore, this campaign will focus on psychographics which involves grouping messages on how people live, their interests, and their priorities (Rodoplu 2008). In order to redevelop the campaign, it is necessary to change the course of previous targeting and segmentation in order to make a lifestyle connection with multiple markets. The Tank-a-Day Challenge needs to position itself in support of the environment, concentrating on a single phrase or create a concept that puts BlueScope Steel in a particular place in the minds of the target audience (Trout 2008). This is necessary in order to advance the campaign and gain new support. The goal of improving visibility is connected with specific organisational objectives and requires to successful revamping of the existing campaign. In the new campaign, the new motto will be selected to attract public interest by the choice of words such as empowerment and as governors of support. The current environment for this campaign is deemed appropriate to expand the campaign to broader market segments. Strategy 1. Goals Goal 1: To improve financial support in the form of donations to offset costs of implementation and management over the short-run. Objective 1: Create a dedicated website to enhance convenient donations from the general public, industry and education and government. Objective 2: Include management in more interactive meetings with the industry and educational leaders to foster financial support. Objective 3: Recruit external volunteers to assist in fundraising activities. Goals 2: To improve parental support as knowledge resources to be role models and help their kids understand the importance of conserving water in Australia. Objective 1: Engage management to interact with parents more effectively in their work or household environments. Objective 2: Produce new literature describing real-life scenarios in which water consumption has put finance or social longevity at risk. Objective 3: Ensure that the message, concept and language empowers parents to take action as knowledge resources and give them perceptions of individualized governance over the campaign as partners rather than information receivers. 2. Target publics Primary: Industry leadership (i.e. corporate executives, small business owners and multi-national companies) This target public was chosen due to the need for improving financial contributions and many of these businesses gain marketing presence when sponsoring a charitable activity. Secondary: Parents of primary school-aged children Parents are believed to have major infuence on their children, thus by educating the parents, we will educate the children in a much easier way. Tertiary: Mass market society Though BlueScope Steel understands that not all consumers in Australia are concerned about environmentalism and conservation of water resources, they provide an excellent market for improving donations. 3. Messages Message #1 – Over-consumption of water is causing long-term risks to the health and well-being of the Australian people. This message is concise and can be supported by statistics and an informative approach which expresses the dangers of failing to conserve water. Message #2 – BlueScope Steel aims to encourage the public to water much more consciously and appreciates citizens, educators and industry taking active roles and would appreciate any financial support to assist in securing a prosperous future. This persuasive message reinforces that BlueScope has a need for assistance and can be supported with actual costs of implementation and management to illustrate why it is important to gain financial support. Message #3 – Children are the future of Australia so they need to be taught the importance of taking a much more active role and responsibility in conserving our energy resources and the impact this will have is for a more sustainable future. This persuasive message will encourage the target population to understand that young people are vital in sustaining a healthier environment. Message strategies and tactics Goal 1, Objective 1: Create a donation website Target publics: Industry Leaders in Business Message delivery strategies Tactics 1:Press Releases Widespread usage of the online environment provides increased readership, thus Internet-based press releases will give the campaign more visibility. 2:Direct Advertising via Internet in direct mailing literature Schedule appointments with industry leaders to discuss the issue and negotiate potential sponsorships by explaining the benefits of a mutual agreement. 3:30 Second Radio Public Service Announcements Produce a 30 second script for on-air advertisement of the campaign with information about how to reach the donation website. Explanation: Industry leaders maintain significant responsibilities and work on extremely busy schedules, therefore making appointments prior to meetings is essential. Having limits imposed on staff members may be a drawback in reaching the broader market. That is why lower cost media options such as radio and press releases will be used. Goal 1, Objective 2: Inclusion of management in recruitment Target publics: Parents of Primary Youths Message delivery strategies Tactics 1:Seminars Management will recruit staff to convince and traing educational leaders about the importance of allowing space for parent/child intervention in the school environment. 2:Letters to the Editor Crafted by management innovators to best express the vision and mission of the project. 3:Guerilla Marketing Teams Governed by Leadership Teams Low paid street teams carrying branded merchandise to give away in childcares, schools, funparks, etc. (i.e. keychains) Explanation: Meeting with children in an environment where they congregate (i.e. schools and funparks, the guerilla teams will be able to provide more visibility and will assist in delivering the message while also keeping the budget low. Goal 1, Objective 3: Recruitment of external volunteers for fundraising Target publics: Mass market Message delivery strategies Tactics 1: Newspaper advertisements Run ads with a sign-up form for mailing to BlueScope for recruitment. 2:Press Releases Identify the activity and need for support fundraising volunteerism. 3:Radio Advertisements Production of script for 30 second on-air recruitment that leads mass markets to the website for sign-up as volunteers. Explanation: In order to reach the mass market using the lowest possible budget, newspapers, radio and Internet-based press releases will be the preferred mediums of communication. Goal 2, Objective 1: Engagement of management for parental interactions Target publics: Parents of primary-aged youths Message delivery strategies Tactics 1: Event sponsorships led by management personnel Host events for educational practices based on sign-up on website. 2:Webcasts Link with Facebook and YouTube for a broader market audience that links to the company website for live management chats 3:Direct literature produced by management Gain access to educational mailing lists to deliver informational packages to the households of children in the program. Explanation:Management involvement personalizes the charitable experience, builds lasting relationships with the BlueScope brand and can fulfil the social needs of parents related to empowerment. Goal 2, Objective 2: Production of real-life case studies for distribution Target publics:Mass Market Message delivery strategies Tactics 1:Press Releases Online, website development, and social media. 2:Radio Advertisements Short scripts involving statistics on the dangers associated with non-conservation lifestyles. 3:Letters to the Editor Well-developed statistical information provided to local newspapers on the real risks associated with water over-consumption. Explanation: Case studies offer more quantitative information about the dangers and risks of over-consumption to both inform and persuade about the dangers. Goal 2, Objective 3: Promoting governance and control over participation Target publics: Mass Market audiences Message delivery strategies Tactics 1:Direct literature Parents, business leaders receive pamphlets describing involvement. 2:Printed Testimonials for direct mailing Real-time responses from participants about their participation and governance over the program 3:Online surveys Facebook and YouTube to promote opinion and interactivity about direction and purpose ofmission. Explanation: Governance and participation mandate a more interactive tone with customers through positioning and psychographics. The message delivery strategies are in-line with lifestyle aspects of the mass market and promote a voice to the audience. Implementation Timeline Action Months 2012 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Consult with information technology support teams on website construction Firm up agreements with industry sponsors Investigate new partnerships Script production for on-air broadcasting Launch of all direct literature to parents and mass markets Seminars in-house for parents and children Guerilla marketing teams recruited Ongoing press releases for industry leaders – secondary round of distribution Second round of letters to the editor in series Launch webcasts Launch of Online governance surveys Ongoing webcasts Second round of sponsorship recruitment Volunteer actions for fundraising efforts Secondary seminar Second round of direct mailing Campaign completion The campaign will run from January 2012 until August 2012 after the new school year has begun. To satisfy fiscal obligations associated with budget, all costs incurred should be reflected on the new year rather than being launched in December. Budget Item Information technology support specialists - $1,500 Parent seminar teaching tools – overhead projector, graphics art software - $1,000 Merchandise production for guerilla marketing effort (keychains, coffee mugs and T-shirts with BlueScope brand - $2,000 Costs associated with printed literature including pamphlets and direct mailing - $2,500 Rental costs for event sponsorship at local halls - $15,000 Administrative costs of stationary - $500 Recruitment advertising in newspapers - $1,200 Air time costs for radio advertisements - $5,000 Sponsorship costs (selling, general and administrative costs) - $1,500 Management labour for overtime on the program - $5,000 Online production survey costs for maintenance and analysis - $2,000 Evaluation This public relations campaign remains relatively low cost and has selected the message mediums most likely to gain audience support and acknowledgement. Guerilla teams will provide low-cost assistance and also expand the presence of the Tank-A-Day brand to a wider audience. By showing up at community events, businesses, or in the general commercial environment (i.e. retail centres) they will gain more market presence for distributing literature on the campaign. Even though the costs associated with the campaign are deductible, the short-term absorption of expenditures requires methods to offset expenses. By recruiting additional volunteers to help raise donations, the company will save considerable labour dollars. These dollars are given to management to have to perform these tasks. Donation volunteerism can occur congruently with existing business hours to alleviate the many financial burdens placed on the current management team. By developing case studies and producing statistical information, not only will the support of more industry leaders be gained but also the general public will be better persuaded of the need for conservation and why BlueScope believes this education should start very early in primary school. The messages conveyed will consist of psychographic lifestyle language to parents and corporate methodology for the industrial contributor. This campaign should be successful based on its ability to recruit volunteers, guerilla marketers and also identify sponsors whilst still satisfying budget constraints associated with a business the size of BlueScope. Empowering parents and getting their support through genuine interaction will increase success of the campaign within the timeframe specified while also maintaining the ability to target a wide variety of audiences from different socio-economic and socio-cultural backgrounds and kick-start knowledge transfer to primary school children. 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(2001) Message to desired action: a communication effectiveness model, Journal of Communication Management 5(4). Trout, J. (2008) [internet] The new positioning: the latest on the world’s #1 business, Genii Group [accessed November 9, 2011 at http://www.genii-group.com/pdf/book_review_the_new_positioning.pdf] Read More