Strategic PR Planning of Noahs Ark - Research Paper Example

?Running head: STRATEGIC PR PLANNING 29th October Word count-2473 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive summary 3 Introduction 4 Background 4 Situation analysis 5 Noah’s Ark force field analysis 7 Strategy and objectives 8 Target publics 9 Key messages 9 Strategy statement 10 Tactics 10 Strategic PR Plan time frame 11 Budget 11 Evaluation 12 Conclusion 13 References 14 Executive summary Noah’s Ark is a non-profit organization based in Queensland, Australia. The organization offers various programs that include Early Childhood Intervention Programs (ECIS), Inclusion and Professional Support Program (IPSP) and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) among others. The organization objective is to ensure that by 2015, 100% of the public will be under National Disability Insurance Scheme. Additionally, Noah’s Ark aim at attaining a significant growth in the work force as well as in the services it offers. In its effort to create a strong positive relationship with public, the organization has established an effective public relations headed by Louise Baring. This entails introduction of a feedback system through which public can make their contributions on affairs of the organization. As the demand for its activities increase, Noah’s Ark has the opportunity of using social media to create a stronger PR plan. This paper covers the strategic PR plan that covers use of Friends of Noah’s as a face group account that will ensure better communication between the organization and the public. Despite the forces such high costs and disruption that would offer resistance to the plan, Noah’s Ark new PR plan will be implemented. The PR targets parents with disabled children as well as providers of care to the children requiring special needs. The PR plan will be undertaken within a period of 26 months starting from November 2013 to December 2015. PR estimated budget is $2,080,000. To ensure that the Noah’s Ark PR plan attains its goals, the management will undertake interim and annual evaluations through the use of content analysis, emulate surveys, focus groups, ethnographic studies and feedback analysis. Introduction Noah’s Ark is an organization that is based in Australia with an aim of providing sustainable support for children who are disabled as well as those who require additional needs. Having been established in 1976, the organization provides quality professional services to the care providers and parents in order for them to acquire best options that ensure their children attain full potential. As the organization’s client base expands, Noah’s Ark has expanded its programs to include special training, regular workshops, Early Childhood Intervention Programs (ECIS), Inclusion and Professional Support Program (IPSP) and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This implies that to maintain its target market that includes parents with disabled children, carers of disabled children and LACs power holders in NDIS, the organization must maintain effective public relations. Noah’s Ark values include provision of professional services, provision of expertise and extensive knowledge, maintenance of ethics and integrity, innovation and timely response to the changing needs of the society. It is in this regard that the organization has established a communication department under the leadership of Louise Baring. Holding a Bachelor of Communication in public relations, Louise has a wide experience that acts as a key strength for the organization. To meet the needs of its target market, there is need to reposition the organization as a major aspect of improving its PR. This paper will identify the public relations strategy that Noah’s Ark will emulate in order to attain its objectives and attain a competitive edge in the hospitality industry. Background Noah’s Ark should emulate a strategic PR planning in order to ensure that it builds its own capacity as well as standing up for the rights of children with disability. Additionally, a PR is needed to achieve a social change that entails the negative perception and attitudes of the society towards children with disabilities. Based on the increased number of children with disabilities especially in poor regions, strategic PR planning is vital for Noah’s Ark as a way of ensuring that the rights of children with disabilities are advocated for (Lars et al, 2012). In this way, the organization will ensure that everyone in the society regardless of his or her physical appearance is given ample support. In its effort to make sure that children with disabilities achieve full potential, Noah’s Ark emulates four key aspects. First, the organization undertakes extensive research of children with disabilities. Secondly, the firm educates individual who cares for children with disabilities. Thirdly, Noah’s Ark influences policies that are focused at addressing children with disabilities. Fourthly, the organization provides adequate resources in the form of virtual as well as physical libraries. Objectives Noah’s Ark is focused at increasing its programs in the next 10 years. The organization aims at doubling its work force in the next 2 years The organization aims at creating a strong relationship with its clients in the rural as well as urban areas. Noah’s Ark is also focused at ensuring that majority of the children with disabilities are covered by the National Disability Insurance Scheme/NDIS The organization aims at increasing the number of individuals under the National Disability Insurance Scheme by 100% by 2015 Situation analysis Noah’s Ark main objective is to offer sustainable assistance to the children with disabilities. After launching of the Disability Care in the Barwon region, the organization has effectively addressed the need for early childhood services that it offers to the public. Additionally, the establishment of the hotline telephone numbers and the website has enabled the organization to reach its public in an effective way. One of the notable public relations strategies that the organization has emulated is the feedback system. Through this system clients are in a position to offer their feedback by filling a feedback form. In this way, the public is largely involved in the decision making process thus ensuring that the programs and services offered by the organization meet the needs of its clients (Guiltinan, et al.1996). Similarly, Noah’s Ark has established a contact me form that the public and other stakeholders can use to contact the staff members. In order to seek information regarding the disability care package, individuals are supposed to provide their names, phone numbers, email and preferred time that they want to be contacted. Despite stiff competition from private entities, Louise Baring states that Noah’s Ark programs are of great value to the local residents. In the contemporary world, information technology and especially the social media has extensively been used as a communication and marketing tool. In this regard, the use of social media is one of the notable opportunities that Noah’s Ark will not overlook. The table below indicates the SWOT analysis of the organization. Strengths Wide range of programs Adequate resources Skilled work force Innovation Government support Strong positive relationship with clients Wide market segment Strong management team Lobbyist for policy change Opportunities Use of social media to reach more clients Establishment of more outlets in rural areas and upcoming towns Hiring of skilled individuals from public and private universities Weaknesses In adequate communication with young parents Limited area of operations Threats Competition from private entities Lack of support from individuals with negative perception towards disabled people Through expanding its operations outside Queensland, Noah’s Ark will create a strong customer awareness that is vital for the growth of any firm. Currently, the organization is located in Rocklea, East Brisbane, North Brisbane and Wide Bay Burnett. As more towns emerge in Australia the demand for services and disability care provided by the organization will increase thus it is vital for Noah’s Ark to establish its activities in more locations (Scott, 1995). This implies that the organization needs to seek for more funds from the government and foreign donors. In its activities, Noah’s Ark will face driving and restraining forces that calls for the contribution of each of the stakeholders in order for the organization to be successful. Noah’s Ark force field analysis Forces for change Forces against change Source – (Cartwright, 1951) Strategy and objectives Effective communication is vital for the success of any product or service in the market. Key tool of communication includes newsletters, magazines, newspapers, brochures, bill boards, word-of-mouth among others. In this PR strategy, Noah’s Ark will initiate an extensive use of social media including face book and twitter to reach its young clients as well as old guardians who have technology savvy. It is essential to note that one of the strategies that local and international firms are adopting in order to remain competitive is social media. Additionally, the organization will form a face book group to be referred as Friends of Noah’s where individual will join freely thus making it possible to share ideas and information that relates to disability among the young children in Australia. Based on the fact that due to ignorance or lack of information some parents are not aware of the benefits of the disability care and programs offered by Noah’s Ark, the organization needs to embark on sponsoring of cultural and social events within and outside Queensland. This will entail hiring of more sales executives who will assist Louise Barring, the marketing manager. Target publics Establishment of Friends of Noah’s as a social group is a strategy that targets young parents who are regular visitors of social sites and who due to lack of information are not aware of the various programs offered by Noah’s Ark. Another group that is targeted by the use of social media to reposition the organization is the young children who have the know how to use computers. It is vital to note that due to their curiosity, young children can be very effective in using word-of-mouth marketing strategy. For example, when young children are aware of the existence of the services offered by Noah’s Ark, they can inform their parents who in turn will inform their colleagues. There is need to communicate with the members of the community on the matters of health on a regular basis. In this regard, Noah’s Ark will engage with the members of the society through social and cultural events that it will sponsor. In this way, the organization will ensure free interaction among the employees, children with disabilities, the parents among other stakeholders (Kotler and Philip, 2012). Another benefit of the sponsoring social events is that it will enable the organization to get first hand information regarding its services and how to improve its activities. Likewise, the interaction of the young children who are disabled with other members of the society will ensure that the horrible feelings that may affect disabled children are eliminated. Key messages The key message of the introduction of Friends of Noah’s Ark is: sharing of information on disability care in order to create strong awareness. It is essential to note that for the organization to have its programs emulated by entire public by 2015, individuals must be provided with a platform that will ensure they freely intermingle. In respect to the sponsoring of cultural and social events, the key message will be: ensuring public is provided with an avenue that will educate and train it on the matters relating to national Disability Insurance Scheme. During the social events, the organization will erect bill boards that clearly indicate the services offered by the organization (Seitel and Fraser, 2007). Additionally, Noah’s Ark will educate the public on how to access the disability care and provide answers to the frequently asked question relating to the rights of the young children with disability. Strategy statement Based on the objective of increasing the number of individuals covered by the National Disability Insurance Scheme by 100% by 2015, the organization strategy statement will be: to create a strong team work comprising of all stakeholders and under the leadership of the marketing manager to ensure that the public are educated on the importance of disability care. Another strategy statement is based on the objective of doubling the workforce in the next 5 years. The strategy statement will be: to create a stronger relationship with the local colleges in order to ensure provision of quality training of the personnel to be hired by the organization. Tactics One of the key tactics that Noah’s Ark will adopt is to establish a monthly ten pages newsletter that educates the public on the programs offered by the organization. Another tactic is to ensure that all the company employees and individuals covered by the National Disability Insurance Scheme have face book accounts. Through the monthly newsletter, the public will have an opportunity to be trained on the various programs offered by the organization. On the other hand, the face book accounts will allow the employees and the public to join Friends of Noah’s Ark group thus making it easier for them to share information. Strategic PR Plan time frame Activity Nov 2013 Nov 2013 –June 2014 June 2014-Dec 2015 Launching of monthly newsletters Opening of face book accounts Inviting public to join Friends of Noah’s Ark Holding public education on disability care Budget The success of this PR plan will largely depend on the availability of financial resources in addition to the human labor among other resources. The table below indicates the estimated budget that will be adopted by the plan. Activity Amount ($ 000) Training 250 Printing 80 Transport 50 Sponsoring of events 350 Research 100 Wages and salaries 1000 Promotion 250 Total 2,080 As the plan continues to be implemented, the organization will increase its budgetary allocation to cater for more promotion based on the increased demand of the disability care (Roger, 2012). Major source of funds that will be vital in achieving Noah’s Ark objectives comes from the state and federal governments. As the organization embarks on expansion of its activities, donors will be invited as a way of increasing capital and attaining financial strength. Evaluation Noah’s Ark will undertake regular evaluation of the plan in order to ensure that the outlined objectives are attained and any deviation is detected in a timely manner. The annual evaluation process will be undertaken by the management team while the marketing manager will be responsible for undertaking the interim evaluation (Kurtz, 2010). While the top management team will employ content analysis as a key evaluation tool, the marketing team will emulate surveys, focus groups, ethnographic studies and feedback analysis in its evaluation. Through the use of benchmarks and milestones, the interim evaluation will ensure that the management is aware of the achievements that are attained in the process if implementing the entire plan (Rossi, et al, 2004) This will be in the form of the time spent to achieve a particular objective, the amount of funds utilized and whether the plan in behind or ahead of the schedule. This plan will employ the PII model of evaluation as indicated below. Impact Social and cultural change No. who repeat behavior No. who change attitudes No. who change opinions Implementation No. who attends to activities and messages No. who receives messages and activities No of messages and sent to media Preparation Quality of activities Appropriateness of the messages sent Adequacy of information given to the public The plan will also be evaluated by the use of the table below Process Poor Satisfactory Very good Excellent Remarks Inviting public to become Friends of Noah’s Ark Training public Use of resources to initiate the PR plan Impact of the plan on the public Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that for any firm to be successful in the current business atmosphere that is characterized by stiff competition, marketing managers must always uphold an effective PR. It is paramount to note that clients are not only attracted by low prices and quality brands, but also by the relationship that exist between themselves and an organization. Noah’s Ark has established a strong PR headed by the marketing manager to ensure adequate communication with the public (Rubel and Gina, 2007). As a key repositioning strategy, this PR plan embarks on creating a strong positive relationship between the target market and Noah’s Ark through the social sites including face book and twitter. The establishment of Friends of Noah’s Ark as a face book group is a key aspect of this plan in addition to other avenues including sponsorship of cultural and social events. Annual and interim evaluations will be conducted in order to ensure that the objectives of the plan are attained and that any risk that can jeopardize the plan is addressed. The evaluation process will be undertaken by the top managers as well as by the marketing team. References Cartwright, D. 1951. Field Theory in Social Science and Selected Theoretical Papers-Kurt Lewin. Washington: Harper & Row. Guiltinan, et al.1996. Marketing Management: Strategies and Programs. New York: McGraw Hill. Kotler, A and Philip, G. 2012. Principles of Marketing. New York: Pearson education. Kurtz, D.2010. Contemporary Marketing Mason. OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Lars, H et al. 2012. Corporate Communication Map: Outline of an interactive Overview of the fundamental Models and Theories of Public Relations. London: Sage. Roger, A. 2012. Marketing: The Core. New York: McGraw-Hill. Rossi, H et al. 2004. Evaluation: A systematic approach. Sage: Thousand Oaks. Rubel, D and Gina, F.2007. Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. London: Sage. Scott, C. 1995. Public Relations History: from the 17th to the 20th Century. London: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates. Seitel, F and Fraser, P. 2007.The Practice of Public Relations. NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Read More