Public Relations Manager And Marketing Manager example essay topic

Executive Summary The report details the strategic planning to be undertaken for the launch of "Investment guru. com. au" a website catering to the needs of Sydney households. This website has been the brainchild of the director and public relations manager at Raine & Horne Residential Investments for over 2 years. Although due to the past market pressures and own cash flow problems, this campaign did not see the light. The Company since then had solely embarked on the brick-and-mortar approach to residential investments. However, with technology taking the drivers seat of each and every business, it has been the founders aspiration to realise the corporate vision to reach each Australian household. The website is dated to be completed within a three-month time frame.

Senior management has allocated A$90,000 as the total outlay for the project. A Public Relations manager and Marketing Manager will be the key senior staff members that will be involved in this project. Through this project the company anticipates on increasing its corporate identity as a professional and reputable investments agent and increasing the company market share. As a side effect marketing will also gain from the reduced tension on the existing telemarketing team.

Organisational Overview The Mission To provide the rational armament - research, expert advice and an array of supporting services - to average Australians who seek to build wealth through property investment. The Directors Rusty Moran - Managing Director Whilst studying for his Civil Engineering degree at UTS, Rusty began investing in properties while holding only a part time job, to the amazement of friends and colleagues who asked for advice on how to do the same. Upon completion of his degree, the company was formed with co founder Daniel Napper. Rusty has a property portfolio reaching $2 million. Ray Woods - Non-executive Director Ray has a Bachelor of Commerce, which he obtained from the University of NSW.

He is also a member of the Institute of Company Directors. He is a CPA and is extremely experienced as a senior executive in managing and owning small to medium sized businesses for over 20 years. The Company Since inception almost five years ago, Tailored Equity has built a successful business by taking an uncompromising approach to the interests of its clients. Put simply, the team at Tailored Equity totally focuses on helping the clients' money make money.

Tailored Equity offers strategic property investment advice, and related services, which combine to deliver capital growth and generate wealth for the clients. The Clients Average Australians keen on ensuring they have a comfortable lifestyle in retirement. People familiar with the advantages offered by residential property see Tailored Equity as experts providing well-researched investment opportunities and supporting services. Background and Situation Analysis Raine & Horne Real Estate Agency renowned for its dedicated contribution to the average Australian household, realising the true Aussie dream of owning a piece of land.

Tailored Equity has a similar mission. Its mission is to " equip clients with resources required for successful wealth creation" (TE Annual Report 00). The Real Estate market in recent times has been flooded with the negative attitudes of the common Australian. This has greatly been fuelled by media coverage on the controversial topic. Cover stories such as, 'If the bubble bursts' carried out in the Daily Telegraph (17/09), aims to discourage the general public. This misconception greatly hinders the organisation's capability to operate profitably in the Sydney market.

Senior management have shown keen interest in increasing market share. This is evident through the increase in sales and property consultants. There remains a question however on the ideal cost-effective method of acquiring clients. It has therefore been noted that the development of a functional website has the greatest potential for accomplishing this task. Tailored Equity operates under the brand franchise of the Raine & Horne Real Estate Service. This is a great positive aspect that entails the highest reputation and loyalty.

Tailored Equity operates in a high profile state and therefore has the highest quality developers and suppliers working within the network. The experienced professional adviser board leverages the business from the rest of the competition. However, there is concern as to whether this status can be maintained over time, with the rapid expansion of residential investments agencies. These businesses cropping up in Sydney have all contributed to the reduction in the clientele base accessible to Tailored Equity. The novel approach to enter the net domain to capture business is therefore undertaken with great optimism. Opening the gateway to untapped client resources.

Nevertheless there is always the possibility of forward integration of developers and real-estate agencies into the residential investment market. The organisation's goals remain unchanged; it is the vision of empowering average Australians that has led the business to gain its reputation and loyalty among its vast majority of customers. The business will remain with its core mission of serving this clientele base. Definition of Strategic Goals and Objectives Tailored Equity aims to create a long-term mutual trust and corporate image between the business and its clients- both existing and potential. The proposed website will be the first point of contact for such a corporate message to be delivered to its relevant publics. Primarily, it is important to distinguish that a fundamental motivating factor for organisations to employ a public relations campaign is "to increase sales and revenues through public ising products or services by a variety of techniques" (Duffy 2000).

This will eventually generate more earnings. An underlying principle that is to be taken note of before strategic actions are put in place. Solely creating an atmosphere of mutual understanding cannot, in exercise, bring in the resources needed for a business to strive. As Culbertson and Chen (1997) indicate, "Even the most idealistic corporation can do little to help society after going broke and ceasing to exist. Thus some persuasion directed at stakeholders usually is essential". The campaign will utilise different methods of reaching its publics (media kits, emails, news releases etc.

). These vehicles will carry contact details so that all persons receiving such information can input into the outcome of the final product (website). Grunig et al (1996) themselves admit that a combination of both the two-way symmetric and two-way asymmetric practice will yield the greatest long-term success for clients and for society. The final product will be a website fully functional in providing information of the company, developers involved, the benefits of residential investments etc.

Apart from this information service the site is also dedicated at retrieving information (communication medium) from the clients. Clients will therefore be able to approach staff and schedule appointments and so on. Raine & Horne Investments (Tailored Equity) will utilise the latest 'Verisign' privacy software to protect its client and information. Defining Publics The publics involved in the process have been known to adhere to certain standards or characteristics; therefore they have been classified into one of the many publics that are given below.

Active Publics - Publics concerned are savvy to intermediate investors who have a good idea of the market and tend to concentrate on their personal ability and experience in investing rather than acquiring professional help. Most of these publics tend to be in the industry themselves or have close relations to it. Salient Publics - This public is the companies' main targeted base. Characterised as the normal Australian household, persons pertaining to this public have moderate to little knowledge of the workings of residential investments and associated benefits. This public would typically be aged between 20- 55 years and be either single or married, earning an annual income of A$35,000 and over. This public is hard working and very conservative with the allocation of such income.

These publics are also intermediate computer users. According to recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a total of an estimated 196,000 households as at 1997, had already invested in residential properties (Appendix -1). A distinction in this case is also that almost 1/4 of every age group was an owner of an investment property (Appendix -2). Antagonistic Publics - Recent influential media coverage has negatively affected the residential market ('if the bubble bursts').

It is imperative that the general public hold a positive mind towards investments. Somers (2000) uses the equation of E = MC 2 to measure the state of the economy where C equated to the confidence levels or people. This case shows that probable negative publicity generated through media has the potential to be detrimental. Media institutions have known to hype up news, which entails mass hysteria. It is therefore crucial to combat this type of publicity. Institutions specialising in shares and non-commodity products are also considered to be included in this group.

These institutions vary from moderate to large multi-national corporations, which have enormous stakes in the interests of expendable incomes of Australian households. Tactics and Communication Methods The first main stage is mainly concerned with the launching of the website. This website will ultimately generate the needed client base for the long-term sustainability of the business. The core tactics will be formulated with view that everyday actions plans will mirror the overall business mission. In order to achieve such consistency throughout the business, senior management should include the PR practitioner within the management circle. This will not only result in the fulfilment of management objectives but also the objectives of the PR division.

Tactics for the campaign will involve the development and launch of the website, which will be utilised mainly for the purposes of brand building and creating awareness. A working example of this type of campaign is the Ener gex Australia website (web). This sites primary focus as an active communication tool that builds awareness. In order for the Tailored Equity website to communicate and create awareness of its core business, due consideration must be given to the dynamics of its publics.

A professional website developer will be allocated for the construction of the site. The fully operational site will be launched by the end of February 2003. There will be several other tactics deployed before and after the launch. Mail-outs This form of media will be utilised to notify the existing clientele of The company. Information in this package will contain a standard letter, containing the details of the new launch and its benefits to the clients. E-mails E-mail notifications will also be sent out to people via office bulletin boards.

E-mails will be aimed at general office workers. Simultaneously Yahoo! and Lycos property service subscribers will be targeted. The messages will be more general and contain more basic information of the company and its offerings with contact details for further queries. Media Kits Poster and stickers will be distributed throughout major railway stations in Sydney (e.g. Central, Town Hall, Wynyard, Martin Place etc.

). These kits will carry the site address and hot-line numbers. Brochures will be printed and stocked at major Raine & Horne Agencies throughout New South Wales. News Release A News Article will run in the Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald (Business Section) and the Telegraph (Business Sections) providing details of the company and its mission to empower Australian households with a sound investment portfolio. Press Cover Tailored Equity will hold media coverage on the eve of the websites' launch.

The launch will take place in a pre-determined venue and media personnel from newspapers etc. will be invited. The aim of this launch is to reach the highest publicity around Sydney. Monitoring and Evaluation There will be close monitoring by, both senior management and middle management on the developments of the campaign throughout the three-month period. Creating a horizontal, vertical communication within the organisation as well as external communication with publics, developers and clients. Dr. Ha L. and Pratt B.C. comments that while public relations practitioners use the web as a source of information in their strategy, they should also make it noteworthy to take appropriate steps to safeguard their privacy (2000). As per activity statement there will be continuous evaluations carried out with the website designer to ensure that the corporate mission is carried on to the web.

Managers will run staff briefings every second week to ensure staff morale is high and quality standards are maintained. Evaluations will also be carried out after the first week of launch. This will be the most difficult of all tasks, as this evaluation will give an idea of whether the public has received the program positively. Managers afterwards will be able to measure the success of the web with tools that measure online customer viewings, view time etc.

This information will further enable the company to augment its service offerings over the Internet by altering according to customer needs. According to Dr. Gronstedt, by servicing customer needs public relations will not be a communication tool but inevitably create value for the company (2000). Proposed Budget Schedule Item Amount Catering Service for 60 8000 Transfer- Media Personnel 450 Hiring Audio Visual Equipment 2000 Hiring Venue 7000 News Releases- SMH 700 News Releases- Telegraph 650 News Releases- AFR x 2 1000 Consultant Web Designer 30000 Brochures 6000 Designing and Printing Media Kits 10000 Mail outs 3000 Email Access Fee 1500 Media Kit Delivery Personnel 3000 Company Personnel- over-time 12000 Total Budget 85300 Conclusion This campaign has created better awareness of the strategies and activities that are carried out in a typical public relations campaign. The step-by-step development of the campaign has given insight as well as confidence to undertake such an obligation in a professional manner

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