Purpose and Goals of the Chapter

This chapter introduces the concept of branding. It examines the purpose and value of branding to a variety of audiences and provides several concrete examples of the use of branding in different situations. Overall, it demonstrates how important branding is to an organization, and how strong brands can effectively communicate with audiences and key stakeholders.

Outline of Key Chapter Themes

• An effective brand should communicate an organization’s purpose and values to the public and all its stakeholders, is easily identifiable, and fosters positive associations in the mind of stakeholders long after a public relations campaign has ended.
• The University of West Georgia was able to develop a plan to differentiate itself from other “University of Georgia” brands after heavy research before and during the campaign.
• The target audience for Pope Francis’ first visit to the United States was very broad, but with proper branding intimate connections were still able to be made with key members.
• The state of Mississippi dealt with negative stereotypes and elevated its brand by confronting them head on while focusing on internal audiences.
• Consistent messaging across platforms was critical to the success of creating a brand for OnlineVisas.com.

Chapter Outline

“Amazing Things Happen When You Go West”: Raising Visibility, Interest, and Enrollment

Situation
Research
Action Planning
Communication
Evaluation

Growing the Pope’s Flock

Situation
Research
Action Planning
Communication
Evaluation

Mississippi, Believe It: Eleven Years and Moving Forward

Situation
Research
Action Planning
Communication
Evaluation

A Strategic View: Public Relations and Tech Startups: A Case of OnlineVisas.Com

Case Summaries

“Amazing Things Happen When You Go West”: Raising Visibility, Interest, and Enrollment

The University of West Georgia (UWG) was experiencing declining enrollment. Research revealed that the university did not suffer from a negative perception. Rather, there was a bewildering non-perception. They planned to raise and improve the university’s regional profile and become a first-choice destination for more students. The UWG brand story was first shared internally to rally support, engagement, and excitement. The external campaign included advertising and publicity launched locally and in Atlanta. After the campaign, student enrollment was up more than 15% (Fall 2017 of 13,520 vs. Fall 2010 benchmark of 11,283).

Growing the Pope’s Flock

In anticipation of Pope Francis’ historic first visit to the United States in September 2015, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recognized the welcome opportunity to make a big social media splash surrounding the Pope and increase Hispanic engagement on USCCB social media channels. A comprehensive communications playbook mapped out potential issues and opportunities, and identified actionable engagements and trending conversations that were preplanned for release during real-time moments throughout the visit. The USCCB’s goal was to amplify the message of the visit, “love is our mission,” and joyously move people to merciful action. A holistic media strategy that encompassed social content, influencer outreach (i.e., making connections with influential people), and proactive media messaging was developed. Overall, the USCCB efforts contributed 30 million earned media impressions in English and Spanish toward the Pope’s visit, and 5.1 billion impressions of the campaign’s hashtags, #PopeInUS and #PapaEnUSA.

Mississippi, Believe It: Eleven Years and Moving Forward

Mississippi is rooted in its rich culture and history, though much of its history is negative. The MBI campaign established itself as a voice for greater public understanding about the state. The goal was to expose as many people as possible to the message that the Mississippi of 1960 is not the Mississippi of today. Press releases, posters, press conferences, ads, a website, and social media were all used to engage residents of the state. The campaign received significant local and national coverage and created an ongoing relationship with Mississippi public schools.

A Strategic View: Public Relations and Tech Startups: A Case of OnlineVisas.Com

OnlineVisas.com’s campaign focused on building relationships with publics and using inbound strategies to drive traffic to its new website (www.onlinevisas.com). The idea behind the inbound strategy for OnlineVisas rested on the notion that making friends on social media was more important than making contacts. The campaign aimed to generate website traffic and increase visit duration by 10%, as well as to establish Jon Velie, founder and CEO, as a thought leader and an expert, whose opinion the media might seek. To achieve these goals, the start-up team developed a set of social media tactics focused on creating quality content and developing meaningful hashtags that allowed connecting to a larger conversation on immigration. Overall success of the campaign can be attributed to the strategic thinking and research that informed campaign development. The research provided insights and ideas for developing messaging strategies, identifying value-driven content, and meaningful hashtags that targeted publics interested in the subject matter.