5.1: Setting Strategy
When you begam your college career, you chose a major. If you didn’t select a major, you probably elected General Studies because that is a comprehensive degree that does not focus on any one area. Having chosen a major, you then laid out a list of courses that would get you the required number of credit hours to graduate. Given a choice between two science courses, you might have picked biology rather than physics because you thought physics was likely to require math, and you’re not strong in math. That was a strategy to get you where you wanted to go.
Likewise, if your parents own their own home, they set that goal early in their marriage and then developed a strategy for getting there: How large a down payment would they need? How much work would they need to save for that down payment, etc. That, too, was a strategy.
A strategy is a plan or action designed to achieve a major or overall goal. When you chose your major, you probably chose it because you believed it would help you get a job in a field that you really wanted to work in. Someone who wants to be a ballerina would not major in chemistry but in dance, for example.
For the most part, newspaper reporters don’t have to worry about strategy. There was an accident at 5 th and Main. Writing the story doesn’t require some overarching plan. Nor does a story that Congress passed a bill raising taxes.
There are cases, of course, where newspaper editors and reporters need to have a plan. I wrote my Master’s thesis on “How the St. Petersburg Times Won the Pulitzer Prize.” In that case, the owner of the paper set both the objective and how the Times would achieve that objective: Nelson Poynter wanted nothing less than major legislative changes – an Open Public Records Act, a top-to-bottom reform of the Florida Turnpike Authority, and several other objectives. It was going to be achieved by a daily story running in the middle of the front page. Day after day, one example after another of corruption in the Turnpike Authority – and, by extension, Florida government itself -- would be printed until finally the public was so angry the politicians had to act. Poynter got his objective.
It is no different for a public relations person. His client has a strategy and a vision. California wants 100% of all light vehicles to be all-electric by 2035, so auto makers such as Ford Motor Co. have to have a strategy to meet that goal. General Motors Co. says it will be 100% electric vehicles by 2035; Ford says it will produce both electric and internal combustion engine vehicles. Two different goals, two different strategies.
Everything the public relations person produces needs to support the strategy of his client, whether that client is his employer or the client of a public relations agency. One way to do this is to mention it in the “About Us” paragraph in a press release. General Motors p.r. people might say, “General Motors has a goal to produce all-electric vehicles by 2035.” In a story about electric vehicles that might be in the lead paragraph: “To further its goal of producing only electric vehicles by 2035, General Motors Co. today announced ….”
Companies also have visions and missions. What that vision is will differ, of course, from company to company:
- Ford Motor Co. says its purpose is “to help build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams.”
- General Motors says its vision is to “stand together to drive the world forward. Everybody in. Our goal is to deliver world-class customer experiences at every touchpoint and do so on a foundation of trust and transparency.”
- Apple’s vision statement is “To make the best products on earth and to leave the world better than we found it.“ .”
- Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business says its “overarching vision is to be recognized as being among the most important business schools in the world.”
- Prince George’s Community College’s vision is to be “the region’s premier center for dynamic teaching and learning, strategic partnerships, and community engagement that advances knowledge, economic equity, and lifelong personal development.”
- Bowie State University’s vision is to be “widely recognized as one of the nation’s best public comprehensive universities that is a model for academic excellence, innovation, and student success.”
You’ll notice that not only do these examples differ from each other, but they can have a real impact on how a public relations person puts out information. Neither Ford nor GM mention the fact that fundamentally they build and sell cars.
Bain & Co., a consultancy, explains the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement:
A Mission Statement defines the company’s business, its objectives and its approach to reach those objectives. A Vision Statement describes the desired future position of the company. Elements of Mission and Vision Statements are often combined to provide a statement of the company’s purposes, goals and values. However, sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably.
(Bain, 2022)
Surprisingly, when I searched online for the mission of Ford and General Motors, I didn’t find a mission statement. The three educational institutions, however, did have mission statements. You can read them here, along with Apple’s:
Prince George’s Community College
Apple’s mission statement – “ To bringing the best user experience to customers through innovative hardware, software, and services” – drives the company. Apple says its mission statement has three core components:
Best User Experience. Whether it is iPhone, iPad, or wearable, Apple designs all its products to be user-friendly. The company says it does not compromise when it comes to user experience. Apple’s products come with innovative and user-friendly features, delivering the best experience for the end-user. In 2020, Apple introduced robust location and Bluetooth permissions in iOS 13. In 2021, it unveiled an opt-in ad-tracking feature for iOS 14 . These user-friendly privacy features can help protect the personal data of iPhone users and improve their experiences.
Innovative Products. Apple designs products that address the unique needs of its customers. Since its founding, Apple has pushed the standard in product design, usability, and functionality. Apple’s hardware and software solutions cater to various market segments, including education, business, and healthcare. In the past few years, Apple has increased its healthcare presence with innovative products like Apple Watch for detecting heart irregularities. Its Apple Health Records feature for iPhone allows patients to access their medical data via their mobile devices. In Q1 2020, Apple reported $91.8 billion in quarterly revenues with record-high earnings from its healthcare products and services.
Quality Service Delivery. From its App Store, Apple Care, and tech support, Apple is obsessed with customer service. It oversees everything, from design to development, sales, and repairs. This hands-on approach gives Apple an edge over its competitors. A 2020 investigative research awarded Apple 51/60 for online support and 34/40 for phone support with an overall tech support score of 85/100. This score is impressive given that most companies offer poor customer service.
(Apple, 2022)
You can see how the mission and vision statements might drive what a public relations person releases. Apple’s vision and mission statement are pretty specific and a public relations news writer would know when writing about new products to emphasize how a product upgrade’s innovation and user-friendly feature improves the user experience. That would be true whether he is writing about the company’s earnings or the promotion of a design engineer who worked on a particular product.
Brand: Not only does everything produced in a PR shop need to further (or at least support) the vision of the company, it must support that company or product’s specific brand.
People tend to misunderstand what a brand is. Except for cattle, a brand does not refer solely to a graphic image – Ford’s blue oval, Apple’s apple – but rather to the whole bundle of emotions generated when people hear or see the name of a company, product or person. Are you or your company honest? Reliable? Do your products perform as advertised? How do you treat your employees? What do your employees say about you?
Watch this video of Ann Bastianelli explain what a brand is, and provide a lesson in public relations management:
Ann Bastianelli – Powerful personal brand management
She’s talking about personal brands, but the same concepts apply to all brands.
Case Study: Steve Jobs announcement of the launch of the iPhone was one of the most successful product launches in recent history. What was the pr strategy involved?
First, when a new product is being developed, Apple doesn’t comment. There are no leaks that the new iPhone will feature this or that until the product is officially announced. The suspense keeps building even after Apple gives some social media users a sneak peek.
Second, hold a product launch event. Asking key stakeholders, such as suppliers, clients and high-profile people to attend boost your changes of getting coverage. Here’s a video of then-chairman Steve Jobs announcing the new iPhone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7qPAY9JqE4
If you paid close attention, you may have noted he repeatedly used the phrase “Today, Apple reinvents the phone.” That phrase appeared in several place in the press kits distributed at the event. The result was many news stories in earned media included the phrase, “Apple reinvented the smartphone.”
Here’s a look at the inside of Apple’s PR shop:
Seeing through the illusion: Understanding Apple’s Mastery of the Media
It is a stunningly detailed account, well worth reading.
(Gurman 2014)
References
Apple (2022, January 7). Apple mission statement, vision & core values, Apple Inc. https://bstrategyhub.com/apple-missi...n-core-values/
Bain (2022, January 7). Mission and vision statements. Bain & Co. website. https://www.bain.com/insights/management-tools-mission-and-vision-statements/
Gurman, M. (2014, August 29). Seeing through the illusion: Understanding Apple’s mastery of the media. 9to5Mac. Seeing Through the Illusion: Understanding Apple's Mastery of the Media - 9to5Mac