Effective Public Relations

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Effective Public Relations is a book published in 1952 by University of Wisconsin professor Scott M. Cutlip and Allen H. Center. It was the first textbook in the field of public relations and introduced the "Seven Cs of communication". [1]

Contents

"Seven Cs of Communication"

The "7 C’s of Communication" is a much-quoted list, first provided by Cutlip and Center in 1952 in Effective Public Relations. [2] The original list was a follows:

Various versions of this list, often modified and unattributed, are listed in many business, communications, marketing and public relations books and courses. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

  1. Credibility: Communication begins in a climate of belief. This climate is built by the performance of the sender who should reflect an earnest desire to serve the receiver. The receiver will then have high regard for the competency of the sender.
  2. Context: An advertising/communications program must square with the realities of its environment. Your daily business activities must confirm, not contradict, the message.
  3. Content: The message must have meaning and relevance for the receiver. Content determines the audience and vice versa.
  4. Clarity: The message must be put in simple terms. Words used must have exactly the same meaning to the sender as they do to the receiver. Complex messages must be distilled into simpler terms, and the farther a message must travel, the simpler it should be.
  5. Continuity and Consistency: Communication is an unending process. It requires repetition to achieve understanding. Repetition, with variation, contributes to learning both facts and attitudes.
  6. Channels: Use established channels of communication—channels the receiver uses and respects. Creating new channels is difficult.
  7. Capability of audience: Communication must take into account the capability of the audience. Communications are most effective when they require the least effort on the part of the recipient. [8]

Reception

The book was reviewed by J.M. Rathmell in The Journal of Marketing in January 1953. [9] In 1990, the Washington Post said, "if there is such a thing as the 10 commandments of business then the second was laid down by Scott M Cutlip and Allen H Center in Effective Public Relations". [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public relations</span> Management of public communication of organizations

Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization to the public in order to influence their perception. Public relations and publicity differ in that PR is controlled internally, whereas publicity is not controlled and contributed by external parties. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. The exposure is mostly media-based, and this differentiates it from advertising as a form of marketing communications. Public relations aims to create or obtain coverage for clients for free, also known as earned media, rather than paying for marketing or advertising also known as paid media. But in the early 21st century, advertising is also a part of broader PR activities.

Within the realm of communication studies, organizational communication is a field of study surrounding all areas of communication and information flow that contribute to the functioning of an organization. Organizational communication is constantly evolving and as a result, the scope of organizations included in this field of research have also shifted over time. Now both traditionally profitable companies, as well as NGO's and non-profit organizations, are points of interest for scholars focused on the field of organizational communication. Organizations are formed and sustained through continuous communication between members of the organization and both internal and external sub-groups who possess shared objectives for the organization. The flow of communication encompasses internal and external stakeholders and can be formal or informal.

Communications management is the systematic planning, implementing, monitoring, and revision of all the channels of communication within an organization and between organizations. It also includes the organization and dissemination of new communication directives connected with an organization, network, or communications technology. Aspects of communications management include developing corporate communication strategies, designing internal and external communications directives, and managing the flow of information, including online communication. It is a process that helps an organization to be systematic as one within the bounds of communication.

Marketing communications refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination. Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate a message to its desired market, or the market in general. It is also in charge of the internal communications of the organization. Marketing communication tools include advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, sponsorship, communication, public relations, social media, customer journey and promotion.

Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large population segments. It utilizes various forms of media as technology has made the dissemination of information more efficient. Primary examples of platforms utilized and examined include journalism and advertising. Mass communication, unlike interpersonal communication and organizational communication, focuses on particular resources transmitting information to numerous receivers. The study of mass communication is chiefly concerned with how the content and information that is being mass communicated persuades or affects the behavior, attitude, opinion, or emotion of people receiving the information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internal communications</span>

Internal communications (IC) is the function responsible for effective communications among participants within an organization. The scope of the function varies by organization and practitioner, from producing and delivering messages and campaigns on behalf of management, to facilitating two-way dialogue and developing the communication skills of the organization's participants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advertising management</span> Part of the advertising industry

Advertising management is how a company carefully plans and controls its advertising to reach its ideal customers and convince them to buy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advertising campaign</span> Advertisements based on a theme

An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and concepts into one large media base. Advertising campaigns utilize diverse media channels over a particular time frame and target identified audiences.

Decoding, in semiotics, is the process of interpreting a message sent by an addresser (sender) to an addressee (receiver). The complementary process – creating a message for transmission to an addressee – is called encoding.

Business communication is communication that is intended to help a business achieve a fundamental goal, through information sharing between employees as well as people outside the company. It includes the process of creating, sharing, listening, and understanding messages between different groups of people through written and verbal formats. The way that people communicate and operate within a business is very vital to how successful the company will be in the business world. Business communication occurs internally, employee-to-employee, or externally, business-to-business or business-to-consumer. This internal and external communication can happen through verbal or non-verbal communication methods. Often these internal and external forms of communication come with barriers, which can prevent the receiver from understanding the information sent by the sender.

Mobile marketing is a multi-channel online marketing technique focused at reaching a specific audience on their smartphones, feature phones, tablets, or any other related devices through websites, e-mail, SMS and MMS, social media, or mobile applications. Mobile marketing can provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods, services, appointment reminders and ideas. In a more theoretical manner, academic Andreas Kaplan defines mobile marketing as "any marketing activity conducted through a ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device".

Corporate communication(s) is a set of activities involved in managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications aimed at creating a favourable point of view among stakeholders on which the company depends. It is the messages issued by a corporate organization, body or institute to its audiences, such as employees, media, channel partners and the general public. Organizations aim to communicate the same message to all its stakeholders, to transmit coherence, credibility and ethics.

Strategic communication can mean either communicating a concept, a process, or data that satisfies a long-term strategic goal of an organization by allowing facilitation of advanced planning, or communicating over long distances usually using international telecommunications or dedicated global network assets to coordinate actions and activities of operationally significant commercial, non-commercial and military business or combat and logistic subunits. It can also mean the related function within an organization, which handles internal and external communication processes. Strategic communication can also be used for political warfare.

Communication noise refers to influences on effective communication that influence the interpretation of conversations. While often looked over, communication noise can have a profound impact both on our perception of interactions with others and our analysis of our own communication proficiency.

Scott Munson Cutlip was a pioneer in public relations education.

The Public Relations Journal is an open-access peer-reviewed, electronic academic journal covering topics having to do with public relations and communication studies. It is published quarterly by the Public Relations Society of America. The editor-in-chief is Donald K. Wright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Models of communication</span> Simplified representations of communication

Models of communication are simplified representations of the process of communication. Most models try to describe both verbal and non-verbal communication and often understand it as an exchange of messages. Their function is to give a compact overview of the complex process of communication. This helps researchers formulate hypotheses, apply communication-related concepts to real-world cases, and test predictions. Despite their usefulness, many models are criticized based on the claim that they are too simple because they leave out essential aspects. The components and their interactions are usually presented in the form of a diagram. Some basic components and interactions reappear in many of the models. They include the idea that a sender encodes information in the form of a message and sends it to a receiver through a channel. The receiver needs to decode the message to understand the initial idea and provides some form of feedback. In both cases, noise may interfere and distort the message.

Lasswell's model of communication is one of the first and most influential models of communication. It was initially published by Harold Lasswell in 1948 and analyzes communication in terms of five basic questions: "Who?", "Says What?", "In What Channel?", "To Whom?", and "With What Effect?". These questions pick out the five fundamental components of the communicative process: the sender, the message, the channel, the receiver, and the effect. Some theorists have raised doubts that the widely used characterization as a model of communication is correct and refer to it instead as "Lasswell's formula", "Lasswell's definition", or "Lasswell's construct". In the beginning, it was conceived specifically for the analysis of mass communication like radio, television, and newspapers. However, it has been applied to various other fields and many theorists understand it as a general model of communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Source–message–channel–receiver model of communication</span> Linear transmission model of communication

The source–message–channel–receiver model is a linear transmission model of communication. It is also referred to as the sender–message–channel–receiver model, the SMCR model, and Berlo's model. It was first published by David Berlo in his 1960 book The Process of Communication. It contains a detailed discussion of the four main components of communication: source, message, channel, and receiver. Source and receiver are usually distinct persons but can also be groups and, in some cases, the same entity acts both as source and receiver. Berlo discusses both verbal and non-verbal communication and sees all forms of communication as attempts by the source to influence the behavior of the receiver. The source tries to achieve this by formulating a communicative intention and encoding it in the form of a message. The message is sent to the receiver using a channel and has to be decoded so they can understand it and react to it. The efficiency or fidelity of communication is defined by the degree to which the reaction of the receiver matches the purpose motivating the source.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schramm's model of communication</span> Interaction model of communication

Schramm's model of communication is an early and influential model of communication. It was first published by Wilbur Schramm in 1954 and includes innovations over previous models, such as the inclusion of a feedback loop and the discussion of the role of fields of experience. For Schramm, communication is about sharing information or having a common attitude towards signs. His model is based on three basic components: a source, a destination, and a message. The process starts with an idea in the mind of the source. This idea is then encoded into a message using signs and sent to the destination. The destination needs to decode and interpret the signs to reconstruct the original idea. In response, they formulate their own message, encode it, and send it back as a form of feedback. Feedback is a key part of many forms of communication. It can be used to mitigate processes that may undermine successful communication, such as external noise or errors in the phases of encoding and decoding.

References

  1. ↑ San Diego Union - Tribune Nov 18, 2005
  2. ↑ Scott M. Cutlip, Allen H. Center (1952) Effective public relations: pathways to public favor
  3. ↑ Maheshwari, R. P. (1997) A Complete Course in ISC Commerce
  4. ↑ Aggarwal, Vir Bala and V. S. Gupta (2001) Handbook of Journalism and Mass Communication
  5. ↑ Murphy, H.A. et al., (2000) Effective Business Communication 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill, NY (SIE) Tata McGraw-Hill, ISBN   9780070187757
  6. ↑ http://www.cob.sjsu.edu/easter_m/bus200w/200w%20fall%2007%20syllabus.htm#The_7_C’s_of_Communication Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine Easter, Dr. Marilyn. San Jose State University, Managerial Communication BuS200w
  7. ↑ Gysbers, Norman C. and Earl J. Moore (1981) Improving guidance programs, Prentice-Hall, 1981 ISBN   0-13-452656-2, ISBN   978-0-13-452656-0
  8. ↑ http://www.legendinc.com/Pages/LegendAdvertising/LGNDPages/Newsletter/SevenAdTenets.html The Original 7 c's as documented by Legend Inc in their Project Log - The Seven Tenets Of Communication which is referenced to Scott M. Cutlip, Allen H. Center, Effective Public Relations, 4th Edition, copyright 1971, pp. 260-261. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
  9. ↑ Rathmell, J. M. (1953) The Journal of Marketing, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Jan., 1953), pp. 328–330, American Marketing Association
  10. ↑ The Washington Post, Nov 15, 1990.
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