What's the best way to choose and apply Public Relations models and frameworks?

1 The four PR models

Grunig and Hunt proposed one of the most influential and classic classifications of PR practice in 1984, which consists of four models. Press agentry focuses on generating publicity and attention for the organization, often using exaggeration or manipulation of facts. Public information, on the other hand, is more transparent and ethical, aiming to inform and educate the public about the organization. Two-way asymmetric uses research and feedback to persuade the public to accept the organization's views or actions, while two-way symmetric seeks win-win outcomes for both the organization and the public by using research and dialogue to understand and respect the public's interests and needs. Generally, two-way symmetric is considered the most ideal and effective model, as it aligns with modern principles of stakeholder engagement, relationship management, and social license to operate; however, some PR practitioners may use different models depending on the situation, audience, and objectives.

2 The RACE framework

The RACE framework is a useful and popular approach to PR planning and evaluation, which stands for Research, Action, Communication, and Evaluation. This cyclical and iterative process can be applied to any PR campaign or program regardless of size, scope, or budget. It helps to define the problem or opportunity, set goals and objectives, identify strategies and tactics, establish benchmarks and criteria for evaluation, implement strategies and tactics while monitoring and adjusting as needed, deliver messages and materials created in the action stage, engage with publics through various channels and platforms, measure outcomes and impacts against goals set in the research stage, report results, communicate results, learn from experience, and demonstrate the value of PR efforts.

3 The Barcelona Principles

The Barcelona Principles are a set of seven guidelines for PR evaluation developed by a group of PR experts and associations in 2010 and updated in 2015. They emphasize the importance of goal setting and measurement, as well as recommend measuring communication outcomes rather than outputs. Additionally, the Barcelona Principles encourage measuring the effect on organizational performance, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Furthermore, they challenge outdated and misleading methods such as AVEs, which are still used by some PR practitioners. The framework provides a common language for PR practitioners to measure and evaluate their activities, aligning them with the organization's goals and performance. It also promotes best practices and standards for PR measurement and evaluation.

4 The AMEC framework

The AMEC framework, developed by the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) in 2016, is a relevant and useful tool for PR measurement and evaluation. It is a visual and interactive tool that can be customized to fit different communication scenarios and contexts. The framework helps PR practitioners to plan and measure their communication activities by defining objectives, target audiences, key messages, resources, and budget in the "Inputs" step; describing tactics, channels, timing, reach, and impressions in the "Activities" step; measuring outputs such as content quality and quantity, media coverage and tone, share of voice and sentiment, engagement and interaction in the "Outputs" step; measuring outtakes such as awareness, understanding, interest and preference of target audiences in the "Outtakes" step; measuring outcomes such as changes in attitude or action of target audiences in the "Outcomes" step; and measuring impact such as contribution to organizational goals or ROI in the "Impact" step. This framework provides an effective way to link communication activities to objectives and organizational impact. It also helps to illustrate the logic and value of PR measurement and evaluation, as well as communicate results to stakeholders.

5 How to choose and apply PR models and frameworks

When selecting and applying PR models and frameworks, it's important to consider your purpose, publics, environment, and standards. You need to know what you want to achieve with your PR activities, who your publics are and what they care about, the trends and issues that exist in your industry or market, and the best practices and principles that guide your PR profession. This will help you to align your model or framework with your goals and objectives, tailor it to your publics and environment, and apply it with integrity and accountability.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?