“At a restaurant, you wouldn’t order every item on the menu. 

Likewise, don’t try every tactic you can think of. 

Instead, review [a] menu of public relations tactics carefully, 

then select a full plate of items appropriate to the situation you are addressing.”

—Ronald D. Smith^[1]

“A good tactic is one that your people enjoy. 

If your people aren’t having a ball doing it, 

there is something very wrong with the tactic.”

—Saul Alinsky^[2]

First, a Story…

Phish always does things differently.

The improvisational band from Vermont was a decade into their career. Despite quirky lyrics, complex compositions featuring confusing time signatures, and a grand total of zero radio hits, the quartet was successful. They garnered a reputation for outlandish, one-of-a-kind performances. The band closed out 1995 with back-to-back sold-out shows on December 30 and 31 at Madison Square Garden. Their formula worked, but they wanted to try something new. They wanted to host a two-day outdoor concert that would go beyond a musical performance and evolve into an experience.

There would be no other bands. No corporate sponsors. No VIP packages. And it would be held at a far-off location: A decommissioned Air Force Base 10 minutes outside Plattsburgh, New York, population 20,000.

How could that work?

At the time, there wasn’t a blueprint for a successful multi-day music festival.^[3] As guitarist and lead singer Trey Anastasio recalled, “Lollapalooza and Burning Man were the only two [festivals] that I remember, but Burning Man wasn’t a music festival and Lollapalooza was a touring event that went to established venues, so we were really making it up as we went along.”^[4]

Fortunately, the band known for its improvisation on stage proved to be adept at advance planning, and—spoiler alert—the festival went off without a hitch. An estimated 70,000 fans attended the event, which made it the largest concert in North America that year.

How did that work?

Phish prioritized the comfort of fans, and were meticulous about the details that would provide a memorable experience. That started with ensuring smooth traffic flow to the event. Concertgoers received a map of the grounds, which included street names and a central square. An FM signal was set up to broadcast music and information during the weekend. A general store provided basic necessities, and ice vendors roamed the campgrounds, offering tent-side delivery. Artists built massive art installations near the entrance, and the band carved out “quiet time” so attendees could experience those art installations without music blaring. Jim Pollock, who designed much of the band’s artwork, printed posters on demand for the event using a wood block technique.^[5]

Planes flew overhead, pulling banners with messages including “Help…We’re out of fuel…Seriously.” The festival featured carnival rides, as well as jugglers and people on stilts roaming the campgrounds. There were mist tents during the day and fireworks at night. Three video screens. Four sound towers. On stage, guests included acrobats and a brief cameo by ice cream entrepreneurs Ben and Jerry. Movies played on a big screen following the end of the show each night: Fantasia (1940) on the first night and Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) the next. There were other unannounced surprises, beginning the first night around 3:30 a.m., when Phish climbed into the back of a flatbed truck adorned with colorful lights that slowly drove through the campgrounds as the band played an impromptu acoustic bluegrass set.^[6]

The Takeaway

The event proved to be—arguably—one of the first successful multi-day music festivals that provided a blueprint for others to follow. It was the absolute opposite of Fyre Fest.

Phish’s concert was successful because of the attention to detail and because it provided a one-of-a-kind experience. It demonstrated what can happen when strategy meets creativity, and art balances with science. And it all began by centering efforts around the experience of fans, which ensured someone would not only return the following year—but that they’d drag along another friend or two because the experience exceeded expectations.

You may never plan a multi-day music festival in a remote location that spans thousands of acres, but you’ll likely be expected to represent your organization at events, and quite possibly engage in some event planning of your own. Creating and executing a successful event requires skill and effort, as well as the flexibility to manage all the logistical hurdles along the way. It can be stressful, frustrating, and exhilarating—sometimes all at the same event.

So what’s the lesson from Phish? Decide your goals, plan the strategy and carefully execute based on a series of tactics. Try to consider every angle possible—and plan for contingencies. Success lies in the details and in considering audience wants and needs.

Introduction to Tactics

Tactics. Output. Mock-ups. Creative materials. Spec pieces. Deliverables.^[7]

The terms above are functionally interchangeable, as they simply refer to “the visible element of a strategic plan.”^[8] These items, when presented in a proposal, should be as polished and “turn-key” as possible so they are ready to go when the client approves them.

The number of communication tactics is limited only by our own imagination, so at the risk of losing some depth, we’ll go for breadth in the hope of promoting more comprehensive thinking about the alignment of objectives, strategies, and tactics.

Tactics are broken into five major chunks: owned media, promotions, media relations, digital and social media, events, and outdoor advertising. There’s natural overlap between these categories, so we won’t be too fussy about defining and confining a tactic to a particular category.

This chapter is less of a “how-to” guide and more of a “when-to” guide. It serves as a starting point to think strategically about the types of tactics that make sense for a given situation. Just as a mechanic knows the tools in their toolbox and when to use them, this chapter is a glance at communication tools, and the circumstances in which they may be deployed effectively. In addition to that basic guidance, there are some links to more comprehensive resources. From there, it’s up to you to seek out exemplars and best practices for that particular tactic.

Owned Media

Owned media refers to messages that the organization controls—its website and newsletter, for example. Some of the more common types of owned media include newsletters, flyers and brochures, and (yes), direct mail.

A newsletter is a regular publication by an organization that combines elements of journalism with more direct personal communication. The etymology checks out: News + Letter. The majority of newsletters are internal, but others might be created for an industry, potential customers, or donors for a nonprofit. They should be used when there’s a desire to control the timing and distribution of a specific message and when the audience is too large to communicate with on a one-on-one or small group level.^[9] There might not be a need for a newsletter if the audience is small or not overly interested in receiving regular and routine information. First, take stock of the features you appreciate in the newsletters you receive and have those in the back of your mind as you create your own. Use a template if possible. There’s no shortage of tips to boost engagement, and universities including UW-Madison and Harvard have also created helpful guides.

Organizational news for the calendar year is compiled into an Annual Report. Corporate entities might be legally required to submit quarterly and/or annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, but those reports often go beyond the basic requirements and include information intended to inform and reassure investors. Nonprofit organizations often use annual reports as ways to measure benchmarks, highlight achievements, and drive donations. There’s some general agreement regarding relevant content. Whereas annual reports used to be published in glossy booklets, many are now produced digitally.^[10] Some companies have taken advantage of the digital format by creating a “Living Annual Report” that provides information in real-time.

Flyers^[11] and Brochures are stand-alone publications produced by an organization that are typically handed out at events or mailed to a list. Flyers are one page, while  brochures are viewed in separate panels. Both can be directed at similar goals—to announce an event or new product, for example—and a choice between the two may come down to how much information you need to share. They are generally best used to create awareness, and also have value later when a customer is preparing to make a decision about a service or product.^[12] For flyers, Canva and Adobe have assembled quality lists of best practices and considerations. For brochures, there are traditional bi-fold and tri-fold designs, but also more innovative approaches that make good use of shapes and inserts. There are both digital and physical brochures. It’s easy to create a flyer or brochure. It’s difficult to create a great flyer or brochure.

It’s reasonable to assume Direct Mail is outdated. It’s relatively expensive and not environmentally friendly; the mailing lists are often inaccurate; and people are annoyed by junk mail.

All that might be true, but direct mail is still effective.

Yes, most things are digital now, but that’s the point. The digital landscape is overcrowded, and so by “zigging” when everyone else is “zagging,” your product stands out more. The open rate is higher for direct mail than it is for solicitations via email, which explains why two-thirds of organizations that use direct mail still feel it’s an effective component of their outreach strategy.^[13] There are a range of ways to make direct mail more compelling, including scratch-offs and QR codes. The U.S. Postal Service created a list of best practices for direct mail, and introduced “retargeted” direct mail, an automated service that sends out personalized direct mail based on the digital behavior of consumers. In other words, if someone interacts with a brand online, that brand can then reach out via snail mail.

Promotions

If you’ve been camping before, you’ll know that firestarters and kindling are the quick and easy way to get a campfire going. Sales promotions work in a similar way. They drive sales—not sometime in the distant future, but right now.

A promotion is any “event, activity or message” that motivates someone to purchase a product or service based on something other than the benefits, physical characteristics, or perceived image of a brand.^[14] They are limited in duration, and the cost to the organization should be less than the profit generated.^[15] One of the advantages of running a promotion is that it’s easier to track success and return on investment (ROI) when compared to other tactics. Promotions can be done in a range of media, including face-to-face interactions at events, in-store specials, and social media posts.

There are countless ways to promote short-term sales. A dozen of the more common approaches include^[16]:

• Coupons
  • Most frequently used of all promotional tactics.
  • Physical or digital.
  • Digital offers lower production and distribution costs, as well as the ability to assign unique codes.
• Sampling
  • Best for first-time buyers or to encourage brand-switching
  • Include free downloads, free trials.
• Premiums
  • Exclusive items, known as premiums, are made available to customers for a reduced price (often at cost) following a standard purchase.
• Loyalty programs
  • Have become ubiquitous in recent years—people expect rewards for continuing to purchase products/services.
• Sweepstakes
  • Participants enter for the opportunity to win a prize, based on random chance.
  • Prizes should be attractive to the targeted audience.
  • Opportunity to build a database to use for email and future marketing
  • There are very strict laws regarding sweepstakes that vary by state, and no single federal law governs sweepstakes—different federal laws are at play. Word choice matters. Consider consulting an attorney before you start a sweepstakes.
• Contests
  • Differ from sweepstakes in that skill is involved, rather than random chance.
  • Limited duration, winner selected by judge(s).
• BOGO
  • “Buy one, get one” free promotion is easy for consumers to understand.
  • Good for first-time buyers and to reward long-time customers.
  • Expensive: Selling the product for half-price.
  • Opportunity to move volume quickly and generate cash; stores might offer BOGO specials to generate attention and attract new customers with the hope they will return once the promotion is finished.
• Extra amounts
  • The COVID-era featured “shrinkflation” where brands quietly reduced the amount of product contained in a package. “Extra amounts” is the opposite: The physical size of the product or package is increased, often by 10%, 25% and even 40%.
  • The extra amount should be “sufficient enough to attract attention, but not large enough to destroy profits.”^[17]
  • Requires new/special packaging that can deliver new messaging.
• Brand demonstrations
  • When someone can’t taste or experience a service or product, a demonstration can help sway consumers. Common examples are infomercials for products ranging from knives and home security systems to hoses and stain removers.
  • In-person demonstrations allow for interaction and feedback from consumers, as well as immediate sales. Video demonstrations are better for consistent messaging.
• Cash back
  • Began in the auto industry and spread to banks, credit cards, and electronics.
  • The concept of receiving money back is compelling to consumers
  • Complicated process requiring proof-of-purchase & rebates can be slow to arrive.
• Shared programs
  • Multiple companies work together on a single promotion.
  • Advantage is that advertising costs are shared; connects brands.
• Logo merchandise
  • Items feature a brand logo, which further promotes the brand.
  • Common items include pens, shirts, mugs, keychains, calendars, and tote bags.
  • A type of “behavioral residue,” or physical trace left by actions and behaviors that can be persuasive to others.^[18]

Media Relations

As a seasoned reader of the textbook, you know most of this stuff already, but for the sake of a more comprehensive listing of tactics, here are a  few key points that fall under the banner of media relations.

A news release remains one of the best ways to get preferred messaging out through a respected third party. Be sure you have a strategy for distribution and have targeted your pitch to the best possible member(s) of the media. Have an angle. Know their audience and why that audience would care. For more, review Chapter 11.

A story pitch must be newsworthy, concise, and compelling. Ideally, you’ll have a pre-existing relationship with the media member you’re contacting about the story. For more, review Chapter 10.

Television remains the best way to reach the greatest number of people simultaneously with a single message. Radio has a smaller audience. Online approaches are more scattered, as people are on different platforms at different times throughout the day. Magazines cater to a niche audience, while newspapers have moved largely to online spaces. Keep these considerations in mind as you pitch different media members on stories and also when choosing media buys.

In creating an ad for media organizations, you’re expected to produce a layout, storyboard, or script.

Layouts are used in magazines, newspapers, posters, signs, websites, and printed materials. The layout positions images alongside text to provide a full story about a product.

Storyboards are used in TV ads, short videos, and some social media posts. They are instructional drawings that help to visualize the proposed finished product. A standard storyboard is eight or 12 blank boxes, called frames, that help explain the concept and pacing of the ad.

Scripts are used in radio ads, podcasts, and streaming audio. Scripts are typically a single page, organized in two columns, with the left column describing the individuals involved in the ad, and the right column featuring the spoken words. There are a host of conventions used in scripts, including the use of SFX for sound effects and ANNCR for announcer, but above all, remember that writing for the ear is substantially different than writing for the eye.

Digital and Social Media

Digital media is an umbrella term that includes social media, but also includes brand websites, email marketing, apps, and digital ads.

There is natural overlap between digital media and other categories, as email marketing is a type of owned media and promotions are routinely promoted via social media.

If you suggest an organization undertake a social media campaign, the organization will expect to see sample posts to get a sense of the look and feel of what you’re proposing. As a general rule, you’ll want to create at least a few representative posts to lend a fuller sense of the campaign. There are a bevy of free online tools to create sample posts for each social media platform, so put those to good use. The closer your sample posts are to the real thing, the easier it is for that organization to appreciate your vision.

Similarly, if you propose a website redesign or refresh, you’ll be expected to show what you have in mind. Depending on your relationship with the client, they may provide back-end access to their website where you could create a private site that could go “live” and replace their existing site with a few keystrokes. If not, there are plenty of free online tools to create a mockup of a website. The closer your website is to completion, the easier it is for that organization to move forward with it.

In any case, remember to document the zero point. Use screenshots to capture the “before” and “after” of your work—not only for the client, but for your own portfolio.

For more, review Chapter 8.

Experts Talk Back:

Three Questions with Mary Knight, Communications & Marketing Program Manager at the University of Colorado.

I did an externship for arts management at a theater in Door County, Wisconsin. I was there for five months. It was kind of a combination of PR and marketing, and general administrative stuff that they needed help with. So I did social media; I helped with press releases; I helped with email communications that needed to go to donors and patrons. I also helped our donor relations team members with some grant writing for some grants the theater was applying for. So kind of a bit of everything, but a lot of writing-focused projects. In terms of straight PR, mostly press releases, but we got earned media through opening nights and things like that, but we didn’t do media invites per se or anything like that. It’s a big tourist destination and we didn’t really need to, which is good I guess.

But I worked there for five months to finish out my externship, and then started at the Performing Arts Center at Milwaukee in December 2017. And my job there was kind of split with 50% marketing, 50% event management and facility management. So in terms of marketing/PR stuff, just a lot of writing—again—and proofing and editing. I worked alongside our PR specialist, so I would work with her on press releases and media alerts, things like that. And then also would work with our social and web people to do web content, social content to promote shows and events that were happening—so a little bit of everything, not just siloed in PR, but always tied to PR in some way. But very writing-focused, and I was then also doing event management.

Then COVID happened, and we were all just 100% remote, and then eventually I got furloughed in May of 2020. And I started looking at other positions, and I kind of wanted to get away from event management altogether and focus more on content creation, storytelling, and writing. So I started working at a small agency just north of Milwaukee in August of 2020. And that was primarily email and social comms, and we also did some PR—mostly just press releases again. So writing and editing those.

And I feel like a lot of organizations don’t really flesh out their PR strategy that much. And that sounds bad! But they don’t do proactive—in the experience of the organizations I’ve worked with, it’s like “Oh, this person covered us, let’s promote it on our website or social or whatever.” But not seeking out coverage in advance. Or doing press releases but not more active public relations.

So that was my role at a small agency. I was there for a year, and then I moved in July 2021 to Denver, and worked for an education nonprofit. PR and social media were my two main focuses there, and at that organization we did a lot more active media relations work. So I built up our media lists a lot more, not only the Denver area, but we also had affiliate programs in DC, New York, upper Michigan, and Indiana as well—so helping our partners build up their media lists more, and just researching what outlets and what reporters you need to be talking to, and just fleshing out those lists. I put out a bunch of press releases for announcements of things we had happening. Also in the PR realm, if we had an event coming up where we wanted media to be there, we wouldn’t do a formal media alert, it was more like “we want these three news outlets there, so we’ll just reach out to our contacts directly over email and say ‘this is happening’” and more just pitching them on attending.

And also I worked with Denver 7 (TV). Colorado Apprenticeship month is the month of November, so I did a big news story with them and organized it with some of our employer partners. So that’s what I did in terms of PR there, and they were doing more active PR work there.

Because I feel right now with PR—everything is social now—and people are almost kind of scared of PR because we focus so much on social and email and the marketing side of communications. So with the more traditional stuff, I feel like people don’t know about it, or are more hesitant to go into it because social seems easier or more straightforward. And social isn’t easy (laughs).

In that position, the company was called CareerWise, and I did a lot more media relations things.

I just started a role at the University of Colorado-Boulder, because after going away from event management, my long-term goal was to get back into higher ed. So career-wise it was a good step, because it was education-focused, and I was still looking for that kind of a position in higher ed … My role is more project management of building out comm plans and strategies for various student life departments that are in student affairs and just making sure our designers, photo-video, social, and web people all know the timeline. And I’ll be doing some of the website management and content and some writing for social as well, but it’s more like an overseeing, making-sure-everything-is-happening-on-time kind of role.

So, I’ve done comms work, but I’ve done all kinds of different areas of it, and haven’t been necessarily siloed in PR.

I would say yes and no when it comes to social. In my last position at CareerWise, it still had a start-up energy to it, since it had only been around for five or six years. There was definitely still a mindset shift that needed to take place around social. I was the first person they had hired that was actually focused on social, and it was only part of my role. So that tells you that they hadn’t fully made that shift, that social is an important piece of our communication strategy and our brand message and voice and presence. And my supervisor, the comms director there—they were doing some kind of social media there, sort of doing some public relations work, but it wasn’t really active and proactive, so that was kind of the reason for bringing on the position I was in because it was like “we need to have more of a plan around this. We can’t just hope someone is going to cover us, and we’re gonna get this free coverage.”

So I still think that even though PR has been around the longest, and those strategies have been around the longest and could be considered old school, they’re still an important piece because on social, it’s becoming very hard to get people to see your stuff, especially if you’re just relying on organic reach, too, for content. It’s a small percentage of even your own followers that will see whatever you’re posting because the platforms are just so saturated with users.

So you have to use paid or influencer marketing—that’s something we were starting to explore—essentially hiring some of the high school students that we work with that had larger social media presences to leverage them to sell youth apprenticeship, essentially is what we were going to have them do. Because especially for student recruitment, we were like “we could go down the social media ad route,” but also, it’s obvious that when you see an ad on social media that it’s an ad, and so we thought “let’s lean more into the influencer route” because then it’s a student who’s actually gone through the program. It’s a testimonial—people love testimonials. They want to know what it’s actually like. It builds trust, and it’s a real person that’s done it, and it feels more authentic than just a paid, very polished ad that we might put out there. And that’s why TikTok blew up, because those videos are not super-polished—an ad studio didn’t create those videos. It’s just regular people talking for 30 seconds or more, in their house, dressed casually—whatever—it’s not overly produced. Especially for Gen Z, they want that authenticity. They want to know that it’s a real person talking to them…

PR tactics are still incredibly useful. It’s like “do people still send out press releases?” Yeah, they still do. It’s still important.

I think it’s more important to focus on not just the part of writing the press release itself and making sure it’s well written, but also make sure you’ve done your research, and your media list is up to date, and you’re actually reaching out to reporters that write what you’re writing about, and you’re reading their articles so you can reference them when you’re pitching them, so it’s more focusing on the tactic to actually get the piece of writing and the story out, and making sure those lists are good.

I would say to absorb as much knowledge as you can. It’s still that environment where you need to know a little about a lot of things. It’s good to specialize, but it’s good to have an overarching knowledge of everything, which is hard to do—especially with social, which is always changing. But learn as much as you can. If you think it’s something you might not be interested in learning more about in the comms realm, just take the class or do the internship. Just be very open. Because it all ties together. It’s very intersectional. And when you’re eventually on a comms team, or a PR team, or a marketing team, it’s just by nature a very collaborative environment usually. I feel that unless you’re in a really small organization, you’re never going to be a team of one. Especially because brand management and reputation—all that stuff is so important. And we’ve all been dealing with so many crises over the past, I don’t know, two to five years, I feel like a lot of companies are realizing you need to have a large team to communicate out, whether it’s social, through the media, whatever it might be.

So learning as much as you can and then being a team player, and helping where you can. Because it’s usually a group effort. And that’s a good thing, especially when you’re branding something new, or coming out with a new campaign or something, you want to have a diversity of viewpoints and perspectives because you want to make sure you’re being inclusive, you want to make sure your message resonates with all different types of people—you never want to be working in a silo, especially now in this climate. DEI is so important, as it should be, and you need to make sure you’re listening to everyone.

Events and Out-of-home Marketing

Scheduling and promoting an event requires thoughtful planning and attention to detail. There should be communication before, during, and after the event.

As far as planning goes, consider the lead-time necessary for success—and be realistic. If you have a single date for a single event, work backwards from that date when creating deadlines for action. As far as attention to detail goes, consider the following layers of the experience^[19]:

• Anticipation
  • Marketing materials should build excitement and set expectations.
  • Always list the time, date, and place (If you’re notifying the media, those details are always presented in that exact order).
  • Include relevant details: Will it be a free or paid event? Are tickets required? Be sure to add a QR code or website for additional information.
  • Of course, you’ll promote the event through your own channels, but leverage other media outlets that promote event listings, such as newspapers, magazines, trade journals, television, radio, wire services, social media groups, and media websites.^[20]
• Arrival
  • Ensure the arrival of attendees is smooth and safe.
  • Consider transportation requirements and ensure ADA compliance.
  • Have clear signage and friendly greeters. First impressions set the tone.
• Atmosphere
  • Consider the venue, and how to optimize the space provided. If the venue is too small, attendees may feel cramped, and if the venue is too large, the event may be perceived as a failure.
  • View it from the experience of the guest: Where are the restrooms? Where are the trash and recycling bins? Does décor need to be brought in, and if so, what feelings do you want to evoke—is there a theme? Make sure you consider all the options: Are there enough food and drink stations? Enough places to sit? Details matter.
• Appetite
  • Offer food and drinks appropriate for the occasion that fit within your budget. If the event is catered, how far in advance does that need to be arranged?
  • Think about whether guests will be standing, seated, or moving around, as that may dictate whether hand-held snacks make more sense than “messier” options more fit for a sit-down meal with proper cutlery.
  • Consider different potential allergies, religious or philosophical preferences and dietary restrictions, and offer alternatives for attendees. Consider having people register online—even for free events—to capture dietary needs. It’s not acceptable to tell vegetarians or vegans to “just eat the sides.” There should be a main dish appropriate for their needs.
• Activity
  • Create a progressive experience, with a strong start and finish.
  • Consider focal points within the space for activities and interaction.
  • Will attendees watch or participate?
  • Will activities be structured or impromptu?
  • The theme of activities should tie back to the goal of the event.

Out-of-home marketing, also known as Outdoor Advertising refers to advertising placed in prominent public spaces. The idea is that you meet people where they’re at.  There’s typically a need to grab someone’s attention quickly—especially if they’re flying down the road at 75 mph—so outdoor advertising tends to rely on clear images and limited text.

The Economist, a weekly publication based in the U.K., had some fun with the idea of limited text in their advertisement:

Common examples of outdoor advertising include:

• Billboards
• Bus benches and shelters
• Gas stations and convenience stores
• Hotels
• Airports
• Movie Theaters
• Shopping malls
• Sports venues
• Taxis and ride-share services
• Vehicle wraps

We’ll get more into best practices for visual communication in Chapter 15, but for now, just know that such options are available.

Summary: Putting it All Together

Proposals and campaigns begin the science—the situation analysis—and end with the art of developing and implementing tactics.

Tactics are the visible part of a larger plan. They should incorporate the tips and tricks mentioned throughout the text with respect to framing and phrasing in a way that connects with the audience.

A common mistake is developing tactics before solidifying a strategy. Even if those tactics prove to be the correct ones to execute in the long-run, a haphazard application is never as effective as one that is purposive and methodical. Begin with the goal, move to your objectives, consider the strategy, and then utilize the tactics to fit the situation.

You should be able to reverse that process as well, and say to yourself that “this is the best tactic to enact that strategy, and that strategy is the best option to meet a particular objective, and that objective provides reasonable benchmarks and deadlines to meet our overall goal.”

Tactics are the last thing you’ll present to the client in your pitch. They’re what everyone wants to see, and are proof that you can do more than talk the talk—you can walk the walk, by producing polished, high-quality deliverables that may be acted upon.