In order for public relations to have an effective outcome, the intended message needs to have an objective. The five examples given by Jason Grunig are:
- Message exposure
- Accurate dissemination of the message
- Acceptance of the message
- Attitude change
- Change in overt behavior
All five seem like good ideas and are different motives. This section reminded me of opinion leaders and opinion followers. The opinion leaders take a message in and choose who and how to distribute it. I think that the most common objective for a message would be message exposure. As we learned, attitudes are often difficult to change because most people choose to listen to messages that agree with the attitudes they already have. By exposing a message, people can listen without necessarily changing their opinion. Attitude change, although not as simple, it probably a pretty frequent objective. The one that comes to mind most is the election. Opponents make countless messages about how they can help you and also why their opponent cannot. Having an objective is key because then an action plan for the message can be planned accordingly.
Another part of Chapter 7 that I found to be very important is how decisions are influenced. This is an important area to understand because everyone makes different decisions and it seems to be imperative to know how. The first stage is the awareness stage which would be when commercials and news stories make the public aware of the message of event. Then comes the interest stage which is when if a person is interested they will seek outside information, paying the most attention to in-depth articles. The last stages are evaluation, trial, and adoption. This is when personal experience, norms and feedback come in handy as the final test. Judging by the final outcome is when a person decides if they will make a popular decision or not.
Something that is very popular and holds a heavy influence in the minds of people and their decision making if word-of mouth campaigns. This is another scenario when opinion leaders and credible sources hold a lot of value. I think that word-of mouth is very popular among teens because kids especially in middle school and high school are always following trends within specific clothing store. Limited Too was the place to shop until we got a little older and moved into the world of Abercrombie & Fitch. These trends keep advertising a public relations is business because there is always the next big thing so advertisers are able to keep people buying. People seem to be most influenced by their peers and word-of mouth is what keeps this process going.
Information and Reflections from Public Relations: Strategies and Tacticsc by Wilcox and Cameron
http://www.ezytextbook.com/default.asp?pid=1412- link to the book
Marilyn's Life From East to West 