Week 11

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that even though an event or public relations plan may look simple to those who view it from the outside there is actually a large amount of work that goes into each sector of its composition. One of the most important aspects of a public relations practitioners career, and possibly the most time consuming is that of research and evaluation. Research must be carried out at all section of the planning in order to be successful and have a basis of knowledge on what you are trying to achieve. As Singh and Glenny state in their chapter on research and evaluation,

“Research is an essential task within public relations, used to identify the requirement for a communication program, to assist in establishing that program, to check progress and to evaluate the effectiveness.” (Singh & Glenny cites in Johnston and Zawawi, 2004, p138)

Also, it is important to remember that when the event, campaign or set objectives have finished the research does not stop there, but that an extensive amount of evaluation and monitoring follows. This may be in the form of surveys, interviews or audits.The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that the section that a client or the general public sees is only a small portion of the work that it takes to be successful. It is also made me aware that this is an ongoing process which needs to be treated meticulously.