CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

INTRODUCTION

UNIT 1. INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC RELATIONS

UNIT 2. HISTORY

UNIT 3. CRISIS COMMUNICATION

REVIEW units 1-3

UNIT 4. TACTICS

UNIT 5. ETHICS

UNIT 6. PR SPIN

REVIEW units4-6

UNIT 7. «BLACK PR»

UNIT 8.PROPAGANDA

UNIT 9. BRAND MANAGEMENT

REVIEW units 7-9

UNIT 10. PROMOTION

UNIT 11. MEDIA MANIPULATION

UNIT 12. AUDIENCE TARGETING

REVIEW units 10-12

UNIT 13. HOW TO WIN OVER AND WOW A CROWD

UNIT 14. A PUBLIC RELATIONS SPECIALIST

REVIEW units13-14

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES & RESOURCES

Unit 13. HOW TO WIN OVER AND WOW A CROWD

Part A

HOW TO WIN OVER AND WOW A CROWD

by Mari Pat Varga

Mari Pat Varga Engaging an audience is a balancing act of many things. You must educate and entertain. You must have well-organized content and good delivery skills. All these elements are important but perhaps the most over-looked and under-appreciated technique for captivating an audience’s attention is to catch a breath and create space.

Audiences appreciate «breathing space» to digest ideas, formulate questions and perhaps take a note or two. Think of it as «leveraging the lull» by embracing the spaces between the words.

In my role as a Chicago communications trainer and coach I assist business professionals in becoming dynamic speakers. On the journey to presentation mastery, I see how nerves can get the best of some and often it is manifested in speaking too fast and rushing the content. It feels like you are being shot out of a cannon the minute you hear you are next up to speak.

Because we may feel less than confident, we attempt to go quickly because we don’t want the audience to be bored and we want to get off the stage as fast as we can. This approach doesn’t serve anyone.

Encourage clients to allow the audience to see you reflecting on an idea or question you have posed. This can work best when you ask a rhetorical question and allow it to hang in the air for a few moments. What are you thoughts about how to apply this information once you return to your work environment? What obstacles do you anticipate?

After asking, wander the room a bit looking pensive while considering your own question. When the audience sees you thinking, they will start thinking. You are modeling the behavior you want them to mirror.

Pausing can add power and drama to your talk. It will actually draw people in and bring them to the edges of their seats. A pause can be planned or spontaneous. A full stop pause is about 3 seconds. In music composition it is known as a «rest» which is an interval of silence in a piece of music.

If you are somehow who feels you speak too fast or too slow remember that the solution is not to split the difference but instead vary the pace in direct response to the content and your audience. When you speak quickly it can be interpreted as signaling urgency, emotion, excitement, or passion. In contrast, speaking more slowly can telegraph importance, significance or seriousness. A blend of both is ideal.

Creating space has direct benefits to the speaker as it:

• Gives you time to catch your breath

• Allows a moment to gather your next thought

• Creates an opportunity to see how your audience is doing (are they with me?)

Creating space has direct benefits for the audience as it:

• Allows them a chance to think and reflect on what has just been said

• Prompts them to form a question or prepare for what’s next

• Grabs their attention and wakes them up

Your responsibility as a speaker is to control and manage the presentation space. «Control and manage» are sometimes considered negatives but in this case they are positives. Your job is to ensure that your audience has a great experience and if the group’s attention wans or turns disruptive it will reflect poorly on you.

Practice pausing and vocal variety by reading poetry, news stories or children’s storybooks out loud. Go for drama and stick the pause (count 1,2,3 seconds).

By practicing ten minutes a day for one week you will start to develop instincts for where and when a pause will be effective. In addition, you will discover how to vary the pitch, pace and rhythm of your voice. Notice in everyday conversations how often someone momentarily ponders an idea in silence. What is your reaction? Are you drawn in and reflect as well?

In today’s world of information overload and fast paced messaging, surprise and engage your audiences by changing it up. Catch your breath, create space and captivate your audience. Learn to leverage the lull by providing the space for your audience to reflect in silence. You may be surprised at what comes through in the stillness.

EXERCISES

1. Sum up the main ides of the text and retell it in Russian.

2. Fill in the missing words from the box into the text below.

Public relations has always 1)________ its part in the marketing mix, even if it was added to plans late and rarely recognized like other disciplines. But the emergence of skippable, blockable, opt-out-able advertising, not to mention ever-more integrated 2)________, means PR can suddenly 3)________ more than a supporting role–and maybe even take center stage.

At the Consumer Electronics Show last week in Las Vegas, Coldwell Banker deployed its internal PR team and CooperKatz & Co. to talk about how smart home tech will affect the 4)________ and buying of residential real estate.

«Our 5)________ home strategy is a result of my challenge to our PR internal department and CooperKatz to craft a three-year plan that moves us beyond traditional public relations, and into the digital age and strategic partnerships», said Coldwell Banker Chief Marketing Officer Sean Blankenship. «There is no 6)________ discipline than this in today’s 7)________ and interactive marketing landscape».

Putting the company’s PR team in the 8)________ role for its smart home initiative has helped Coldwell Banker partner with the likes of Nest, LG, CNET and Lutron, Mr. Blankenship added.

H&R Block Chief Marketing Officer Kathy Collins said 9)________ may still be dominant, but PR is rising. «We are now spending more on PR, especially around our cause-marketing 10)________ on improving teen financial literacy, Dollars & Sense», she said. «We’re also doing more PR around our partnership with the NBA and 11)________ media, for example».

Clients increasingly understand that marketing is 12)________, and that the digital and 13)________ spaces lend themselves to magnification by PR, said Harris Diamond, McCann Worldgroup chairman-CEO. «If you have the idea at the center, all platforms are necessary to amplify that idea above and beyond paid media», he said. «More and more CMOs are recognizing the 14)________ and importance of PR, and I’m seeing more practitioners in the field being involved in integrated campaigns and that’s 15)________ accelerated PR’s pace».

More important, Mr. Diamond said, the «idea can come from anywhere».

At Chobani, where PR has always been a weapon to battle bigger-spending rivals, the discipline is 16)________ increasingly vital, according to Peter McGuinness, CMO for the Greek yogurt brand. The growing 17)________ of PR is not only a Chobani development, he said, but a «macro-category trend» because of highly curious 18)________ and the increasing need to reach them with brand information.

3. Read the following article and make a rendering of it in English.

Анна Красни, менеджер по PR и рекламе компании «Орифлэйм», рассказывает, как digital-коммуникации могут дополнить, но не заменить классические PR-инструменты.

Согласны ли мы с тем, что классику PR можно заменить digital-решениями? В некоторых случаях – да, в целях экономии бюджета. Кроме того, иногда новые виды коммуникаций носят более доверительный характер. По этой причине «Орифлэйм» в последнее время делает большой акцент на работу с блогерами.

Потребители доверяют лидерам мнений, и зачастую совет бьюти-блогера воспринимается аудиторией гораздо более охотно, чем статья в журнале.

Устарел ли формат пресс-папки? Не совсем согласна с этим тезисом. Основа пресс-кита – это информация, которая должна быть представлена в удобном для работы виде. Например, буклет с краткой информацией и ключевыми сообщениями, на которых компания хочет сделать акцент, должен сопровождаться диском или флешкой с более развернутым пресс-релизом, фотографиями. Таким образом, журналист, просмотрев буклет за 10 секунд примет решение, интересна новость или нет, и в случае необходимости сможет самостоятельно посмотреть более обширную информацию. Это, скажем так, гигиенические требования, без которых, каким бы креативным ни был пресс-кит, он бесполезен.

В нашем случае, чтобы привлечь внимание к рассылкам новых косметических средств, мы также стараемся включать в пакет креативный подарок, отражающий ключевые особенности продукта. К примеру, совсем недавно, запуская линию по уходу за кожей True Perfection, которая помогает сохранить красоту и молодость в условиях жизни в мегаполисе, мы подготовили подборку самых главных событий сезона, которые просто не может пропустить ни одна активная девушка.

В целом нужно понимать, что полная замена классических PR-инструментов на взаимодействие в соцсетях и конференс-колы чревата потерей интереса к компании. PR – это бизнес личных отношений, и он требует личной коммуникации.

Если у вас есть крупный информационный повод, мы бы порекомендовали использовать именно классические инструменты PR. Практика показывает, что мероприятия и пресс-туры многократно повышают интерес к продукту, возводя его из категории «обычная новинка» в ранг «событие месяца», а это значит, что в сознании журналиста или блогера новость из категории «поставлю, если найдется место, а вообще есть много другого» переходит в категорию «нужно написать обязательно, это же такое событие».

Короля играет свита, поэтому чем масштабнее событие, тем сильнее будет эффект. По опыту «Орифлэйм»  живая презентация нового продукта повышает количество публикаций примерно в два раза по сравнению с тем, если бы его просто разослали с креативным пресс-китом.

Part B

EFFECTIVE HOLIDAY PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGIES

by Jonathan Hulet

PR marketing is a year round job. It serves many purposes. PR marketing can help protect the brand. It can drive in more customers. It can help with employee acquisition and it can prevent employee turnover. Although it’s year round, there are many seasonal tactics that PR professionals can execute for specific seasons to help their brand. The holiday season is one of those seasons that every PR professional should capitalize on.

In order to attract more customers in December, a company can hold contests that allow patrons to win its most popular products, offer promotional codes, make donations to numerous charities and encourage customers to take surveys about the company. The business may also post countless videos that show buyers who are happily using the enterprise’s products, and the company should offer substantial discounts to customers who share the films on the social media networks.

In colder areas, snow may play a factor. Take the company sledding, or doing things out in the snow and now you have reasons to post content on the social platforms of your employees having a good time. Things like this can show how your brand treats your employees with respect. People don’t like to buy from companies who treat their employees poorly.  

Another idea is dependent on if the product or service the company produces is made for a winter activity. If it is, show it and  broadcast it. Notify your clients. Try to get images of your clients using your product during a winter activity.

Christmas time is the perfect time to give out prizes and rewards to your biggest social fans online. It can be as simple as just rewarding your fans with your product, or service for free. Getting your customers to post on their social network is ideal for competitions. The reward you’re giving out is paying for the marketing. Competition marketing is great PR marketing. 

For example, Nu Skin does a really good job with this. Another company is Staples, which employed a #morejoy hashtag campaign. People post about the businesses that bring them more joy. Getting your customers to publish content for your brand can be a PR dream or PR nightmare. Make sure the campaign is positive and has a good logical purpose.

Some companies ask a man who is dressed like Santa Claus to walk around in the store on certain dates, and the business should send emails with notifications of the events to each customer. According to one report, this strategy can increase the number of people who enter a store by 10 percent during the holiday season. Holding events for families in the company will help build the employees relationship with the brand which is a part of PR marketing.

Numerous studies have indicated that a discount of 10 percent may boost a site’s revenue by 17 percent. To increase the average subtotal of the orders, a business can provide free shipping for purchases with a total price of at least $100, and the enterprise should offer promotional codes that are only valid in December. 

An enterprise should create extensive articles that have information about the contests, the promotional codes and the company’s donations. These press releases can be submitted to local media outlets and posted on the enterprise’s website.

In July 2014, Life Time Fitness allowed clients to participate in a challenge that lasted for 90 days, and the patrons who lost the highest percentage of weight were the winners of the competition. Moreover, each participant gave a statement that contained information about the benefits of the company’s services.

In 2012, a business gave Felix Baumgartner equipment and training that allowed him to jump from a height of 128,100 feet. The athlete reached a speed of 843.6 miles per hour. Within five days of the event, videos of the jump had been viewed more than 50 million times. During the subsequent seven months, the company’s sales increased by more than eight percent.

A business may hold conferences during which potential customers will learn about the company’s products and services. Patrons who view the presentation should receive a free sample, and the enterprise can encourage guests to invite numerous friends and family members. 

It’s a sensitive time of the year for people who don’t have much. People like to know the companies that they’re buying from are giving back. Not everyone will have the money or resources to have a great Christmas. Use this not just for a marketing tactic, but for a time to really help someone in need. Companies can really help people and they should during this season.

An enterprise can provide cash or gift cards to clients who refer friends to the company. In order to produce a sense of urgency, the business should create a deadline on which the incentive will no longer be available. Case in point, DirecTV has one of the most impressive referral programs. They do a great job on giving it a holiday theme during the holidays.

Certain companies give Christmas gifts to customers who make large purchases, and some of these presents include new smartphones, laptops and Christmas trees. A recent study showed that this strategy may increase the average subtotal of a company’s orders by 18 percent. Give more back to your customers during a holiday season and they might be more faithful to your brand than you would think.

EXERCISES

1. Sum up the main ides of the text and retell it in Russian.

2. Fill in the missing words from the box into the text below.

Edelman, the 1)________ independent PR agency, is «getting not just a seat at the table, we’re getting half the table», said Jackie Cooper, 2)________ chair-creative strategy at the firm.

Where PR used to be tacked onto a campaign after the creative was finished, Edelman is now working with brands and advertising agencies from the very beginning. The agency has been 3)________ hand-in-hand with Adobe’s creative teams, for example, from the start of the 4)________ process to build digital activations for the software company’s 5)________ products. Edelman won the Gold PR Lion in 2015 at Cannes for its work on the Adobe Photoshop «Murder Mystery»

Rising fortunes for PR, however, don’t always mean agencies in other 6)________ understand how to work with their PR partners.

It’s «not really traditionally understood by many», said Claudia Strauss, CEO of Grey Activation & PR. That’s why her team trains all agency 7)________, helping them figure out what will grasp 8)________ outside of paid assets. «We’re not buying 9)________», she said. «When you buy an ad, you’re guaranteeing eyeballs, but when you’re earning, you need to engineer the content for news–you don’t have a choice».

Sarah Hofstetter, CEO of 360i, who worked in 10)________ earlier in her career, said PR agencies are waking up to the power they can yield beyond media relations. «Marketers 11)________ look at how they get the biggest bang for their buck and making their work that certainly extends the reach», she said.

While 360i is a digital marketing agency at its core, Ms. Hofstetter added that she frequently puts on her PR hat to come up with ideas for clients that 12)________ will care about and want to share.

Likewise, Kelli Parsons, senior VP-chief communications and marketing officer at New York Life, says the insurance company has recently observed a need for PR to integrate more strongly as 13)________ of the overall solution, specifically when delivering messages about brand purpose.

That means lead agency Anomaly is tasked with ensuring its other partners–Weber Shandwick and Mediavest–are working 14)________ to execute strategy and collaborate on ideas.

Ideally, all agencies would get along, but Edelman’s Ms. Cooper admitted it’s «a little bit of a turf war, and it would be 15)________ to say otherwise».

Edelman neither wants to replicate an ad agency nor go back to being the PR agency it was in the past. It is building a new marketing communications agency that is «earned-centric and social by design», according to Ms. Cooper. The agency is also 16)________ on figuring out new ways to measure the return on investment from its campaigns.

Even though many agencies are adding new capabilities to try to create one-stop shops, Mr. Diamond said the smart firms will 17)________ focus on what they know best.

«I don’t see a world where marketing gets so blurred that everyone will be experts in in-store, out-of-home, TV, radio, print and PR», he said. «I see a world of specialists who can build on each other and 18)________ an idea by bringing those skills together and having 19)________ knowledge of each space».

3. Read the following article and make a rendering of it in English.

Самое главное в стратегическом PR – «держать цель», то есть четко понимать, что мы хотим получить в результате. Это дает возможность осознанно подбирать PR-инструменты для достижения цели. Из этого сочетания стратегии и тактики как раз и рождается документ, который называют «коммуникационной стратегией». Некоторые PR специалисты, особо не задумываясь, включают в свой план работы весь перечень доступных и известных им инструментов. Например: «выпускать пять пресс-релизов ежемесячно, провести две крупные пресс-конференции, обеспечивать как минимум 100 упоминаний о компании в месяц» и так далее. Но немногие, составляя такой набор, задаются вопросом «Почему?».

Почему именно 100 публикаций в месяц? Точно ли потребуются пресс-конференции?

Бывают периоды, когда компании вовсе не нужно «светиться» в прессе (например, из-за грядущей реструктуризации). Тогда коммуникационную стратегию (КС) нужно выстроить с точки зрения антикризисного PR, чтобы минимизировать негатив в СМИ. Или же почему в качестве цели выбраны именно две пресс-конференции? Возможно, нужна только одна? А может быть, и в ней нет необходимости? Не исключено, что более эффективной будет организация круглого стола или пресс-клуба для неформального общения спикера с журналистами, и этот инструмент лучше подойдет для достижения общей цели.

Для того, чтобы обосновать план работы пиарщика, как раз и требуется коммуникационная стратегия.

КС обычно разрабатывается на год. На этот же период на общем собрании совета директоров утверждается и общая стратегия развития компании. Эти процессы взаимосвязаны.

Пересматривать КС имеет смысл, если меняется общая стратегия развития компании или происходят серьезные изменения на рынке, которые нельзя игнорировать, либо неожиданные серьезные изменения в информационном поле вокруг компании. Прежде чем сесть за разработку коммуникационной стратегии необходимо:

·        получить данные о ключевых решениях по развитию компании на ближайший год;

·        получить данные по маркетинговой стратегии на ближайший год.

Только имея понимание, как руководство визионерски видит развитие компании, куда она должна двигаться и какие ближайшие (на год) цели перед собой поставило руководство, можно грамотно и продуманно разработать стратегию коммуникаций.

Кроме того, коммуникационная стратегия не может строиться в отрыве от маркетинговой. Конечно же, должна разрабатываться маркетологами и PR-специалистами сообща.

Пример из практики: руководство транспортной компании объявляет о своих приоритетах на год:

·        популяризация нового подвижного состава, который сделает поездку для пассажиров более комфортной;

·        открытие новых направлений;

·        увеличение продаж по ряду тарифов.

Коммуникационная стратегия предусматривает воздействие на ЦА через СМИ, спецпроекты для привлечения внимания пользователей, инициирование партнерских программ, SMM-продвижение. Разрабатывается она с учетом готовящихся инфоповодов, таких как закупка подвижного состава и открытие новых направлений движения.

Все это именно коммуникационные, а не маркетинговые инструменты. Если провести разграничение, то к сугубо коммуникационным инструментам нужно отнести те, которые так или иначе связаны с созданием нужного восприятия у целевой аудитории продукта (услуги или компании в целом), а также предполагают донесение его ценности до целевой аудитории.

Вопрос создания репутации особенно актуален в современном мире, когда любая информация распространяется с быстрой скоростью и все тайное становится явным. Компании должны перестроиться на ведение открытой PR политики.

Юридическая фирма принимает решение запустить совершенно новый продукт, который в идеале может обеспечить компании серьезный доход. Но общего понимания, в какой форме преподнести продукт, у руководства нет.

Среди вариантов: консультирование ЦА по новой теме, создание программного продукта по данной теме или проведение обучающих семинаров. При этом PR-менеджеру ставится задача разработать коммуникационную стратегию продвижения продукта, а также контент-стратегию для SMM.

В таких ситуациях можно порекомендовать PR-менеджерам взвешенно оценивать ситуацию. Не кидайтесь изображать бурную деятельность и составлять стратегию ради стратегии. Это напрасный труд. Коммуникационная стратегия должна разрабатываться осознанно. Для этого должны быть ответы на следующие вопросы:

С какой целью создается новый продукт? Какие потребности он удовлетворяет?

Для кого этот продукт создается? Кто целевая аудитория?

В чем уникальность продукта?

В чем его ценность для потребителя?

Какие ключевые сообщения мы хотим донести до целевой аудитории? (Они формулируются исходя из ценности и уникальности продукта).

Какой результат по итогам запуска хотим получить?

Из приведенного примера очевидно, что сначала маркетологи должны помочь руководству компании «упаковать» продукт. Только после этого имеет смысл формировать коммуникационную стратегию.

Таким образом, прежде чем садиться за разработку PR-стратегии нужно четко понимать, какую стратегическую задачу бизнеса поможет решить КС. Исходя из этого можно сформулировать цели и задачи КС. А четко сформулированные критерии успеха помогают грамотно выстроить работу и подобрать правильные инструменты. Как показывает практика, чем выше планка – тем больше достижений. Не стоит бояться амбициозных целей и завышенных показателей. Они способны стать реальным стимулом для существенных перемен…

Part C

3 BRAND BUILDING SECRETS FROM BEAUTY

by Michelle Phan

There is no single correct way to grow a brand, but as long as you are authentic in your pursuit of an audience and customers, you can’t go wrong. That was the lesson from online community and monthly cosmetics subscription service ipsy’s first ever Creator Day, hosted in New York City on Friday in conjunction with its Generation Beauty conference.

Pioneering beauty influencer Michelle Phan, Brit + Co CEO and founder Brit Morin, SoulCycle CEO Melanie Whelan and Harvard Business School professor Pauline Brown discussed how to grow a successful business during a panel moderated by ipsy President Jennifer Goldfarb.

Phan provided some valuable takeaways for entrepreneurs in any industry about how build a brand that is fulfilling both personally and professionally.

1. You are your own best PR.

Phan said that when she first started her YouTube channel, she was conscious of the fact that the internet never forgets. «Whatever you’re projecting online, that’s your public persona, and in a way, you have to act like your own PR», she said.

She explained that she chose Michelle Phan as her first YouTube username because she wanted to put forward the best and most honest representation of herself. «You do want to present yourself in a way where you could potentially be a brand», she said. «You never know what could happen».

But even with that in mind, Phan cautioned that if you are branded a certain way now, it won’t necessarily stick with you for the long haul because the landscape is always changing.

«People call us gurus, but most people don’t realize that we didn’t choose that name, it was already pre-selected for us on YouTube. You were a director, a singer, a guru or a comedian», she explained. «Don’t ever feel like these labels are something that will be attached to you forever, because the names will change all the time. It started off as guru, it is influencers now, but in the next five years it’s going to be something else».

2. Be open to failure.

Phan characterized failure as a compass that can show you where you need to go if something doesn’t turn out the way you hoped. The specter of failure is scary, especially when you’re trying something for the first time and everyone around you seems to have it all together. But it’s important to remember that even the most experienced people aren’t immune to obstacles.

«Our parents say you can do anything, so you go into the real world and you’re like «alright, I can do anything», and then it’s like, «nope, didn’t work», she said. «And this starts whittling away at your confidence. And I think this is truly why people are so afraid to take that first step, because their confidence is gone and what they have left, they want to hold on to it. But maybe sometimes we need to fail because it molds us into the people we need to be today».

Phan advised that you aren’t responsible for how people judge or interpret the work you put out into the world. If something falls flat, that’s OK – have a diverse strategy for visibility and use the platforms that best work for your content. If one doesn’t work for you, find the one that does, and your audience will meet you there.

3. Give yourself a break.

The beauty expert’s closing advice to the group of young creators was to remember that you’re a human being. Seems simple enough, but it’s easy to forget when you’re thinking about growing your business all the time and there is no room for error.

Phan said that recently, after 10 years of filming, brainstorming and editing videos every day, she decided to take a brief hiatus from that aspect of the business. «When you feel like you need to take a break, do it», she said. «The most important thing is you should listen always to your body and yourself».

She continued, «I know most people are scared [of taking a break], because they wonder «what if I’m not relevant anymore?» But you can never be relevant in this world. Do you guys think about Thomas Edison every time you turn on the lights? Do you think about Steve Jobs every time you turn on your iPhone? No, you think about yourself».

EXERCISES

1. Sum up the main ides of the text and retell it in Russian.

2. Fill in the missing words from the box into the text below.

Your 1)________ shouldn’t be something you change on a whim one day just because you woke up hating everything.

Rebranding your business requires careful preparation and strategic thinking before you even consider changing any of your public-facing 2)________.

Once you have 3)________ all the work on the back end-messaging, positioning, audience targeting, etc.–then you can plan the visual rebranding as part of a coordinated launch.

How do you know it’s a good time to rebrand? Although the answer varies case by case, here are nine 4)________ reasons to take on a rebranding project:

1. Sales have plateaued or 5)________. If you aren’t bringing in new business or selling products, or you can’t seem to increase revenue, something isn’t 6)________. It’s even worse if your target 7)________ is going to the competition. There has to be a reason. More often than not it’s that your brand is no longer relevant. Find the cause.

2. The needs of your audience have 8)________. Without customers, you wouldn’t be in business. Do the products/services you offer fulfill what your customers need? If not, decide whether you can make that 9)________.

3. Your visual representation is outdated. Visual appeal changes over time. You can have a classic logo and still want to tweak it over time. Maybe your initial logo was crafted based on now-stale 10)________ trends.

4. Your values and positioning have changed. Sometime customer needs change, but often business owners find the brand itself has shifted over time. If so, realign it with the foundation of your 11)________. On the public-facing side of the brand, if your current messaging doesn’t match what you are offering, it will confuse your target audience.

5. You don’t feel an 12)________ connection to your brand. If you just aren’t «feeling it» anymore, that will come across in everything you do. Don’t make knee-jerk decisions; instead, follow a structured process to get on the right track once the 13)________ has been completed.

6. You don’t stand out; you’re too close to competitors. It’s easy to get sucked into what your competitor is doing 14)________ your realizing it. Before you know it, there are five nearby competitors with a similar name or logo. Perhaps you all use the same «differentiator» 15)________ to say why you are the «premier» brand in the industry. Step outside the industry norm. Look at what attracts your audience; it will help you form 16)________ that stands out visually.

7. You’ve expanded past your geographical name. Your business has grown beyond your initial 17)________. The problem? You used your city name as part of the brand. It’s time to drop the geographical labeling and use a more global brand name. Your messaging will take a broader focus, but you can still talk about your grassroots, local mindset, which many 18)________ appreciate.

8. You’re boring. No one likes to be told they are boring, but some brands just fade into the 19)________. You don’t have to go crazy, but a little bit of spice will attract a larger audience.

9. Negative association. Often, negative 20)________ will run its course and things will get back to normal; other times, your brand will forever be associated with something 21)________. Perhaps the pronunciation is similar to a terrorist group’s name, or maybe you had a massive crisis that you just couldn’t 22)________. In any case, identify the negative association and figure out how best to start fresh. It could be a name change, a 23)________ line revision or even new core messaging for your customer outreach.

3. Read the following article and make a rendering of it in English.

SMM КАК ОРУДИЕ «ЧЕРНЫХ ПИАРЩИКОВ»

Агентством «Matik» специализирующимися в области исследования Интернет-маркетинга недавно был проведен опрос, по результатам которого выяснилось, что в прошедшем году 38% компаний подвергались атакам недоброжелателей, орудовавших методами ложной и негативной информации, которая целенаправленно распространялась в наиболее посещаемых социальных сетях, форумах, блогах, СМИ. Судя по всему, в текущем году будет наблюдаться тенденция к возрастанию этого явления, связанного с технологиями недобросовестной рыночной конкуренции.

Главным полем своей деятельности «черные пиарщики» выбрали популярные площадки, на которых потребителями обсуждаются предоставляемые разными компаниями товары и услуги. Именно сюда в большинстве случаев заходят простые люди, чтобы получить дельный совет, рекомендации, выслушать мнения со стороны касательно предстоящей покупки. Сейчас форумы являются виртуальным аналогом обычной привычки посоветоваться друг с другом насчет того или иного приобретения.

Очернители (так иначе называют деятелей в сфере негативной дезинформации) отлично прочувствовали готовность участников форумов и социальных сетей прислушиваться к чужим советы, и пользуясь этим выливают потоки грязи (конечно же по заказу конкурентов) на определенных поставщиков и производителей, а смотрится это как доброжелательный совет. Простому потребителю невозможно определить является ли такая негативная оценка отношением реальных покупателей или происками конкурентов, в любом случае обладая такой информацией человек не станет рисковать и отдаст предпочтение другим предложениям. В этом и заключается эффективность «черного пиара».

Действительно, станет ли пользоваться человек ремонтными услугами фирмы, о качестве работы которой ходят плохие слухи на форумах, а если еще «подлить масла в огонь» заявлениями насчет ее связи с спецслужбами, и что они под видом ремонта устанавливают в стенах и потолках оборудование для шпионажа и зомбирования? Конечно же, клиенты будут обходить ее десятой дорогой, а тем «несчастны», которые уже использовались услугами жертвы пиарщиков остается разве что направить все усилия на поиск подслушивающих устройств.

Или же, как реагировать на подобного рода предостережения: «Никогда не имейте дело с охранным агентством Х»? В большинстве случаев человек так и поступит, отдав предпочтению другой компании, gsm сигнализации и прочим высокотехнологичным методам обеспечения защиты от внешних посягательств.