English for Students of Public Relations and Advertising. Rendering. Учебное пособие

D. READING FOR THE MAIN IDEAS

Answer the following questions.

1.What’s the difference between direct and indirect lobbying?

2.What are two ways of direct lobbying?

3.How would you define the key goal of lobbying?

E. RENDER THE ARTICLE

1.Explore the text for the micro topics, main ideas and ideas that do not contribute much information.

2.Find key words to support the main ideas.

3.Paraphrase the main statements (ideas) using short sentences, clear and brief.

4.Choose the phrases to make rendering (See GUIDELINES FOR RENDERING).

5.Render the text in English in writing in 50 to 60 words.

Reading 2.2

PRESS AGENTRY

A. PREDICTING

What does the title mean to you? What do you expect to read about in this article?

B. VOCABULARY AND COMPREHENSION

1. Read the following sentences and guess the meaning of the underlined words from the context of the sentence. Then write a synonym or your own definition of the word. The first one has been done for you.

1.We had to hype the film to attract the financiers.

To advertise or praise the product a lot.

2.She dazzled London society as the most beautiful debutante of her generation.

3.He made a series of astute business decisions.

4.I think it would be a gross distortion of reality to say that they were motivated by self-interest.

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5.In Arnham, she and her mother lived under assumed names and took care to speak Flemish rather than their more usual French and English.

6.When she attempts to make you feel guilty, don’t take the bait.

7.The band dressed up as 5 spacemen as a publicity stunt.

8.How do you think the candidate will spin this story?

9.Environmental groups held a faux rally.

2. Match the words from the reading that are listed on the left with a synonym from the column on the right.

C. READING

Read the article.

Press agentry is the practice of attracting the attention of the press through techniques that manufacture news, no matter how bizarre. Methods associated with press agentry include staged events, publicity stunts, faux rallies or gatherings, spinning, and hype. A common practice in the late 1800s and early 1900s, press agentry is not part of mainstream public relations. Rather, it is a practice primarily associated with major entertainmentrelated events, such as Hollywood premieres and boxing events.

The goal of press agentry is to attract attention rather than gain understanding. Although press agentry is considered an old-fashioned reference, even today, the term press agent is sometimes used interchangeably with publicist in traditional Broadway theater and motion picture industries. Today’s entertainment industries are populated with publicists rather than press agents. Publicists are individuals skilled in media relations who attempt to get the name of their clients or events in the media by carefully constructing messages that inform, educate, and persuade. Some are astute in branding and positioning strategies to further the careers and success of

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their clients. In contrast, press agents want attention—good or bad—in most any form.

Press agentry has been called persuasion for short-term advantage through the use of truth bending and even distortion, but it can also be simply the staging of provocative acts to get publicity and draw attention to an individual, event, or cause.

The evolution of public relations is often described by four models: press agentry/publicity, public information, two-way asymmetric communication, and two-way symmetric communication. The earliest, which is the press agentry/publicity model, is described as one-way communication in which truth is not an essential component. The most sophisticated form of practice is the two-way symmetric model, focusing on mutual understanding, mediation, and two-way balanced flow of information.

Therefore, it is understandable that one of the earliest proponents of the press agentry/publicity model was Phineas Taylor (P. T.) Barnum, the famed American showman and promoter who put Gen. Tom Thumb on exhibit and launched a mobile circus featuring Jumbo the elephant and freak shows. Barnum was a master of press agentry. For instance, he wrote letters both praising and criticizing his circus show to newspapers under an assumed name.

In the early part of his career, Edward L. Bernays was a master of press agentry. He persuaded 10 debutantes to hold up Lucky Strike cigarettes, manufactured by his client, the American Tobacco Company, as “torches of freedom” while participating in New York’s Easter parade. In 1929, Bernays staged a global news event by organizing the “Light’s Golden Jubilee,” a worldwide celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of the electric light bulb for his client, General Electric. Bernays managed to secure several prominent individuals for the event, including carmaker Henry Ford, electricity scientist Thomas Edison, and President Herbert Hoover.

Henry Rogers, one of the founders of Rogers and Cowan, the largest and most successful West Coast entertainment publicity firm, became well known when he promoted an unknown contract player for Columbia Pictures named Rita Hayworth. He contacted Look magazine with a telegram from the Fashion Couturiers Association of America, a fictitious group, claiming that Hayworth was the best dressed off-screen actress. Look magazine took the bait and put Hayworth on the cover and printed 10 pages of photographs.

Phillingane E.D. Press Agentry // Encyclopedia of Public Relations / Ed. Robert L. Heath. Volume 2. Sage Publications, 2005. – Р. 638–639.

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D. READING FOR THE MAIN IDEAS

Compare the work of publicists and press agents. Write one sentence about the differences in the work for publicists and press agents.

E. READING BETWEEN THE LINES

Answer the questions in writing.

1.How can you characterize the press agentry in one sentence?

2.Do you think that the practice of press agentry differs nowadays from what happened in previous centuries?

3.How does the experience of Phineas Taylor (P.T.) Barnum relate to the press agentry?

4.What methods did Bernays use to achieve his goals?

F. RENDERING

1. Find and write down the main idea of each paragraph. You may find the topic sentence.

Part I. Definition. Par II. The goal.

Part III. Support for definition. Part IV. The evolution of PR. Parts V, VI, VII. Examples of P.A.

2.When you have found the main ideas, write the key statements in the order they were used in the text. Then regroup ideas around the small subtopics which develop the main topic in the article.

3.Write the ideas in the form of sentences.

4.Write the main ideas in your own words without rewriting them from the article.

5.Unite sentences. The first sentence should present the main idea of the article. Then support the main idea with the facts.

6.Remember that rendering should cover 10-15 % of the original text.

7.Write your rendering using linking devices (See LINKING DEVICES).

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Reading 2.3

PROMOTION

A. PREDICTION

What do you know about promotion? What do you expect to learn from this article?

B. VOCABULARY AND COMPREHENSION

Match the underlined expressions in each sentence with the meanings listed in the columns below.

1Promotion, a counterpart of publicity, is used by an organization to gain awareness.

2The goal for promotion is to foster positive thoughts and opinions about an organization.

3Promotion tries to garner support and endorsement for a person, product, institution or idea.

4Publicity is probably often a subset of promotion.

5People were attracted to novelty of the event.

6He promoted the virtues of electricity over gas to illuminate houses.

7Promotions by one company or industry typically meet counterpromotion whereby practitioners make claims seeking competitive advantage.

8Print and electronic media outlets are essentially unfiltered con- duits through which promotional claims flow to customers.

9Antecedents of modern public relations stretch back to the dawn of various civilizations.

10Promotions and publicity are the most typical public relations functions in terms of expenditure, but perhaps the most controversial.

11Although fraught with ethical problems, however, promotion, along with publicity, is here to stay. It is a vital function of public relations.

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ahelp to develop the idea

bthings that links two or more people or countries

csmth that has the similar function or position in a different place

dhappened or existed before another related thing or event

eto gain or collect smth

fspending of money on smth or the money that is spent on smth

gfilled with problems or risks

han action which shows that you support or approve of smth

ithinking and going what is right and avoiding what is wrong

jthe quality of being different, new, and unusual

ka smaller number of things that belong together within the larger group

lopposed

C. READING

Read the article.

Promotion, a counterpart of publicity, is used by an organization to gain awareness, increase awareness, and foster positive thoughts and opinions about an organization, product, service, or issue.

Whereas publicity is often aimed at achieving short-term awareness, promotion typically builds and changes audiences’ and markets’ views over time. Newson, Turk, and Kruckeberg defined promotion as going “beyond press agentry into opinion making. Promotion tries to garner support and endorsement for a person, product, institution or idea” (2004, p. 4).

Publicity and promotion are among the most important functions of public relations. Each employs typical and specialized strategies and tactics.

Publicity tends to be limited to media relations, whereas promotion “involves special activities or events designed to create and stimulate interest in a person, product, organization or cause” (Newsom, Turk, & Kruckeberg,

2004, p. 400). In this sense, publicity is probably often a subset of promotion.

Two masters of promotion are P. T. Barnum and Samuel Insull. Both realized that they needed continuous strategic communication to build and advance a market and to develop a customer base for their businesses. Barnum continually used media messages and events to keep public attention focused on his circus and his display of unusual items, animals, and people. Thus, he might publicize the arrival of a huge elephant and feature its name: Jumbo. People were attracted to novelty, as they are today, but today people might tune in to television to see an elephant. In Barnum’s day, they had to

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travel to see the elephant, and it had to be taken to them. As the elephant traveled across the country, Barnum worked to get media comments and reports, which he could use in the next town to attract crowds to his show.

Ever the showman and promoter, Barnum even took advantage of Jumbo’s death. When Jumbo was struck by a train and killed, Barnum used that tragedy as a photo opportunity. Images can be seen on the Web today of people standing around and sitting on the massive beast, which was eventually stuffed and put on display.

Another master promoter, Sam Insull, knew that the fledgling electricity industry would fail without customers. The more customers, the more likely it would succeed. His efforts then were no different from those used to promote automobile sales by gaining media attention for cross-country races. He promoted the virtues of electricity over gas to illuminate houses. To do this, he featured homes that had electricity and asked neighbors to stroll by them to see how wonderful this innovation was.

Promotion, like publicity, occurs in a competitive environment. Voices compete in a public bazaar against one another for market share, brand equity, and favorable evaluation. Publicity can arise because of what reporters or other critics say about an organization and its personnel, executives, mission/ vision, policies, products, and services. This publicity can be positive or negative. Negative publicity needs to be addressed by various strategies.

Some change strategies are communication based, and others may require improvements in the organization—in its personnel, plans, policies, products, or services. Similarly, promotions by one company or industry typically meet counterpromotion whereby practitioners make claims seeking competitive advantage.

Such promotions may be joined by an entire industry, such as carmakers, and then segmented into competing product claims by individual companies and product lines. Automobile companies have been legendary for their efforts to promote automobile and truck sales. For years, fall was the time when these companies launched their new products. Magazines as well as news features at movies covered the introduction of new models. To the uncritical eye, these promotional presentations seemed to express the objective opinion of reporters. The same techniques are used today. Print and electronic media outlets are essentially unfiltered conduits through which promotional claims flow to customers.

A central theme of automobile promotions is that the manufacturers are eternally bringing newer and better models to the customers, who are expected to demonstrate their pleasure by buying a new car every year or eve-

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ry three years at least. As the industry promoted itself, so did individual brand lines struggle for brand equity and market share.

Promotion is used to target specific customers or potential customers. Markets can be segmented by various demographics. Media, both print and electronic, develop to bring customers and vendors together. Thus, teen magazines and television programs are tailored to the youth market because of the news, commentary, and entertainment that appear there. Advertising and promotion then move in to help fill the space and time with messages that are tailored to the needs, wants, and preferences of the market. Promotion sustains a flow of messages to keep constant attention on products and services that may appeal to the members of the target market.

Some of the great promotional efforts include those for Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, and the Sesame Street characters. Companies may create museums featuring the heritage of the company, product, and industry. Customers and other interested individuals can be informed and impressed as they visit such facilities. Perhaps no company has done that better than Disney. The media also engage in marketing promotion, such as with award shows—the Grammys and the Academy Awards.

Promotions are often used in conjunction with several other public relations functions. Colleges and universities have for centuries used promotions based on athletic competition, student accomplishments, and faculty merit to foster student relations, alumni relations, donor relations, and perhaps even government relations. Excellence is a product and service with many faces, purposes, and ends. Companies also use new product promotion to attract new and continuing customers. Such promotions are vital to publicly traded companies’ investor relations.

Promotions are one of the oldest forms of public relations. Antecedents of modern public relations stretch back to the dawn of various civilizations.

One of the oldest continuing forms of promotion, for example, is the fair. County fairs and state fairs have outlived the rural dominance of farm production in the American economy. They are a part of rural culture that now attracts thousands of urban dwellers. Fairs of agricultural produce even occur in urban settings. They promote agriculture, agricultural products, and agricultural lifestyle and are a meeting place of vendors and customers. They give an opportunity for farm equipment and automobile companies to meet customers and explain innovations. Local young women are featured as fair queens. County fairs lead to state fairs, which lead to trade fairs and world fairs. All of these events promote myriad aspects of a culture.

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Promotions and publicity are the most typical public relations functions in terms of expenditure, but perhaps the most controversial. The efforts of Bernays to promote the sale of Lucky Strike Greens to women has been one of the most critically discussed promotional campaigns. In this sense, promotion can be seen as unethical because it rests less on facts about a product and more on activities and events that may create impressions and false motivations regarding a product or service. One of the ethical questions focuses on the extent to which promotion reduces the target customer’s ability to make an informed and rational choice about a product, issue, cause, or service. Although fraught with ethical problems, however, promotion, along with publicity, is here to stay. It is a vital function of public relations.

Heath R.L. Promotion // Encyclopedia of Public Relations / Ed. Robert L. Heath. Volume 2. Sage Publications, 2005. – Р. 650–651.

D. READING FOR THE MAIN IDEAS

“Promotion” can be divided into several parts. Write a sentence that summarizes the main idea of each of the part. Use your own words.

Part I. Things which define the difference of promotion from the related things used in PR.

Part II. Two masters of promotion. Part III. Counterpromotion.

Part IV. Target audience.

Part V. Relations with other PR activities.

E. READING BETWEEN THE LINE

Based on what is implied in the article, discuss whether these statements are True or False. Then write a sentence explaining why you made that decision. What points in the article tend to support your inference?

1Promotion attracts people’s attention to a product or event.

Support:

2Promotion is a part of publicity.

Support:

3P.T. Barnum and S. Insull tried to apply to their target audience.

Support:

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F. RENDERING

1.Give key words and topic sentences.

2.Make up an outline of the article.

3.Summarize each paragraph in one sentence.

4.Summarize the author’s comment in each paragraph.

5.Give a thesis statement.

6.Write rendering in 120 words.

Reading 2.4

PROPAGANDA

A. PREDICTION

What do you know about propaganda? Before you read the article, write down three things you consider are linked with propaganda and explain why. What do you expect to learn from this article?

B. VOCABULARY AND COMPREHENSION

Read the following sentences and try to guess the meaning of the underlined words from the context of sentences. Then write the synonym or your own definition of the word. Use your dictionaries if necessary. The first one has been done for you.

1The word propaganda comes from the Latin word meaning to propagate or to sow.

to spread

2In its most neutral sense it means to disseminate or promote particular

ideas.

3This definition stresses that propaganda is “willful, intentional, and premeditated”.

4The relationship of propaganda to public relations has always been a contentious one.

5Public relations, thanks largely to the strenuous efforts of its own practitioners,…

6However, the common ancestry of these two practices tends to blur the distinction between them, …

7Bernays was fascinated by the workings of the human mind and had ample opportunity to study his uncle’s thoughts on people’s desire for identification, love of tribalism, and need for leadership.

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