Public Relations: Communications Process Analysis

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PR Communications Process Analysis:

Choose an organization that regularly communicates to its external publics. Prepare a 1400-2100-word paper examining the effectiveness of its communications process and the impact of effective communications to its external publics. Cite at least three examples of the actual PR tools used by the chosen organization.

The United Way is a national network of more than 1,300 locally governed organizations that work to create lasting positive changes in communities and people's lives. Building on more than a century of service as the nation's preeminent community-based fundraiser, United Way engages the community to identify the underlying causes of the most significant local issues, develops strategies and pulls together financial and human resources to address them, and measures the results. United Way of America is the national organization dedicated to leading the United Way movement. While local United Ways tackle issues based on local needs, common focus areas include helping children and youth succeed, improving access to health care, promoting self-sufficiency, and strengthening families.

Almost 120 years ago, local charities in the United States came up with the idea of common fundraising drives. As the idea caught on and spread, the United Way movement began to discover strengths it hardly knew it had. It became the focal point of a network—a network connecting its member organizations not just with donors but also with community leaders, with businesses, and with other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Very soon these United Way networks began to play two roles. They mobilized communities to address critical needs—and they coordinated their efforts.

Examining the effectiveness of their communication process
The first and most important step in public relations planning is to understand and define what you want to accomplish through public relations. What are your objectives? Just as importantly, how will you determine (measure) your success in accomplishing these objectives? Creating a list of concrete goals can help you maintain direction in your efforts. The United way has clearly outlined their goals both nationally and locally by identifying significant issues and developing strategies to meet their goals and objectives.

An effective communication process includes good listening, interpretation and evaluation. It is evident that the United Ways' all across our Nation are working to improve lives and create stronger communities. On a regular basis the United Way is uses effective campaigns to obtain investments and then quickly mobilizes to support efforts and drive the strategies that make success possible. They are catalysts for change in their communities, which ensures investors' confidence.

We believe that in order to positively impact the most lives, we must act collectively, across all borders, to match donor aspirations with strategies that achieve real results.
We're proud to report that in 2006 we made significant progress in a number of key areas. From helping more parents better prepare their children for school through the distribution of millions of new Born Learning tools, to connecting more people and families with essential community services through continued expansion of nationwide 2-1-1 coverage, United Way is making a measurable difference.
UWA has clearly defined their goals and has established successes through their active listening and awareness, it is important to understand that in order to reach their public relations goals, there are many key audiences and stakeholders that United Way must regularly communicate with to gain higher visibility. The following list details a few of the most important audiences:
• News media. Includes print, radio, television, and Internet outlets for business news, vertical media (directed at a people with similar interests such as a hobby or business), human resources, colleges and universities, organizations and other influencers.
• Business partners and people networks. Includes communicating ...