BSB42415 Certificate IV in Marketing and Communication

ASSESSMENT PACK

Mode | Online Delivery

Assessment Tasks

The following assessments are planned for this unit;

#	Assessment Task/Activity	Type	Assessment Method
1	Case Studies: PR Disasters in Australia	Individual	Written
2	Part A: Develop a PR Plan	Individual	Written & Observation
Part B: Implement a PR Plan: Social Media	Individual	Written

These assessment tasks/activities have been described in detail in the following section. Task schedule to be advised by trainer/assessor based on the lesson and session plans.

Suggested Learner Resources

• Fawkes J., 2014, Public Relations Ethics and Professionalism: The Shadow of Excellence, Routledge
• Mahoney J., 2009, Public Relations Writing in Australia, Oxford University Press\
• Gregory A., 2010, Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns: A Strategic Approach (PR in Practice), Kogan Page

Online Resources

• Public Relations – An International Short Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXe_Hn0KuX4
• The 10 biggest PR disasters of the year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAQHFTKbthc
• Understanding public relations campaign planning: http://www.contentextra.com/publicrelations/unit6/unit6home.aspx
• The 10 Best PR & Communications Campaigns of 2014: http://www.augure.com/blog/communication- campaigns-2014-2-20141218

Assessment Task 1

Case Studies: PR Disasters in Australia

Task Instructions:

Read the given case studies and answer the related questions.

Brief description:

Public relations (PR) is a planned and sustained effort to establish an effective communication and maintain mutual understanding between a company and the public. With the development of social media, and increased engagement of the public, any PR mistakes made by the company receive far more attention.

Case studies:

1.  McDonald’s

In 2013, the people of Tecoma in the Dandenong Ranges opposed a proposal to set up a restaurant. They had signed a 99,000-strong petition banning the company but McDonald’s remains unmoved. Residents even took their petition to the company’s US headquarters – to little effect. During one protest, a 50-year-old woman was allegedly attacked.

Isn’t this a company promoting its strong civic credentials? Some PR experts say it has handled – and still is handling – the “crisis” imperfectly.

“Refusing to meet your critics shows that what it practises and what it preaches about connecting with communities are at complete odds,” says Stackhouse at Clarity.

“The only message they’ve sent is that McDonald’s corporate DNA and their spin are completely out of whack.”

2.  Vodafone’s social media fracas

It started in June 2012 when Vodafone store employee Arthur Kotsopoulos portrayed himself as the company’s “social media expert” and “ambassador” and set about labelling customers on Twitter and Facebook as “mentally retarded” for their lack of knowledge of smartphones. Some deserved a “slap backhand”.

Kotsopoulos worked in the Sydney CBD. He wrote articles and reviews for Vodafone’s blog. Somehow this self- styled social media expert got control.

As McCusker notes: “It’s yet another reason why social media engagement should probably best be conducted by staff with acute PR savvy. Social media is all about reputation far more than it is about mobile phone smarts.”

3.  Qantas’ social media strategy backfires

In late 2011, after months of negative publicity stemming from industrial disputes that resulted in the grounding of the Qantas fleet, its PR team sent out a call for luxury flying experiences.

The #QantasLuxury hashtag was promoted as a chance to win first-class cabin pyjamas for those using the hashtag. These are some of the responses: “#QantasLuxury – when the passengers arrive before the couriers delivering the lockout notices do” and “#QantasLuxury was “giving yourself a pay rise whilst grounding your whole airline and taking local jobs offshore”.

It’s worth noting that last April Qantas announced it would be closing its Twitter media page. Journalists and customers would be “channelled” through @QantasAirways, rather than @QantasMedia. The airline said it was to avoid duplication but others disagree. This is a partial retreat from social media after several mishaps.

Task details:

Read the above examples and answer the following questions for each case:

1. Conduct further research online and gather more information/facts
2. Explain why these examples are PR disasters
3. Propose what these companies should have actually done to prevent these disasters
4. Discuss the impact of social media on public relations

Gather all the required information and present your own view on the cases in word format.

Submission Guidelines

• Soft copy of written analyses for each case

Student should upload completed task on the MEGA Student Portal as per trainer instructions.

Assessment Task 2

Part A: Develop and Present a PR Plan Part B: Implement a PR Plan on Social Media

Task Instructions:

In this assessment task, you will be required to develop a Public Relations (PR) Plan for a case study and then implement the plan in social media.

Brief description:

For this task, you will play the role of a Public Relations executive in a team working in a community organisation and have been given the task to develop and present a PR plan. Upon successful approval by the stakeholders, you will need to implement the plan on an appropriate social media platform.

Case Study:

The Australian Human Rights Commission is our national human rights institution. It operates under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) as well as federal laws that seek to ensure freedom from discrimination on the basis of age, disability, race, sex and sexual orientation. The Commission also has specific responsibilities under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) and the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

The Commission’s operations are determined independently of the government through our President and Commissioners. Its job is to work towards an Australia in which human rights are respected, protected and promoted – finding practical solutions to issues of concern, advocating for systemic change and raising awareness across the community.

As the wars and natural disasters have increased worldwide, there has been a greater influx of refugees into Australia from all over the world. The community, in general, is divided over these issues, and in particular the governing policy and tactics have often clashed with public sentiments. The refugee situation has become worse with refugees undertaking dangerous journeys on rough seas to reach Australian shores, and a large number die in the process. On the other hand, government’s policy to keep the refugees on pacific islands – away from the borders – has also been disputed.

Refer to Commission’s strategic plan provided with this task and complete the following tasks.

Task details:

Part A

Assume that you are working in the marketing/PR office with the Commission, and have been given the responsibility to develop a PR Plan to raise public awareness toward the refugee crisis.

You need to develop a PR Plan covering the following key elements:

• Background and purpose
• Aims and objectives
• Target audience
• PR strategies and tactics
• Key/Central massage or theme
• Budget
• Task list/Action Plan (including campaign schedule)
• Contingency plan (if something goes wrong)
• Legal and ethical constraints (relevant to the nature and sensitivity of the content)
• Resources for implementation

The plan must be written as a formal business document, with a consistent theme, flow, and structure. You may take examples of sample PR plan formats used in the class.

Presentation:

Once completed, present the plan to the class, assuming class audience as the corporate audience.

Collect feedback from the audience for improvement in the proposed plan and highlight improvements made. Duration: 15 minutes

Part B:

In this task, you will work on implementing the plan by launching the campaign on a social media platform. (sample page and post), assuming that the Commission has approved the same.

In using a social media platform:

• Create a sample (offiline) page and post on your preferred social media platform
• Explain why you think the social media platform will be effective in your PR campaign
• Describe the media/platform used
• How will you ensure ethical and legal obligation are met? (Refer to the codes and legislations)
• Conduct an analysis of budget variation against the perceived costs of running the online campaign
• Discuss how scheduling requirements proposed in the plan may differ in the online environment
• Outline strategies and procedures for monitoring the campaign costs so that they stay within the budget; and highlight constraints, if any
• Explain how the chosen platform is relevant to the target audience
• Describe strategies, and measures, for evaluating campaign’s performance/success

You may also create PC-based static pages or campaigns as samples. Consult with your trainer/assessor before implementing.

Create a word-processed report on above points with screen shots of the sample social media / static pages.

Submission Guidelines

Part A:

• Soft copy of the PR Plan
  • Copies of presentation slides
  • Copies of audience feedback Part B:
  • Copy/print out of the online campaign
  • Written description/details in a Word file
  • Copies of any other references used

Student should upload completed task on the MEGA Student Portal as per trainer instructions.

Assessment Criteria:

Appendix

The following assessment criteria will be used for marking this assessment task. Ensure that you have addressed all of the criteria in your work.

Task 1

• Gathered and used information from a range of sources
• Collated and organised information for research and analysis purpose
• Addressed all the given PR cases/examples
• Developed and presented a public relations context in the given task and highlighted key PR issues that affect the industry
• Provided background and further perspective to the cases through own analysis
• Was able to understand the underlying PR issues and how they impacted the respective organisations
• Provided own views/opinions on the cases
• Provided examples of preventive measures to avoid the situations faced by the organisations
• Used wider media context to describe and analyse the cases
• Highlighted the impact of social media on public relations; and how the information travels through the online media
• Analysis is concise, relevant to the case situation and appropriately structured

Task 2 – Part A:

• Developed a PR plan
• The plan is appropriately structured and presented as an official document reflecting a real-life example
• Appropriate headings and sub-headings are used to structure the contents
• The content flow covers all the required elements of the plan and contains a logical sequence of the topics
• The executive summary is included and provides an overview of the plan
• Relevant goals and objective are developed
• Objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound
• The goals and objectives are consistent with the purpose and the central theme of the campaign
• The plan is aimed at specific target audience
• Target audience profile is provided with characteristic consistent with the purpose of the plan
• The writing style, content, and structure are supportive of the target audience (audience oriented)
• Strategies are developed to support the objectives and are relevant, realistic, and measurable
• Strategies align with plan’s overall purpose and provide a mechanism to implement the plan
• The plan carries a central theme/massage
• Contents of the plan are built around the theme/massage as core objectives
• The central theme/massage is consistent and aligned with the components of the plan
• Resources for implementation has been identified and listed
• Approximate costs and budgets are presented in an appropriate format
• Devised appropriate strategies to realise the stated objectives
• Developed an implementation/action plan that identifies key tasks, resources and time required to implement the strategies
• The plan includes performance evaluation measures and procedures
• Legal and ethical constraints have been considered in view of the proposed contents
• Example of ethical considerations (e.g. use of certain imagery, text, slogan) and legal requirements (e.g. discrimination, profiling, standing orders etc.) are provided and discussed
• The plan is written in a formal style using appropriate headings and subheadings
• Presented the plan to the audience
• Presentation was clear, concise and covered major aspects of the plan
• Slides were structured and consistent in flow and information
• Used a variety of contents including graphics and/or video clips
• Feedback was obtained and recorded to improve the plan

Task 2 – Part B:

• Completed the task within the organisational/case context and maintained the role play
• The implementation is relevant to, and subsequent to the PR Plan (Assessment Task 2)
• Appropriate social media platform is selected to launch the campaign
• Justification for selection, and likely benefits/outcomes are addressed

• Described key feature, accessibility, scope, and reach of the online platform
• Explained the relevant of the media to the target audience
• Developed an effective campaign as per the PR Plan
• The campaign site are appropriately structured to convey the central massage/theme of the campaign
• Audience orientation, usability, and aesthetic aspects are addressed
• The campaign reflects major components/themes of the PR Plan
• Outlined ethical codes appropriate for launching online campaigns
• Outlined and referred to the relevant legislations and guidelines relevant to online information, interaction, disclosure, privacy, cultural sensitivity and legal obligations
• Proposed costs are consistent with the budgets in the PR plan
• Costs are realistic and within the scope of launching an online campaign
• Conducted a variance analysis and provided a comparison of budgeted cost vs. actual costs
• Strategies for monitoring costs over the duration of the campaign are proposed
• Strategies are realistic and provide a structure for monitoring ongoing campaign costs
• Compared and analysed campaign scheduling requirements in the plan against the online environment
• Outlined how an online campaign schedule may differ from other medium in view of user and geographical access over the internet
• Campaign features and impact are highlighted and discussed
• Consulted with the stakeholders (trainer/assessor and class audience in role-play)
• Obtained and recorded feedback on effectiveness of the campaign
• Provided a supporting document with the required information

Completed all aspects of the task and demonstrated understanding of campaign implementation

Copyright:

BSBPUB402 Develop Public Relations Campaigns

Supporting: BSB42415 Certificate IV in Marketing and Communication; May also support other qualifications based on respective packaging rules

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