Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

According to the textbook Public Relations is the element in the promotional mix that evaluates public attitudes, identifies issues that may elicit public concern, and executes programs to gain public understanding and acceptance.  What this means to me is that this is the way people connect with the public and make sure to keep a positive image.  In One Direction’s case their PR team is in charge of keeping their reputation squeaky clean.  In the textbook it says publicity is an effort to capture media attention, often initiated through press releases that further a corporation’s public relations plans.  They went through a few publicity stunts to give their albums more press.  The one that caused the most hysteria in the media was the relationship between Harry Styles and Taylor Swift.  This brought tons of press to both artists even after they broke it off.  One of the 1D boys is to become a dad in 2016 and the press was all over that situation, the One Direction PR team said how he was excited about becoming a dad, but there was confirmation of this rumor on the television show Good Morning America.  What caused the most hysteria within the press and One Direction’s fans was when Zayn Malik left the band.  Many believed that this was the ultimate publicity stunt, eventually they realized it was just doe because the singer was unhappy in the band.  The 1D team released a statement saying why he left the band. In the textbook a sponsorship is a public relations strategy in which a company spends money to support an issue, cause, or event that is consistent with corporate objectives, such as improving brand awareness or enhancing corporate image.  In their recent tour On the Road Again, in their North American leg, One Direction were sponsored by Honda Civic Tour.  They filmed a bunch of videos which displayed on the screens at their shows and they even created a car named after One Direction.