Some examples of my planned, strategic communications. This portfolio of tactics will give you an idea of some of my skills in ethical public communication.
The Task: Develop a series of conceptually integrated tactics in response to a client brief.
PDF Download: portfolio-of-public-relations-tactics
MEDIA RELEASE
Tunstall Square Shopping Centre
18TH September 2018
Australian First Art Installation Opening at Tunstall Square
A celebration of community goodwill through art is planned for at Tunstall Square to open the first stage of the Car Park Art urban art installation which is an Australian first. This community art installation encourages local groups to find their inner artist to transform the otherwise dreary car spaces of the shopping centre into lively urban art creations on an unprecedented scale.
A Community Good Will day is planned for this Saturday from 10 am until 2 pm to open the unique installation which celebrates our local culture and the stories behind them. By having the painted car park installation opened to the community this will give them the opportunity for everyone the opportunity to share in the experience, talk to the creators, and participate in the growing sense of community pride. This is also an Australian first according to centre manager Irene Goonan.
“There has never been a carpark painted in community artwork like this on such a scale.”
The day will also feature family-friendly arts and crafts activities which celebrate the local community through art. Adults and children can meet the artists who painted the initial car parks of stage one of the project. Other activities include a scavenger hunt, chalk art, aboriginal dot painting, and a performance by the local school orchestra.
“Car Park Art has been all about community goodwill, participate on and the bringing together of diverse voices from the start,” said Miss Goonan.
The project brings together a diverse range of stakeholders. These include the Tunstall Square Traders, Manningham City Council who provided funding and support, a Deakin University communications team who provided the idea, and the artists themselves.
Each space represents the hard work of local artists including school students, scout group and indigenous artists. In seeking out and finding commonalities between one another, they have found understanding and made connections which are documented on this pavement. This is the tapestry of our lives.
The stores behind and each of carparks and details of the day’s activities is available on the website.
Phone Irene: 0416700900
Contact Irene Goonan: i.goonan@bigpond.net.au Phone: 0412 345 078
Speech Script
Speech for: Irene Goonan Centre Manager at Tunstall Square
Delivered on: Saturday the 10th of November 2018
Delivered to: Audience at Car Park Art Community Goodwill & Family Fun Day
Duration: Five minutes (550 words)
I would like to begin by paying my respect to the local, Wurundjeri people as the traditional custodians of the land now known as Manningham. We pay our respects to Wurundjeri Elders past and present of this land where we are meeting upon today. A people who had a deep understanding of the meaning of community (Manningham City Council n.d., para. 1).
This joint project has brought together stakeholders from across the community who have made significant contributions they have made to today’s events.
I would like to thank the Mayor for his gracious words and for the role in which Manningham City Council has played in getting us through to this first stage of this wonderful project. By providing funding, this space, and assistance with everything from approvals to the cleaning of the tarmac you have made this incredible achievement in community goodwill possible.
The students from the local schools, scout halls who have created a tapestry of our life here in Manningham.
I would like to thank the dream communication team at Deakin University who came up with the idea and plan to put those ideas into action.
And of course, we need to thank the trader’s association. Small business and shopping centres like Tunstall Square are the heart of local communities around Australia. Small business provides jobs for over 3 million people nationwide and represents 96% of all business (Parliament of Australia n.d., para. 1). Shopping centres like ours do more than trade goods, they are important meeting places and the hubs community participation as I am sure today’s activities will prove.
Stand Back. I’m about to have a creative moment.
Thomas Mann said, “art is to the community what the dream is to the individual”. Here in Manningham, we come from different backgrounds, but this community Car Park Art project has bridged the gaps of those differences and bound us together and allow us to collectively imagine a brighter, more colourful future together.
Together we have exercised creativity and community participation which are not a finite resource. Like a muscle, the more community we use them the more we have. By binding together and growing our community muscle we have multiplied our efforts to create a culture of inclusion where everyone belongs and helped build a strong resilient local economy (Arts Victoria n.d., para. 1). Together we have forged a new brighter future for this space which is now more than simply a very nice place to park.
Arts Victoria tells us, “The arts are an essential public good that creates a ripple effect of benefits felt throughout our community. They provide a unique expression of what it means to be human, that is fundamental to our nature and affects us all” (Arts Victoria n.d., para. 1).
In the creation of these colourful carpark creations community members have worked together, came together, cooperated and shared. In seeking out and finding commonalities between one another, they have found understanding and made connections which are documented on this pavement. This is the tapestry of our lives
Each illustration represents the courage of creativity and they bind our community in a spirit of goodwill. In creating this joint project each of our stakeholders can know they are participating in something bigger than themselves. Together we have created an adorable shared space we can all identify with, and bond over.
We are a diverse community but this art bridges those worlds and celebrates the diversity of our views and our backgrounds. Art in this carpark has served as a space to imagine a harmonious future for all people in our community and bring it into reality.
Analysis of Approach
What is your big idea, the name of the project and your suggested approach to the opening?
I called the project Car Park Art which will open with a Community Goodwill Day which celebrates the diversity of stories involved (like a tapestry). Documenting the individual stories of each car park on the website slideshow is key.
Why is it important to alter your writing to suit different communication tactics?
Different tactics required different writing styles to adapt to the context of the communication, however, these follow a central narrative.
A speech is an interpersonal piece of communication and it is designed for the ear and requires careful preparation to fit the context and audience understanding. The use of rhetoric, narratives or taking the listener on a journey from what is to what might become increasingly important (Duarte, 2011). In contrast, a media release requires clear and concise journalistic style writing using the 5Ws and H. The inverted pyramid is used, to deliver messages in the relevant news frame.
Digital media technologies are different and increasingly allow for enhanced two-way communication between publics and organisations to take place. There are other considerations depending on the platform. On a web landing page, viewers are often scanning for information, and it takes longer to read off screens. Mahoney (2017) advises using simple language, brief sentences, short paragraphs, subheadings, bold text and italicised text to break up the information. Landing pages also offer increased interactivity where videos, photos, comments, forms, and links can open the range of options. On social media copywriting skills become increasingly important in gaining attention but care is needed to ensure communications are friendly in line with the tone and style of the platform.
Apart from the client’s website and the brief, what research sources were used?
My formal research included both quantitative or qualitative and helped inform a targeted view of the target public and the messages required. Qualitative research began by taking notes of the client’s previous communications, their Facebook page including the social media accounts including the comments.
I then looked for authoritative information on the role of business on IBISWorld before I chose the Parliamentary report which was up to date and relevant. For insights into the value of community art I chose the Arts Victoria piece which provided some ideas on persuasive rhetoric I could use. The Manningham Leader Newspaper and the Council website were also helpful for desk research
The articles ‘Demographics’ (Manningham City Council 2017, para. 1) and ‘Manningham City Community profile’ (2017, para. 1) were also a useful publication in providing information about the target public. Some key insights gained were that 39.6% of households were made up of couples with children in 2016, compared with 33.5% in Greater Melbourne and that Chinese ancestry (22.7 %) accounted for the largest sector of the community.
Discuss how these research sources were identified and determined to be credible?
As above. The demographics websites used Australian Bureau of Statistics Data. Other documents were from relevant authorities.
Which persuasive appeals were applied to your portfolio of written tactics?
Through considered rhetoric In my writing materials, I constructed messages which fit with my communication objectives. Aristotle’s appeals of ethos pathos were applied in my speech by Irene Goonan for example. I used government statistics (ethos) to appeal to logic (logos) and a deliver heartfelt message (pathos) about the value of community.
With each tactic, I looked for opportunities to use writing techniques to enhance connections and persuade. I used humour in the speech “stand back I am about to have a creative moment” because Irene has the personality to pull it off and backed up assertions with examples. I also peppered my writing with metaphors to deliver concrete understandings.
However, in my persuasion, I was ever mindful of taking an ethical fair, manipulation free approach. I value highly the virtues of truthfulness, authenticity, respect, equity and social responsibility (Baker and (Martinson 2002, Fawkes, Tench & Yeomans 2009, p. 270)
References:
Arts Victoria C. n.d., The Arts Ripple Effect: Valuing the Arts in Communities, Arts Victoria, retrieved 20 September 2018, <https://creative.vic.gov.au/research/reports/the-arts-ripple-effect>
Fawkes, J., Tench, R. & Yeomans, L. 2009, Public relations, propaganda and the psychology of persuasion in Exploring public relations, 2nd edn, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Hentin, p. 270
Manningham City Council 2017, Demographics, Manningham City Council, retrieved 24 September 2018,< https://www.manningham.vic.gov.au/manninghams-demographics>
Manningham City Council & n.d., local indigenous history, Manningham City Council, retrieved 24 September 2018, <https://www.manningham.vic.gov.au/indigenous-and-reconciliation>
ID Community 2017, Manningham City Community profile, retrieved 24 September 2018, https://www.manningham.vic.gov.au/manninghams-demographics>
Senate Standing Committee on Economics n.d., The importance of small business, Parliament of Australia, retrieved 20 September 2018, < https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/senate/economics/Completed%20inquiries/pre1996/q_balance/report/b01>
