Public Relations Review, 23(l): 81-93 Copyright 0 1997 by JAI Press Inc.

ISSN: 0363-8111 All rights of reproduction in any form rescrvsd.

Book Reviews

Norman A. Hart, ed. Strategic Public Relations London: Macmillan Press LTD, 313 pp., $25,1995

The editor of this compendium acknowledges in his intro- duction that the book’s primary audience is the executive officer or director who may not have a firm grasp of the role of public relations in management and who needs to understand the strategies used by practitioners to achieve communica- tion objectives. Most of the contributors to the volume have served as managing directors of British firms and are consultants or trainers. Each of the 16 chapters essays a sub-field or concern of public relations: financial public relations, corpo- rate advertising, sponsorship, media relations, crisis management, community relations, corporate identity, corporate culture, and others.

Most of the examples of corporate public relations cited in the book are from the European Union or retain specifically, although textbook American cases such as Tylenol and Exxon Valdes are included. In this era of globalization, perhaps the greatest value of this book to American educators and practitioners is that it demonstrates that American practices appear to be the model for those in Europe. The chapter on sponsorship offers many good examples from Europe; however, the chapter on international corporate relations would benefit from examples of what multinational companies have done in order to function glo- bally. The author makes the assertion that “for the most part, conducting public relations in an overseas country is no different from doing so in the home coun- try”-a statement that is at odds with much of the literature.

There are a few other surprises. The editor, in his chapter on marketing communications-a textbook recitation of how marketing is done, not an attempt to address the current interest in integrated communication-begins by

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Public Relations Review

saying that advertising is a subset of public relations. That would be a good argu- ment-starter in most American agencies. The author of the financial public rela- tions chapter begins with an even bolder statement: “Financial public relations has done more for the respectability of PR in general and the PR practitioner in particular than any other single factor.” That’s quite a reach. The problem with any compendium is that each author must try to cover an entire sub-field in a few pages, resulting in bulleted lists of points, and some feel they must sell their topic. Several of the authors have managed the task by providing a brief nuts-and-bolts view of how one aspect of public relations works in Practice. The reader would do well to pursue a chapter a day rather than move through the book rapidly in the expectation of getting the big picture.

Todd Hunt Rutgers University

Anne Gregory Planning and Miwaa~in~ a Public Relations Campaa&z London: Kogen Page Limited, 159 pp., Zl2.99, 1996

Of all the public relations campaigns books on the market, Anne Gregory’s Planning and Managing a Public Relations Campaign looks like a pocket guide.

A variety of American readers, however, will benefit from this first in a a series publication from Great Britian’s Institute of Public Relations (IPR). The public relations technician who is suddenly promoted to the level of counselor will find this book a good refresher in public relations planning and management.

Another potential audience includes college students who take research as a separate course. Stripped away in Gregory’s book are the laborious chapters that try to teach writers how to be social science researchers. Gregory, a professional turned academic (Head of the School of Business Strategy and an Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Business at Leeds Metropolitan University), has produced an excellent guide for putting first-time practitioners in what Peter Hollinger calls the “ready-aim-fire” school of public relations.

Gregory’s book is user-friendly. Consistent with all other public relations theories of planning, Gregory walks the reader carefully through the research- planning-communication-evaluation phases, breaking them down into ten steps of planning and managing public relations campaigns. Detailed in six easy-to- read chapters, the steps include: analysis, objectives, publics, messages, strategy, tactics, timescales, resources, evaluation, and review.

Within each chapter, Gregory offers very helpful quick references, diagrams, and formulae for making planning and managing decisions easier. Few communi- cators enjoy research and evaluation, but Gregory introduces such techniques as the “PEST analysis,” which divides the research environment into the political, eco- nomic, social, and technological categories with appropriate check points for each.

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