The strategic construction of intended meaning in Australian public relations campaigns through the use of key messaging and positioning techniques

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)The project aimed to determine the underlying purpose of Australian award-winning public relations campaigns and the means by which the purpose was achieved. It sought to explore the phenomenon of why a major part of public relations work, that of campaigns, is not well accounted for in the dominant normative theory of public relations –the two-way symmetrical model of public relations (Grunig & Hunt, 1984, p. 22). This model does not accommodate much of the campaigns’ practice as reported in the literature and elsewhere and this has implications for teaching, researching and practising public relations. A qualitative thematic analysis of Australian public relations campaign practice, as reported in 57 national award-winning campaign entries and in 18 interviews with award-winning practitioners, was undertaken. The common purpose of the campaigns was identified as being to construct versions of social reality through having target audiences and publics construct particular meanings that would facilitate the achievement of stated organisational goals. Positioning and the use of key messages in campaigns emerged as key techniques in constructing these meanings. Drawing on the field of personal positioning in social psychology, a conceptual framework for intentional positioning in public relations was developed to begin to account for this practice technique which has previously been underexplored in the public relations literature. The framework requires further testing but indications from this project are that it will assist in the design of intentional positioning strategies and also provide a breakdown of the components of intentional positioning. This could facilitate researching and teaching this aspect of practice but may also provide a means by which this part of practice can be worked through with clients and appropriately billed. The framework also provides a rationale for why the use of key messaging techniques in public relations is central to many campaigns. This thesis suggests a more appropriate definition of campaign practice whilst questioning whether campaign responses to public relations situations and problems are always appropriate. It explicates intentional positioning techniques in campaign practice that have previously received little attention in the literature, and further supports the adoption of a social constructionist theoretical approach to teaching and research in public relations campaigns