Book review: Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns by Anne Gregory

Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns is a book to return to in daily public relations practice.

Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns by Anne Gregory

There’s an obsession within the public relations industry to constantly reinvent practice. It’s been an ongoing conversation during my career and follows the disintermediation of media by the internet.

New forms of media and platforms create new opportunities to engage with publics but they don’t fundamentally change the nature of public relations.

Equally the evolution of media engagement in public relations beyond earned to embrace paid, shared and owned, doesn’t require a wholesale redefinition. It’s merely a recognition of the evolution of media engagement.

The latest edition of Anne Gregory’s Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns (Kogan Page, November 2020) is like meeting up with an old friend. Through five editions it has followed the evolution of media and public relations practice since 1996.

Gregory acknowledges the opportunities for public engagement created by the internet and new forms of media. She suggests that it has reinforced the role of public relations as a management function supporting brand, culture and societal value.

Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns is an assertive and confident text that has stayed true to the core purpose and definition of public relations.

The book sets out theoretical and practical models for planning. It’s organised as a series of chapters aligned to delivery: planning, research, stakeholders, strategy, timescale, resources and planning.

A frequent criticism of marketing and public relations textbooks is the focus on theory over real life case studies. There’s no such issue with the latest edition of Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns.

The book covers 13 case studies aligned to each area of the planning process, including P&G (purpose), Open Data Institute (planning), McDonald’s (stakeholder identification), Post Office (strategy and tactics) and Innovate UK (evaluation.

Anne Gregory has impressive credentials. She’s a practitioner turned academic, now working at Huddersfield University. She’s also a former President of both the CIPR and the Global Alliance.

Planning and Managing Public Relations Campaigns
Anne Gregory
Kogan Page, November 2020
£29.99
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