Program Effectiveness
To be effective, the PR program must recognize, reinforce and actively
promote the objectives of the project. In addition, the PR program
must be evident at all levels of the project organization, and it
should aim at improving the credibility of the project team and
hence their ability to perform. In short, the program must be designed
to emphasize the positive influences of the project to counteract
the negative attacks.
If the project is privately sponsored, undoubtedly the project
sponsors will be the primary beneficiaries. Even so, in all likelihood
there will be significant benefits accruing to the local populace
in the form of increased employment, increased demand for local
goods and services and corresponding increases in primary and secondary
contributions to taxes.
If the project is publicly funded, it is worth bearing in mind
that even though the "public" is the primary beneficiary,
the "public" which stands to gain the most is not necessarily
the "public" which is impacted the most. In practice the
latter are likely to be the vocal minority, while the former sit
on the sidelines as the silent majority! As the same generally holds
true for the privately sponsored project, this provides the project
manager with a powerful argument for establishing a well devised
PR program.
Project #1: LNG
In the case of the LNG project, the economic analysis clearly showed
that the project would result in a dramatic increase in economic
benefits to the province. These included:
- A stable export base for natural gas resources for at least
20 years.
- An annual increase in overseas trade of over $1 billion, over
a third of which would find its way into government coffers via
additional tax revenues.
- Significant economic development of the northern part of the
province.
- A permanent increase in employment of over 15,000 as a. result
of operating expenditures on natural gas purchases, labor and
other materials, when multiplier effects are taken into consideration.
Thus quantified, these benefits were conveyed in simple terms by
the public relations firm to the Mayor's Office, the local media,
local associations and the Provincial Government.
Project #3: Expo 86
The overall economic impact of Expo 86 is expected to be about
$4 billion or roughly 5 times the project budget. As well as the
excitement of the fair, this fact has been emphasized in the publicity
literature. The highly dispersed impact on the poor local employment
conditions has been very evident
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The
Plan
