COM 295 Week 2 Practice: Case Analysis: Evaluating Principles of Persuasion in PR Messages

Complete the “Case Analysis: Evaluating Principles of Persuasion in PR Messages” in Connect.

Evaluating Principles of Persuasion in PR Messages: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity

The following principles of persuasion can be used to plan more effective PR messages. With public relations messages, you intend to garner positive attention from stakeholders to your company. By applying principles of persuasion, you can do so more effectively. In this exercise, you will evaluate which principles of persuasion are most at play for various PR messages.

Read the case below and answer the questions that follow.

You are a PR specialist for a major wholesaler of fruits and vegetables, distributing them to each state in the United States and each province in Canada. You are planning a variety of PR campaigns and activities over the next few months, all with a focus on nutrition and health.

In each question, you’ll evaluate which persuasive principles apply to your various PR messages. You’ll choose from the following: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity.

1

You want to write a press release about a free new app you’re offering. The app allows people to keep track of what they’ve eaten each day and reports on nutritional value and calories. It also creates customized recommendations for improving your diet. By emphasizing the cost-free nature of this useful tool in the press release, you are primarily relying on which principle of persuasion?

Multiple Choice

reciprocation

scarcity

social proof

authority

liking

2

You are developing a series of short videos for your website. In the videos, you interview local nutritionists and trainers about improving their health. On which principle of persuasion are you primarily relying?

Multiple Choice

scarcity

authority

social proof

consistency

liking

3

You want to develop a Facebook fan page. On the fan page, you plan to provide a forum for customers to share recipes of healthy dishes and provide links to video clips of celebrities making their favorite dishes with your signature fruits and vegetables. You are primarily using which principles of persuasion?

Multiple Choice

social proof and consistency

social proof and authority

scarcity and consistency

consistency and liking

4

You are sending a tweet with a link to a health trivia contest. Customers have three days to enter the contest in which they are eligible to win a year’s supply of fruits and vegetables. When they finish entering their contest responses, they are directed to a web page with the “Five Veggie a Day Challenge.” On this web page, they have the option for developing a personalized plan to eat five vegetable servings per day. They can track how well they meet their plan on the web page, or they can simply print out their plan. You are primarily using which principles of persuasion?

Multiple Choice

social proof and consistency

social proof and authority

scarcity and authority

scarcity and consistency

5

You want to hold a free bloggers conference for bloggers of health issues. At the event, you allow bloggers to meet and get to know members of your company’s executive team. You also hold sessions about driving traffic to their blogs and sponsor networking events so bloggers can get to know one another. You are primarily using which principles of persuasion?

Multiple Choice

reciprocation and liking

reciprocation, liking, and social proof

reciprocation

6

You want to hold a “Get Fit” event in which you intend to break the world record for the most people doing aerobics at the same time. Your goal is to have over 100,000 people at the event. As part of your efforts to get people to participate, you are encouraging people to join the “largest exercise event in the history of the world.” What principle of persuasion is most at play here?

Multiple Choice

liking

consistency

social proof

authority

7

You write a press release about your company’s corporate social responsibility efforts to fight obesity. In the press release, you explain how your company’s employees volunteer to conduct healthy lifestyle presentations at local schools. What principle of persuasion is most at play here?

Multiple Choice

authority

consistency

scarcity

social proof