Public Relations Commentary

Increasingly, public relations pracititioners have to know not only how to write for the Web, but also how to manage and respond to blog postings. This blog was created to use in my public relations courses to help my students prepare to blog and learn how to respond to others in a virtual yet professional manner.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Creative marketing strategies

When reading this article, one particular section caught my eye. In the section entitled “Ends versus ends-in-view” McNichol brings up important points concerning the means and ends of museums. She explains that money, staff, the collection and management (means) are all very necessary for museums to achieve “the ends for which they exist.” But, what is critical is that museums have yet to pinpoint exactly what their ends are. Further, museums cannot measure those ends which they cannot pinpoint. So, doesn’t that make nonprofit marketing seem so simple in comparison? Can’t we just refer to our mission statement and know what our end should be? I think that knowing what your ends are takes away some of the guesswork for not only you, but also those people you are trying to reach out to. Knowing your end helps you reach out to specific media, donors, and other organizations, which according to the article can create somewhat of a snowball effect around your cause/organization.


On another note, McNichol cites Stephen Weil as writing, “[U]ltimately, each museum has to assess its unique community and make aesthetic decisions based on reciprocity. By inviting and authenticating the participatory involvement of its community members, it will model the worthy museum.” Just replace the word museum with the word nonprofit and I believe you have a statement that could guide your nonprofit’s efforts in all aspects. As we all know, a nonprofit is basically nothing without the community members who are a part of it, so wouldn’t it just make sense to try to reach out to as many community members as possible, even if you have to do it in a roundabout way like the Fairfield County Museum in Winnsboro, SC did?

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