Storytelling in Public Relations

Foreword:
In my previous post I mentioned how a PR Practitioner’s entire purpose is to “tell a story” about the individual, company, or institution he or she is representing.  PR done well educates the public in a personal way about an organization’s efforts—whether it be to tell of new positive performance or renewing a damaged reputation.   

A PR Practitioner or Team will sit down and plan every single campaign with eight basic elements that comprise what is commonly known as the “PR Matrix” or “Program Plan”. The outline of the matrix is the following: Situation —> Objectives —> Target Audience—> Strategies —> Tactics —> Calendar —> Budget. Public Relations takes a situation and considers its objectives, audience, and strategies to create its tactics—a re-telling of the story.  

The following could be a first-draft pitch given within a boardroom of UPS headquarters about a situation. Perhaps Earth Day is approaching and the team wants its customers to know of UPS’s efforts of going green. 

Story: 

UPS delivers 18 million packages and documents worldwide every day and has a delivery fleet of more than 99 thousand vehicles that log a few billion miles a year (source).  Many concerned customers ask for facts about emissions associated with their individual package delivery and UPS is actively trying to minimize its carbon footprint. UPS is loyal to sustainability and to limiting its environmental impact, and is committed to delivering more while using less. 

Analysis: 

This short review is very informative and persuasive with data and numbers, and it does help the audience become aware of UPS’s purpose, however there is a problem with the lack of character that can make this pitch personal.  The commitments to “deliver more while using less” is empty without a plan or strategy. 

Retelling the Story:

With the help of a PR Team to create the message’s final draft, picture the following monologue voiced-over a short ad or video with shots of UPS employees and delivery vehicles. It is important to be aware that given the kairos of the situation (Earth Day and going green), it would be counterintuitive to tell this story through print. 

“‘Our trucks never turn left’ (source). 

Why? 

Because we are committed to doing everything we can to become not only more efficient in time, but in fuel as well.  In honor of Earth Day approaching, we have launched our own proprietary GPS system that helps our drivers navigate routes with the best fuel efficiency. This includes avoiding idling at intersections to complete left-hand turns. This simple new policy will reduce our emissions by 32 thousand metric tons— the same annual output of 5,200 cars. 

But, we will not stop there.

This year, UPS placed the world’s largest order for electric hybrid vehicles, and have replaced the trucks in our fleet that have stop-and-go routes in city centers. For rural routes, UPS has propane trucks for routes spanning 100+ miles. 

   

Finally, UPS is announcing a new paperless invoice system to save paper and make global invoicing easier.  

Using alternative fuels and advanced technologies are small steps that will make a huge difference. Our goal is to continually deliver more while using less.” 

Through a plan of three actions, this script for a video helps persuade the audience that UPS is leading the industry in green technology and behaviors.  There is still data, but it parallel to the message and lifts the ethos of the rhetor.