Judy Motion

Equity in corporate co-branding: The case of adidas and the All Blacks

Corporate co‐branding is analysed within the context of a case study of the sponsorship relationship between adidas and the New Zealand Rugby Union. The study indicates that corporate brands may develop co‐branding relationships in order to redefine brand identity, discursively reposition the brand and build brand equity. Corporate co‐branding is established at a fundamental brand values level that, in turn, influences the type of marketing communication campaign that may be undertaken. Discourse theory provides insights into the importance of an articulation campaign in order to increase the equity of corporate brands. Co‐branding offers corporate brands access to the brand strategy of the co‐brand partner, the alignment of brand values, the marketing communication association and brand reach and network of relationships.

A Discourse Perspective for Critical Public Relations Research: Life Sciences Network and the Battle for Truth

Critical public relations scholarship is increasingly required to justify the contribution that is made to theory and practice. Within this article, an integrated political economy and discourse analysis is deployed to examine a progenetic engineering advocacy campaign conducted by the Life Sciences Network in New Zealand. The analysis demonstrates the value of examining the sociopolitical contexts in which public relations operates and the discourses that it seeks to produce or influence and thus provides a constructive foundation for further critical research.

A Discursive Perspective from New Zealand: Another World View.

Abstract In this article we employ Faircloughs model of critical discourse analysis to explore the roles that public relations practitioners play in discursive struggles. We also draw on Moffitts work on articulation and overdetermination to analyze the discursive practices employed by public relations practitioners in the research, redesign and training phases of discourse transformation. At the societal level, discourse transformations emerge out of the discursive struggles engaged in by competing institutions and groups over sociocultural practices. The instances of discursive struggle over sociocultural practices which are analyzed in this article are drawn from the environmental, labor relations and education policy areas in New Zealand and Western Australia.

Sabotage and subterfuge: public relations, democracy and genetic engineering in New Zealand

This article examines the public relations management of communication about genetic engineering in New Zealand. The theme is explored through an analysis of work developed by the consultancy Communication Trumps for, on the one hand, a private company involved in genetic research on fish, and, on the other hand, a government-supported public information campaign about genetic engineering. In relation to the issues management strategies employed by Communication Trumps, the article exemplifies how, by deploying tactics more commonly associated with propaganda and the engineering of consent, public relations can purposively attempt to undermine democratic processes. The article argues that through the attempted sabotage and silencing of the genetic engineering debate in New Zealand, the government, corporations, and the public relations industry combined in an effort to develop genetic engineering technologies while stifling public understanding of the implication of these technologies.

Multiplicity in corporate identity strategy

In this article, van Riel’s theory of common starting points is applied to an organisation in order to further our understanding of the way in which multiplicity may be managed within the corporate identity mix. The article begins by outlining the challenges that postmodern theory has posed for corporate identity theory and the contribution that van Riel’s theory can make to addressing these challenges. The theory of common starting points is then applied to the corporate identity of the Mainfreight corporation.

The epistemic struggle for credibility: Rethinking media relations

The challenges of attracting positive media attention are likened to a contest in which various organisations attempt to promote and circulate their version of events; however, this is particularly difficult when attempting to circulate less established, unpopular or critical knowledge. Although complying with, and managing, news values is an important starting point, the need to move beyond news values to consider the commercial values and realities of media organisations is highlighted. In this paper, a case study is undertaken of the Greenpeace media relations in New Zealand when a proposed controversial expiry of a moratorium to release genetically modified organisms into the environment. The predicament for Greenpeace is that in attracting media attention through dramatic protests it risks jeopardising its reputation as a credible news source that can influence the framing of news stories. Insights are offered into the need for organisations to understand and manage the story or knowledge to be circulated and comply with contradictory news values.

Personal public relations: identity as a public relations commodity

Abstract Public relations for individuals is steadily emerging as a significant area of practice, yet little research and theoretical development is currently undertaken in this area. Within this article public relations for individuals, referred to in this study as personal public relations, is examined. The research identified two approaches deployed by public relations practitioners: a formative mode and an advisory mode. The formative mode is an active constitution of a public identity, whereas the advisory mode is a communication counseling approach. The paper argues that the formative role is more closely aligned to the marketing techniques of promotion and selling, whereas the advisory role fits more closely with the public relations roles of communication counseling and relationship building. Potential guidelines for ethical personal public relations work emerged from the discussion. Dr Judy Motion is a senior lecturer in the Department of Management Communication at the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

Electronic relationships: Interactivity, Internet branding and the public sphere

This paper examines a New Zealand website, nzgirl.co.nz, in order to theorise the Internet as a communication tool, the Internet as a marketplace and the Internet as a public sphere. As a communication tool, the Internet serves to foster electronic relationships. A key concept discussed in the context of electronic relationships is interactivity. Within the second section of the paper, the role of public relations practitioners in identity and brand building form the discussion of the electronic marketplace. In particular, the importance of an integrated marketing communications approach to Internet branding is examined. One of the central issues of electronic public relations is the potential role of the Internet as a public arena of the public sphere. In this paper, the role of websites in discursive development, social and political identity formation and the evolution of a sense of community is considered.

Development of a Market Orientation Research Agenda for the Nonprofit Sector

Market orientation is the overarching framework by which practitioners and academics make sense of the interplay between customers, competition, stakeholders, and the organization within the commercial for-profit arena and is the way the marketing concept is put into practice. Many academics have argued that market orientation would also benefit nonprofit organizations by generating more funds in an increasingly competitive environment. The purpose of this article is to conduct a systematic review of market orientation, identify gaps, and develop a research agenda for market orientation research within the underresearched nonprofit sector. This research agenda highlights the structural, human resource, and cultural challenges nonprofit organizations face if they decide to adopt a market orientation, and the need to develop a praxis framework currently missing from the literature. The article offers suggestions for researchers to extend the concept of market orientation from the commercial for-profit into the nonprofit arena.

Christian lay understandings of preimplantation genetic diagnosis

Focus groups were used to analyse Christian lay public understanding of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), a relatively new biomedical practice. The paper explores how this often controversial genetic technology was contextualised and interpreted through the intersection of religious values and beliefs, secular and cultural knowledges, and lived experience and emotion. For the lay people in our study, PGD often created moral dilemmas that could not necessarily be resolved through Christian beliefs and teaching, but which required the expression of empathy and compassion. The findings emphasise the heterogeneity in individuals’ interpretations of scientific issues and reinforce the need to consider public understanding of science and technology in terms of public concerns and meaning.