Public Relations Theory and Practice

This study material explores the theory and practice of public relations, focusing on the Sydney Festival 2017 as a case study. It discusses the nature of the event, target audience identification, and critical evaluation of communication tactics and strategies used by the organizers.

Running head: PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY AND PRACTICE
PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY AND PRACTICE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY AND PRACTICE
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Nature of the special event.............................................................................................2
Identification of the target public...................................................................................4
Critical evaluation of the communication tactics and strategies used by organiser.......6
Communication process used by organiser....................................................................9
Recommendations based on the activities of organiser...............................................11
Conclusion....................................................................................................................11
References....................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Festivals and events are considered to be an important part of the ways by which a
country or a region is able to present its culture in an effective manner. The events play a
major role in the ways by which international tourists can be attracted towards the country.
The countries are thereby capable of communicating with the target audience with the aim of
providing them with the knowledge related to culture that is followed in the country. The
countries are need to understand the ways by which different types of people can be attracted
towards different activities that are performed in the events (Chiang et al. 2017).
The Sydney Festival starts every year in the month of January and is mainly aimed at
starting the new year celebrations in the country. The city is thereby transformed with the
help of a bold culture based celebration that is related to critical ideas and cutting edge levels
of performances as well. The festival was started by the Sydney Committee, the City of
Sydney and the NSW State Government. Main aim of the festival is to attract people towards
the city centre in January which is considered to be a month of holidays
(Sydneyfestival.org.au 2017).
The event had first taken place in the year 1977 and has been able to become the
biggest level of annual celebrations currently in the country. The event has developed a
reputation of a popular, modern and intelligent level of program which is conducted every
year for a large group of people. The report will be based on the analysis of the Sydney
Festival 2017 and the ways by which it is able to target a particular group of people. The
communication based tactics that are used by the management of the event will also be
analysed in the report (Cleave 2016).
Nature of the special event
The Sydney Festival takes place from 9th January to 27th January 2017. The levels of
diversity of the event are quite high and cutting edge international theatre is showcased for
people of the country and international tourists who visit the place at this time of the year.
Different events based on international theatre that are showcased in the event thereby
include, HOME to glittering, Beware of Pity and many more. The event also provides
effective levels of opportunities for the indigenous people in order to showcase their talents.
The Indigenous program is known as BLAK OUT which is also considered to be highly
powerful theatre (Collins and Cooper 2017).

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Figure 1 – Sydney Festival 2017
Source - (Sydneyfestival.org.au 2017)
Contemporary music based program had been organized as an important part of the
event which has featured Cuban mambo band, feminist pop icon Neneh Cherry and the glam-
pop superstar Nakhane. The tourists who choose to visit this place have plenty to do here and
experience which does not cost them at all. Other major attractions in the event also include,
moon art based installations at the World Square, Barangaroo South and Darling Harbour.
Free art based installations are also found at the Carriageworks which is a museum
showcasing contemporary arts. The program is mainly based on the ways the tourism based
activities in Australia can be promoted among the international tourists (Comunian 2017).
The management of Sydney Festival 2017 aims at developing different programs
which are able to attract the tourists in an international level and provide them with
experiences that can be memorable for them as well. Some parts of the Sydney Festival 2017
had been organized in Hyde Park with Festival Garden and Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent. The
tourists are also offered food and drinks before they enter to watch the shows that are
arranged in the parks. The personality of Sydney is depicted effectively by the different
programs that are arranged as a part of the festival. This is also considered to be a major
reason behind effective arrangements that are made for the entire festival. The program has

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been able to showcase artists of international levels in order to increase the demands of the
festival (Getz and Andersson 2016).
The attraction levels of the festival are thereby increased effectively with the help of
proper promotions of the activities that are being planned. The festival has been successful in
acquiring an important position in the country with the help of its diverse programs. The
grandeur of the event is totally based on the artists who are a part of the programs that are
organized by the management of the Sydney Festival 2017. The festival is able to play a key
role in the proper development of tourism based activities that can be conducted within the
country. The Sydney Festival can be considered to be an event which is mainly based on
increasing the attraction levels of Sydney as a tourist destination. The main aim of the festival
is related to the ways by which attraction of international tourists can be gained in an
effective manner (Getz and Page 2016).
The nature of this event is exciting, exuberant and effervescent which is able to
provide a major experience to the visitors or the tourists in this region. The cultural level of
the event is considered to be quite high and is able to affect the destination as well. The entire
city comes in a celebratory mode and is able to attract the international tourists and visitors
from different areas of the world. Different areas of the city are brought into life with the help
of various events that are a part of the festival. The tourism related factor of Australia is
affected by the process of organizing the Sydney Festival 2017 and the huge number of
tourists it is able to attract as well (Gibson and Connell 2015).
Different destinations in Australia which are a part of the events that are organized
mainly include, Central Coast, Country NSW, Blue Mountains, Lord Howe Island, Hunter
Valley, Outback NSW, North Coast, Snowy Mountains, South Coast. The events that are a
part of the Sydney Festival which is organized every year include, aboriginal culture, arts and
culture, adventure and sport, beach lifestyle, family holidays, road trips and drives, fashion
and shopping, luxury, food and wine and nature and parks. International tourists from all over
the world had been attracted to different events that had been organized as a part of the
festival (Gibson and Connell 2016).
Identification of the target public
The Sydney Festival 2017 is targeted towards a diverse group of people who are able
to take part in different parts and programs that are organized with the help of this event. The
indigenous people, international tourists and differently-abled people are also included

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effectively within the festivities of the event. For example, different types of services that are
offered to these people mainly include, tactile tours and audio description. These people are
thereby provided with different experiences related to the festivities that are organized by the
management of the event. On the other hand, assistive listening and Auslan or Australian
Sign Language based services are also offered to the people who are part of the differently-
abled group (Hjalager and Kwiatkowski 2018).
Figure 2 – Target audience
Source - (Sydneyfestival.org.au 2017)
The programs that are organized as a part of the event are thereby targeted to all
groups of people who have different levels of abilities as well. The event also focusses in an
effective manner in towards different social factors which are able to affect the value of the
destination for tourists from all over the world. The ways by which international tourists are
able to access the events that are organized in the Sydney Festival 2017 is a major factor
related to its success. The Sydney Festival 2017 has also showcased artists with different
types of disabilities in order to include all types of people in various parts of the festival. The
programs which are part of the Sydney Festival 2017 mainly include, visual arts, music,
theatre, dance, online events and large public installations as well (Hudson et al. 2015).

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The variety of programs are play a major role in the ways by which a vast group of
target audience can be attracted towards the event and the destination as a whole. The groups
of people who take part in different programs in an active manner are able to play a key role
in the success levels of the event and ways by which it is able to increase the footfalls of
tourists in Australia. The attractiveness of Australia as a tourist destination has been
increased by organizing a festival that is able to include diverse types of people. The target
audience of the event is also quite vast and is able to include all kinds of people with the help
of different programs that are targeted towards them (Jepson and Clarke 2016). The target
audience of the event are thereby satisfied in an effective manner by the programs that are
arranged in different areas of the country.
Critical evaluation of the communication tactics and strategies used by organiser
As discussed by Jepson and Clarke (2016), communication is considered to be an
important part of the activities which are performed within an event or a festival. The success
of an event is totally dependent on the ways by which the organisers are able to communicate
among each other and with the target audience as well. The communication process which is
developed within the members of the team is considered to be an important factor that is
related to the success levels of the event. The development of a successful event can be
considered to be a process which can be compared to solving a huge puzzle. The completion
of a successful event is thereby based on the ways by which the members are able to solve the
puzzle together (Ziakas 2016).
As argued by Larson, Getz and Pastras (2015), proper communication is considered to
be a skill which needs to be developed in order to organize an event in an effective manner.
The planning process of the event is mainly based on effective levels of communication and
implementation of methods that can prove to be useful in attracting the target audience. The
scheduling process of an event is considered to be important for organizing it in an effective
manner and gaining the levels of popularity as well. The members of the management team
need to communicate with each other in order to complete the event arrangements. The
proactive strategy is used by the management of the Sydney Festival 2017 in order to
communicate with the target audiences.
The management thereby needs to form a communication plan for the event so that
the levels of productivity can be increased. The increase in productivity levels will be able to
play a key role in the ways by which the management is able to organize the event within the

7PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY AND PRACTICE
stipulated time. The time constraints which are present in the process of organizing the events
are considered to be an important factor which is based on the communication level that is
developed. Effective management of communication is considered to be important factor that
affects the speed of organizing the event or the festival (Li and Wan 2017).
The management of Sydney Festival 2017 also aims at developing an effective
communication process in order to organize the event in an effective manner. The
communication of the activities within the festival is made with the help of different
processes like, calling, writing emails that are efficient in nature, developing the levels of
communication and taking effective actions within time (Yürük, Akyol and Şimşek 2017).
The team which is responsible for organizing the event aims at communicating with each
other in order to maintain the levels of effectiveness of the festival and improving the
attractiveness of the event. Planning of the entire event is considered to be an effective
process which helps in organizing the festival in an efficient manner (Lopez and Leenders
2018).
The management of Sydney Festival 2017 is able to maintain the levels of
communication with the team and the customers in such a manner which is helpful for the
increasing attractiveness of the destination. The planning of event is quite stressful for the
members of the management team and is able to affect the ways by which the entire festival
is managed and organized. The interpersonal skills that have been developed by the organizer
of the event is important for the successful completion of the activities. The process of event
communication is also considered to be quite tricky in nature and is able to affect the
activities which are performed as a part of the festival (Mackay, Fountain and Cradock-Henry
2018).
The major levels of emphasis which is provided in the process of event planning is
based on the ways by which the invitations are designed and other major details in the entire
process. The management of Sydney Festival 2017 has also developed the communication
based plan in order to engage the entire team within different parts of the procedure. The
members of the team are aware of different activities that will be performed within the
festival. The communication based plan which is developed by the management of the
Sydney Festival is considered to be the most important part of the ways by which the target
audience is served (Merkel 2015).

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“The Encounter” is also an event that had been organized in the Sydney Festival 2017
which was based on the ground-breaking type of sound design that is able to plug the power
based on imagination.
Figure 3 – Sound based event
Source - (Sydneyfestival.org.au 2017)
The diversity of the programs that are organized within the festival need to be
managed in an effective manner so that the tourists can be targeted. The festival also provides
concessions to some major parts of the target audience which includes, pensioners and full
time based students as well. The communication based strategy is considered to be useful for
the ways by which the organization is able to move from one goal to another. The main goal
that has been set by the management of Sydney Festival 2017 is based on the ways by which

9PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY AND PRACTICE
the target audience can be reached and event is able to develop its position among different
groups of people as well (Raj, Walters and Rashid 2017).
An event named “The Season” had been organized in the Sydney Festival 2017 which
has been able to display a comical tale that is related to the culture and the country. The
program had been organized from the 10th to 15th of January 2017.
Figure 4 – Comical event
Source - (Sydneyfestival.org.au 2017)
Communication process used by organiser
The management of different events and festivals also need to communicate with the
target audience in an effective manner in order to ensure that it is able to attract them towards
the event and area or country in which it is being organized as well. The people who
participate in the event are also encouraged in a huge manner by the levels of enthusiasm that
is shown by the visitors. The event is thereby considered to be successful if the participants

10PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY AND PRACTICE
and the visitors are happy with the ways by which their needs are fulfilled (Van der Wagen
and White 2018).
Figure 5 – Information Brochure
Source - (Sydneyfestival.org.au 2017)
The management of Sydney Festival 2017 has communicated with the customers with
the help of its website which is able to provide effective levels of information based on
different activities that will be performed their venues and their timings as well. Events like
imagined touch are organized for the deaf and blind artists and also provide free entry. Free
events are organized at Circus City which consists of different workshops, panel based
discussions and industry events (Van Niekerk 2017). The event brochure can also be seen by
the tourists in the website which is helpful for planning the visit and deciding different
programs that they wish to visit. The prices that are decided for entry in different events like,
Flying Trapeze Workshops, Kaliedoscope Workshops are based on the levels of popularity.
The tourists will also be able to raise their concerns regarding different events with the help
of the website. They can thereby communicate with the organizers in an effective manner
with the help of the website (Yolal et al. 2016).

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Figure 6 – Communication process
Source - (Sydneyfestival.org.au 2017)
Recommendations based on the activities of organiser
The major recommendations that can be provided to the organizers of the Sydney
Festival 2017 are based on the ways by which the international tourists can be reached with
the help of proper promotions and advertising. This will help in increasing the levels of
popularity of the event and the destination as well. The activities based on inclusion of the
indigenous people in the festival and different parts of events need to be increased. The
communication process with target audience can be improved in order to increase the number
of people who can take part in the Sydney Festival.
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the organizers of the event have been able
to include different types of people and activities. However, the communication process can
be improved in order to increase the number of visitors and increase the footfalls in the
country in which the event is being organized. This will help in enhancing the tourism

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activities in Australia in an effective manner. The revenues which are gained by the tourism
based sector will have a positive impact on the economy of Australia.

13PUBLIC RELATIONS THEORY AND PRACTICE
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