Public Relations and Events Service Desk
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the ticket categories and what do they mean?
The PR and events team’s ticket categories are based on outcomes rather than tasks. When selecting a category, think about what you want to achieve with this message or information. We will then help you to develop a targeted action plan.
Change a behaviour:
You want a group of people to change a behaviour so you can achieve an outcome. You either want them to stop doing something, start doing something or do something they already do differently.
Examples: The behaviour is walking dogs on leads and the outcome is fewer stray dogs; the behaviour is recycling right and the outcome is reduction in waste to landfill.
Inform of a council service, program or event:
You would like people to know more about a council service, event or program to ensure operational effectiveness. This could be to tell people of changes or an interruption to a service, to increase engagement or uptake, or to introduce something new.
Examples: community grant rounds, First 5 Forever, Employee Assistance Program, waste collection, art awards, meter reading, Australia Day.
Manage council’s reputation:
You have good news to share that will enhance council’s reputation! This is about showcasing the value of something council has done, is doing or that we support. Or, something bad has happened and council’s reputation needs protecting.
Examples: awards to council or employees, infrastructure failure, funding announcements, court case against council, donations and sponsorships, advocacy, politician visits.
Explain something:
You want to build greater understanding about why or how council do something. This could be explaining a local law or legislative requirement, a policy position or a controversial decision. Typically the outcome here is increased compliance, or an improvement in community sentiment.
Examples: Budget and rate increases, dog registration, selling of council houses, planning compliance, employee code of conduct, uniform policy.
How do I know which CORE category my topic fits under?
Each category has a little description underneath explaining what it means. Think about the outcome you are trying to achieve when deciding – are you empowering someone to make a change in their behaviour? Ensuring operational effectiveness? Building greater understanding of council policies, processes and decision-making? Or is it simply about making council look good?
Still not sure? Give someone from the PR and events team a call and we can help you out.
What if my request doesn’t fit under any of those categories?
There are certain tasks that don’t fit under an outcome-based category. These are the ‘toolshed’ tasks—the maintenance of the brand, channels and tools that we use. They are things like simple website changes, proofreading a document or getting a photo taken. For these tasks, select the maintenance category.
There is also a public notice category for the notification of general works, closures or any statutory notices that need to be published.
What if it fits under more than one?
That’s a-ok! A lot will fall under more than one outcome. Choose what you think is the more important objective, but also the more obtainable.
How do I know what the outcome is?
Every time we undertake an activity there is a cost involved. Sometimes it’s just time, sometimes it’s time and a material cost, like advertising. And there’s the ancillary cost of providing the public relations service, such as our subscriptions and IT.
Therefore, if we undertake an activity, we need to evaluate whether the time and effort we spent was worth it!
Every council activity should have an outcome—something that you want to achieve—a goal.
If you want to inform people of a new service, then the goal might be that 100 people sign up for the service by a particular date.
If you want to explain a rates rise, the goal could be less complaints received through customer service and more positive sentiment on social media.
How do I evaluate success?
Set a tangible measurement from the get-go.
This shouldn’t be a tick and flick exercise, there should be a real outcome you are trying to achieve and this communications piece, marketing campaign or promotion should help you to get there.
The number of media mentions or participants in a survey don’t necessarily equate to success.
Think about the true goal – if it’s to raise awareness of the libraries First 5 Forever program, success would be an increase in participants. If it’s to explain the local laws governing responsible pet ownership it would be less infringement notices. A greater understanding of the budget process? It might be a survey before and after which shows an improvement in your target audience’s awareness and sentiment.