Campaigns ARE public relations. It's what we're all about! I pulled some information from a fellow blogger on PR Blogger.com who I think has some great ideas. He organized them extremely well in a step-by-step format and are practically foolproof. Here are both our ideas meshed into one huge process.

1. Research- No matter who you are campaigning for- RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! Why? It covers your butt. Getting all the information possible about your publics, your company, your product, etc. makes you the one and only expert. There are two kinds of research:

Primary: This is finding out the information you want first hand: Questionnaires, one-to-one interviews, telephone interviews, focus groups, blogs etc.

Secondary: Often called desk research and involves gathering information from already published sources: Books, journals, papers, libraries, Internet etc.

2. Situation Analysis- This kind of goes along with research, just making sure you know everything about your campaign. After your research, you can carry out a situation SWOT analysis to examine Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the current situation, and a PEST analysis to examine the external environment Politically, Economically, Socially and Technologically.

3. Objectives- Once you’re aware of the problem(s) your organization is facing, you can then define the objectives of the campaign. The objectives are basically goals you hope to achieve at the end of your campaign.

Each objective must be SMART.

Specific: Are they clearly defined and comprehensible?
Measurable: Can each objective be measured in the evaluation?
Achievable: Considering other factors (e.g. budget and timescale) are they achievable?
Realistic: Are you being realistic given the resources you have?
Time: When do you want to achieve the set objectives?

4. Identifying Publics- Who do you want to see your campaign? What demographics do they follow? How old are they? What do they like to do for fun? Do they use your product? Where do they live? Know EVERYTHING about your publics. Be the creepy stalker.

Publics can be sub-categorized into:

Latent publics: Groups that face a problem but fail to recognize it
Aware publics: Groups that recognize a problem exists
Active publics: Groups that are doing something about the problem (usually government)

5. Identifying Stakeholders- Anyone who will be affected by this PR project. Make sure you're not screwing anyone over by your campaign, and make everyone happy (money-wise/product wise)

* Employees
* Identified publics
* Suppliers
* Senior executives
* Investors

6. Key Messages- Plan what you want to say. Every PR campaign needs to have a set of messages that forms the main thrust of the communication. These messages need to be clear and concise. Usually keep your key points to 3. (the amount of points the average person can remember about a product) Key messages are important for two reasons. First of all, they are an essential part of the attitude forming process and second, they demonstrate the effectiveness of the communication.

7. Strategy- (Very similar to tactics) The strategy is the foundation on which a tactical program is built. It is the theory that will move you where the current situation is now to where you want it to be.

8. Tactics-The PR profession has a number of tactics (or tools) in order to meet the objectives. Again, depending on what type of campaign you’re involved you might use media relations, lobbying, events, interviews, blogger relations, presentations, consultations, newsletters, competitions, podcasts, stunts, websites, conferences, photography, video news releases, etc. However, ONLY use tactics that will for sure help your campaign. You're not trying to win a unique campaigning contest.

9. Timescale-A timescale allows you coordinate your tactics appropriately and helps you be aware of certain deadlines. When you plan your objectives, you should always have a specific date for each goal to be accomplished by.

10. Budget- Allocating the budget is an essential part of a campaign so all costs should be taken into consideration. The primary reason for a budget lets you know what you can or can’t do, but it also allows you to allocate money to the specific areas of the campaign.

11. Crisis Issues and Management Place- Risk is an inevitable part of some PR campaigns, so being thoroughly prepared in case a problem does occur is paramount. Make sure when you research, you plan accordingly to competition and risks.

12. Evaluation- One of the most important parts of a campaign. The evaluation is an ongoing process particularly in a long-term PR campaign so it is critical to constantly review all specific elements. Obviously be aware of your ongoing campaign, but especially after your campaign make sure you do an end review.

The end review will take place after all PR activity has finished and where the final results will be compared against the campaign objectives. To do this, each objective should be analyzed individually and critically.