Audiences and Stakeholders.

In the lecture one crucial point to knowing an audience is to consider groups that affect the organisation and are affected by the organisation. According to Wilcox and Cameron (2006 pg 271) in defining audience they state that it is a complex intermingling of groups with diverse cultural, ethnic, religious, and economic attributes whose interest coincide at times. Out of all the models to segment stakeholders I preferred the 9 ways by Broom and Dozier. It was extremely helpful with our group exercise and we would not have identified all the publics. Also I found that the social marketing approach would be more applicable for use by NGOs and government organizations.
Public relations practitioners have to realize that audiences are dynamic and the strategies to reach them are not static. An example of this challenge is the Internet and the fact that it’s hard to control the message and hence the communication.

Reference: Wilcox and Cameron( 2006) Public Relations Strategies and Tactics . Pearsons International

Case Study:
How Oakland Children's Fairyland reached new audiences?
The Challenge: Oakland Children's Fairyland, opened in 1950, was Walt Disney's model for the legendary theme park he built a few years later in Orange County. But Fairyland's visitor base had narrowed to local neighbourhoods. This limited repeat attendance and net income, which depends on souvenir and refreshment sales. Public agencies had cut funding on which the park historically counted. With a limited budget, Fairyland needed to expand promotional coverage outside the inner city to reach new parent/child visitors elsewhere in the Bay Area.
The Solution: They worked quickly with staff to promote a new upcoming evening show. The park's news media mailing list was updated and expanded, and photography showing children enjoying themselves in park surroundings was accumulated. A photo call was issued for the lively preparations made for Fairyland's 47th birthday by young, costumed volunteers.
Results: A front page, above-the-fold colour photo in the city's largest suburban paper the day before the new show's debut, plus generous calendar listings in all major regional dailies. Dozens of queries from other periodicals and freelance writers stemmed from this initiative. The new show debuted to a sell-out audience. Both weekday attendance and concession revenue are up.
Source: http://pr.e-agency.com/case_children.shtml