PCM Marketing Communications & PR 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A brand discovers a viral social media post falsely accusing it of unethical labor practices. The FIRST step in crisis communications should be:
- Issue a legal cease-and-desist letter
- Monitor and assess the scope before responding (Correct answer)
- Immediately publish a denial press release
- Suspend all social media accounts temporarily
Correct answer: Monitor and assess the scope before responding
Assessing the scope and credibility of the crisis before responding prevents overreaction and allows for a measured, accurate response.
Question 2: Which media relations metric best measures the quality of earned media coverage rather than just its volume?
- Total number of press mentions
- Share of Voice (SOV)
- Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE)
- Media Impact Score using sentiment and reach (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Media Impact Score using sentiment and reach
Media Impact Score combines sentiment, audience reach, and prominence, offering a quality-weighted view versus raw mention counts.
Question 3: In integrated marketing communications (IMC), 'touchpoint consistency' primarily means:
- Using identical copy across all channels
- Ensuring the brand message and tone align across every customer interaction (Correct answer)
- Publishing content on every available platform
- Running campaigns simultaneously across channels
Correct answer: Ensuring the brand message and tone align across every customer interaction
Touchpoint consistency means customers receive a coherent brand experience regardless of the channel or context of interaction.
Question 4: A PR team uses a 'dark site' as part of its crisis preparedness plan. What is a dark site?
- A social media account kept private until needed
- A pre-built website activated only during a crisis to communicate with stakeholders (Correct answer)
- An encrypted internal communication channel
- A competitor monitoring dashboard
Correct answer: A pre-built website activated only during a crisis to communicate with stakeholders
A dark site is a pre-approved, pre-staged website that goes live immediately during a crisis to serve as an official information hub.
Question 5: Which of the following BEST describes the 'two-way symmetric' model of public relations?
- Organizations broadcast messages and measure audience reach
- PR is used to persuade publics to adopt the organization's viewpoint
- Communication flows equally between organization and publics, aiming for mutual understanding (Correct answer)
- Organizations use research to craft more persuasive one-way messaging
Correct answer: Communication flows equally between organization and publics, aiming for mutual understanding
Grunig's two-way symmetric model emphasizes dialogue, mutual adjustment, and relationship-building rather than persuasion.
Question 6: A company's spokesperson gives an interview and goes 'off-message.' The PRIMARY risk this creates is:
- Violating FTC disclosure regulations
- Creating inconsistent brand narrative that undermines strategic communications goals (Correct answer)
- Reducing media impressions for the campaign
- Triggering a product recall notice
Correct answer: Creating inconsistent brand narrative that undermines strategic communications goals
Off-message statements can contradict official positioning, confuse stakeholders, and weaken carefully crafted brand narratives.
Question 7: When writing a media pitch versus a press release, the key difference is that a pitch:
- Contains more financial disclosures
- Is longer and more detailed
- Is personalized to a specific journalist's beat and framed as a story idea (Correct answer)
- Is distributed via wire services to broad audiences
Correct answer: Is personalized to a specific journalist's beat and framed as a story idea
A pitch is a short, targeted story proposal sent to a specific journalist, while a press release is a formal announcement distributed broadly.
PCM Marketing Communications & PR 2
A brand discovers a viral social media post falsely accusing it of unethical labor practices.
The FIRST step in crisis communications should be: