PR
StrategyCornell

Certificate Program

All enterprises are governed by numbers; most managers and clients use data every day. Public relations propels those numbers, making PR a business necessity rather than a nice-to-have enhancement. Communications professionals must therefore frame discussions around PR using business metrics developed through evidence-based plans, measurable evaluations, and calculated ROI. Students in this course will examine how "strategic PR" is all about crafting a precise plan to use public relations to achieve organizational goals.

In this course, you will learn that to be successful, you need to map out where your organization is headed in terms of business goals, how PR is going to help you get there, and who your audience is for your PR efforts. You will follow a recommended eight-step plan for building a communications strategy consisting of clearly articulated steps for creating an evidence-based approach to public relations that can help impact your organization's bottom line. By the end of this course, you will be able to devise, measure, and evaluate your PR strategy.

You always need public relations for one critical reason: PR drives sales. But do you have to hire an external PR agency? Can you afford it? How do you choose one? How do you compare requests for proposals from different agencies? And once you've hired an agency, how can you get the greatest value for your spend?

This course is designed to give people who are current or potential clients of external PR firms the skills they need to optimize their PR efforts. In this course, you will identify best practices for determining whether to use external resources, for vetting potential agencies, and for hiring and managing those agencies. As the client, you will always have a finite marketing budget, but you can use best practices to yield the greatest value from the portion of it that you're spending with an agency. You will discover a simple calculation to determine whether you can afford a PR firm now; and if you can't afford one now, you will identify concrete steps you can take towards that goal. Through this course, you will determine how to best leverage a PR agency.

A crisis can have a tremendous impact on the people involved and on an organization's performance and reputation, so it's important to communicate effectively in order to minimize negative consequences. Preparing for a crisis through the creation and ongoing analysis of a crisis communication plan can help minimize negative reactions and fallout. In this course, you will define crisis, paracrisis, and the goals of crisis communication. You will share your own experiences and practice identifying potential crises, creating a crisis communication plan, choosing a crisis communication team, and evaluating the plan.

A key component of preparing for a crisis is crafting messages for internal and external stakeholders. Messages must be quick, consistent, and open, and preparing initial statements ahead of time will help leaders and spokespersons communicate effectively during a crisis. You will examine the content of effective initial statements with the opportunity to review real-life examples, evaluating them for quality and success. You will practice addressing difficult questions and criticisms, exploring acceptable and graceful responses.

Once the crisis is over, it's important to review what worked well, what didn't, and to update the crisis communication plan for next time. Reflecting on a real life example, you will evaluate the response to the crisis and the crisis communication plan itself.

Symposium sessions feature two days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Marketing Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll share experiences from across the industry, inspiring real-time conversations about best practices, innovation, and the future of marketing work. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to some of the most pressing topics and trends in the marketing field. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across the industry.

Upcoming Symposium: March 11th – 12th, 2025: 

• Tuesday, March 11, 2025 11AM – 1PM ET
• Wednesday, March 12, 2025 11AM – 1PM ET

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Leadership Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium in which we’ll discuss the ways that leaders across industries have continued engaging their teams over the past two years while pivoting in strategic ways. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to relevant topics for leaders. Throughout this Symposium, you will examine different areas of leadership, including innovation, strategy, and engagement. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from various industries.

Upcoming Symposium: February 11, 12 and 13, 2025 from 11am – 1pm ET

• Tuesday, February 11, 2025 11am – 1pm ET
• Wednesday, February 12, 2025 11am – 1pm ET
• Thursday, February 13, 2025 11am – 1pm ET

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.