Possibilities of using a "PR stunt" in strategic communication of higher education

Abstract

"PR stunt" or „Publicity Stunt“ is a carefully planned event with the aim of drawing public attention to the organizers of the stunt or to another goal of the stunt organization. The reasons for considering the use of a promotional stunt have a great potential for a return to investment and the "earnings" from unpaid advertisements in the media which spontaneously reported that something interesting had happened. Apart from the media themselves, the general public also significantly contributes to the spread of publicity through stunts, so that today practically everyone can record the interesting thing they come across via their smartphone and share it on the Internet. Higher education, but also general education, has transformed from a traditional centuries-old approach where the focus was on teachers and institutions to a modern mass approach where the focus is on students and studying occurs through partnership and cooperation within the learning process. The emergence of mass higher education in almost all countries of the world now implies public criticism of factors such as: the quality of lifelong learning services, the success of examinations, the management of the institution, the form of funding and the student standard. Massification is accompanied by the expansion and diversification of higher education, and the result of the latter is the emergence of competition among individual higher education institutions. Therefore, the importance of effectively conveying the message of a higher education institution to a (potential) student or his sponsor of education therefore becomes the subject of professional marketing communication. The paper provides an overview of PR Stunts in Croatia and the world and proposes thematic guidelines for their organization.„PR stunt“ ili PR akrobacija, odnosno promidžbena dosjetka je pomno planirani događaj s ciljem privlačenja pažnje javnosti na organizatore dosjetke ili na drugi cilj organizacije dosjetke. Razlozi za razmatranje upotrebe promidžbene dosjetke nalaze su u velikom potencijalu povrata na ulog te „zaradi“ od neplaćenih reklama u medijima koji su spontano izvijestili o tome da se nešto zanimljivo dogodilo. Osim samih medija, širenju publiciteta putem dosjetke značajno doprinosi i opća javnost na način da danas praktički svatko može putem svojeg smartfona trenutno zabilježiti zanimljivost na koju naiđe te ju podijeliti na internetu. Visoko školstvo, ali i školstvo u svijetu općenito, transformiralo se iz tradicionalnog višestoljetnog pristupa kada je u fokusu bio poučavatelj i institucija na suvremeni masovni pristup gdje je u fokusu student i studiranje se odvija kroz partnerstvo i suradnju unutar procesa učenja. Pojava masovnog visokog obrazovanja u skoro svim državama svijeta sada podrazumijeva javnu kritiku faktora poput: kvalitete usluge cjeloživotnog učenja, uspješnosti ispitivanja, upravljanja institucijom, oblika financiranja te studentskog standarda. Omasovljenje prati širenje i diverzifikacija visokog školstva, a rezultat potonjeg je pojava konkurencije između pojedinih visokoškolskih institucija. Važnost efektivnog prijenosa poruke visoko obrazovne institucije ka (potencijanom) studentu ili njegovom sponzoru školovanja stoga postaje predmet profesionalnog marketinškog komuniciranja. U radu se daje pregled PR Stunt-ova u Hrvatskoj i svijetu te predlažu tematske smjernice pri organizaciji istih.