[ecrea] New Publication: Positioning Theory and Strategic Communication: A new approach to public relations research and practice

Book details:

New book (available June 3, 2014):



Positioning Theory and Strategic Communication: A new approach to public 
relations research and practice



By Melanie James



Routledge – 2014 – 228 pages



Overview:

In public relations, people talk about positioning an idea, a persona, a 
political ideal, an ideology – but what are they talking about? Why do 
some positions taken by organizations crystallize in the minds of 
audiences, while others fail?



Whilst positioning is not something new in public relations, this book 
is the first to explicate what it involves, how it works and how to do 
it. This is the first in-depth exploration of the possibilities of 
Positioning Theory for the public relations field and it adds a new 
perspective to the growing body of multidisciplinary work in this rich 
theoretical area, moving the discussion away from the traditional 
communication plans of previous decades, which fail to accommodate the 
changing media and opinion landscapes.



The author pulls together various strands of socio-cultural theory into 
an analytical framework, providing readers with a tool to analyse the 
organizational implications of public relations decisions, guiding 
strategic decision making through realistic scenario planning.



This thought-provoking book provides an alternative path to studying 
communication in increasingly complex environments and as such, will be 
vital reading for researchers and educators, advanced communication and 
public relations students, and for senior public relations practitioners.



Contents:



Part 1: Public Relations and Positioning Theory 1. Positioning in Public 
Relations 2. Rights, Duties and Power in Positioning 3. A Framework for 
Intentional Positioning in Public Relations



Part 2: The Positioning Triangle and Public Relations 4. Determining the 
Position in Public Relations: The first vertex of the positioning 
triangle 5. Enacting the Position in Public Relations: The second vertex 
of the positioning triangle 6. Supporting the Positioning in Public 
Relations: Storyline, the third vertex of the positioning triangle



Part 3: Applying Positioning Theory to Public Relations Research and 
Practice 7. Analyzing Positioning Strategies in Public Relations 8. A 
Detailed Study of a Positioning Strategy: Indonesia, ‘good friend’ of 
Australia 9. Utilizing the Framework for Intentional Positioning in 
Designing Public Relations Strategies: Positioning extreme poverty 10. 
Future Directions for Positioning Theory in Public Relations



Reviews:



'This book offers nothing less than an innovative way of thinking about 
Public Relations. By drawing upon Positioning Theory it brings to 
thefield the idea of rights and duties and offers the Public Relation 
practitioners a framework to design PR strategies. At the same time, the 
book offers to social scientists from different disciplines new insights 
in how to analyze data from a Positioning Theory angle. Melanie James’ 
book is a wonderful illustration of the saying that there is nothing as 
practical as a good theory.' - Luk van Langenhove, Professor and 
Director of the United Nations University Institute on Comparative 
Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), Representative of the Rector at 
UNESCO in Paris, and co-author with Prof Rom Harré of the book, 
"Positioning Theory - Moral Contexts of Intentional Action" (1999).



'Positioning is something that public relations people talk about, yet 
no one has adequately described or theorized – until now. Melanie James 
makes an important contribution to both theory and practice by 
describing, analyzing and applying positioning theory, thereby 
explaining how public relations contributes to the social construction 
of reality.'- Karen Miller Russell, Associate Professor, University of 
Georgia, USA.



Book link: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415532631/

Author link: http://melaniejames.com

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