Applying the Situational Theory of Publics
The goal with this Facebook post appears to be to move publics from latent to aware or from aware to active. What types of research do you think led to this tactic?
Think of all the Netflix viewers, YouTube uploaders, and online gamers who never stopped to think about net neutrality before 2014. These are latent publics, because even though they can be defined as a public, they themselves don’t recognize it. Once they do recognize the issue—problem recognition—and start thinking about it, they become aware publics. Most strategic public relations efforts involve not just mere awareness, but some level of understanding of the issue, and beyond that behavior.
("Case Study: Applying the Situational Theory of Publics: Net Neutrality" in Public Relations in the Digital Age by Tom Kelleher)