The Wonderful World of PR (part 1) - history and evolution

What is PR? blog series by final year student Lindelani Moyo 

Do you actively use social media? Have you watch a celebrity attend a new restaurant opening recently on TikTok, or dream about working with influencers? If you are reading this blog post that means you are interested in PR – ‘Public Relations’ and are seeking to find out more about it... 

For all the students who are buzzing with excitement to start a public relations course in September, this three-part series will be your informant and attempt to cover some public relations basics and all its juicy parts so that you can gain a better understanding of what public relations is, and how it works. 

Part one will provide an overview of the history of public relations, as well as how it has evolved digitally over time, and why it is more important than ever in today's world. 

 

Image source

 

What is PR?

 

Public Relations, also known as ‘PR’, can be difficult to define. This is due to the global perceptions from both PR professionals and their publics.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) defines Public Relations as:

“Public Relations is about reputation - the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.

2Public Relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”*

 

What public relations is not

There are many misconceptions as to what public relations is and what it entails thanks to the media's consistent promotion of negative public relations practitioner stereotypes.

 

Image source

 

According to the CIPR, 60% of public relations activity is within events** and this has not been hidden on-screen, however, that activity is ranked 10th on a list of 18!

Unfortunately for the many students reading this who may have become interested in public relations due to the media presenting it as being a ‘glamorous career’, a role perfect for a ‘multitasker’ who wants to be confidants with celebrities, attend high status parties, constantly jet setting, and somehow ends their day with a martini in their hand and a smile on their face, this is a fictitious version of PR.

Alas, whilst some aspects of public relations actually involve planning events like new restaurant openings or, managing government press conferences, public relations is much more than that. Some parts are glamourous, but it all takes hard work!

Public relations also involves creating content for brands, managing a crisis, executing multi-channel campaigns, running social media accounts...the list goes on. There is something for everyone, and you don't have to necessarily be a specific kind of person to succeed.

The very brief history of PR

To grasp the significance of public relations and the way it has influenced and altered our perceptions of the media and communication we need to take a look at its past.

Public relations activity can be found in Aristotle's writings on “the art of rhetoric” in Ancient Greece. Also, the British abolitionist movement used print media to persuade public opinion in the late seventeenth century.

Edward Bernays, the nephew of neurologist Sigmund Freud, used his uncle's psychological theories to develop public relations strategies, and became one of the leading practitioners in the field who helped to contribute to PR and pioneer it into the industry that it is today. 

Another is Ivy Lee, an American public relations expert who campaigned for the explanatory approach to public relations, setting a precedent for the PR practitioners that followed him. The emergence of mass media at the turn of the twentieth century helped the birth of the conventional public relations industry more familiar to us now.

Although the art of controlling communications to influence others has existed for many decades, the mutual acceptance and comprehension of public relations being a profession still lags behind some of the older professions, such as law. 

 

Traditional PR vs Digital PR 

Traditional PR refers to the strategies used by public relations practitioners to gain a company exposure and manage public opinion through media channels such as broadcasting (e.g. television and radio) and print (e.g. magazines and newspapers). An example of this involves a PR practitioner writing and distributing press releases to media outlets like newspapers, magazines and radio stations in the hopes of earning coverage for a story or announcement. Millions of people still listen to the radio during their commute, watch the news after work, and read the newspaper on the train, demonstrating the relevance of traditional media and the importance of traditional media tactics in world today’s world.

Digital PR arose as a result of PR's evolution with the digital age. Digital PR is an internet-based strategy which raises a company's visibility to their audience through online methods such as influencer outreach, social media campaigns, and search engine optimization (SEO). Since digital PR is conducted entirely online, PR practitioners have access to a variety of online channels, including online news outlets, websites and social media platforms. As the internet never sleeps, social media has helped to promote brands with little to no direct financial expense (although time is money, and to get content seen, budget is needed), making digital PR a great method for companies to build their brand perception both on and offline. 

Traditional and digital PR both have the same basic goal of increasing brand awareness; the methods and manner in which these goals are measured and achieved differ. 

 

Why does public relations matter?

To stay afloat, a company must get its product or service in front of its target customers and the general public, but how will they do this if they are unknown? This is where public relations plays a crucial role. Public relations is fundamentally about understanding stakeholders and building relationships, and it can assist a company in developing a strategy to engage and communicate with the people important to their success, in order to influence and drive their decision to work with, shop with, and support it.

 

“No matter the size or success of an organization, having a public relations team is necessary to build trust with your customers.”***

 

Public relations can boost public confidence in a company’s credibility for a smaller cost. If a public relations professional gets a company mentioned in the news for example, the public will be more aware of the topic or item, which creates a talking point and can then go on to generate leads that are more effective than advertising because they will have reached a broader audience that they may not have initially targeted or had access to.

Stayed tuned for part two in this series... 

 

* (CIPR) 

** Events: PR Activity

***Three Reasons Why Public Relations Matters