What are ‘publics’ in public relations?
Publics are fundamental to the public relations profession.
But what does this mean exactly?
And why does it matter?
Here we go:
How To Define Publics in Public Relations
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The Publics in Public Relations
Here’s how to define publics in public relations:
Publics = a psychographic segment (who) with similar communication behaviours (how) formed around a specific issue (why) affecting the organisation (to whom). 1Silfwer, J. (2015, June 11). The Publics in Public Relations. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/publics-in-public-relations/
Please note:
Psychographic segment = similarities in cognitive driving factors such as reasoning, motivations, attitudes, etc.
Communication behaviours = how the public’s opinion is expressed (choice of message, rhetorical framing, and medium type).
Specific issue = determined situationally by a specific social object, often high on the agenda in news media or social media.
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Publics (Public Relations) vs Target Groups (Marketing)
In public relations (PR), “publics” is a central concept.
Publics are situational groups that exhibit similar communicative behaviours, and their impact on an organisation is critical. These groups, formed by shared concerns or interests, can play a crucial role in shaping public opinion and determining the success or failure of an organisation’s PR efforts.
In marketing, a professional discipline closely related to PR, they must often consider a variety of demographic segments to ensure they target the right audience (i.e. target groups) with their marketing efforts.
Some common marketing (demographic) segments include:
The main reason marketing focuses on target groups is directly related to the historical process of buying ad space. For ads in traditional mass media, only demographic data was available.
With a primary focus on earned and owned media, it has always been about behaviours for the PR industry; therefore, we use publics (psychographic segmentation) instead.
Ben and Jerry: Same, Same But Different
What’s the difference between demographic segmentation (typical for marketing) and psychographic segmentation (typical for public relations)?
Example:
Imagine two ordinary individuals. Let’s call them Ben and Jerry. They both belong to the same demographic:
Demographically, Ben and Jerry seem more or less identical. So, are you likely to reach (and influence) both through the same media channels?
The short answer is — no.
Here’s how Ben and Jerry, who belong to the same demographic, have entirely different communication behaviours:
Ben is hostile towards social media (“It’s a bloody waste of time!”) and prefers to read business newspapers over coffee in the morning. During the day, he listens to public radio on his commute to and from work. Ben mostly avoids the internet (“It’s only ads and trolls”).
But Jerry thinks (and acts) differently:
Jerry spends his nights in the basement, immersed in a Japanese World of Warcraft guild, collaborating with members worldwide; he’s a quintessential early adopter who streams television, listens to podcasts, and consumes news via social feeds.
In short: Ben and Jerry are demographically similar but psychographically different.
In public relations, we seek to understand how groups of individuals consume (or co-create) media, research and manifest their buying decisions, and group themselves around opinions with others.
The Concept of Seriality
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Seriality: Context Matters
“Seriality” is a concept that emerges from identity- and social theory, particularly in the works of philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Iris Marion Young. It refers to how individuals are grouped based on shared characteristics — without a strong sense of belonging or identity.
“Seriality is a key concept in understanding the constancy and transformation of identity, particularly in public presentations of the self and its online manifestations.”
Source: M/C Journal 2Marshall, P. (2014). Seriality and Persona. M/C Journal, 17, 1 – 10. https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.802
In Sartre’s existentialist framework, seriality describes a form of social collectivity. According to him, people can be part of a series without necessarily sharing a unified group identity. For example, people waiting at a bus stop are connected by their shared situation (waiting for the bus) but do not necessarily form a cohesive group with a shared identity. They are a series of separate individuals, linked by a common objective or condition.
Seriality, therefore, is a way of understanding how individuals can be part of collective categories without necessarily having a shared demographical identity.
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Segmentation: Publics, Stakeholders, and Influencers
While marketing is primarily focused on target groups, PR has three(!) main approaches to segmentation:
Publics are groups formed by shared concerns or interests, whereas influencers are individuals with the power to shape opinions and decisions.
Stakeholders are incentivised representatives with various interests in the organisation. They typically have a direct financial, legal, or emotional investment in the organisation’s success, whereas publics may not have such clearly defined interests.
Influencers, on the other hand, are independent gatekeepers with audiences of importance to the organisation. They possess significant reach and influence over their audience’s opinions and choices.
Publics, stakeholders, and influencers all play a crucial role in an organisation’s PR strategy.
The ‘P’ in Public Relations
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John Dewey and the ‘P’ in Public Relations
The term “publics” can be traced back to the work of the American psychologist and philosopher John Dewey (1859 – 1952). 3John Dewey. (2023, March 25). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey
In his 1927 book, “The Public and Its Problems,” Dewey conceptualised publics as situational groups formed in response to shared concerns or issues. He posited that these groups emerge when individuals confront a common problem, recognise its existence, and take collective action to address it. 4Dewey, J. (1927). The Public and Its Problems. Athens, Ohio: Swallow Press.
“Dewey’s theory of the public sphere recognizes multiple publics and permeable borders between public and private, with communication playing a crucial role in public formation and re-formation.”
Source: Argumentation and Advocacy 5Asen, R. (2003). The Multiple Mr. Dewey: Multiple Publics and Permeable Borders in John Dewey’s Theory of the Public Sphere. Argumentation and Advocacy, 39, 174 — 188. … Continue reading
Dewey’s formulation of publics marked a significant departure from the traditional understanding of the “mass public,” which assumed a more homogeneous and passive audience.
By highlighting the situational and dynamic nature of publics, Dewey laid the foundation for a more nuanced and adaptive approach to understanding the complex interactions between organisations and their various audiences.
This understanding of publics as situational and ever-changing highlighted the need for organisations to remain agile and adaptive in their communication efforts.
By recognising the diverse and situational nature of publics, PR professionals and communicators can better understand the needs and concerns of their various audiences, allowing them to develop more effective communication strategies.
“This recognition of the active and dynamic nature of publics has also influenced broader academic and public discourse, highlighting the importance of understanding and engaging with different groups of people who share common interests, concerns, or problems.”
Source: Contemporary Pragmatism 6Rogers, M. (2010). Introduction: Revisiting The Public and Its Problems. Contemporary Pragmatism, 7, 1 – 7. https://doi.org/10.1163/18758185 – 90000152
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Naming Publics in Public Relations
Publics are situational. They are formed when external factors create them. 7Blumer, H. (1946). The Mass, The Public and Public Opinion. In B. Berelson (Ed.), Reader in Public Opinion and Communication (pp. 45 – 50). 2nd ed. New York: Free Press. (Reprinted in 1966).
For instance, if a municipality announces the building of a new bridge, it might suddenly create several publics:
Where did I get those names from?
Well, the use of publics has no structural nomenclature. Identifying and naming publics creatively is part of the fun of using publics in public relations!
Creating Personas in PR
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Example of a “PR Persona”
Fundamentals
Psychographics
Communication Style
Media Habits
Influences
Goals
Challenges
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Case Study: Global Warming’s Six Americas
The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication has used questionnaires to survey US attitudes towards global warming. The program has identified six different publics:
Understanding different groups based on their perception of a specific issue provides valuable clues on how to best engage with the publics. 8Global Warming’s Six Americas — Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. (2023). Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. … Continue reading
The research makes it clear:
To successfully communicate around the issue of global warming in the US, you need not one but six different communication strategies — at least.
Kirk Hallahan’s Five Types of Publics
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Kirk Hallahan’s Five Types of Publics
There are plenty of inactive publics around us in society, just “waiting” for external situations to activate them, bringing them together in coöperative, communicative behaviours.
However, PR tends to focus on the already activated publics:
“By focusing on activism and its consequences, recent public relations theory has largely ignored inactive publics, that is, stakeholder groups that demonstrate low levels of knowledge and involvement in the organisation or its products, services, candidates, or causes, but are important to an organisation.”
Source: Public Relations Review 9Hallahan, K. (2000). Inactive publics: The forgotten publics in public relations. Public Relations Review, 26(4), 499 – 515. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0363-8111(00)00061 – 8
Kirk Hallahan, Professor Emeritus, Journalism and Media Communication, Colorado State University, proposes five types of publics based on their knowledge and involvement: 10Hallahan, K. (2000). Inactive publics: The forgotten publics in public relations. Public Relations Review, 26(4), 499 – 515. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0363-8111(00)00061 – 8
Hallahan suggests a model based on knowledge and involvement:
As an organisation targeted by activists, what would be the best issue response? Hallahan proposes four principal response strategies: 11Hallahan, K. (2009, November 19). The Dynamics of Issues Activation and Response: An Issues Processes Model. Journal of Public Relations Research. … Continue reading
Learn more: Kirk Hallahan’s Five Types of Publics
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How To Identify (And Measure) Publics
Publics are often segmented by identifying and grouping existing communicative behaviours (outcomes). While it works for many situations, this approach a) focuses on activists, b) excludes inactive publics, and c) pushes the PR function to be reactive. 12Warner, M. (2002). Publics and Counterpublics. Public Culture, 14(1), 49 – 90.
A more fundamental approach is to focus on psychographic segments (psychological drivers) instead.
In practice, this can be done proactively using questionnaires and rating scales, interviews, reports (logs, journals, diaries etc.), and observations:
Using questionnaires for statistically relevant population subsets, PR professionals can proactively identify all types of publics.
Learn more: How To Measure Public Relations
Publics and Ethics
Traditional demographics (compared to psychographics) tell us very little about how individuals consume their media — and how they communicate.
When a brand is talking to me like I’m a white male in my early forties, a father and a husband, living in a Scandinavian capital, and working in the media industry (all of which is true, by the way) — I stop listening.
I’m not the sum of my socio-economic class, my job, age, location, ethnicity, sexuality, or my gender. Today, we should all refrain from basing corporate activities on demographic stereotypes.
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ANNOTATIONS
1 | Silfwer, J. (2015, June 11). The Publics in Public Relations. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/publics-in-public-relations/ |
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2 | Marshall, P. (2014). Seriality and Persona. M/C Journal, 17, 1 – 10. https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.802 |
3 | John Dewey. (2023, March 25). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey |
4 | Dewey, J. (1927). The Public and Its Problems. Athens, Ohio: Swallow Press. |
5 | Asen, R. (2003). The Multiple Mr. Dewey: Multiple Publics and Permeable Borders in John Dewey’s Theory of the Public Sphere. Argumentation and Advocacy, 39, 174 — 188. https://doi.org/10.1080/00028533.2003.11821585 |
6 | Rogers, M. (2010). Introduction: Revisiting The Public and Its Problems. Contemporary Pragmatism, 7, 1 – 7. https://doi.org/10.1163/18758185 – 90000152 |
7 | Blumer, H. (1946). The Mass, The Public and Public Opinion. In B. Berelson (Ed.), Reader in Public Opinion and Communication (pp. 45 – 50). 2nd ed. New York: Free Press. (Reprinted in 1966). |
8 | Global Warming’s Six Americas — Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. (2023). Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/ |
9, 10 | Hallahan, K. (2000). Inactive publics: The forgotten publics in public relations. Public Relations Review, 26(4), 499 – 515. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0363-8111(00)00061 – 8 |
11 | Hallahan, K. (2009, November 19). The Dynamics of Issues Activation and Response: An Issues Processes Model. Journal of Public Relations Research. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S1532754XJPRR1301_3 |
12 | Warner, M. (2002). Publics and Counterpublics. Public Culture, 14(1), 49 – 90. |