What is public relations?
I’ve got a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations and a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics from Mid Sweden University, and I’ve supported 100+ brands strategically and tactically since 2005.
I’ve written this article to give you an overview of public relations and how best to understand all the different parts of the profession.
Let’s get right into it:
- The Definition of Public Relations
- The Different Types of PR
- Stakeholders in Public Relations
- The Definition of Publics in Public Relations
- The Difference Between Journalism and PR
- Examples of PR Objectives
- Good PR vs Bad PR
- The Four Models of Public Relations
- Measuring Public Relations
- The Three Approaches To Public Relations
- The PESO Model in Public Relations
- Edward Bernays: The Father of Public Relations
- Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message
- Public Relations as Perception Management
- Public Relations in Popular Culture
- PR, Marketing, and Branding
- The Biggest Challenge in Public Relations
- Frequently Asked Questions
Public Relations Overview
What is Public Relations?
Public Relations (abbreviated “PR”) is the process of shaping perceptions and influencing decision-making on behalf of specific interests. Industry insiders sometimes refer to PR as perception management or personal relationships.
PR professionals are tasked with various types of work, including corporate communications, investor relations, media relations, digital PR, public affairs, lobbying, internal communications, crisis communications, marketing communications, and industry PR.
Whereas marketing uses various forms of advertising (one-way) in paid channels, PR use strategic communication (two-way) in earned, shared and owned media channels
Read also: What is Public Relations?
The Different Types of PR
Different Types of PR
The PR profession has many different specialisations, functions, and duties in an organisation.
These are the different types of PR:
The Definition of Public Relations
How To Define Public Relations
Someone once tried to count the number of actual definitions of public relations, but they allegedly gave up after finding over 2,000+ different versions.
Amongst so many definitions of public relations, here’s the definition that I find to be most useful.
Public Relations (PR) = the strategical and tactical use of communication to develop and maintain productive relationships with stakeholders, influencers, and publics.
Please note:
Stakeholders in PR = incentivised representatives with various interests in the organisation.
Influencers in PR = independent gatekeepers with audiences of importance to the organisation.
Publics in PR = situational groups with similar communicative behaviours affecting the organisation.
Here are a few additional definitions:
“Public relations is an organizational function and a set of processes for managing communication between an organization and its publics.”
— International Association of Business Communicators
“Public relations is the strategic practice of influencing attitudes and behavior through communication, which seeks to create and maintain mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its publics.”
— Public Relations Society of America
“Public relations is the management of communication between an organization and its publics, through the use of technology, social media, and other forms of communication to achieve mutual understanding, realize organizational goals, and serve the public interest.”
— The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management
“Public relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.”
— Institute for Public Relations
“Public relations is the process of creating, building, and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders in order to achieve organizational goals and objectives.”
— Chartered Institute of Public Relations
“Public relations is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organizational leaders, and implementing planned programs of action, which will serve both the organization and the public interest.”
— IPR Commission on PR Education
Read also: How To Define Public Relations
Stakeholders in Public Relations
Stakeholders in Public Relations
In PR, we often discuss stakeholders. And most PR specialisations are grouped based on which stakeholders they’re responsible for managing. 1The stakeholder model is far from perfect. There are plenty of overlaps, especially when it comes to media relations. Also, the corporate communications function is often regarded as an umbrella … Continue reading
A few examples:
A common misconception is that the PR function only deals with journalists, editors, and influencers (Media Relations) within the scope of attracting new customers (Marketing PR). But such work represents only a small percentage of all the stakeholder relationships PR professionals must manage daily.
The Definition of Publics in Public Relations
Publics in Public Relations
Here’s how to define ‘publics’ in public relations:
‘Publics’ in PR = a psychographic segment (who) with similar communication behaviours (how) formed around a specific issue (why).
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.
Read also: The Publics in Public Relations
The Difference Between Journalism and PR
Journalism and Public Relations
PR professionals and journalists share many practical skill sets. Still, public relations and journalism are fundamentally different:
Journalism is the effort to objectively report the news on behalf of the public interest.
A fundamental critique against journalism is that objectivity is unrealistic and the public interest heterogeneous.
Public Relations is the effort to subjectively advocate positions on behalf of special interests.
A fundamental critique against public relations is that advocacy of special interests is dishonest manipulation.
But even if both journalism and PR fail to live up to their ideal states at all times, both practices play vital roles in upholding a balanced and stable democracy.
Read also: Journalism vs PR
Examples of PR Objectives
Typical PR Objectives
PR is quite similar to other white-collar industries. A typical day for many office workers might contain:
All of the above is certainly true for the PR profession as well. But more specifically, there are many different types of typical PR objectives:
Good PR vs Bad PR
Good PR vs Bad PR
Only PR problems can be fixed with PR. Some problems aren’t PR problems, they’re just problems.
Doing the wrong things + Saying the wrong things = Bad PR
The PR function will only accelerate the organisation’s inevitable demise.
Doing the wrong things + Saying the right things = Bad PR
The organisation’s leadership must adhere to strategic advice from the PR function.
Doing the right things + Saying the wrong things = Bad PR
The organisation’s leadership must reform or replace the PR function.
Doing the right things + Saying the right things = Good PR
The PR function must maintain strategic advisory and good communication.
Read also: Good PR vs Bad PR
The Four Models of Public Relations
The Four Models of PR
In the Excellence study, Grunig and Hunt (1984) developed the most widely cited PR model in academic circles. It’s not one, but rather four models in sequence:
Model 1: Press Agent/Publicity—The organisation uses media manipulation to shape the narrative deceptively.
Model 2: Public Information Model—The organisation is practising one-way communication to disseminate information with little or no feedback from recipients.
Model 3: Two-Way Asymmetrical Model—The organisation engages in two-way communication to persuade and establish power structures.
Model 4: Two-Way Symmetrical Model—The organisation engages in two-way communication to find common ground and mutual benefits.
The researchers found that Model 4 is the best way to practice public relations.
Read also: 3 PR Approaches: Excellence, Rhetorical, and Critical
Measuring Public Relations
How To Measure Attitudes
How do you measure attitudes? There are a few things to think about to get your measurement right. 2The Handbook of Research for Communication and Technology, 34.5 Measuring Attitudes.
An attitude measurement should meet the following criteria:
There are four main types of measuring approaches:
There are four main types of measuring methods:
I’m a big fan of using questionnaires and standardised interviews for PR measurements:
Validity—Attitudes are psychological, so I strive to clarify what I want to measure, nothing more, nothing less. And I never add any unnecessary complexity.
Reliability—People experience the world differently. But even if attitude measurements aren’t exact, their usefulness for PR more than makes up for it.
Read also: How To Measure Public Relations
The Three Approaches To Public Relations
Fundamental Approaches To PR
There are three scholarly approaches to PR:
The Excellence Approach—A business-oriented approach focused on objectives and corporate value creation. The underlying motivation behind the theory was that PR was mostly a variety of tactical tools that desperately needed a management theory to work well in a sophisticated organisation.
Notable mentions: James E. Grunig, Larissa A. Grunig
The Rhetorical Approach—A classical approach that stems from ideas dating back to ancient Greece. It’s a psychological theory of how communication structures human culture by shaping human minds. The rhetorical approach is characterised by an absence of moral judgement and is by nature utilitarian.
Notable mentions: The Toronto School of Communication Theory, Robert Heath
The Critical Approach—A critical approach deeply rooted in theories around societal power dynamics. Power is seen as a means to exert dominance, manipulation, and oppression. The critical approach borrows many ideas from the rhetorical approach by placing them in moral frameworks.
Notable mentions: Walter Lippmann, Noam Chomsky
Read also: 3 PR Approaches: Excellence, Rhetorical, and Critical
The PESO Model in Public Relations
The PESO Model
The PESO model divides the media landscape into four different media channel types: 3Please note that there’s no industry-wide consensus on whether a social media account (like a brand’s Facebook page or Twitter account) should be considered a shared or owned channel. … Continue reading
The PESO model is somewhat controversial, though. It suggests that specialised industries (such as inbound marketing, content marketing, SEO, email marketing, growth marketing etc.) classify as PR sub-categories. However, these disciplines typically regard themselves as marketing sub-categories.
Who Coined the Acronym Originally?
Don Bartholomew, vice president of digital research at Fleishman Hillard, presented a version of the PESO model in 2010. According to PR blogger and PR measurement expert Heather Yaxley, this is likely to be the earliest mention of the model:
In 2013, PR blogger Gini Dietrich popularised the PESO model on her blog, Spin Sucks: 4Please note that the Spin Sucks model is focused on a wide variety of disciplines, publics, practices, engagement etc., rather than types of media channels.
“In June 2013, Gini Dietrich presented the first iteration of the PESO model you may recognise in a blog post: The Four Different Types of Media. It was followed in August by the post Mobile Marketing: Use the Four Media Types in Promotion, where she talked about integrating paid, earned, owned, and shared.”
Source: PRConversations
Read also: The PESO Model: Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned Media
Edward Bernays: The Father of Public Relations
The Father of PR: Edward Bernays
Edward Bernays (1891–1995) is considered the father of public relations. His uncle was the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, and Bernays, too, was interested in behavioural psychology.
Bernays certainly was something of a character: His most famous book is titled Propaganda—in which he outlined how to manage the perceptions of crowds, much like modern Niccolo Machiavelli or Sun Tzu:
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organised habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”
— Edward Bernays
PR Case Study: Torches of Freedom
When helping Lucky Strike, Bernays realised that cigarette smoking was mostly a male habit. From a business perspective, there was a golden opportunity to add half the population to Lucky Strike’s list of potential customers.
No one had done this successfully, not because no one ever had that idea, but because it was a tough nut to crack. But Edward Bernays succeeded by tapping into another prevailing trend in society: The emancipation of women.
Bernays positioned cigarettes for women as “Torches of Freedom.” He placed the idea in articles, newspapers, celebrity endorsements, and events. He planted the public perception of women smoking not because it was enjoyable but as a symbol of female independence.
PR Case Study: Eggs and Bacon
Have you ever had eggs and bacon for breakfast at a hotel? Well, you can thank Bernays for that idea.
Another PR legend is how Bernays helped the farming industry convince people to eat more eggs and bacon. To make this happen, he wanted to change people’s perception of when it’s okay to eat eggs and bacon.
Bernays cooperated with food scientists to establish that eggs and bacon should be part of a healthy breakfast for every American. And to manifest this, he collaborated with chains of hotels to have them serve eggs and bacon for breakfast.
Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message
The Medium is the Message
“The medium is the message” is a phrase coined by the Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan in the first chapter of his notable book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man.
Despite being one of the most influential thinkers in media theory, McLuhan’s ideas are often widely misunderstood. “The medium is the message” is no exception.
“The medium is the message” doesn’t imply that content or substance lacks importance, only that the medium in which messages are sent will significantly impact humanity.
McLuhan proposes that the manifestation of any medium will matter significantly more than anything subsequently transmitted through that medium.
Let’s use Twitter in a social media context: Twitter as a medium will impact humanity more than any single message sent via Twitter.
How can this be?
McLuhan views mediums as extensions of human physiology. Our ability to build houses extends our human skin, as it protects against the elements. This added layer of protection and physical safety frees up mental bandwidth for human interaction.
So, a house is a medium in McLuhan’s interpretation. All human technologies, all the way down to the campfire, are considered mediums.
“McLuhan’s insight was that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role not by the content delivered over the medium, but by the characteristics of the medium itself. […] McLuhan pointed to the light bulb as a clear demonstration of this concept. A light bulb does not have content in the way that a newspaper has articles or a television has programs, yet it is a medium that has a social effect; that is, a light bulb enables people to create spaces during nighttime that would otherwise be enveloped by darkness.”
Source: Wikipedia
According to McLuhan, our ability to create extensions of humanity exponentially impacts our communication more than any message conveyed as a result:
And so on.
Example: Twitter is a medium extending several human capacities. These technologies have a tremendous impact on how opinions are formed, how groups emerge, how we feel, how information travel, and how we interpret the world. And not only that: The limitations of Twitter impact what’s being communicated on Twitter, too.
Why is McLuhan’s analysis necessary? “The medium is the message” is a stark reminder that a medium’s format (and its limitations) will massively impact human society—and the messages themselves, too.
We often default to seeking meaning in messages but forget to consider the medium’s inherent media logic.
Read also: Media Logic is Dead, Long Live Media Logic
Public Relations as Perception Management
Perception Management
No one is basing their attitudes and behaviours on reality; we’re basing them on our perceptions of reality.
Walter Lippmann (1889–1974) proposed that our perceptions of reality differ from the actual reality. The reality is too vast and too complex for anyone to process. 5Lippmann, Walter. 1960. Public Opinion (1922). New York: Macmillan.
Those who can manage the perceptions of publics can control their attitudes and behaviours.
The research on perception management is focused on how organisations can create a desired reputation:
“The OPM [Organizational Perception Management] field focuses on the range of activities that help organisations establish and/or maintain a desired reputation (Staw et al., 1983). More specifically, OPM research has primarily focused on two interrelated factors: (1) the timing and goals of perception management activities and (2) specific perception management tactics (Elsbach, 2006).”
Source: Organizational Perception Management 6Hargis, M. & Watt, John. (2010). Organizational perception management: A framework to overcome crisis events. Organization Development Journal. 28. 73-87.
Today, our perceptions are heavily influenced by news media and influencers, algorithms, and social graphs. Therefore, perception management is more important than ever before.
“We are all captives of the picture in our head—our belief that the world we have experienced is the world that really exists.”
— Walter Lippmann
Public Relations in Popular Culture
PR Examples in Popular Culture
Fictitious PR professionals have made a few notable appearances in popular culture:
Samantha Jones (Kim Catrall) in Sex and the City is a media relations specialist, but her job isn’t exactly the focus of the series.
Stuart “Stu” Shepard (Colin Farrell) in Phone Booth is a lying publicist trapped in a phone booth.
Eli Wurman (Al Pacino) in People I Know is a press agent who knows everyone.
CJ Cregg (Allison Janney) in The West Wing works as a press secretary to the US President.
Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) in The West Wing is an introverted communications director who writes press releases in his head.
Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow) in Sliding Doors is a hard-working PR professional with two different narratives.
Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro) in Wag the Dog is a Spin Doctor called in to help the US president manage—and, when possible, also avoid—a series of crises.
Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) in Thank You for Smoking is a lobbyist. His job? To lobby for Big Tobacco.
Shauna Roberts (Debi Mazar) in Entourage is a publicist for Hollywood movie stars.
Read also: 12 Essential PR Movies Every Spin Doctor Should Watch
PR, Marketing, and Branding
The Venn Diagram of Corporate Awareness
Public relations, marketing, and branding have one common goal: all three functions are united in establishing and maintaining corporate awareness.
The Venn diagram emphasises the importance of internal and alignment cooperation when it comes to:
Read also: The Venn Diagram of Corporate Awareness
The Biggest Challenge in Public Relations
The Digital Transformation of PR
The biggest challenge in PR is ensuring that our profession keeps up with new communication technology and stays valuable and relevant as a business function.
“The authors argue that earlier paradigms are mostly inadequate in addressing the needs of a 21st Century in which communication technology is creating rapid globalization while it is dangerously exacerbating the tensions of multiculturalism. Through a critical discussion of prior assumptions and paradigms in public relations scholarship, the authors underline the need for public relations to revitalize and bring its body of knowledge into the 21st Century. The authors posit and discuss how the community-building theory originally espoused by Kruckeberg and Starck (1988) and modified in subsequent scholarship can provide a viable departure point toward developing new approaches to research about and practice of public relations that can take into account the dynamic environment wrought by changes in communication technology.”
Source: Public Relations Review
Here’s PR’s most significant challenge summarised by AI:
“The biggest challenge in modern public relations is the constantly changing media landscape. With the proliferation of social media, the rise of fake news, and the decline of traditional journalism, it can be difficult for organizations to control the spread of information and protect their reputations. Public relations professionals must now be strategic and proactive in their approach and must be able to adapt to new technologies and platforms to communicate with their publics effectively. Additionally, the abundance of online information can make it difficult for organizations to stand out and get their messages heard. As a result, public relations professionals must be creative and innovative to engage with their publics effectively.”
Source: ChatGPT
Read also: PR Must Adapt (Or Die)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is PR Important?
Having bad PR is detrimental to an organisation. Dissatisfied customers share negative sentiments far and wide. Angry activists will make everything much harder than it otherwise would be. Unmotivated and angry employees will result in serious backlashes that keep on coming. Disappointed investors and shareholders lose their confidence, which might spell the end for any business.
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of PR?
The main advantage of PR is its credibility. While marketing is focused on paid media, like advertising, PR is focused on earned, shared, and owned media. The main disadvantage of PR is the lack of guaranteed results. While marketers typically pay for space, PR professionals must earn it.
Who Needs PR?
Everyone has existing relationships, and everyone is perceived in specific ways. So, everyone has some form of PR already. Anyone who wants to change or maintain these relationships and perceptions can use communication strategically, which is why the PR function exists.
Is PR Cost-Effective?
PR is exceptionally cost-efficient for establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with stakeholders, influencers, and publics. The alternative cost of suffering bad PR is typically extremely high.
What Tools Do PR Professionals Use?
PR professionals can typically do most of their work using only an internet connection, a laptop, and a phone. Many also invest in media monitoring services, a wire service for distributing press releases, and online newsrooms.
Why Does PR Have Such a Bad Reputation?
PR has a bad reputation. This is ironic since PR professionals manage reputations. Some of this bad reputation come from the media; there’s a natural tension between journalists and PR professionals. Hollywood isn’t exactly helping, either. Many films and tv shows portray PR professionals negatively.
How Do You Explain PR?
Public Relations (abbreviated “PR”) is the process of shaping perceptions and influencing decision-making on behalf of specific interests. Industry insiders sometimes refer to PR as perception management or personal relationships.
Is PR a Good Career?
PR is an exciting career choice for anyone interested in social power dynamics, business, politics, behaviour, media logic, and practical communication (writing in particular). The pay is typically good, but junior professionals must often put in many unpaid overtime hours for entry-level salaries.
What is the Difference Between a Communications Department and a PR Department?
A Communications Department is the same as a PR Department. Organisations often prefer the term “strategic communications”, and agencies typically prefer the term “public relations,” but the terms can be used interchangeably.
Thank you for reading this article. Please consider supporting my work by sharing it with other PR- and communication professionals. For questions or PR support, contact me via [email protected].
ANNOTATIONS
| 1 | The stakeholder model is far from perfect. There are plenty of overlaps, especially when it comes to media relations. Also, the corporate communications function is often regarded as an umbrella category for the other disciplines. |
|---|---|
| 2 | The Handbook of Research for Communication and Technology, 34.5 Measuring Attitudes. |
| 3 | Please note that there’s no industry-wide consensus on whether a social media account (like a brand’s Facebook page or Twitter account) should be considered a shared or owned channel. Personally, I classify social media accounts as shared channels since they’re not fully under the brand’s control. |
| 4 | Please note that the Spin Sucks model is focused on a wide variety of disciplines, publics, practices, engagement etc., rather than types of media channels. |
| 5 | Lippmann, Walter. 1960. Public Opinion (1922). New York: Macmillan. |
| 6 | Hargis, M. & Watt, John. (2010). Organizational perception management: A framework to overcome crisis events. Organization Development Journal. 28. 73-87. |
Great scientific description on the problems of organising enterprise departments and agency matching.
I like the term “perception management”. My next job title shall be: Joakim Nordblom, Perception Manager. Aah, nice! It needs to be articulated well though, I don’t want to be known as a Reception Manager. :-)