Tag: PR

Public Relations is defined as a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics by the Public Relations Society of America. As it is more commonly referred to as PR, this focuses on becoming newsworthy through storytelling.

“We govern what people think about.”

Edward Bernays

Edward Bernays is known for being the “Father of PR.” In 1928 Bernays published his work titled Propaganda which argued that PR is a necessity. According to Bernays, PR controlled what people thought and how they thought. An example of this is shown through analyzing why women smoke in the United States. Many years ago, it was looked down on when women smoked and the primary consumers of cigarettes were men. When the owner of Lucky Strike realized that he was missing out on half of the market due to women refusing to purchase cigarettes, he turned to Bernays for help. Bernays suggested that they speak to a psycho analyst and they suggested to promote cigarettes as “torches of freedom” for women. This was because many progressive women were beginning to revolt against men telling them what they could and could not do. Then, Bernays went to a women’s march and began spreading the word to women about lighting their cigarettes as torches for freedom. Within six weeks, women smoking cigarettes started becoming socially acceptable. This example highlights how Bernays showed how PR can not only impact sales for a company but it can also change the ways that people think in society.

Today, PR people not only work with journalists but also influencers in order to do the same. For example, I have been watching my favorite “beauty gurus” in their PR box unboxing videos. This is where my understanding of PR began. At first I was confused as to why influencers were sent an obscene amount of products for free, but in my studies of business and PR I began to understand. It is clear that companies choose to send people like Laure Lee for example, who has over 4 million subscribers on Youtube. Ultimately, they are hoping for her to promote their product to her millions of followers so they go and purchase it. It is more simple when it is broken down that way, yet this is where many people begin to get PR, Marketing, and Advertising confused.

Some misconceptions about PR are that they buy advertisements, they order journalists to write stories about their clients, they produce cute radio jingles, and they hand out free samples at the mall. In reality, PR is about promoting their clients, their products, and themselves. This is where many of the confusions between PR and Advertising come into play. Unlike advertisers, PR people persuade their external or internal audiences through unpaid or earned methods. They communicate with their audiences through trusted sources. Ultimately, their goal is it try and persuade journalists why their story is newsworthy.

When distinguishing the difference between PR and Advertising for example, it is easy to make clear distinctions. In Advertising, it is a paid way to build exposure in which they have complete creative control. The message that comes across in ads is, “This is important!!!!” But for PR on the other hand, it is an earned way to build trust and the media controls the final version of what it put out for consumers to see. The message that comes across is “This is important.” This is because the company has earned the right for it to be believed so due to the media promoting it free of charge. This is how the credibility is built when the New York Times or a Youtube influencer is talking about the product.

In asking the question, why is PR good for business? The answer can be drawn from these conclusions. PR creates credibility, increases awareness, it positions a company as an expert in its field, it humanizes companies through spokespersons. Bernays never could have imagined the world in which we live in now, but what he did know was that PR would be a pivotal piece of not only business but also societies to come. The Digital Era of Web 2.0 has taken this and shown its advancement in many more ways than just business in general. Social Media and the Internet has shown its importance and impact on society that keeps grown and changing no matter the time.