PR Will Be Defined

Last month the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) teamed up with a host of other PR organizations to launch a global campaign to develop a modern definition of public relations. The campaign, “Public Relations Defined,” asked public relations professionals to submit words and phrases they believe should comprise the modern definition of public relations.

So what words have people been submitting in order to redefine the profession, its purpose, and its place in the world? The top four words are “organization,” “public,” “communication,” and “relationships.” Also in the top 10 are “stakeholders,” “audiences,” and “create.” But will these words really enlighten people about what PR is? So many times, I’ve heard fellow PR professionals say, “My mom/dad/significant other/friend doesn’t know what I do.” Would using these words change that?

A task force will be narrowing down the choices next month and then public voting will take place on PRSA’s website. In a recent blog post, PRSA chair and CEO Rosanna Fiske indicated that the organization hopes to announce the results of the votes and the new definition in late-January. Below are the top-20 words that have been submitted so far:

• "organization” (present in 409 submissions)
• “public” (387)
• “communication” (292)
• “relationship(s)” (271)
• “stakeholders” (176)
• “create” (175)
• “mutual” (164)
• “understand” (159)
• “build” (159)
• “audiences” (154)
• “inform” (151)
• “management” (129)
• “brand” (124)
• “company” (120)
• “business” (119)
• “people” (107)
• “engages” (97)
• “client” (94)
• “awareness” (93)
• “benefit” (84)

More important than the results of this campaign, is the reminder that PR professionals and corporate communicators both take some time think about what we mean when we say “public relations.” Do you think that the decision makers in your company have a common understanding of the term? What does “public relations” mean for your company, and how do you approach it based on your definition? Do you agree with the terms listed above?

Written by: Scott Lessne