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Public Relations
is...
2004
Public
relations is the process of creating stakeholders.
A corporation -- and in fact any organization or individual
with a mission -- requires stakeholder approval, which
implies trust.
Corporate PR is a means of building sustainable trust
through two-way communication. PR in this sense becomes,
as Arthur W. Page indicated, the endeavor on which the
entire company depends.
-- E. Bruce
Harrison (10/20)
Whatever
the CEO says it is.
-- boston bound
(5/25)
Regrettably,
too much of PR today cab be defined as: the collection
of money from any and all paying clients to help promote,
defend and/or redefine virtually any institution, concept
or product with little question as to the ethical nature
of the check writer. Source: materials from Odwyer PR
News reports.
-- Anonymous II
(3/22)
2003
The management of [an organization's, individual's,
product's, etc.] credibility.
-- Don W. Stacks,
Ph.D. (11/17)
Public Relations is just that "The relations you
have in the public" from your customers, industry
analysts, wholesalers, to the politicians and media.
Bottomline, when a client looks for ROI...is whether
you delivered on time - whether it was media placement
or a newsletter during the time frame you promised.
PR is also third party endorsement. For example: Good
PR is having someone like LA Mart or Home Depot say
MAYO Communications is a great public relations firm
that delivers media coverage and placement, than for
us to toot our horn and put out a news release saying
how great we are.
-- George S.
Mc Quade III, vice president, MAYO Communications (9/25)
PR is everything listed here and none of it, in intelligent
moderation, with a twist.
-- crane (8/13)
Ken Kaess, president-CEO of Omnicom Group's DDB Worldwide,
and chairman of the American Association of Advertising
Agencies says, "Advertising works best by changing
or reinforcing qualitative perceptions over a period
of time". Isn't this also a good definition of
PR?"
-- Dennis Spring,
Spring Assoc., Inc. - dspring@springassociates.com (6/19)
The management of relationships between an organization
and its publics.
--Grunig Groupie (1/22)
2002
PR is about getting free publicity when you don't have
a budget for advertising. The more media coverage you
can generate, the happier the client is!
--Anonymous (11/29)
Public relations is the effective management and delivery
of information to the targeted audience.
--TWR @ TPU, Waterbury,
CT (11/13)
PR is a means of communicating ideas into the stream
of public consciousness with the intent to take a concept
from the realm of the intangible to the realm of the
palpable. Ethics, integrity and accountability are essential,
as in all things. It's not what you say, but how you
say it. "It's the singer, not the song."
--Meg Patrick, Idiosyncratic
PR Professional, MegpatrickM@netscape.net (11/13)
Public relations is a tool of marketing that drives
the overall business goals of a company or organization
by placement of strategic information in mediums that
reach target audiences, thereby influencing audiences
(customers, shareholders, employees) to either buy products/services,
partner with, or invest (either personally or financially)
in a company or organization.
--Matthew/PR Specialist
in LA (10/29)
Public relations is conveying to the public what you
want them to know and hoping they receive it the way
you spun it.
--Deborah J. Martin-Vengroff,
Williams and Associates, Inc. (10/29)
Andy Warhol may have said, 'in the future everybody
will be famous for 15 minutes'--but I say in the future,
everybody will have a publicist.
--KatoSpace, stealth PR agent and founder of creative
artist collective, Huebeing Embassy, San Francisco Calif.,
huebeingembassy@yahoo.com (10/24)
Public relations is a series of well-planned &
tailor-made communication programs established by a
company to build and or to improve its relationship
with and to get (better) mutual understanding and good
will from its stakeholder(s); public relations is a
facilitator of communication programs/activities between
a company and its stakeholder(s).
--gap communication
- jakarta, indonesia (10/23)
PR is whatever the client wants it to be.
--Agency VP (10/18)
Successful PR communicates and presents the most appropriate
information to the public, for the interest of the party
concerned.
--Judy - Amman, Jordan
(10/10)
Interpreting business-talk, government-speak and bureaucrat-ese
and turning it into English.
--Stuart Roy, Communications
Director, Office of the House Majority Whip (10/8)
Public Relations is managing public perception by means
of maximising strengths and minimizing threats.
--RCIM - Jakarta,
Indonesia (10/1)
PR is telling your story to someone who will benefit
your company or who will tell someone who will benefit
your company. It is affect-building.
Sponsorship in a people-satisfying venue is an effective
way to reach influential publics.
--Michael Cook, Santa
Barbara; IMAX film producer. mcooksb@netscape.net (9/27)
Promotion of a product or company in the guise of an
editorial, feature or newsletter.
--IAA (9/24)
Erma Bombeck said: "Don't confuse fame with success.
Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other." A good
PR program might suggest that Madonna (assuming we are
talking about the performer!) "is" a highly
successful business woman. Artist? Pioneer? Then PR
in this particular situation would be defined as a good
media-training program, one that appropriately enlisted
the use of a "bridge," keeping the topic of
conversation safely focused on her success!
--Eric Villines, Burson-Marsteller
Dallas (9/17)
PR can be simply stated...though not simply defined.
PR practitioners can not agree on the definition of
PR. To me....PR is the art of communication upon which
the very essence of language is continuously evolved
in order to effect positive image. Of course, "spin"
works just as well.
--J. Martinez - University
of Phoenix student (9/15)
It's the creation, manipulation, enhancement and/or
reconfiguration of perception specific to a person,
group, product or cause using multiple communications
media. In other words, it's the process through which
perception is shaped using any and every communications
tool appropriate to the situation.
--In The Biz (9/11)
The definition of PR is whatever you need it to be
in order to keep your clients happy, and to keep them
from firing you.
Perhaps my definition is a little rough around the
edges...but it gets the job done for me.
--ConnecticutYankee
(9/10)
To define PR, we could perhaps begin with what it is
not. It is not advertising! Nor Sales Promotion, nor
direct mail etc
PR is finding the way to get other people or institutions
to say nice things about you or your product/service,
without spending a huge sum of money.
Once these people say something nice about you, we
in the PR profession then try and get other people to
listen to them. We also try to keep getting them to
say it (reputation management!)
Sometimes, something bad happens and we then try and
stop other people from saying bad things about us or
our products/services (crisis management).
We most often try to do the above by talking to the
newspapers, TV, radio and magazines (media relations).
Sometimes we use other important or knowledgeable people
who then talk to the media for us (opinion former endorsement)
When we don't know what to say, we think of new things
based on what we think people want to hear (research)
and we think of ways that we can say it (strategy).
We always like to begin by knowing what the end result
should be, and what nice things we want said about us
and by whom, when and why (objectives).
Sometimes, we ask them what they think after they've
said things or we look at what other people are saying
now as a result (evaluation).
We often face challenging circumstances (frightened
clients, no budget, uncooperative media, difficult third
parties, etc.), but unlike our friends in the ad industry
this does not stop us!
To misquote Churchill, "the PR person finds the
opportunity in every difficulty, the ad man finds the
difficulty in every opportunity."
We are an underrated profession often staffed by overrated
amateurs, but constantly trying to reverse the situation.
We do make a difference, but we are rarely able to
prove it.
We are usually cost effective, but the value is hard
to define.
We should sit on boards, instead of looking bored,
but until we can prove we earn money we may not even
get a seat at the table.
--El Greco (9/9)
PR is establishing and maintaining the client's reputation
while creating goodwill. The challenge is in the maintenance.
--PTM Healthcare Marketing,
Inc. (9/9)
Doing good and telling about it.
--Ed (8/21)
The Oxford English Dictionary's definition of public
relations:
'the professional maintenance of a favorable public
image ...'
Small and medium-sized companies, particularly those
who cannot afford to hire dedicated in-house PR resource,
are taking PR and marketing more and more seriously
as consumers become ever more sophisticated and media-savvy.
They realize that in a crowded market place, you have
to shout to be heard. Through a strategic program of
pro-active media and public relations, PR will enhance
your company's reputation, and raise public awareness
of your products and services. In the event of a crisis,
it will also help you to deal with media interest, ensuring
that damage to your reputation and brand is minimized.
Big or small, all companies at times have problems,
and dealing with the media without professional advice
is a high-risk strategy.
For most small and medium-sized companies, hiring in-house
PR support is too expensive. Agencies can provide the
answer, and can put together a flexible pricing package
ranging from a full retainer to a project fee to an
hourly rate.
One of the advantages of an outside agency is that
it brings an outside perspective to your business that
employees often can't provide. They are also 100 percent
dedicated to your PR program because agencies aren't
distracted with the many other marketing/corporate/internal
communications tasks that consume the time of in-house
PR executives.
Agencies are PR experts, and are up-to-date on all
the latest resources and techniques available to them.
They will also make sure that they know your core business
and products inside-out and will know the journalists
and editors who count in those areas.
Public relations agencies can also keep overhead down.
They don't require paid leave, National Insurance contributions,
sick pay, office equipment, or office space.
--Adrian Ruck (8/14)
PR is about communicating with people effectively yet
tactfully keeping in mind their perceptions & feelings.
It entails communication through advertising, free release
or writeups in media vehicles. Basically it's about
enhancing your communication through using several mediums.
--swetakapur@yahoo.com
(7/31)
PR is simply about putting a smile -- all sorts of
smiles -- on a company's name.
--Jumbo Jet (7/23)
"Propaganda," according to Webster's Dictionary,
consists of "ideas or information methodically
spread to promote or injure a cause, movement, nation,
etc." This strikes me as a remarkably accurate
description of the public relations enterprise as well.
The practice of public relations, then, is the manufacture
and dissemination of propaganda.
--Nighthawk (7/19)
PR is nothing more than a reflection of the organization
it serves. It can be the positive, outreaching voice
and gestures of an organization with goodwill and vision.
Or it can be the defensive, retracting utterances and
poses of an organization with selfishness and shortsightedness.
--Scott Gower, Towson
University (7/18)
The truth well told.
--Steven Greene, CEO,
Sperling Greene Associates (7/15)
Public relations is trying to keep 250 angry U.S. Marines
from attacking 150 persistent journalists while they
clamor to take photos of their injured comrades in an
Afghan combat zone.
--Dan Hottle, Hickman
and Associates account exec and former Marine Corps
public affairs officer (7/12)
Public relations is establishing trust and building
consensus. It's true what Abraham Lincoln said in 1864:
"With public opinion, nothing can fail. Without
it, nothing can succeed. Therefore, he who creates public
opinion contributes more to a society that he who creates
laws or enacts statutes."
Public and private perceptions relative to our clients
are really a form of working capital, and as with all
capital, their short- and long-term value is really
determined by how well these perceptions are managed...by
clients and by us on behalf of our clients.
--Mark A. Ricotta,
Cummings Advertising, Rockford, IL (7/11)
Public relations is the practice of influencing behavior.
--Anonymous (7/9)
Doing something good and communicating the substance
of the performance.
--Leanna, recent UD
graduate (7/9)
All the definitions are textbook so far. PR, public
relations, is telling the Big Lie and getting people
to believe it. Examples: "Genetically engineered
foods are good for you." "Nuclear power is
the answer to America's energy needs." "Wind
and solar power are too expensive." "Buy American"
(Even the flags that we are asked to fly are made in
China). "We are winning the drug war." "There
is no such thing as global warming." To name a
few! To see smaller versions of the Big Lie, watch television
commercials. Or the nightly news.
--Thos Myers, High
school media literacy teacher (7/8)
Word of mouth is the best form of advertising and public
relations is all about putting words into the mouths
of others (media, stakeholders, communities, customers).
--PR guy in Orlando
(7/1)
Public Relations is the sole reason PR agencies exist.
PR is the image to build through the messages to send
and the third party endorsements it brings from customers,
partners, public and the media.
--George S. Mc Quade
III, MAYO Communications (6/24)
PR is the skill and strategy of influencing and bonding.
--Ana/Bovan Communications/Beelgrade/Serbia (6/24)
Public relations is the art of taking all the credit
and none of the blame.
--Dave Kamp, SureWest
Communications (6/17)
An attempt to control what is constitutionally guaranteed
to be uncontrollable.
--Katie Delahaye Paine,
Publisher, The Measurement Standard (6/17)
Organising the truth so that people like you.
--David Cox (6/7)
Public relations is bone-crushing disappointment after
bone-crushing disappointment.
--Blonde Canadian
PR Gal (5/23)
Dignity when faced with Humiliation
Integrity when faced with Dishonor
Forthright when faced with Fallacy
--Dave Davis, Head
Honcho GMaVZ, headhoncho@gmavz.com (5/22)
PR is a marriage of the most unlikely couple: politics
and ethics.
--JohnMMudd@aol.com
(5/20)
Public relations is communication and fostering a positive
image. Press releases, news releases, video news releases
and other forms of global communications all serve to
increase sales.
--Cherri Robinson,
Teikyo Post University (5/2)
Public relations is the handling and the proper management
of communications between the company and the public
in order to ensure proper representation of issues on
behalf of the company.
--Victoria Chorbajian,
Chorbajian Speaking Enterprises, Public Speaking Coach/Media
Trainer, www.victoriathecoach.com
(3/22)
Public relations is the management function which evaluates
public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures
of an organization with the public interest, and executes
a program of action to earn public understanding and
acceptance. It involves doing the right thing and telling
the truth.
--EMD, Grt. Wtrbry
Chamber and Teikyo Post University (3/21)
The area of public relations serves as a lifeline between
corporations, organizations and politicians and their
respective constituents. If used effectively, public
relations, as a tool, can help to build and create relationships
of confidence, credibility and goodwill.
--Kim B. Mannello,
Teikyo Post University (3/15)
Two way traffic communication between the public and
organizations.
--medan (3/14)
Public Relations is conducted through the media --
newspapers, magazines, etc. Public relations is one
of the primary activities included in promotion.
--Lisa from Indonesia
(3/11)
PR is fundamentally publicity -- the raising of awareness
of something or the changing of opinion about something.
Despite its confusion with advertising and marketing,
it is the complement to the former and a component of
the latter.
--John Tiernan (3/6)
Developing, managing and maintaining relationships
with any audience that can affect your organization.
--Harry Hoover, Hoover
ink, Huntersville, NC (3/6)
PR is 50% what you've got and 50% what people think
you've got.
--deydreaming2002@yahoo.com
(3/4)
PR is engendering understanding, co-operation and goodwill
that are mutually beneficial and attractive to both
the organisation and the publics.
--Uncle King (2/18)
In business, PR is getting results, i.e., ink. In politics,
it's about saving face or discrediting the opposition.
Unfortunately, to the rest of the world, it's perceived
as spin and manipulation of the news. Message to advertisers:
Your PR brethren need an image campaign along the Got
Milk lines. But we don't have any $ to spend. Can anyone
help?
--JG (1/28)
PR is being a courtroom lawyer without a license, a
courtroom or any rules of evidence or engagement...
just a client facing a jury that needs be convinced
of something, a jury the client may not even see or
recognize, and which cannot be compelled to pay attention.
--Anonymous (1/22)
PR is making others talk good about you or your client.
It's as simple as that!!
--Mexican PR Pro (1/15)
Here's what PR is NOT: propaganda, spin, flackery,
or free advertising, to name a few.
--A professional communicator
(1/2)
2001
From my peculiar perspective working for a non-profit,
I tend more and more towards Paul Holmes' thesis that
public relations is in fact reputation management.
The perceived foul-ups by Red Cross of monies donated
for victims of the September 11 horror have provided,
it seems, "reasons" for some of our potential
donors in Montgomery to not give. It's a reputation
thing.
Perhaps it goes back to the Jim and Tammy Faye Baker
blowup and the former United Way of America President's
legal and moral lapses. Our reputation was damaged profoundly...and
it now doesn't take very much to rub the scab off that
wound.
--Hank Schmitt (12/18)
I define public relations as influencing attitudes
to affect action. Everything is about "selling"
something, whether it's a product, service or idea.
Therefore, PR is about "selling" a product,
service or idea. In other words, PR is about making
something happen! Harold Burson got it right, too, when
he said PR is about influencing attitudes and behavior.
--Anthony J. Tortorici,
CEO, Tortorici & Randolph, Inc., Atlanta (12/18)
Here are two that I've heard over the years and like,
but I don't know the sources:
"Public relations means doing good and getting
credit for it." (Idealistic, perhaps, but reasonable.)
"Public relations is when you're better to your
publics than your relations." (Think about it,
especially if you're a workaholic.)
--Don Bates (12/13)
The definition for public relations used in exams is
"the art of creating mutual understanding between
an organisation and its publics." In the real world,
PR is more about influencing through accentuating the
positive and building relationships. But performance
is key. Without performance any kind of PR creates a
huge credibility gap. PR is also about influencing leaders
to change organisations internally and to change in
relation to external forces before other firms for competitive
advantage.
--Chesney Bradshaw,
Corporate Communications Manager, ABB, South Africa
(11/15)
Public Relation is a concept to improve the perception
of the stake holders using the various communication
tools. better perception leads to better image and to
better reputation
--K. Srinivasan, Managing
Director, Prime Point Public Relations (P) Limited,
Madras, India e-mail: prpoint@vsnl.com
(11/15)
Public Relations is the art of illustrating actions
and facts to build third-party endorsement, shape perceptions
and influence outcomes.
Like a heart pumps blood in a circuit to all the body's
organs, PR facilitates organizational communication
to course through all the stakeholders and returns as
feedback.
--R. Carter Langston,
10-year veteran frequently asked 'what is PR?' (11/8)
Public Relations is the act of informing and influencing
various publics by internally and externally communicating
and using tools such as marketing, advertising, promotions,
publicity, special events, and writing.
It's pretty sad that so many PR professionals can barely
define PR, but from my experience, I think this definition
is broad enough to classify just about any type of PR.
--Scott Samson, rsamson@vt.edu,
student at Virginia Tech, graduating in Dec. and need
a job in PR!! (11/7)
It's advertising you can't buy.
--Anonymous (10/30)
In many ways, PR is like gossip. Gossip is people talking
about you when you're not there. That's, in large part,
the objective of PR -- to get people talking about you
when you're not there, and to influence what it is they're
saying about you.
--G. Mark Towhey --
TOWHEY Consulting Group Inc., Leaders in Strategic Influence
(10/12)
Public Relations = Communications Solutions for various
organizational problems
What's the strategy of PR, the communicative solutions?
-- PR tries to solve problems by increasing "consubstantiality"
(meaning 'shared substance,' suggested by Burke, a great
rhetorician) between an organization and its target
publics.
This is why PR is more about (two-way) "identification"
(meaning increasing consubstantiality, again borrowing
Burke's term) than (one-way) persuasion.
--Hoh Kim (10/3)
It is the art of consistently creating your desired
perception among your key audiences and consistently
supporting that perception with fact. When done right,
public relations is imperceptible.
--Stacie Leone, VP
Global Communications, Jupiter Media Metrix (9/27)
I prefer to give a definition of the somewhat more
focused - and therefore more easily defined - area of
lobbying: "Lobbying is when public and private
actors
- by legal and informal means - try to influence politicians
and bureaucrats in the explicit purpose to use, change
and or hinder change of laws and or regulations."
--Lobbyist in Stockholm,
Sweden (9/20)
"Performance Recognized" is the definition
that my college professor (Albert Walker) used. Whether
it involves people, products, services or issues, the
primary goal of PR is to generate recognition for the
performance to the target audiences.
--Unknown (7/25)
"Public relations is the engineering of perception."
--Leonard Saffir,
author of "Power Public Relations: How to Master
the New PR; and former executive vice president of Porter
Novelli (7/16)
An easy way to earn a decent living. Heavy lifting
it ain't.
--12 year PR exec
(7/3)
PR can be many things. To the layperson, I explain
it as a mixture of sales, marketing, journalism, and
advertising. Speak your public's language if you want
them to relate. It's all about the presentation!
--Silicon Valley -
Where'd the money go? (6/29)
Storytelling that is the difference between perception
and reality.
--Captain (6/27)
Public Relations is communicating who you are, what
you do, why you do it, and how you make a difference.
--M Smith (6/22)
The role of PR is to take the fall when a company's
marketing program fails.
--Unknown (6/7)
What is "Public Relations"? At its best,
it is the art of persuasion resulting in the opening
of minds and changes in attitudes. On a more pedestrian
level it is the communication technique that opens a
reporter's notebook and a consumer's checkbook.
At its worst, it is the ability to create something
from nothing and communicate that "something"
in a manner so convincing that you have gained an audience
who believes you.
On rare occasions, the most effective "public"
relations work is the private conversation necessitated
by a client who insists on admiring the clothes the
emperor forgot to wear.
--Gregg Laskoski,
vice president, public relations, Yesawich, Pepperdine
& Brown -Orlando, FL (6/5)
The art of explanation.
--Rutgers University
professor (5/31)
I belive PR is the management of communication between
an organization and its publics. In its highest form,
it should be a two-way process, with the organization
actually interested in feedback from those publics.
--Unknown (5/31)
Public Relations is the interpreting of managements
ideas and policies through campaigns, community relations,
and reviews to media personal and the public.
--Douglas Peacock
(Student) Ferris State University (5/24)
Public relations is the activities and attitudes intended
to analyze, adjust to, influence, and direct the opinion
of any group or groups in the interest of any individual,
group, or institution --page 484 of Webster's New World
Dictionary of Media and Communications.
--Richard Weiner (5/18)
Public Relations is delivering a message to your target
through an intermediary; advertising is going to them
directly.
--Unknown (5/17)
Is never letting the right hand know what the left
hand is really doing. Except when it is doing it exceptionally
well.
--Spin Mistress (5/8)
Having worked for the "nation's best mid-sized
PR firm," I'm led to believe PR is blinding yourself
to the truth and sitting on your values while you advocate
(spin) for big business, which is typically in hot water
for screwing the powerless and the environment. (And
I'm slightly to the right of Bill Buckley.)
--Vince Bank,
Director, Internet Branding, Top Echelon (4/30)
Reputation.
--Unknown (4/26)
The process of building and advancing mutually-positive,
productive and profitable relationships with those audiences
and stakeholders who are important, or potentially can
be.
--Patrick Di
Chiro, President & CEO, THUNDER FACTORY, Inc. (4/25)
PR has three legs-Public Relations, People Relations
and Print Relations. Each represents a distinctively
different function of PR.
Public Relations is the science of cultivating a presence
within the community at large including peers, media,
clients/customers and competitors.
People Relations addresses the flesh and bones behind
the myths (that we are all guilty of creating)and is
the process by which we, as consultants, "build
a better model".
Print Relations is not a reference to media relations
but rather a suggestion that it is essential that a
PR firm have the ability to communicate on an exceptional
level via the written word to generate sound communications
reflecting the voice and culture of each separate client.
In other words, we are not JUST planning parties, we
are building reputations that will last long after our
clients breathe their last breaths...or at least that
is what we try to do.
--Nicole Mitchell,
President-The Empowerment Factory--Houston, TX 281-575-1591
(4/20)
PR is a process of moving information regarding entity
vision (corporate, non-profit etc), strategy, product,
community involvement and other PERTINENT information
to TARGET(S) within SPECIFIC demographics based on internal
corporate strategy and goals.
Those goals differ DRAMATICALLY from entity to entity.
That's why PR pros create extremely targeted and custom
programs for each client. There is no cookie cutter
approach here.
It becomes the buzz or glue that joins Marketing (direct
mail, advertising etc) and Sales pitching into a cohesive
and EFFECTIVE marketing communication program.
--Timothy Robb, Sr
Acct Exec, MBI (4/19)
Public Relations involves positive images, not only
for the company or firm that you are working for but
also for yourself. It's all about the positive image.
--Stephanie S. NDSU
Communication Student (4/19)
Public relations is a business management function
that identifies, establishes and maintains mutually
beneficial relationships between an organization and
its publics, upon whom success or failure depends. It
requires truth and honesty, free speech, two-way communications,
and consistency.
That's the definition from Cutlip and Center, and it's
the definition used for universal accreditation in public
relations. And, after reading some of the postings listed
here, I'm more convinced than ever that licensing or
mandated accreditation is needed to get those who claim
to practice public relations on the same damn level
as the rest of us. This isn't about art, spin, flackery,
column inches, or image, folks. An example: Half of
the net worth of Fortune 500 corporations isn't "on
the books;" it is intangible, hinging on the value
of their reputations. Our clients don't need more ink
-- they need honest advice on how to manage their reputations
wisely. Don't you think it's time we step up to the
plate and act like the business consultants that we
should be?
--An accredited Midwest
consultant (4/16)
Identify value and communicate it to those who would
most likely benefit from the information.
--Doug Kilarski, ASPEN
Business Development (4/9)
PR - the only industry that can't agree on a definition;
the title accepted by political campaign groopies.
--Unknown (4/9)
Informs, changes attitudes, changes behaviors.
--Marena G, Margate,
NJ (4/9)
PR is making your clients look good by pushing quality
products. It is also maintaining good internal relations.
--PR Student (4/9)
Advocating a positive image to your company's or clients'
business audiences. The techniques and tools used to
accomplish this goal are what differentiate PR from
all other forms of marketing.
--Dennis Spring, Spring
Associates, Inc. (4/6)
To create and maintain a positive image in the public
eye over time.
--Matthew Schlosberg
(4/6)
Public relations involves ongoing activities to create
a buzz and to ensure your company has a strong public
image. Public relations events include making your company
or client newsworthy and helping the public to understand
the company and its products. Often, public relations
are done through the media: print (newspapers and magazines),
television, and news media websites such as CNN.com,
ABC.com,NBC.com, CBS Marketwatch, Reuters, AP and so
on. Public Relations is often confused with marketing,
where you pay to get someone to purchase your products,
but in PR you sell an organization. PR is considered
as one of the primary functions of any promotion. Unlike
advertising where you have control over the message,
in PR reporters and writers decide what will be said
or reporter based on the company background and PR information
you've provide to them.
--Aida Mayo, president,
Mayo Communications, Los Angeles, www.MayoCommunications.com
(4/4)
By and large the practice of Public Relations is the
attempt to alter or change the behavior of an organization's
contituency or constituencies. Generally, behavioral
changes are effected through the use of a myriad of
communications techniques that attempt to shape public
opinion and perception.
--Dave Anderson, Austin,
TX (3/29)
The values-driven management of relationships between
an organization and it's publics.
--Mikesyf (3/28)
Anytime a company communicates with the outside, or
its management with employees. (Now GOOD p.r., that
may be something else altogether...)
--David Moyer;
Moyer, Sherwood Associates, Inc. (3/28)
PR is the art of convincing others that your clients
are as important as they think they are.
--Dana Mellecker,
Account Supervisor, NYPR (3/23)
The art or science of establishing and promoting a
favorable relationship with the public.
--Jack Flack jack@flackjacketnews.com
(3/23)
Managing reputation to the public.
--Just a young flack
on the front lines of pr (3/23)
Developing and maintaining a corporation's image and
credibility to its various internal and external publics.
--Lowly first year
PR student (3/22)
Public relations: knowing and understanding who your
publics are, why they are your publics and what influences
and motivates them (their hierarchy of needs) to effectively
create and implement strategic activities and provide
desired messages/information. By developing the appropriate
relationships with enablers of message delivery (eg.
media or community leaders), public relations seeks
to positively influence the publics' opinion/s of the
organisation/client in order to achieve business objectives
in a conducive environment.
--Lydia Gallant, PR
consultant, Sydney, Australia lydiagallant@hotmail.com
(3/20)
An art applied to science.
--Edward L. Bernays
(I'm BACK!) (3/15)
Public Relations is the integration of an organizationīs
new relationships with stakeholders that create and
protect the brand and reputationof and organization.
--Mexican PR Consultant
(3/15)
PR firms manipulate the media to tell their clients'
versions of important stories through objective third-party
outlets. PR firms aim to deliver stories that have the
credibility of independence and the control of advertising.
--Mark Kennedy, Northwestern
University (3/14)
PR in tandem with marketing and advertising, is the
best tool of choice when advocating for a particular
company or client.
--rachel_littleton@hotmail.com
(3/13)
PR is the art of influencing the influencers.
--Marga Draper, PR
Manager, SYLINQ Corp. (3/13)
Much like leadership, PR is the art of influencing
human behavior. If done successfully, it can seem effortless
and natural. If not, it can seem like a gyroscope spinning
around at a frantic pace without really going anywhere.
--Steve Hawken, spinnerhawken@hotmail.com
(3/9)
Public Relations is the communication process in witch
an individual or a company let’s the general publics
know certain issues or key messages, to achieve a certain
goals like the acceptance in a certain stakeholders
or the approval of not so well know facts in society.
--PR CONSULTANT MEXICO
R.B. (3/8)
PR is everything which deals with the public both internal
and external. From the secretary at the front desk,
to the CEO, and everything they say and do. A PRs job
is to show the organisation in the best light possible
to the external publics.
--Augustus J Venselaar
(3/8)
Establishing a recognizable presence for a company
or product with the media and public.
--Bearclaw (3/7)
PR is all about projecting the image of an identity
and hoping that one day the latter will catch up with
the former.
--James Russell, Corporate
Communication Consultant (3/7)
PR stands for "Protect your Reputation".
--Guy Leroux (3/6)
Image, diplomatic, community, charity, announcements.
--Anonymous (3/6)
Facilitating dialogues for fun and profit.
--Vic Nebulous (3/5)
Public Relations is defined in the words - public -
relations. What the public says about your client's
products or services, and the relationships built as
a result. Good PR means they're saying good things about
you, and that influences buyer's decisions. Bad PR also
influences buyer's decisions, and what the public perceives
about you. You can make low income housing look like
a four-star hotel if your PR is good! Or you can make
your four-start hotel look like low-income housing if
your PR is bad. Good PR is sustains or improves the
image of your company, and what you want the public
to think and say about you.
--George S. McQuade
III, V.P., www.MAYO
Communications.com
(3/2)
Getting a firm credit for doing good things and containing
the damage when it screws up.
--Howard Morgan (3/2)
PR is actions and/or information capturing the public
attention with a specified intent to inform, influence,
increase awareness, and/or stimulate the audience; therefore,
allowing the audience to disseminate the information
facilitating their ideas/opinions and activities.
--A griffin a newbie
PR hopeful (3/1)
Talk!
--B. Schiffer - LA,
CA (2/26)
PR is a multi-faceted communication process employed
through diverse channels of strategic programing and
management. It is the arm of business that creates a
steady presence for a company's internal and external
publics.
--miya, los angeles,
ca (2/26)
Public Relations practitioners attempt, on behalf of
their clients or employers, to change the behaviors
and attitudes of an audience. This may include controlling
an intended message through media, client speeches,
articles, and other communications. Practitioners work
together with all departments, including executive management,
marketing, advertising, manufacturing, and customer
relations, because to change an audience's behavior,
the message, and the intended attitude or behavior modification,
must be clear and consistent, yet not blatantly manipulative.
--Lorilyn Bailey,
creator of GuestFinder.com,
lorilyn@guestfinder.com
(2/25)
PR is profit by influencing the influencial. It is
the trigger for "Change" in our society. And,
whether that "Change" is good or bad is another
story. Let's leave figuring that out to another discipline.
--Jesse Alvarez, just
some guy in PR (2/23)
PR is the relationship between an organization and
its publics (not just the media!) where two-way communication
leads to planned strategies in an effort to build and
maintain images while affecting the behavior of the
publics. Though the real question is, What is GOOD PR?!?!?!
--Meg from PA who's
tryin to get her BA! (2/23)
Pervert the media for fun and profit.
--Unknown (2/23)
For an agency its very much like being in love with
a customer - you always tell enhancing stories to publics
about your beloved one :).
--Ally, Lithuania
(2/21)
For PR agencies it is the illusion of progress. In
corporations it's a cost center. Media regard it as
a necessary evil. For politicians it's life. For the
public it is fluff. To me PR is art.
--PR Wanderer
(2/15)
Issues that matter to an organization and its publics
are literal dramas. That means PR professionals do more
than retell stories -- they create discourse that emphasizes
dramatic dimensions inherent in an issue and invites
the involvement of the audience with the organization.
Public relations, then, is the measured and ethical
use of language and symbols to inspire cooperation between
an organization and its publics by enacting an issue's
drama with which target audiences will identify.
--Pete Smudde,
Ph.D. (2/15)
Public relations is the communication function of management
through which organizations adapt to, alter, or maintain
their environment for the purpose of achieving organizational
goals.
--Vincent Hazleton,
Professor of Communication, Radford University (2/15)
PR is the ability to influence public opinion -- about
a person, organization, product, company, or idea --
by creating and communicating news or a viewpoint that
results in positive media exposure in news stories that
reach the client's target audiences.
-- PR Pro, New
York (2/15)
PR represents an agile ability to interpret your client's
needs, wants and desires into something tangible, which
in turn will result in the client's ultimate satisfaction.
--PR Diva in
Washington (2/14)
Making people think stuff!
--The masked
PR man (2/14)
PR is the tool to paint the picture you want seen.
A great product, a caring company, the truth (?), sometimes
not. Pictures can inspire people, make them mad, and
give them passion about a cause. All with the tool that
is PR.
--Unknown (2/12)
Public Relations maintains a mutually beneficial relationship
between a company and its public for which its advancement
or failure depends on.
--Ellye Rashkin (2/10)
Somebody once said that "everything in life is
politics and selling." If that is the case then
public relations is everything - and everything (on
one level or another) is an act of public relations.
--Unknown (2/9)
Relationship building, media management.
--Chris Mitchell (2/9)
Public relations is war. It's about winners and losers.
Winners gain public, media, and regulatory acceptance
and support for their products, services, and organizations.
Losers see their products, services, and organizations
sacrificed on the alter of public opinion, pilloried
by the media, and trampled by excessive regulation.
--Ross S. Irvine,
President/Corporate Activist, ePublic Relations Ltd,
www.epublicrelations.org
(2/7)
Public relations is the management of relationships
between an institution and its constituent audiences
those audiences that can, by their consent, allow the
organization to direct its resources toward the achievement
of its goals or, by its opposition, serve as an obstacle
by forcing the organization to reallocate its resources
to address the issues raised by the audience (e.g.,
consumers boycott, unions strike, media provides negative
coverage, analysts advise against buying stock, etc.).
--Shel Holtz (2/6)
PR is trying to relate to the public. Getting the audience
to feel for your client. Trying to hit a nerve with
the right demographic to sell more products and look
good doing it. PR is every memo, letter, newspaper clipping,
press release, promotional event, and every spoken word.
PR is all around us, and the only thing you can do is
hope you are doing it right.
--Sean Huset, future
Survivor III winner (2/6)
I once heard Harold Burson give this definition: Public
Relations is the practice of influencing opinion and
behavior.
--Mitch Leff, Director,
Public Relations, Turner Learning
Using any form of media to communicate a positive image
to the public.
--Erin D. (NDSU Department
of Communication) (2/5)
Public relations is simultaneously a game to be played
every day, and an art to be practiced every day. It
is an ongoing process of getting the public to know
your organization, understand it, accept it, and ultimately
like it so much that they tell their friends. It is
not a game for ditzy blondes.
--RLM, NDSU (2/5)
Just like any other career, where you try to make money
by making your company look good.
--North Dakota State
University Mass comm. student... Jason M. (2/5)
The management and maintanence of projecting a positive
image for your client.
--Ricardo Gion (1/29)
PR is something that organizations, businesses, and
politicians do to attract the publics interest.
--S. Stanina, college
student (1/25)
PR is the art of not returning telephone calls.
--unknown (1/24)
Letting the public know what your client or employer
wants them to know. It also involves preparing your
client or employer for dealing with the public themselves.
--Entertainment PR
Coordinator in Texas (1/24)
Image
--jcu (1/23)
PR is the strategy in which a PR agent does whatever
is needed, ethically, or unethically, as long as they
don't get caught, to make sure that the public eye sees
the company they're representing as a positive image!
--JRS, college student
(1/23)
Public relations is the art and science of helping
clients or employers communicate more effectively and
persuasively with audiences that impact them.
--Brian Schwartz,
Hoffman Agency (1/19)
Truth management.
--ex-White House press
aide (1/19)
PR is the strategic and sincere communication effort,
managed by PR practitioners, to communicate the philosophy
and identity of a corporation or organization with its
public. PR works for only the corporation or organization
that keeps its own idealistic philosophy and successful
identity.
--Yong Min Chung,
Senior Account Supervisor, Communications Korea, Seoul,
Korea (1/17)
PR is all about telling your story. Telling it well.
--www.thinkitPR.com
(1/17)
The following "definition" of public relations,
which I affectionately recite in mock delight, was shouted
at me in 1981 by an angry Israeli client (who, several
years later, served as best man at my wedding). For
it's intended comical relief, it is best recited in
a thick, dramatic Israeli dialect:
"Public relations?! I'll tell you about public
relations! Public relations is 75% bullshit and TWEN-tee-five
percent commissions!"
--Scott E. Ross, CEO,
News Bureau, A division of The Communications Partnership,
Inc., Aventura, Florida. www.newsbureau.net (1/16)
Public relations is about "the truth." Public
relations professionals working for a single client,
a non-profit organization, or a for-profit company,
should hold themselves and their company to the highest
standards of truth, whether positive or negative, at
all times. This is the essence of public relations.
Without truth any publicity is worthless and dishonest.
--A Communications
Manager (1/16)
Public Relations is simply about establishing relevant
third party endorsement for a brand - be that the thoughts
of a journalist, the approval of a member of government,
an analyst's report, the words of a celebrity and ultimately
the beliefs of the general public.
--Siobhan Aalders,
Senior Vice President, Joe Public Relations (1/15)
PR is an island approximately 1,000 miles southeast
of Miami, Florida between the Caribbean Sea and the
North Atlantic Ocean. The coqui- a tiny frog found everywhere
on the island- is the "unofficial national symbol",
and figures prominently in culture and heritage.
--J. Fred Muggs, President,
Muggs Communications Worldwide (1/15)
PR is a welcoming trade wind on a vast ocean of information,
disinformation, commerce and media overload. It guides
one to port, safely and comfortably; to the safe harbor
of satisfaction for both parties involved.
--PR pro, New York
(1/15)
Public relations is the art of explanation. (It should
not take 75 words to explain what our discipline is.)
--Burke Stinson, AT&T
spokesman (1/15)
PR is what PR people do. The business is defined by
its practitioners and their practices, and we have learned
from long experience that no formal definition works.
--Bill Huey, President,
Strategic Communications, Atlanta (1/15)
Public Relations - Any activity that promotes a positive
image, fosters goodwill, or increases sales. The business
of inducing the public to have understanding for and
goodwill toward a person, firm or institution.
--Niki Howard, AquaJogger
(1/11)
PR is the management function which evaluates public
attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of
an individual or an organization with the public interest,
and plans and executes a program of action to earn public
understanding and acceptance.
--DG (1/11)
PR = Making other people think closer to what you'd
like them to think about you than what they would otherwise
think on their own.
--M. Goulet (1/10)
Public relations is talking to the media on behalf
of a client. The subject or issue can be positive or
negative. One can talk to other audiences, but the media
is always the most important because of its credibility
and ability to reach huge numbers of people. PR people
are, in one sense, translators between a client and
the media ... neither one fully trusts the other, but
need each other -- so PR is the art of making each side
listen to the other and respond. Hopefully, positively.
Maybe even creatively ... P.T. Barnum was disturbed
by the too-slow exit of customers from one of his popular
exhibits, so he put up a sign "This way to the
egress." Now, that's a PR person.
--Beatrice B. Lund,
President, The Lund Group, New York. NY (1/10)
PR is the protagonist on the stage of public opinion.
Each act involves a carefully scripted scene of persuasion
and purpose. The ultimate measure of its reign is impeccably
clear: success in public relations spells success; failure
in public relations spells failure. Competitive entities
continue to suffer great consequences because their
leaders have not adequately recognized this cardinal
truth.
--Carolyn Daly, Stanton
Crenshaw Communications (1/10)
PR is the function of institutions
that deals with experts in the marketplace of ideas
including reporters and columnists, the experts that
they quote, opinion leaders, government officials, Wall
Street analysts, and others who are at the cutting edge
of news and opinion creation. PR normally works through
and with these thought leaders and does not approach
markets or audiences directly. Advertising, sales promotion,
direct marketing do that. PR's materials must hold up
against expert questioning.
--PR Counselor, New
York (1/10)
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