Today we're going to talk about the history of public relations and how public relations has developed into a legitimate profession. The field of public relations is not stagnant. The practice evolves every day, especially as the media landscape changes. However, the foundational principles of public relations remain true today. In most modules, I'm going to include a four-year reference slide that has some contextual reading and case study examples of the concepts that the lecture covers. I want to make sure I'm providing you with extra reading just in case you want to dig beneath the surface of any module. I should tell you there's not a formal write-up of the history of public relations or at least one practitioners agree upon. Instead, we have a piecemeal history of how PR came about. This list includes different perspectives with overlapping details of public relations history. It might be fun for you to go back and read some of these articles after you finish this module. Think about the debate that's been going on for decades. What is public relations and where did it began? In today's lesson, we will talk about the history of public relations. I'm going to review some notable figures from the past, give you some sorted details about our history, and then talk to you about notable campaigns that have fueled the discussion on the definition of public relations. Lastly, we will take a close look at various definitions of public relations. I'm including these definitions because I think it's very important that you know the boundaries of public relations. PR is elusive and often difficult to define. I'm concerned that you understand the different aspects of public relations, but also what different definitions imply about practice. Let's start from the beginning and talk about the history of public relations. In its most basic form, public relations is the act of creating positive word of mouth communication. When you think about that, how can we really identify how positive word of mouth became public relations and when positive word of mouth began to be used for persuasion? It's just impossible to truly trace the origins of word of mouth. Instead, scholars and practitioners alike point to cave drawings and Egyptian hieroglyphics as some of the first persuasive communication used to facilitate positive word of mouth, whether about politics or religion. We see evidence of rulers and kings using these types of drawings to pass down tradition and to mobilize action among their armies or their communities. Then in the Age of Empires, 1500-1800 BC, we see Moses and the 10 Commandments, the rules designed by God to govern the people's lives. Religion spread using word of mouth. In the age of faith, we see Confucius and Confucianism and the golden rule. Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself. These ideas, how we live and the rules that govern our lives, how we treat others, all spread through generations and word of mouth. We then see Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle influenced Western philosophy using persuasion and rhetoric. This led to Libraries and intellectual debates. We see St. Patrick, the Holy Trinity, the spread of Christianity. Up until this point, everything has been word of mouth persuasion. In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz Germany invented the printing press and this for ever changed how we communicate. Instead of only word of mouth, society now had information that they could revisit and reread. This age of print led to the Protestant Reformation and to Catholicism and the propagation of the faith in 1622. During this time, there's a lot of civil unrest. Samuel Adams leads the charge in the Boston Tea Party, attacks protest against the British monarchy. He convinces his countrymen it was time to break free from Great Britain. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense supporting the American Revolution. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence and set this movement in full swing. From there we see the advent of mass media in the19th. The telegraph by Samuel Morse in the 1830s, the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. The phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1877 and so on. Newspapers came about during this time and we begin seen Phineas Taylor Barnum begin media relations for his pseudo events. From here, public relations begin to grow into a professional practice. You can see why public relations does not have a formal history. Being that public relations is the persuasive tactic to create positive word of mouth is understandable but you can't always see public relations. In fact, public relations is at its best when the consumer doesn't suspect persuasion. This lets our messaging fly under the radar so to speak. Consumers are more savvy than ever, and they can recognize advertising now. Consumers don't like advertising and they don't want to see it. Many pay extra money just to avoid advertising. Research shows that consumers don't trust advertising, but they are more apt to believe word of mouth. This slide shows that the first official public relations agency was founded in 1900. The Public Relations Society of America, the industries professional organization began in 1948. That's not that long ago at all. Public relations as a recognized and respected field of practice is still fairly new, and so everyday practice matters. Public relations began as a form of persuasion to create word of mouth for the purpose of spreading a particular message. Well, while strategy has become more complex and our tools have developed, PR still strives to persuade publics and create a positive brand image in the minds of consumers. To do this, our messaging must be credible, whether that means the content of the message, or the sender of the message. We don't want to spread misinformation or talk about brands that we don't find credible unless it is to share an unfavorable opinion about the brand. To create positive word of mouth, our brand must walk the walk, not just talk the talk. We'll talk about what that means. But you can't expect people to talk positively about your brand if your brand is not performing positively. Think about Starbucks. We go in there, expecting the same product we ordered the day before. If our expectations are not met, we won't have positive experiences to share about the brand. Thus, a lot of PR is meeting customers' expectations, but also managing those expectations. Before I jump in too deep, I just get so excited because I love public relations. Let's continue on with the lesson of the history of public relations and talk about some key players. I mentioned PT Barnum a few minutes ago. He's someone our field is not necessarily proud of, but who shaped the practice of public relations, nonetheless. He was a very strategic publicist and ring leader. However, he often publicized events or happenings that were not fact, but stunts, attempts to gain publicity. He coined the phrase, "There's a sucker born every minute." Maybe you've seen the movie, ''The Greatest Showman," with Hugh Jackman. That movie is about the days of PT Barnum. Barnum saw an opportunity to use the media and press to create buzz. He opened the Barnum and Bailey Circus, and often used media to hype his exhibits like the bearded woman or General Tom Thumb. Ivy Ledbetter Lee is another notable figure from public relations past. He worked closely with the Rockefeller family. His first major client was the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1906, the Atlantic City train wreck happened, and Ivy Lee issued the first ever press release. He invited journalists out to the train rack to see it for themselves. Take pictures, ask questions, get the story right. On October 30th, 1906, the New York Times printed Ivy Lee's press release word for word. This doesn't happen anymore, but back then, the New York Times printing a press release word for word, that's a pretty big deal, especially when we begin to think about the beginnings of objectivity and journalistic ethics. This was an effort and transparency by Ivy Lee and an opportunity to build relationships with journalists. Moving on from Ivy Lee, Edward Bernays is another great name from the past. Edward Bernays is sometimes called the father of public relations. He referred to his work as psychological warfare, understanding that psychology could be used in persuasion. Bernays is best known for his Torches of Freedom campaign, normalizing women smoking in 1929. This campaign is famous for helping women's rights. Arthur W. Page is another character I want to mention. He's sometimes called the father of corporate public relations because of his work at AT&T. Next, Dan Edelman is a more recent figure. He founded the world's largest public relations firm, Edelman in Chicago. He significantly influenced the methodology of public relations. Lastly, I'll mention James E. Grunig. He's a public relations theorist in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. He is a well-known scholar in the field. I'd like to share some notable campaigns from public relations' history. These campaigns have advertising components, but I'd like us to think about the messaging and the word of mouth. Some of these campaigns still have influence today. I mentioned Edward Bernays and his work on the Torches of Freedom campaign. In the 1920s, it was taboo for women to smoke in public. While Edward Bernays created this campaign that challenged that stigma, he hired women to march while smoking their cigarettes or their torches of freedom in the Easter Sunday parade in New York City. As you can imagine, women marching and smoking, that drew a lot of media attention and created word of mouth. This campaign was talked about everywhere. It was seen as a protest for equality. Have you ever wondered how bacon became part of the American breakfast? Edward Bernays was approached by the beach-nut packing company to increase consumer demand for bacon. He surveyed doctors, never mind that he paid some of them, and found that a heavier breakfast, namely bacon and eggs, is the best. This news was published in major newspapers and magazines. As you can imagine, this campaign was very successful. Since people tend to find doctors to be credible sources, Bernays messaging here worked. In fact, it is shaped American breakfast for decades since. Another successful long-running campaign is the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign created in 1944. There had been a few variations, but I'm sure most of us are familiar with Smokey's catchphrase, "Only you can prevent forest fires." This has been a long withstanding public service announcement that the Forest Service has used to reach stakeholders. Finally, the Keep America Beautiful campaign began in 1953. Corporate and civic leaders met in New York City to bring the public and private sectors together to develop and promote a national cleanliness ethic. This campaign has continued throughout the years with slight deviations in strategy but the message has remained the same, Keep America Beautiful. I've included some videos here in case you want more information on any of these campaigns. Now, let's finally talk about the definition of public relations. How do you define the practice of public relations? By now, you know that public relations is persuasive communication and that its purpose is to create positive word of mouth about a company or a brand. We talked about PT Barnum and his affinity for stunts, I want to briefly talk about stunts. What is a stunt? It's often a made-you-look moment created on purpose for publicity sake. A stunt does not try to achieve anything more than news headlines. Good public relations should work to achieve the brand's mission or at least advance the brand's mission and communicate the core values to consumers. But a stunt, a stunt does not do this, as you'll see in a minute, creating stunts is not practicing good public relations. After all, the purpose of public relations is not publicity. Then here are two different definitions of public relations. One from the Public Relations Society of America and the other from the Institute of Public Relations. Why do you think these two organizations, both dedicated to the profession of public relations have such different definitions? I'd like to point out a few things about these definitions. Some key terms that are important. Mutually beneficial. So often it's all about me, me, me. But in public relations, we are in the business of building relationships and those cannot be one sided. No one likes to be in a relationship with a selfish partner. We want to meet the needs and demands of our stakeholders, just as we hope they meet our needs and demands. A healthy relationship requires that both parties give and take. Next, deliberate and planned. These two words speak to the planning that goes into every public relations move. This is one of the fun things about public relations. We are always thinking strategy. How can we get our message to land with our target public? What tactics will be the most effective? For all of those who like problem-solving, this is it. Public relations is always plan, strategy, and sustained effort. This shows that public relations is not a stunt nor do we aim to just snag headlines for publicity. Instead, public relations strives to meet communication objectives that support branding initiatives and long-term organizational goals. We aren't just one and done but we want to continue to build our relationships and be mutually beneficial. I want to highlight some key terms that are important to practicing public relations. We aim to create relationships with different stakeholders. What does that mean, stakeholders? That's a term commonly used in public relations to mean someone who has a stake in the brand. We also use the term public to refer to our audience. Public relations is interested in relationship-building. As I mentioned, these relationships should be mutually beneficial. You have to listen and take in as much as you say and put out. Public relations is interested in two-way communication, which just makes sense given that healthy relationships thrive on open and honest communication. I mentioned planned and deliberate in the previous slide. This shows that planning is a natural process in practice. Public relations is measurable. This is big to remember because measurement is what made public relations a legitimate profession. For years, advertisers and marketers took our budgets because how can you measure word of mouth? How can you put a dollar value on something you cannot measure? Advertising has always been able to show how many eyeballs they attract but not public relations. Only recently and with the admin of social and digital media has public relations been able to track and measure results. This then makes it easier to show value. Lastly and most importantly, is the management function. Public relations should be used as a management function. What does that mean? When you think of management, you know that usually the manager is involved in all aspects of the business. That's the same thing with public relations. To be the most powerful, public relations must be used as a management function in order to counsel and guide a brand, protecting the reputation and avoiding crisis, while identifying opportunities for success. Many people use public relations tactically and never truly understand the power of public relations. When you use as management function, public relations helps the organization to be strategic in building and leveraging relationships and with the messaging that is communicated to key stakeholders. Public relations is looking to build long-term relationships. To do that, there has to be trust and credibility. That comes with tried and true relationships, overcoming experiences together and being purposeful in our work together.
