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Defining Public Relations Amanda Taylor March 8th 2013 MKT 438 Jean Papaj MBA

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Defining Public Relations

Public relations is an important aspect of a company. Many do not know what public relations are. Explanation of this term can allow a company to grow and become more known in their market. Three definitions that are given are slightly different as well as comparing and contrasting these three definitions.

Definitions Public relations is key to any business. This term is over 200 years and was first adapted by Thomas Jefferson in 1807, a president of the United States. The definition of this term has many uses and to this date there is no set definition. The first definition is by Edward Bernay and, he states "Public Relations is a management function which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures and interest of an organization followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance." (2013, Wikipedia) The next definition comes from The Public Relations Society of America that says Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. The third definition comes from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. Public relations is about reputation - the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you. Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behavior. It is the planned and

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sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics. My personal definition varies as well. I would describe PR is a company or institution that has positive exposure and relationships through different types of media. Its goal is to influence public opinion in the companies favor, and gain understanding of the company while building credibility.

Compare and Contrasting Depending on the source used each definition above varies slightly. The first definition was retrieved from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. This website is based on entries from the public giving the information that they know. This definition I believe to be incomplete. This definition relates mostly to organizations. PR as a subject matter is growing, and is always including new strategies and ideas. This first definition lacks information and a little harder to understand compared to the other two definitions. The second definition comes from the PRSA that stands for Public Relations Society of America website. This website is the largest organizations for PR professionals, representing business, and industry, schools, associations, military, government, independent practitioners, counselling firms, professional services firms, and nonprofit organizations. Because Public Relations is their business this definition gives a little more detail compared to the first definition. This definition focuses on policy and company-based PR and that can be used in any form of PR. The third definition is by Chartered Institute of Public Relations Website. This website's goal is to promote the use of companies advertised within it as well as giving new information on news and events that appear within the industry, strategies, training, and techniques. This website offers a free directory of PR Firms in which deal in every aspect of Public Relations. This

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definition is easier to understand and aims toward policies and companies. Those of whom are searching for advice or a firm to help them with PR strategies this site is a good place to look. Personally this is the best definition out of all three. Different type Each company or organization is different. PR is something that every company or organization will implement differently. Because companies are differently they have their own strategies and will use the definition of PR how they see fit. With so many types of media that PR can use such as newspapers, adverts, statements, radio, and television a company could choose any of these to use. New types of media are always being created and will continue to be created. PR strategies are different between each company and each of them specialize in a certain type of PR that they use whether it is company or policy-based as each companies needs different types. Each company will adopt their own strategy and thats why there are so many different types of PR definitions. Conclusion Public Relations can be defined in numerous ways. Every company will use a definition that will accompany them with their strategies and goals. Knowing that there are many public relations definitions can be beneficial to each company because they can choose which best fits their company. Now that we have seen many different definitions we can each adopt one and use it throughout our future endeavors.

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Reference Page:
Bernay, E. L. (1900). Public Relations. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations Unknown. (1982, November 6th). What is Public Relations. Retrieved from Public Relations Society of America: http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/PublicRelationsDefined/ Unknown. (2012). What is Public Relations. Retrieved from Introduction to Public Relations: http://www.ipr.org.uk/