Public Relations 101: The Evolution of PR and How it Continues to Break Barriers
By: Amanda McCormick, Earned Media Coordinator
Public relations has arguably been around since near the beginning of human communication. I could give a history lesson about why I think it started with Aristotle defining rhetoric, but nobody wants to read my take on the history of PR besides my past communications professors.
Since the start of public relations as we know it today started, it has been constantly evolving. The core concepts behind public relations remain the same, but its impacts and purposes continue to grow into new spaces. When we look at where public relations was nearly 100 years ago, it is hard to believe how this basic communications tool has turned into a vehicle that helps conquer social issues.
From the Beginning - The First Press Release and Ivy Lee
Ivy Lee is known as the founder of modern public relations. He brought about public relations as we know it today when in 1906 he produced the first press release when his client, the Pennsylvania Railroad, had a tragic event where a train derailed and killed 50 people. The New York Times printed this release and changed the trend of reporting publicity rumors to reporting facts.
Ivy Lee also went on to work with the Rockefellers where he had multiple infamous campaigns, but that’s a story for another day.
An Ethical Detour - Propaganda
While much of public relations kept on its normal course as time went on, some of the most famous historical public relations campaigns took an ethical detour during World War II. World War II birthed political propaganda when the Office of War Information was founded. This form of unethical communications took place when the U.S. government disseminated messaging across all forms of media that was available during the early 1940’s. Most commonly remembered is the propaganda posters that communicated the war in a positive manner to gain public support and encouraged individuals to buy war bonds.
While deceiving the public is one of the most commonly remembered components of public relations during World War II, positive communications can be found with the women’s rights movement during this time. While propaganda posters circulated around the country, so did the famous ‘We Can Do It’ poster along with many other feminist pieces of media that communicated women as being strong and capable assets in the war.
Public Relations as a Necessary Business Function
Public relations has been a part of business operations long before we probably realized that it was. I think there is a moment in time that we can mark the world seeing that public relations is a necessary business function: the 1982 Tylenol crisis. This crisis occurred when Tylenol packaging was tampered with and the pain reliever was replaced with cyanide-laced capsules. On top of taking action to recall the product nationally, Tylenol used media relations to inform stakeholders of what was occurring and their actions and held a press conference shortly after to address the crisis.
The crisis work that was done with Tylenol proved the effectiveness of public relations, and their strategies are still referenced today by companies working on their own plans.
Public Relations Goes Digital
Just when we thought things couldn’t get crazier, the landscape for public relations was altered by the digital age. This introduced new platforms for companies to manage their brand through and gave consumers a new understanding of the brands they supported. The continuing digital age has brought the opportunity for news to spread instantly, social platforms that offer two way communication between brands and stakeholders and new ways for companies to disseminate their messaging. Digital campaigns have given brands an outlet to communicate their message in a landscape where their content has the opportunity to go viral. See below for a few of my favorite viral campaigns.
Public Relations Today - A Vehicle for Social Change and Encouraging a Better Tomorrow
Public relations continues its many functions today, but now more than ever it is used as a vehicle to spread social good. It has gone beyond spreading news and into a new realm where companies and organizations use it to share their missions that are at their core. We live in a world where it is nearly necessary to share the “why” behind their mission, but for all the right reasons. Public relations is helping these brands show their authentic selves to the world in the hopes that their mission will create a better tomorrow. See a few of my favorite campaigns for social good below.