Strategy & Consulting

In the past few years, there has been increased interest in the history of public relations, spurred on by the International History of Public Relations Conference and a growth in academic research around the world. This has arisen because practitioners and academics alike are asking more questions about why and how public relations and corporate communications are practiced in many different ways. So where and when did public relations start? There are two, not very helpful, answers to this question. The first is that public relations-like activities (often called ‘proto-PR’) go back so far in history that the ancient Babylonians and Sumerians in what is now Iraq are often held up as instigators due to some messages scrawled on mud-brick walls around 3,000 years ago. But we will never know the exact answer and have to be satisfied that, for millennia, man has been communicating, negotiating and promoting. The second answer is that the term ‘public relations’ was probably first used in the US in the late 19th century. There have been several claims of first use and it is contested as to which person or organisation actually invoked the term first; but, for the sake of simplicity, let’s accept that public relations was first applied around the turn of the 20th century.

The earliest definitions emphasized press agentry and publicity, while more modern definitions incorporate the concepts of “engagement” and “relationship building.” The PRSA National Assembly adopted the following definition in 1982: "Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other."

PR has been around for almost 100 years. While many believe that Edward Bernays invented the public relations profession in the 1920s, others point to Ivy Lee, who opened a “counseling office” in 1904. One of his first clients was the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1906, he invented the “press release” to distribute the company’s “news” about an accident before reporters received other versions of the story. It worked like magic.

In 1915, Lee became publicity counsel to John D. Rockefeller. Lee advised Rockefeller to hand out dimes to poor children as a way of showing his philanthropic impulses. He also invented the Betty Crocker symbol and the “Breakfast of Champions” slogan for Wheaties.

Bernays, on the other hand, had a grander vision. He tried to put public relations on a scientific footing, often applying lessons he had learned from his uncle, Sigmund Freud. Bernays was actually the double nephew of Freud. (His mother was Freud’s sister and his father was Freud’s wife’s brother). He applied his uncle’s concept of “mass psychology” to sell bacon, cigarettes and soap. He also staged “overt acts” (what would now be called “media events”) to awaken apparently subconscious feelings.

The Internet has changed communication dramatically. The public is increasingly turning to the world wide web for information and as a result, PR must keep up with the changes in transmission of information if it wants to retain its role as a communicator between the public and organisations. Modern PR thus besides the traditional tools also implements online tools and tactics, including social media such as blogs, content publishing, search engine optimisation (SEO), podcasts, etc..

Although Lee, Bernays and other PR pioneers such as Carl Byoir and John W. Hill played an important role in modern PR, they were also responsible for the profession’s close association with propaganda by the public. As a result, their successors did not have an easy job in changing the profession’s “bad” reputation and even today, PR is sometimes equated with propaganda.

Source: PR Tampa FL