Defining Public Relations

Public relations is a multidimensional business. I recognized only a fraction of its scope in terms of an agent promoting and representing a celebrity client. Public relations’ depth and inclusiveness is staggering, and for most, public relations is a difficult term to encapsulate into a one or two-sentenced definition. In 1975, the Foundation for Public Relations Research and Education commissioned a search to find a universal definition of public relations (Seitel, 2004 p.3). In 1982, the Public Relations Society of America, PRSA, released its own official statement defining public relations. If one commissioned and one official definition of public relations exists, why are there still so many other definitions in circulation? This paper will explain the reason behind the countless definitions, and will compare and contrast different definitions of public relations, PR, to the official statement from the PRSA .

A fundamental definition of PR is, “The activity of keeping good relationships between an organization and the people outside it” (Cambridge Dictionary, 2008). The reason for so many PR definitions may spring from individual interpretations of this basic definition. In other words, the “activity” in building the relationships depends upon the strategy a PR practitioner uses; the situation, purpose, and necessity for the campaign; the product itself, which can be a person, item, service, or organization; and the targeted market. For example, PR for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure campaign will raise money through events like Race for the Cure, Pink Ribbon products, and corporate sponsorships, and publicize the events through the media to reach its targeted market for donations; whereas PR for major corporations will market the brand name of the company to attract potential customers. Finally, the approach I am most familiar with is the talk show circuit where the PR campaign will have scheduled appearances on TV shows, like Oprah or David...