Definition of PR Submission Form

[...] We’re calling it: “Public Relations Defined.” You can learn about the initiative here and submit your definition here. [...]

[...] If you have a more accurate definition, one in tune with contemporary society and the evolving needs of organizations in the context of that society, then why not answer the PRSA’s call to action? [...]

It’s regrettable that a major attempt to redefine the profession has been reduced to a four-box ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ structure. My preferred definition was crafted by Morris and Goldsworthy: “PR is the planned persuasion of people to behave in ways that further its sponsor’s objectives. It works primarily through the use of media relations and other forms of third party endorsement.”

Good move getting public input. Perhaps make it more fun next time with a few prizes and recognition for the top ideas!

OK, first off, this form is not good. Why restrict our thinking and definitions to these four categories? Not a good start! My definition has always been this: PR helps an entity relate to its various publics. That entity might be a person, brand, corporation, non-profit or government agency, and their various publics can be just about anything — consumers, users, employees, shareholders, local community, thought leaders, experts, voters… How that’s done can vary quite a bit as well. But the important thing is the relationship, which goes both ways.

Thanks for your feedback. The reason
why the submission field is limited to four distinct categories is two-fold:

1. PRSA’s Definition of Public Relations Task Force, along with the industry
organizations we have partnered with on this initiative, felt it best to adopt
an approach similar to the structure of how common definitions of marketing
(http://bit.ly/vzoUx9) and advertising (http://bit.ly/vCURmU) are formulated.

2. Practicality. In order for this process to be as open and collaborative as
possible, we need to keep things relatively simple. And the simple fact of the
matter is that three-sentence definitions aren’t all that simple, certainly not
for gathering data in a collaborative process such as this. But more so in that
where the PR industry has gone off track in the past with efforts to define
itself is that we have gotten too long-winded. We have tried to add in every
management phrase or catchy word. And that only serves to confuse people and
muddle our message.

So we’re trying to keep it simple. Having said that, it looks like you have a
great, one-sentence definition: “PR helps an entity relate to its various
publics.” I hope you’ll add that to the submission field above.

And please let me know if you have any questions or any further feedback. We
really appreciate your participation.

Keith Trivitt
Associate Director, Public Relations
PRSA

Agree, I’m not a fan of the form.  It’s too restrictive.  Social media has changed some dynamics because of it’s 2-way nature, but ultimately public relations is still the process of cultivating, growing and expanding relationships through various mediums to influence target audiences.

Thanks for your feedback. Please see my response above to “Jmcguireky” for the reasons why we have limited the submission field to four entry points. Basic answer: simplicity. A lot of data flowing in and we need to be able to accurately capture that in a transparent and collaborative manner.

I hope you’ll contribute your definition in the submission field and many thanks for adding further commentary.

Keith Trivitt
Associate Director, Public Relations
PRSA

The
challenge for redefining PR  in a social media world is that marketers
(people whose mission is primarily driving product sales) have realized the
main tool used by PR (building relationships with influencers to shape
public perception) works to drive sales. 

Unfortunately,
 the short term goals of marketing often conflicts with the long term
goals of PR.  Clearly, both are needed for organizations to succeed, but the shifts due to social media has
led to a realignment where PR has become increasingly displaced by marketing.

The
current definition ( ““Public
relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”
) infers that the relationship between the organization and its publics is at
the core.  The new definition should focus on the long term nature of that
relationship.  

We provide communications solutions and tell stories so people can make sound decisions.

[...] Apparently the Public Relations Society of America thinks so. In keeping with the spirit of the times they are crowd-sourcing the development of a new definition. You can participate here. [...]

[...] US-Seltsamkeiten: Im Formular zur neuen PR-Definition Posted on 21 November 2011 Ich weiß nicht so recht, ob ich die Schulter zucken, den Kopf schütteln oder sonst wie reagieren soll. Deshalb nur in Kürze (auf dass sich jeder sein eigenes Bild mache): Der US-amerikanische PR-Berufsverband Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) meint, es müsse eine neue PR-Definition her und setzt – vielleicht, weil’s gerade schick ist – auf Crowd-Sourcing. Wer also Lust hat, darf seinen Definitionsvorschlag bis zum 2. Dezember einreichen. [...]

Social media may add venues for which to perform public relations.  But the public relations profession is still about building relationships.  It’s the process of cultivating, growing and expanding relationships through various mediums to influence target audiences.

Thank you for commenting on my blog post, Keith Trivitt – I appreciate your willingness to have an open conversation.

The form should be revised so that someone submitting a definition would have the opportunity to see the sentence in its entirety and make edits, if necessary, before final submission.

[...] Following attempts in 2003 and 2007, this time there’s a microsite, a piece in the New York Times and even a crowd-sourcing initiative. [...]

Thanks for the suggestion, Jeannette. We’ll certainly take that into consideration as we continue to make minor adjustments to the submission process.

Keith Trivitt
PRSA

My pleasure, Vicki. And thanks to you for writing your commentary piece. The more feedback we have on this initiative the better, so I really appreciate you taking the time to voice your concerns and support for the effort. 

Good point, Ken, re “the new definition should focus on the long-term nature of that relationship.” Do you think there is an equal need for a definition to have some focus on the short-term outcomes of PR? Or is that trying to fit too much into an already crowded barn?

No – at least not an equal need. While the short-term needs are important, the long-term needs have to take priority in PR.  

I’m glad you’re taking on this challenge. When my young son once joined me for a “Take your Child to Work” experience, he was asked by his teacher to write down a description of what I do for a living. His response: “My dad staples business cards and goes to meetings.” Not exactly the spin I had in mind.

[...] fill out the PRSA form for [...]

The form restricts the creativity of suggestions. Here’s one that doesn’t quite line up with the form: “Public
relations uses the art and science of human communication to
connect provocative ideas with the right people in order to cause or prevent an
outcome.”

Public Relations is a communication bridge with clients for audiences to begin and manage a strategic dialogue for mutually beneficial long-term gains. 

Public Relations is a communication bridge for clients with audiences to begin and manage a strategic dialogue for mutually beneficial long-term gains. 

Such a challenge but it will be exciting to have a new, modern definition. 

[...] [...]

@Keith, great idea and initiative; however, I am unable to see the word cloud on my iPhone or iPad. Maybe you can switch it to HTML so it may be readable across more devices and reach a larger audience.

[...] era of public relations. It is asking professionals to submit their own idea of a new definition. Click here to take part. [...]

Public relations facilitates information sharing to influence behavior for quantifiable responses.

It’s called “Effective Public Relations” by Cutlip and Broom….might want to crack it open there PRSA….. “Public relations is classified as a management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics.” Someone must’ve slept through their lessons on relationship management theory.

Public relations aims producing hegemony, and pr do her own pr in redefining herself…. Call it pr, mutual understanting, symmetrical communication or propaganda… The job is the same but needs a little pr…

The CPRS definition was the result of an open wiki process in 2007-08 whereby the three authors of the defintion analysed the content of over 645 definitions of PR !! and arrived at key constructs that were most used to eleborate defintions. We then began to write one that captured all key constructs and concepts of over a dozen of the more popular defintions. You can view our work and debates here: http://definingpublicrelations.wikispaces.com/
We also established values that we believe were inherent to the defintion and reinfore the way public relations should be practiced as a way not to clutter the actual defintion but to complement it. You can view it here: http://www.cprs.ca/aboutus/mission.aspx. It was adopted formally by CPRS in 2008.
The three authors (Flynn, Gregory, Valin) think that it has merit to be considered as a global defintion of public relations and perhpas the time has come for that through this PRSA effort and through the Global Alliance. It is worth noting that this defintion has already been translated in four other languages by enthusiastic PR practitioners from around the world(French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian)

[...] that PRSA, along with several other industry organizations, announce they’re crowdsourcing a definition of PR. Sure, the format is a bit simplistic – fill in the blanks – but at least the [...]

Pr got to connect society. How it was said, as a “bridge” by walking across it to gain all recent and relevant information about ongoing social,
political, economic, cultural activities, considering ethics, theretrough
ensure direct and transparent media communication to guide groups’ or
individuals’ opinions, attitudes, behavior, habits towards an appointed aim. In favour of common good.

Our firm’s definition of PR is patterned after Morris and Goldsworthy’s work:

“Public relations is the practice of producing publicity
(excluding promotional materials and paid advertising, which typically
fall under the purview of Marketing); managing media relations and
communications (typically among members of the Fourth Estate); and
managing reputation.”
We chose this definition because we think it expresses what is both
essential to public relations practice, as well as what distinguishes it
from other management functions. Our definition also takes into account
what most PRs do, most of the time, in carrying out their job duties.
Additionally, our definition takes into consideration Wittgenstein’s notion of “meaning as use”; a concept’s definition is constrained by how it is used in general parlance.
For example, many of the current definitions
seem to want to focus on this idea of relationship building or
relationship management. But relationship building is a necessary
management function of any business, regardless of whether the business
has a PR firm, or an in-house PR staff, or whether it even calls this
“public relations” or not. In other words, “relationship management”
does not seem to be a feature that is distinctive of public relations
because it is shared, in most organizations, by many different job
functions or departments. CxOs, HR people, sales managers, marketing
directors – all these people are involved in relationship building with
stakeholders.
Another set of definitions emphasizes “adapting an organization to
its publics”, but these don’t seem distinctive of PR, either. For
instance, under these types of definitions, when the public in question
is customers, then PR is more or less customer service – as customer
service focuses on adapting an organization’s products and services to
its customers. When the public is employees, PR would very often be
reducible to Human Resources – as HR handles adapting employees to its
organization in various ways.
If we were to use the “adapting an organization to its public” idea,
when the public is shareholders, PR is more or less investor relations,
as shareholders are investors, first and foremost. When the public is
the media (or the consumers of a particular media outlet), PR is
basically media relations. When the public is the aggregate of potential
consumers or audiences “out there”, PR can be talked about in terms of
“publicity” or “reputation management.”
In other words, to try to make PR a function of “adapting an
organization to its publics” seems to me to be a confounding and
unnecessarily confusing way of defining PR; this “adapting” is often
already done by another department or business function.
As Hegel said, “All determination implies negation.” To say what PR is requires that we say what it is not. Therefore, we choose our definition. Publicity, media relations, and reputation management: these appear to us to be the functions that are almost always done by PR people and only by PR people; this marks these functions essential to PR; without these, PR ceases to be PR. These functions are also almost never
done by any other job roles or departments; this marks them as
distinguishing characteristics of PR folks; you don’t find marketers or
CFOs or Legal or Sales primarily focusing on these functions.
Hence, we think our definition, which is a slight elaboration of Morris
and Goldsworthy’s, is solid.

Public relations - helps people communicate what (or how) they feel.

PR communicates with the stakeholders and target audiences of the organisation to understand, create and maintain the relationship between them towards to achieve the aim of the organisation.

Public relations provides appropriate communication between organizations and/or individuals to enhance information-sharing for the benefit all entities involved.

PRSA’s long overdue effort to update the definition of public relations should compel a parallel update of its Accreditation program, without which this credential fails in conveying true contemporary relevance and value as a predictive benchmark of a professional’s skills and knowledge. To start: experts in social media and measurement exist within our networks but require more emphasis in the program and its learning bibliography. Will the Universal Accreditation Board, with PRSA, at long last put this issue onto a fast-track to refresh the APR to reflect the way we communicate in 2011? I’ll raise my hand along with other colleagues from the PRSA Boston Chapter to help, much as I did a few years ago to write the first externally-directed explanation of APR that was other than ‘inside ball.’  Urgency must trump bureaucracy to make the APR more than a dated 3-hour rehash a baseline college curriculum. 

Then we can add some narrative to the Wikipedia posting and website along these lines:

Public relations practitioners are required to be astute
listeners as well as effective verbal and written communicators. They apply
research findings to proven communications activities aligned to predictive
behavioral response by the stakeholders most relevant to the organization or
cause for which they advocate. Those practitioners (aka advisors, consultants,
counselors) that elect to provide customer assurance as to their verified public
relations knowledge, ethics and skills can attain a tested professional
certification, called Accreditation, by the Public Relations Society of America,
earning the designation APR which thereafter must be maintained through
continuing education and industry service.

P.S: Agree that the ‘field’ format is very limiting. Keith, please provide and post an alternate email to which those of us who penned definition options can contribute.

Thanks for your feedback and perspective, Loring. 

As for the points you raise regarding the APR, I will direct you to address those directly with the Universal Accreditation Board, which has oversight of the APR program. PRSA, while a member of UAB, does not administer the APR program nor have managerial oversight of it; that falls to the UAB. You can address your concerns with the UAB Board via its website: http://www.praccreditation.org/index.html

Finally, regarding detailed definitions of public relations: It’s worth noting that what we are seeking through the “Public Relations Defined” initiative is a dictionary-like definition of public relations, one that is universal in its scope, but also brief in copy, as definitions are typically written in dictionaries. Certainly, there is room for more detailed definitions in textbooks and the like, but the submission field is somewhat limiting for a reason: to develop a dictionary-like definition that fits within the context of how common words and phrases are defined in dictionaries. 

Having said that, please feel free to submit more detailed definitions directly in this comments section. We will capture any and all definitions left in the comments, along with the more than 600 submissions we have received thus far via the submission field, and use that data in the deliberation of the three draft definitions that we will put up before the profession for a public vote. 

Should you like to submit anything privately, you can email me directly at keith.trivitt@prsa.org. 

Keith Trivitt
PRSA

Thanks for providing your definition, Andrea. 

Thanks for this submission, Neriman. We’ll be sure to collect it and provide it to PRSA’s Definition of Public Relations Task Force when they meet to develop three draft definitions that will then go up for public vote before the profession. 

Thanks for this detailed and thorough feedback and response, Gnosis Arts. You all have been a great contributor to the “Public Relations Defined” initiative and we greatly appreciate your feedback and support of the campaign. 

Thanks for the feedback, Darren, re viewing the word cloud on iPads and iPhones. I noticed the same on my iPhone and am working on a way to get the word clouds to show up in HTML. Stay tuned. 

Thanks, Geoffrey, for the submission. 

Don, this is a great story and perfectly exemplifies the need for a more modern and concise definition of public relations. Thanks for sharing the anecdote. 

As I note below to Loring Barnes, and have told others on Twitter and elsewhere in the blogosphere, it’s worth noting that the type of definition this initiative seeks to develop is akin to what one would find in a dictionary for most commons words and phrases. That is, concise and brief (i.e., approx. one sentence) with a prescribed sentence structure that can be universally applied. Certainly, more detailed definitions can be elaborated upon in textbooks and the like, but when one looks at definitions for other communications functions (marketing, advertising, branding, etc.), they are typically concise and fitting within the following sentence structure:

 they [DO WHAT] with/for [WHOM] to [DO WHAT] for [WHAT PURPOSE].

Two examples (from Wikipedia) that participants of the Definition of Public Relations Summit, held Sept. 29 at PRSA’s New York headquarters) used to form this submission field were marketing and advertising, which are defined as such:

“Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing)

“Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising)

Keith Trivitt
PRSA

[...] PRSA Uses Crowd Sourcing for New Definition of Public Relations By Jeannette Paladino   •  Leave a comment (function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})(); stLight.options({publisher:'9009288f-e05f-467e-9052-5719da778557'});emailDigg DiggThe old definition of public relations is out. Public Relations Society of America will adopt a new definition by the end of 2011. You can chime in with your version of PR by December 2nd at Definition of PR Submission Form. [...]

With all due respect, and for all the good that PRSA does, its current definition is obtuse. Of course, I believe that my definition is more realistic and applicable to the purpose of public relations (whether for companies, brands, politicians, causes and so forth). My definition:
“Public relations evokes a two-way conversation with target constituents, thereby influencing their opinions and subsequent behavior.” Sorry, but the purpose of any communication is to influence, persuade and get folks to act…Dan PearlmanCEOBob Wolf Partners/TPG
dpearlman@bwp-tpg.com

Dan – Thanks for sharing your definition of public relations. We’ll be sure to add this to the collection of data and feedback we have received and will be providing to PRSA’s Definition of Public Relations Task Force.

And you are quite right in your assessment of PRSA’s current definition: it is rather obtuse and vague. Perhaps, when it is was formulated and approved in 1982, that was done for a specific reason; I do not know. However, I think we can all agree that a more modern and distinct definition, befitting the modern role and value of PR, is needed. And that is exactly what the ‘Public Relations Defined’ initiative aims to achieve.

Thanks for being a part of this global initiative.

[...] the development of final three proposed definitions. So what are you waiting for? Have your say here. I’ll keep an eye on the results and will share them via my blog once they are [...]

[...] [...]

[...] deadline to submit your definition of public relations is Dec. 2, with the PRSA team collecting all of the data and [...]

My definition of PR:

A subset of marketing, public relations (PR) is the planned process of utilizing strategic communication methods to educate, inform and persuade an organization’s different stakeholders. The PR process is critical to building goodwill, managing reputation and driving business objectives.   

My definition: Public Relations develops factual, fun and unique positioning that creates awareness conveyed best by third party sources and credible stories through various communication vehicles for organizations and brands to build timely and influential relationships or communities of diverse stakeholders for mutually respectful and beneficial outcomes.

I find it very difficult to deliver a clear definition of Public Relations by filling the form. The form is giving a clear orientation of the type of definition PRSA staff is looking for. It does not allow to make a distinction between the functional definition and the academic definition of PR. It does not also help to diversify definitions approaches considering each stakeholder, each channel and each tool.
Rodrigue T. SOFFO, PRISA CPRP

My definition of Public Relations takes together (i) the critical role of interactions, perceptions and influence; (ii) the power of values, deontology and ethics; (iii) the importance of various stakeholders, relations channels and targets.
Public Relations therefore is define as the profession of those who create value and reputation through an ethical use of the confidence of various stakeholders internal to the concern organization or individual than external. 

Public relations applies stakeholder engagement as a leadership strategy, benefiting organizations and those they affect.

[...] A call for entries from both industry pros and the public has been issued and submissions are being accepted via blog online form (deadline is Friday, December 2). http://prdefinition.prsa.org [...]

“The engineering of intent” – that short enough for everybody?

…all apologies to Eddie.

Cisco’s definition of PR for @PRSA:twitter:

“Public Relations is knowing what to say; when to say it; how to say it; where to say it; whom to say it to, to promote and protect the client’s reputation.”

Full thoughts and blog here: http://blogs.cisco.com/news/ciscos-definition-of-public-relations/

My definition: “Public relations is a strategic process of communicating, engaging, and
collaborating with stakeholder communities to build relationships in an
ethical, transparent and authentic manner for the benefit of both the
organization and its stakeholders.

[...] the submission period closing at 11:59 p.m. EST Friday (Dec. 2), you have less than three days remaining to have [...]

#occupy #prdefined We, the CRITICAL and CULTURAL #PR class
of the University of Houston, have carefully negotiated a foundational
understanding of public relations as: communication that considers culture,
power, voice, activism, diversity (domestically and abroad), ethics, dialogue,
critical discourse, knowledge production, identity, and meaning-making.
#UHCougars

In theory,

Kristen Boucher, Darius Davis, Erin Jordan, Amanda Kennedy, Osama
Khalifa, Maggie Ma, Kailee Neumann, Bene Petty, Jennifer Swenson, & Dr. Jen
Vardeman-Winter (2011)
 

Public relations INFORMS with AIM to INCREASE PROFITS for CLIENT.

Public relations is the art of influencing and managing
public perception for individuals, organizations and social communities through
strategic interactive communication and relationship-building to increase
awareness and meet long-term business goals.

manners, comprehension

manners and human diversity comprehension

public relations definition should include social mores, cultural diversity comprehension.

Motivates positive communication on behalf of clients

Public relations is a strategic organizational process that develops and maintains relationships with key stakeholders that benefit both parties.

In my new
best-selling PR book, “For Immediate Release”, I begin the book with a
definition of great public relations and define it as “1. Helps
make the impersonal personal. 2. Bridges
divides.3.
Creates
excitement and builds equity for businesses, personalities, politicians, and
others. 4.
manages
crises and catastrophes.5. About
telling stories, having conversations, and making impressions. 6. Needed
by any business — or anyone with a pulse, for that matter.”

In my new
best-selling PR book, “For Immediate Release”, I begin the book with a
definition of great public relations and define it as “1. Helps
make the impersonal personal. 2. Bridges
divides.3.
Creates
excitement and builds equity for businesses, personalities, politicians, and
others. 4.
manages
crises and catastrophes.5. About
telling stories, having conversations, and making impressions. 6. Needed
by any business — or anyone with a pulse, for that matter.”

Public Relations is a pro-active positive effort to act to resolve an inherent conflict of interests between an institution/group/organization and its various publics who pull towards their own interests so as to work in the ultimate well being of individuals and human society for existence in the world in terms of economics,socialism,world view and freedom and voerall maintain individual dignity,honour in every situation of life.
Sudhakar D. Joshi 

PR is communicating a message to the public in a credible way.

I had my PR students come up with definitions. After all, they ARE the future of this industry. I then aggregated their comments into one phrase:

Public Relations is a research-based, strategic business management function that advocates for an organization in the form of relationship-building, reputation management, and continual evaluation using two-way communication via social media, print, electronic and interpersonal relationships.

Public Relations are the management function that has the objective of contributing to generate or preserve publics’ perception and regulatory conditions to make viable an organization in the middle and long term.

Juan Iramain, PhD
jiramain@gmail.com

Public Relations are the management function that has the objective of contributing to generate or preserve publics’ perception and regulatory conditions to make viable an organization in the middle and long term.

Juan Iramain, PhD
jiramain@gmail.com

[...] web page views, 900 submissions and 70 comments—it appears obvious from the current comments on PRSA’s dedicated website that there isn’t a clear consensus among the participants on the fundamental nature of the [...]

[...] [...]

[...] [...]

[...] is changing the PR industry every day, let alone in the last 30 years. PRSA is in the middle of redefining PR, which is great. But it’s not allowing for things PR professionals need to incorporate into [...]

Great. I think any definition of PR in today’s world must highlight TRUST, which encloses sustainability & good reputation. 

Moreover, including “regulatory framework” reminds everyone Public Affairs need to be developed within the PR’s best practices.

Like this definition. 

[...] in 2011, PRSA launched the “Public Relations Defined” initiative, “a collaborative, industry-wide advocacy campaign to modernize the [...]

[...] from around the world — and, to wit, every public relations professional who took the time to contribute a definition, make a comment, ask a question or write a blog post — we are moving rapidly toward a more modern [...]

I like #2 – Public relations is a strategic communication process that develops and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their key publics.  BUT ‘in an ethical manner’ should be at the end.  So it reads:

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that develops and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their key publics in an ethical manner.”

Here is my updated version:
“PR is the practice of continually developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its external and internal publics in an ethical manner.

[...] The “crowd sourcing” effort allowed anyone — PRSA members and non-members alike — to contribute ideas for what the definition should say. That effort generated 294,000 page views of the “Public Relations Defined” website; 927 definitions submitted via the form, comprising 15,688 words; and more than 80 comments, many of which offered “free-form” definitions. [...]

This definition reflects the day to day challenges we face as PR professionals in both pilars, regulation and reputation, while building company’s sustainability
Facundo Etchebehere
Facundoet@yahoo.com.ar

[...] a project that was announced |with | so | much |fanfare, was months in the making, involving 12 organizations and reviewing 1,000 [...]

[...] Apparently the Public Relations Society of America thinks so. In keeping with the spirit of the times they are crowd-sourcing the development of a new definition. You can participate here. [...]

[...] everything for the industry, the organization decided to crowdsource the new definition using a social platform to gain insight, feedback, and [...]