Thank you for visiting the “Public Relations Defined” website. This site chronicles the Public Relations Society of America-led industry-wide advocacy campaign to modernize the definition of public relations. The majority of the campaign took place from November 2011–March 2012. The campaign is ongoing, however, allowing for continued dialogue within the profession about the modern role and scope of public relations.

Following 1,447 votes, hundreds of submissions, abundant commentary and nearly a year of research, PRSA announced March 2, 2012, the winning modern definition of public relations. Based on a public vote, held Feb. 13–26, of three candidate definitions, the profession’s choice for the modern definition of PR is:

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

Below is a compendium of resources outlining the scope of the campaign. More information can be found by checking out the PRDefined Resources page or by emailing PR@prsa.org.

• The New York Times: Public Relations Defined, After an Energetic Public Discussion (March 2, 2012)
• PRSAY: A Modern Definition of Public Relations (March 2, 2012)
• Public Relations Defined: Our Teachable Moment (Feb. 23, 2012)

• Final Candidates for a Modern Definition of Public Relations (Feb. 13, 2012)
• Op-Ed: Why We Are Modernizing the Definition of PR (Feb. 6, 2012)
• Candidates for a Modern Definition of Public Relations (Jan. 11, 2012)
• New Year, Modified Direction for #PRDefined (Jan. 10, 2012)
• Snapshot: #PRDefined Word Cloud — Day 12 (Dec. 2, 2011)
• Submissions Open for ‘Public Relations Defined’ Initiative (Nov. 21, 2011)
• The New York Times: Redefining Public Relations in the Age of Social Media (Nov. 21, 2011)
• PRWeek: Danny Rogers: The Search For A Fresh Definition of PR” (Nov. 25, 2011)

Continue reading " Public Relations Defined: A Modern Definition for the New Era of Public Relations "

Thanks for taking a moment to check in on the “Public Relations Defined” initiative. After three months of submissions, comments, deliberation and voting, the big moment is almost here: the unveiling of a new, modern definition of public relations.

The public voting period for the three candidate definitions ran from Feb. 13-26, 2012, and the votes are currently being tallied. We anticipate announcing the winning definition, as based on the profession’s vote, the week of Feb. 27, 2012.

The unveiling of the winning definition will be accompanied by the publication of the quantitative and qualitative data collected throughout this initiative, including the comments, suggestions and other feedback received outside the submission form, and during the public comment period. With our partners’ permission, we’ll publish the summit notes and the emails they sent with their feedback on the process and the definitions. If you have questions about the data, or the process, or what we were intending to achieve through this process, we’ll answer them.

We’ll also publish and promote guest posts from anyone who has something to say on the subject, from those who have conducted their own research to those who have process suggestions to those who simply feel they have a better definition to offer.

Be sure to check this space regularly this week to find out the winning modern definition of public relations, as based on the profession’s vote.

In the meantime, catch up on what has taken place during this three-month global initiative:

• Public Relations Defined: Our Teachable Moment (Feb. 23, 2012)
• Final Candidates for a Modern Definition of Public Relations (Feb. 13, 2012)
• Op-Ed: Why We Are Modernizing the Definition of PR (Feb. 6, 2012)
• Candidates for a Modern Definition of Public Relations (Jan. 11, 2012)
• New Year, Modified Direction for #PRDefined (Jan. 10, 2012)
• Snapshot: #PRDefined Word Cloud — Day 12 (Dec. 2, 2011)
• Submissions Open for ‘Public Relations Defined’ Initiative (Nov. 21, 2011)
• NYTimes: Redefining Public Relations in the Age of Social Media (Nov. 21, 2011)
• PRWeek: Danny Rogers: The Search For A Fresh Definition of PR” (Nov. 25, 2011)

Continue reading " #PRDefined Update: Winning Definition Coming Soon! "

Thanks for taking a moment to check in on the “Public Relations Defined” initiative. After three months of submissions, comments and deliberation, the big moment is almost here: the unveiling of the finalists and the public vote for a modern definition of public relations.

The public voting period will launch at 9 a.m. EST Monday, Feb. 13, 2012. So check back here Feb. 13 for information on the final candidate definitions and how to vote. It’s your definition, so be sure you add your voice by voting.

In the meantime, catch up on what has taken place during this three-month global initiative:

• Op-Ed: Why We Are Modernizing the Definition of PR (Feb. 6, 2012)
• Candidates for a Modern Definition of Public Relations (Jan. 11, 2012)
• New Year, Modified Direction for #PRDefined (Jan. 10, 2012)
• Snapshot: #PRDefined Word Cloud — Day 12 (Dec. 2, 2011)
• Submissions Open for ‘Public Relations Defined’ Initiative (Nov. 21, 2011)
• NYT: Redefining Public Relations in the Age of Social Media (Nov. 21, 2011)
• PRWeek: Danny Rogers: The Search For A Fresh Definition of PR” (Nov. 25, 2011)

Continue reading " #PRDefined Update: Public Vote Opens Feb. 13 "

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) writes in a Feb. 6, 2012, op-ed in The Drum about why it is leading an international campaign to modernize the definition of public relations. PRSA Chair and CEO Gerard F. Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA, says in the opinion piece that the public relations profession has failed to adequately define its work, which has caused confusion about public relations’ role and value. He goes on to say that this has created a “PR challenge” for the profession, which PRSA’s “Public Relations Defined” campaign is out to change by “engendering a dialogue and debate about what public relations is, what practitioners do, how we do it and who benefits from our services.”

Continue reading " Why We Are Modernizing the Definition of Public Relations "

After more than 900 submissions, 70 comments and 16,000-plus page views, it comes down to this: the final snapshot word cloud of the “Public Relations Defined” initiative. While submissions are still being accepted through 11:50 p.m. EST today (Friday, Dec. 2), we wanted to provide a glimpse of what your hard work in submitting modern definitions of public relations has produced — at least in terms of the raw data.

Keep in mind that what you see below doesn’t necessarily reflect the words that will comprise the three draft definitions that the PRSA Definition of Public Relations Task Force will develop the week of Dec. 5. They merely represent the 20 most popular words submitted across all four boxes of the definition submission field.

PRSA’s Definition of Public Relations Task Force will objectively analyze all of the submissions, along with blog posts, comments and all other submitted content. Task Force member will then use a subjective consultation process to develop three definitions from the data. Those draft definitions will go up for a public vote, for a period of 10 days, on the PRSA website.

After 12 days of submissions, the following are the 20 most submitted words to the “Public Relations Defined” initiative:

• “organization” (present in 388 submissions)
• “public” (373)
• “communication” (280)
• “relationship(s)” (260)
• “stakeholders” (172)
• “create” (170)
• “mutual” (158)
• “understand” (153)
• “build” (152)
• “audiences” (147)
• “inform” (144)
• “management” (124)
• “brand” (119)
• “company” (116)
• “business” (112)
• “people” (100)
• “engages” (94)
• “client” (92)
• “awareness” (88)
• “maintain” (81)

Continue reading " Snapshot: #PRDefined Word Cloud — Day 12 "