On March 2, 2012, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) announced a new, updated definition of public relations.
After a five-month campaign, aptly named “PR Defined,” which included hundreds of submissions, abundant commentary and nearly a year of research that ended with 1,447 votes during an official voting period on February 13-26, the professional verdict for the modern definition of PR is:
“Public Relations is a strategic communications process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”
A complete scope of the national PR Defined campaign can be found online at PRDefined Resources Page.
This took five months. Really?
Of course when any ‘change’ is implemented, there is always some push-back to be expected. Dissenters of the new definition vocalized their views throughout the campaign. The amplified criticism was loud enough to elicit the following response from Corbett and published in The New York Times:
“Like beauty, the definition of ‘public relations’ is in the eye of the beholder.”
At APR, we believe the new definition is truly just a starting point for an important ongoing conversation between two key parties – our team and our clients. Effective PR today is not about giving ROI’s anymore. It’s about setting realistic Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and hearing what the customer wants in order to help them best. At APR we know that there was a reason why God gave us TWO ears and ONE mouth….so we can listen more than talk! After we listen, then we strategize for best results. What a concept!
We are a part of the future movement to insure PR professionals are viewed as invaluable strategic partners with any business. It’s why smart clients hire us. APR will continue to mold and change to adopt to our clients. What a fun ride!!!
