Riley Ersek Public relation professionals have their foot in almost every industry. From sports to entertainment to world wide corporations and even to the booming professional video game world, public relations is a vital part to each business model. Public relations help a business to brand itself and expand from regionally to nationally and eventually, go global. PR can make or break a company but it can also save a company when facing backlash by crisis management. So how did this important aspect of businesses come to be?
The idea of communications dates back to the beginning of time. However, public relations is defined as a newer profession and is only growing because the social media age. Ivy Lee is considered to be the father of modern public relations. Lee was a journalist in the early 1900’s when he came into a partnership advising the Rockefeller family and their businesses. The Rockefeller family faced backlash for the treatment of coal miners during a strike. Their adviser Ivy Lee decided that in order to regain a positive image in the public eye, they should go to the mines and interact with the miners. This quick thinking solution to a crisis showed the need for a public relations advisor to keep brand positivity.
Another early account of public relations is by Edward Bernays. Bernays noticed how propaganda used by governments during World War II was extremely effective in using psychological techniques to persuade civilians. He proposed that corporations and businesses instill this same technique in a more subtle form. Bernays developed a large portion of the theory in public relations and set the precedent for public relations strategists.
Over the next couple decades public relations flourished and became an integral part to businesses. However, the age of social media expanded the industry and took public relations to a necessity. As more and more social media sites came to be, companies were able to expand their brand and increase the impressions they make on the internet.
Now, here we are in 2020 and we see an increased need for public relations and how important it is to maintain a good image in the public eye. Social media while a blessing is also a curse and when a company faces backlash then it is thrown across the Internet and calls for a crisis management specialist immediately. Public relations has come a long ways since its early days but to this day we still see the ideas and the theories that both Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays implemented.