How I would define: "Public Relations."
From my vantage point, Public Relations can be defined as how a company/organization relates to the public. This could be customers, consumers, shareholders, local community members or other external partners. Public Relations is all about forging an effective relationship with the outside public, promoting and portraying the company in a "positive light" toward its stakeholders.
Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defines Public Relations as:
"Strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics."
The certain words or phrases often used synonymously with Public Relations are often "public affairs," "strategic communications," or "corporate communications." The different vibes these terms carry still hold similar meanings.
Public Relations functions as a means for the company to achieve effective communication with stakeholders, influence the public and change perceptions and solve problems within the organization. It also involves influencing, engaging and building a relationship relying heavily on building trust and establishing a good rapport with consumers, clients, donors. Overseeing and monitoring what messages a company would prefer to have sent out to their followers and stakeholders via media platforms.
PR also includes influencing, engaging and building trust with stakeholders which can be done across numerous platforms - whether they be digital platforms like social media communications, television or radio broadcasts, billboards, media news articles.
PR Week explains on their website the many different functions that are included with PR:
Media, Relations, Content creation, executive communications and more. This includes analyzing, interpreting public opinions or attitudes that might have an impact. Advisement regarding company policy decisions, communication decisions -- this can include crisis communication, corporate communication, executive communication, media relations, content creation, event coordination, social media management, multimedia, protecting the organization's reputation and overall mission. Researching and evaluating action strategies of public information necessary to the success of an organization's aims.
Public Relations also includes: marketing, financial, fundraising, employee, community or government relations and other programs, influencing/changing public policy, overseeing content creation across platforms that would help drive customer engagement
PR often uses leadership strategies such as securing speaking engagements, publishing press releases or op-eds, even booking podcast appearances. Other tactics focus on building relationships with journalists to secure news stories (PRWeek, 2024).
Harvard University provides a list on their website of the necessary skills required for effective Public Relations, which include: getting comfortable with data and reading analytics and how they can be interpreted as well as learning how to code - which I found fascinating because I am not very skilled in coding, part of me is confused on how it would be a necessary skill for Public Relations.
Some of the most effective skills PR Professionals use are: strategic storytelling, crisis management and data analytics. Other key steps in PR would include two-way symmetrical communication where organizations can actively listen to feedback from the public and make changes regarding their input (PRWeek, 2024).
A good P.R. campaign I researched that I found was successful was the KFC "FCK" apology campaign, when KFC initially opened in the UK selling out and depleting most of their chicken supply chain. The campaign was successful through their ad publishing of an empty bucket with the letters rearranged to spell FCK, paired with a sincere apology that acknowledged the situation. By laughing at themselves and owning their mistake, they were able to appease angry customers.
The major players in Public Relations would be the larger, professional organizations like Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and Institute for Public Relations (IPR), they both shape the format of Public Relations through a partnership. PRSA shapes behaviors and ethical standards of individual PR practitioners, while IPR shapes the more data aspect and methods.
REFERENCES
Harvard University (2025). Top Skills Every PR Professional Should Have.
PRWeek Staff (2024). PR 101: What is public relations?
Public Relations Society of America (2026). About Public Relations. PRSA.
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