Public Relations Defined campaign emerges with winning description of the sector
The Public Relations Defined campaign,led by the Public Relations Society of America and incorporating 12 global partners, has revealed the winning description of the PR sector, following a public vote.
This follows /opinion/2012/02/06/why-modernise-definition-pr-prca-chair-corbett-explains">Gerard Corbett from the PRSA saying
The chosen definition, which received 46.4% of the vote, with 671 votes, was: “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”
“Public relations is the strategic process of engagement between organizations and publics to achieve mutual understanding and realize goals.” came second with 30.1%.
“Public relations is the management function of researching, communicating and collaborating with publics to build mutually beneficial relationships.” came in third out of the three definitions with 23.6% of the vote.
There were 927 definitions submitted to describe the sector, but these three were chosen as the finalists, with the public given two weeks in February to choose their favourite.
UPDATED: Jane Wilson, CIPR CEO said: “I‘d like to congratulate PRSA for their efforts in getting the public relations community engaged and talking in an open and collaborative way. One of the things that characterises this profession is the wealth and variety of the roles we undertake which creates a vast range of different understandings about the nature of public relations. Our own research has highlighted the need for a better definition of the discipline in order for the profession to continue to secure a successful future. However, one size may never fit all and this is a debate that will continue even beyond the publication of this new definition.”