If there is one thing public relations professionals enjoy, it is engaging in a spirited debate; none more so than the future of our profession. That was evident in the overwhelming response we received for the “Public Relations Defined” initiative during the initial public submission phase.
Because of that unprecedented response and interest, PRSA’s Definition of Public Relations Task Force is taking additional time to analyze the data collected. We are also providing more time for our 12 global partners to offer their feedback.
As such, three candidate definitions will now be posted on the PRSA website for a public vote in early- to mid-January. At that time, we will make an announcement to invite you to vote for the new definition of public relations.
We hope to announce the results of the votes and the new definition in late-January. This should allow for greater exposure for the new definition, befitting its significance to the future of the profession.
To give you sense of the level of interest in the initiative, below are some data points from the two-week submission period that ended Dec. 2:
- 927 submissions, comprising 15,688 words.
- 80+ comments left on PRDefinition.PRSA.org and other PRSA blogs.
- 18,000+ page views of “Public Relations Defined” website.
- 15 trade and business media articles.
- Endorsement from PRWeek Editor-in-Chief Danny Rogers.
- More than three dozen blog posts written about the initiative.
Top-20 Submitted Words:
- “organization” (present in 409 submissions
- “public” (387)
- “communication” (292)
- “relationship(s)” (271)
- “stakeholders” (176)
- “create” (175)
- “mutual” (164)
- “understand” (159)
- “build” (159)
- “audiences” (154)
- “inform” (151)
- “management” (129)
- “brand” (124)
- “company” (120)
- “business” (119)
- “people” (107)
- “engages” (97)
- “client” (94)
- “awareness” (93)
- “benefit” (84)
To ensure your voice is heard throughout this process, please continue to leave your comments below, write us at prsay@prsa.org or Tweet about the initiative using the hashtag #PRDefined.
Your support of the #PRDefined initiative has been vital to its great success, and all of us at PRSA, along with our allied partners, are grateful for your feedback and contributions.
