Public Relations in the Dictionary

Public Relations

In the Dictionary of Word Origins, John Ayto describes the words public relations as follows:

Public means, etymologically, 'of the people.' It comes via Old French public from Latin publicus, an alteration apparently inspired by puber 'adult' source of English puberty) of policus "of the people" which was derived from populous "people" (source of English people, popular, etc.) Publicity was borrowed from the French derivative publicite.

Relation, is a derivative of Relate, and means something that is 'carried back to it.' The word is based on 'relates', the past participle of Latin referre "carry back, refer to."

PR is a function of relating to a company's specific relevant public sector in order to create a certain image or feeling which generates or encourages support from that sector. The website investorwords.com defines public relations as, "Efforts to establish and maintain a company's image with the public." The website bitpipe.com defines PR as simply, "The creation and maintenance of a public image or identity."

These are austere explanations in comparison to the elaborate definitions that have been developed for this wide-ranging function in our capitalistic, materialistic corporate society.

Reaching the consuming public with a company image or product message can no longer be achieved easily or inexpensively, for the most part (Switzer pg. 8).

The consumer is heavily bombarded with marketing influences through the media, including television, radio, internet, newspapers, cereal boxes, magazines, and even the cinema. Public relations experts at times have only a short few seconds to relate an image, feeling or suggestion to their audience. Not only does the company need to try to sell a product during those few seconds, but also tries to convey a company attitude or posture that creates confidence and enthusiasm in the customer. Thus, more complex definitions of public relations have taken form, such as the laborious one contained in the PRSA site:

Lest we think that we are only sold large-ticket attitudes and items through public relations efforts, I have copied and pasted the PR campaign for the new tapered, brightly colored Scotch brand tape dispensers:

Scotch Contour Dispenser: "A New Shape for Tape"

To generate high-impact media coverage for the new Scotch Contour Dispenser, Hunter Public Relations (HPR) designed, wrote and produced a creative mailer introducing the new Scotch Contour dispenser to media in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of Scotch transparent tape. HPR also secured placements on more than 40 local TV stations and created a video package for distribution to TV stations. To generate further interest, HPR conducted a radio media tour and distributed a pre-recorded news release to radio stations across the country.

To highlight the design features of the Scotch Contour Dispenser, HPR entered the dispenser into six prestigious design award competitions, and sent the dispenser to influencers in the design world, including museum curators, design storeowners and managers, and university professors of product design.

The Scotch Contour Dispenser, in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of Scotch transparent tape, resulted in more than 3,200 placements and 152 million impressions. Media highlights include: Better Homes & Gardens, Dwell, New York Magazine "Best Bets," Parents, Washington Post (syndicated), Redbook, Working Mother, Dallas Morning News, St. Petersburg Times, Family Life Radio, USA Radio, Metro Radio Networks and local TV placements in New York, Los Angeles Minneapolis, Chicago, Sacramento, San Diego and Tampa. The dispenser was also selected as a recipient of a GOOD Design Award by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.

This PR campaign - not for a new product, but for its plastic holder --features a direct mail piece, an anniversary celebration, TV advertising, a video package, a radio media tour and a pre-recorded release for play on radio stations nationwide. Further, the design of the little plastic dispenser was submitted to prestigious art design contests! (See the attached photo of this mind-boggling invention.)