IT can be said that the practice of public relations is one of the oldest in the world. Although it was not until the early 1900s when systematic and organized PR was said to have begun, leaders, kings and monarchs have been employing ways to communicate with their constitutents since the ancient times.
Stone tablets found in Iraq promoting the use of more advanced agriculture practices. Giant pyramids that proclaimed the divinity of their leaders. Sophists who were said to influence the thinking of the masses. Poems, songs and tales that extolled the military successes of warriors. These are the predecessors of today’s PR materials and tools.
Obviously, the tools, methods and mediums employed by PR practitioners have changed so much through the years. From the standard tri-media that modern PR practitioners previously relied on, the channels that are at the disposal of techno-savvy PR practitioners today are dizziyingly numerous and diverse—mobile apps, online forums, chat groups, online communities, blogs, e-mail newsletters, on top of social-media platforms and news portals, among so many other possible digital communication tools.
Because of the tremendous impact of technology on PR and communication which spawned the global epidemic of fake news, the International Public Relations Association (Ipra), a London-based global organization of senior PR practitioners, deemed it necessary to work on creating a new definition of PR. It took the organization months of debates, discussions and deliberation to arrive at the new definition which took into consideration Ipra’s values of trust and ethics.
The 30-word definition reads: Public relations is a decision-making management practice tasked with building relationships and interests between organizations and their publics based on the delivery of information through trusted and ethical communication methods.
Chairman of the group charged with formulating this definition and Ipra Board Member Alain Grossbard from Australia, explains: “First, we wanted to have a short definition that said: What is PR? Why do we do it? And how do we do it? Then conscious of our heritage based on the Ipra code, and of a world today imperiled with fake news, we wanted to say something more. This is how Ipra members do PR, and how we think the world should do PR. That is PR based on trust and ethics.”
The definition, adopted by the Ipra Board at its recent meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, is definitely not the last word, as far as the organization is concerned. Svetlana Stavreva, Ipra president, continues: “Practitioners and academics have been defining PR for decades. Seminars have been dedicated to it. Ipra humbly offers our definition as we see it today. All feedback is welcome.”
Indeed, all feedback is welcome. I enjoin my fellow PR practitioners to take time to look at their current practice, reflect on what has been going on in the local setting and share insights based on their experiences.
Ipra was established in 1955 and is the leading global network for PR professionals in their personal capacity. Ipra aims to advance trusted communication and the ethical practice of public relations. We do this through networking, our code of conduct and intellectual leadership of the profession. Ipra is the organizer of the public relations annual global competition, the Golden World Awards for Excellence.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based Ipra, the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Edd Fuentes is the president and CEO of Fuentes Manila and global board member of the Ipra representing South Asia.
Image credits: Bakhtiar Zein | Dreamstime.com
3 comments
This is very fascinating, You are an overly professional blogger.
I’ve joined your feed and look ahead to in the hunt for extra of your wonderful post.
Additionally, I’ve shared your web site in my
social networks
Our florists are fluent in the language of flowers.
This association of flowers is simply beautiful.