COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
PR is more than 100 years old.
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Ancient Beginnings
•Promotion of government
•Opinion leaders, public speeches,
visual communication, publicity, events
•Rosetta Stone
•Olympic Games
•Julius Caesar- “acta diurna”
•Pope Urban II
• “Propaganda”
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Colonial America
• American
revolution
support
• Thomas Paine
• Boston Tea
Party
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Politics and Activism
• Glowing articles sent to newspapers
• Rise of public opinion
• Newspaper reprints as ads
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Barnum
• Phineas T. Barnum
• Showman
• “Pseudoevent”
• Exaggeration
• Third party
endorsements
• Donating to charity
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Henry Ford
• First major industrialist
• 2 basic PR concepts:1. Positioning
2. Accessibility
• Press Sneak Peak
• Popular Persona
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Modern PR
• First agency= Publicity bureau
• 1900’s
• Business leaders and politics
• Ivy Ledbetter Lee
• Edward Bernays
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Remember Lee:
• Business should align with public interest
• Support from management
• Open communication with media
• Bring PR to all business levels
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Edward Bernays
Video Time!
• Father of PR
• Famous for messages and perception
• Scientific persuasion and psychology
• Listening
• “Big Idea”
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Postwar PR
• PR departments emerged
• Increase in government PR staff
• TV created a new challenge
• Mass media
• Increase in urban and suburban population
• Public opinion started to matter
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Classic PR Models
1. Press Agent/Publicity
2. Public Information
3. Two Way asymmetric (Bernays)
4. Two way symmetric (main modern model of relationship building)
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Famous PR Campaigns
Civil Rights
Seat Belt
Starkist Tuna
Tylenol
Macy’s Parade
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
PR Philosophy
“Shift from press agentry
to persuasive, targeted
communication.”
• Reputation management
emerged in the 1990’s
(Conflict management and
crisis management)
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
Current PR Theory and
Techniques
• PR profs should have their pulse on the news and publics
• Enhance CSR
• Monitor communication
• Build a community
COMM 2337
PR
HistoryClass 6
Fall 2011
@AndreaGenevieve
New PR History
For next class, research and find a recent event in PR history and blog about it.
This must be from 2009 to present.