Matthew Lowman
PRL 206
Professor Caroline Reff
27 March 2024
PR Industry Paper
Introduction
Public relations is the practice of strategic public communications processes that build mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. The theory of public relations has been around for centuries, but its practical use and profession is a more recent invention. To better understand public relations as an industry and profession, I will outline its influences on my life, evolution throughout history and practical usage as described by a PR professional.
The influences of public relations on your life
In my life, I have often been influenced by public relations when choosing what product to use, who to vote for and what companies to trust. The company Lego in a PR campaign reached out to consumers on how to be more inclusive and put their requests into action to support diversity in their products. This campaign meant a lot to me and inspired me to go out of my way and buy their products as it showed a big company that was dedicated to representing diversity. PR shapes how I vote, during the last election for the state of Maryland, I chose Governor Wes Moore as my governor. His campaign connected with me as he was young and in touch with the problems that are facing the areas where I live, unlike the other candidates. Finally, PR helps me put my trust in certain companies as sites like X and Facebook have had major PR problems. Both companies have had serious government inspections and have shown through their bad PR work that they don’t support my political beliefs or my privacy rights
The properties of PR that are the most effective are writing and social media creativity. Strong writing is one of the most effective properties in PR and is imperative for someone who wants to be of value in the industry. If one’s writing is strong, clear, concise and flawless then you can convey your stories to the public. Public relations and social media go hand and hand as it is used to quickly release news about an organization to a large public. To succeed in PR, one must be versed in social media but also creative enough to put out the message in a compelling way that grows the brand. Personally, my writing skills and thick skin are my strongest assets that can help me in PR. My abilities as a storyteller will help me be successful as a writer and enable me to tell compelling narratives. I also believe my thick skin and ability to take criticism will improve my work and greatly enhance my ability to be successful in an industry that is often stressful and rigorous. I believe my weakest skill that is involved in public relations would be my networking capabilities. I am new to networking through LinkedIn and other connection sites as I am more used to in-person interaction. I know this will be difficult in the early stages of my career, but I believe that with practice and experience, I can improve my skills and make this weakness a strength.
Evolution of PR
Public Relations as a practice has its roots in the late 19th and early 20th century with the promotion of the railroads and the creation of the publicity stunt by P.T. Barnum. Public relations as a profession would grow with Edward Bernays and Ivy Lee whose contributions to PR with psychology and counseling were vital in its growth as a profession. “Through the work of these and other trailblazers, PR professionals began to take on major social and critical business challenges” (Page & Parnell, 2020, 31). Important cases like the Tylenol cyanide case and the invention of the agency system would propel PR to be powerful and important industry we know today. The late 20th century would bring about globalization and the internet both that would drastically change the profession of PR. The interconnectedness of the world through media removed many of the roles that had existed previously in public relations as information grew more accessible and free-flowing. The days of simple news releases to journalists as a job for PR professionals were gone, forcing PR professionals to evolve. Increasingly social media, advertising and brand campaigns are infused into the responsibilities that many PR professionals need to specialize in for their clients.
Spotify is a brand that has adapted to the evolution of PR and benefitted greatly from this need for creativity to expand their brand. Rex Harlow defines PR saying, “Public relations establishes and maintains communication, understanding, acceptance and cooperation between an organization and the public” (Page & Parnell, 2020,6). Spotify uses this definition by actively listening to user’s listening preferences to create a connection between the company and its public. Spotify’s wrapped campaign is a great example of this definition and the new creative evolution that PR has taken on. The campaign occurs every year with users being given their top-viewed songs, artists, and playlists. The campaign encourages the sharing of one’s music choices with themes and a creatively packed app attachment to keep users engaged. This year, the brand went further with this campaign, incorporating artist messages, billboards and easter eggs to create a feeling of inclusivity with the Spotify brand. In 2024, almost 60 million people shared their Spotify Wrapped promoting the Spotify brand through the creative innovation of the PR campaign. PR professionals from companies like Spotify have shown that the industry is still very resilient to the evolving industry. The future of PR will call on professionals to evolve and innovate on projects like wrapped, which will open the door for new opportunities in the industry. PR professionals will have the opportunity to broaden into new avenues like social media management, marketing and content creation. In the future, I believe that PR campaign and crisis managers will be given even more opportunities to market their brands as the world grows more interconnected.
Interview a PR professional
I had the opportunity to interview Rachel Richards who is the public relations coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. Rachel attended Syracuse University in 2018 and graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s in communications. At Syracuse, Rachel worked in a variety of different PR jobs from corporate internships to SU athletics, which helped her discover her passion for sports PR. After graduating in 2022, Rachel went on to work as a public relations intern for the Houston Texans. In September 2023, she took a job with the Baltimore Ravens as their public relations coordinator and is entering her second season with the organization. Her responsibility as the public relations coordinator is to be the liaison between the team and the public through the media. She has a variety of jobs from coordinating interviews with players, writing press releases, putting out stat packages and working with the marketing team. Rachel states that the job involves lots of media participation and networking to support the Ravens brand. An important part of her job is building trust between the media and players while dealing with the external media that is constantly surrounding the team.
Rachel explained that sports PR is a very fast-paced industry that requires you to be prepared and proactive. Every week there is constant news and games that can negatively or positively impact the team, so as the PR coordinator for the team she must be prepared for any possibility. Rachel stated that in sports PR you must be skillful in managing your time and solving day-to-day problems. Rachel mentioned that you must be experienced in networking and communicating with media and members of the team as it is vital to the success of the organization. Rachel states that she loves her job and role in the organization as she loves football so to work in the industry and get paid for it is a dream. She enjoys having a connection with many different parts of the organization whether it be marketing, players and more. She finds it very rewarding to work with sports writers and build connections with people inside and outside of the organization. Rachel explained that working in sports PR is very difficult but fulfilling when one works hard. When asked if she had any advice for someone working in sports PR, Rachel told me that “Every experience is a good experience” Richards, R (2024). Our talk was very helpful in showing me what it takes to work in sports PR, while at the same time learning about the positives and negatives of the industry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, public relations is a strategic system of communication that builds trust with organizations and people. Public relations’ impact on human history and ways of thinking cannot be understated. With the advancements in technology, public relations will continue to evolve calling on creative and innovative minds to continue pushing the industry to be the best it can be.
Works Cited
Page, J. T., & Parnell, L. J. (2020). Introduction to Public Relations: Strategic, Digital, and Socially Responsible Communication (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Ehlers, K. (2022, February 24). The Evolution Of PR As We Know It. Forbes.com. Retrieved March 20, 2024, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2022/02/24/the-evolution-of-pr-as-we-know-it/?sh=68552c485737
Sanchez, S. (2023, November 29). Spotify Wrapped 2023 celebrates real moments with real music. PRweek.com. Retrieved March 20, 2024, from https://www.prweek.com/article/1849451/spotify-wrapped-2023-celebrates-real-moments-real-music
Richards, R. (2024). Public Relations Coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. Rach.Richards@ravens.nfl.net. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-richards-64ab02192/
