📚 Lecture 1 – Public Relations and Reputation Management
🔸 1. What is Public Relations (PR)?
Let’s break it down:
● “Public” = the people or groups a company communicates with (e.g. customers,
media, employees, NGOs).
● “Relations” = the relationship or connection with those people.
➤ So, Public Relations means:
How a company manages its relationship with different people in
society, especially through communication.
🔸 2. Definitions of PR (from different experts)
Let’s look at a few definitions to understand the different ways we can think about PR:
● Grunig: PR is managing communication in a way that negotiates different points
🟢
of view.
Example: A company talking to environmental activists and trying to find
common ground.
● Cutlip: PR is about building mutual understanding between a company and the
🟢
public.
Example: A fashion brand explains its sustainable practices to win trust.
● Gordon: PR is about creating relationships to communicate something important
🟢
(about a product, issue, or person).
Example: A celebrity using PR to improve their public image after a scandal.
, ● Cornelissen (2017): PR helps protect a company’s reputation and builds
🟢
mutual understanding.
Example: A brand like Nike using PR to show its support for social justice
movements.
🔸 3. What is Reputation?
Your reputation is how others view you – good or bad.
In business, reputation is how customers, employees, investors, and society feel about
a company.
✅ A good reputation means:
● High-quality products
● Innovation
● Responsible behavior
● Good treatment of employees
● Being ethical
🔴 A bad reputation can lead to:
● Loss of trust
● Fewer customers
● Negative media attention
🔸 4. What is Corporate Communication?
This is the umbrella under which all company communication happens – both inside
(with employees) and outside (with customers, media, government).
,🎯 The goal: build a strong, positive image and connect well with all groups that
matter to the company.
🔸 5. A Short History of PR
🏛 Before 1900s
PR existed even in ancient times. Governments used it to promote wars or political
🟢
goals.
Example: Posters during wars encouraging people to join the army.
📣 The 1900s: The Birth of Modern PR
This is where Edward Bernays comes in — known as the father of PR.
Fun fact: He was Sigmund Freud’s nephew and used psychology to shape public
opinion.
🥓 Bernays’ First Big Campaign: “Bacon & Eggs”
● The Beechnut Packing Company wanted to sell more bacon.
● Bernays asked doctors: "Is a hearty breakfast healthy?"
● Most said yes.
● He used these results in media to say: “Doctors recommend bacon and eggs!”
● Soon, bacon and eggs became the typical American breakfast.
🟢 Takeaway: Bernays used expert opinion to change habits of a whole nation.
🚬 Bernays’ Famous PR Stunt: “Torches of Liberty”
At the time, women did not smoke in public — it was considered “unladylike.”
● Bernays was hired by the American Tobacco Company to break this taboo.
, ● He invited young women (NYC debutantes) to march in the Easter Parade
holding lit cigarettes.
● He told the press: “These are torches of liberty! A symbol of women’s freedom!”
● Media covered the story everywhere. It became a feminist moment — and sales
went up.
🟢 Takeaway: He turned a cigarette into a symbol of independence by using PR +
media + social meaning.
🔸 6. How PR Evolved Over Time
📈 1980s – Professionalization
● Companies started seeing PR as important for the whole business.
● But: stakeholders were still not involved, only top-down communication.
🧠 1990s – Strategic Positioning
● PR became a branding tool.
● Companies shaped how people saw them.
● Still, the public was passive (just receivers of messages).
🌐 2000s – Stakeholder Engagement
● Social media changed everything.
● Stakeholders (customers, NGOs, influencers) now talk back to companies.
● PR became more of a dialogue than a monologue.
🟢 Example: A clothing brand responds to criticism on Instagram and changes its
production.
🔸 1. What is Public Relations (PR)?
Let’s break it down:
● “Public” = the people or groups a company communicates with (e.g. customers,
media, employees, NGOs).
● “Relations” = the relationship or connection with those people.
➤ So, Public Relations means:
How a company manages its relationship with different people in
society, especially through communication.
🔸 2. Definitions of PR (from different experts)
Let’s look at a few definitions to understand the different ways we can think about PR:
● Grunig: PR is managing communication in a way that negotiates different points
🟢
of view.
Example: A company talking to environmental activists and trying to find
common ground.
● Cutlip: PR is about building mutual understanding between a company and the
🟢
public.
Example: A fashion brand explains its sustainable practices to win trust.
● Gordon: PR is about creating relationships to communicate something important
🟢
(about a product, issue, or person).
Example: A celebrity using PR to improve their public image after a scandal.
, ● Cornelissen (2017): PR helps protect a company’s reputation and builds
🟢
mutual understanding.
Example: A brand like Nike using PR to show its support for social justice
movements.
🔸 3. What is Reputation?
Your reputation is how others view you – good or bad.
In business, reputation is how customers, employees, investors, and society feel about
a company.
✅ A good reputation means:
● High-quality products
● Innovation
● Responsible behavior
● Good treatment of employees
● Being ethical
🔴 A bad reputation can lead to:
● Loss of trust
● Fewer customers
● Negative media attention
🔸 4. What is Corporate Communication?
This is the umbrella under which all company communication happens – both inside
(with employees) and outside (with customers, media, government).
,🎯 The goal: build a strong, positive image and connect well with all groups that
matter to the company.
🔸 5. A Short History of PR
🏛 Before 1900s
PR existed even in ancient times. Governments used it to promote wars or political
🟢
goals.
Example: Posters during wars encouraging people to join the army.
📣 The 1900s: The Birth of Modern PR
This is where Edward Bernays comes in — known as the father of PR.
Fun fact: He was Sigmund Freud’s nephew and used psychology to shape public
opinion.
🥓 Bernays’ First Big Campaign: “Bacon & Eggs”
● The Beechnut Packing Company wanted to sell more bacon.
● Bernays asked doctors: "Is a hearty breakfast healthy?"
● Most said yes.
● He used these results in media to say: “Doctors recommend bacon and eggs!”
● Soon, bacon and eggs became the typical American breakfast.
🟢 Takeaway: Bernays used expert opinion to change habits of a whole nation.
🚬 Bernays’ Famous PR Stunt: “Torches of Liberty”
At the time, women did not smoke in public — it was considered “unladylike.”
● Bernays was hired by the American Tobacco Company to break this taboo.
, ● He invited young women (NYC debutantes) to march in the Easter Parade
holding lit cigarettes.
● He told the press: “These are torches of liberty! A symbol of women’s freedom!”
● Media covered the story everywhere. It became a feminist moment — and sales
went up.
🟢 Takeaway: He turned a cigarette into a symbol of independence by using PR +
media + social meaning.
🔸 6. How PR Evolved Over Time
📈 1980s – Professionalization
● Companies started seeing PR as important for the whole business.
● But: stakeholders were still not involved, only top-down communication.
🧠 1990s – Strategic Positioning
● PR became a branding tool.
● Companies shaped how people saw them.
● Still, the public was passive (just receivers of messages).
🌐 2000s – Stakeholder Engagement
● Social media changed everything.
● Stakeholders (customers, NGOs, influencers) now talk back to companies.
● PR became more of a dialogue than a monologue.
🟢 Example: A clothing brand responds to criticism on Instagram and changes its
production.
