Last week, the PRSA wrapped up an early collaborative stage of a joint campaign to define the term public relations. I was curious as to the number of submissions for the definition and heard back from Keith Trivitt, PRSA's Associate Director of PR. He responded via Twitter, "927, my friend, for a combined 4,000 lines of data and approx. 16,000 submitted words. We're analyzing the data now."
These are fantastic numbers for the 12-day submission campaign but it's just the beginning. Up next is a process to create the three draft definitions from the PRSA Definition of Public Relations Task Force followed by another round of online responses through a 10-day vote for the top definition on the PRSA website.
Why this is a win: In addition to establishing a concise PR definition, the public relations industry benefits from the ongoing internal discussion about our roles as strategic communicators.
Win No. 2
Businessweek posted an article earlier with some great news for the PR industry, "Public Relations: Coming to a B-School Near You." This is from another solid example of advocacy and research from PRSA's Business Case for Public Relations:
"PRSA surveyed 204 American business leaders in the fall of 2011 to ascertain their thoughts on how well MBA candidates understand the strategic business value and tools of public relations. The survey also looked into the role public relations and reputation management play in modern business leadership and whether business leaders felt that MBA programs were effectively teaching these skills."Why this is a win: Having business schools create MBA curricula with serious emphasis on reputation management and strategic communication crystallizes further external understanding and appreciation of and credibility for public relations by business leaders.
