What is PR? What Does It Really Mean?

As anyone who works in PR will tell you, the question they get asked most frequently by people they meet when out and about is simply, “what is PR?”. If only the answer was as easy as the question.

Everyday in PR is different, and no two PR challenges are ever the same – one day we could be writing a press release or a feature; the next we could be pitching, managing a crisis, leading an event, meeting a client, directing a shoot, briefing a journalist or setting a strategy, and so the list goes on.

We put glitter into gravy, write poultry processing blueprints, appoint professional mansion testers and talk about seaweed revolutions; we take care home residents skydiving, skiing and to meet the pope; we shoot TikToks, drive whitepaper downloads and deliver sales leads. It’s hard to list all this in small talk without taking up too much airtime.

All that said, I remember, many moons ago when I was considering my future career, close to finishing university, my dad told me that I should look at PR. He felt it would suit me (and fortunately, on this one at least, he was right). Naturally, I had absolutely no idea what he meant so he explained that whereas advertising focuses on what you say about yourself, PR is about shaping what others say about you.

That was over 30 years ago and I’ve yet to find a clearer way to define PR.

Defining Public Relations

So, what does PR mean? Put simply, it stands for public relations. The CIPR defines public relations as being about reputation – the result of what you do and what you say.  It refers to PR as being the discipline that looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support, and influencing opinion and behaviour.

As investment extraordinaire Warren Buffet said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” In short, it is the job of those working in the PR industry to help brands build a robust reputation, and to make sure they don’t then ruin it.

What Do PR People DO?

As explained earlier, PR people do a lot. The industry has changed almost beyond recognition since I started out in the nineties (more on this to follow). Back then, our focus was almost solely on media relations – forging relationships with the press (all print or broadcast back then), providing reporters with stories that would paint our clients in a positive light, and dealing with situations that might position them in a less favourable way.

With news consumed almost exclusively via digital channels now, and everyone “being the media” thanks to the exponential rise of social platforms, our roles have become ever more diverse.

So, what are PRs? Well, they are public relations practitioners – but there are countless career options within that very generalist job description.

For starters, anyone considering a career in PR, will need to weigh up an in-house role versus agency life. In house, you get to work for one company/brand, and have the chance to really get under the skin of that business. Life in a PR agency will see you work across numerous businesses/brands in a fast-paced client facing role, that will (as you progress), involve having business development targets to meet too.

You can also decide whether you want to work with businesses that sell to other businesses (B2B PR), or businesses that sell to consumers (consumer PR). The former tends to suit those who have a love of writing and an ability to take in technical information and create compelling features for trade titles; the latter involves some writing but perhaps more time pitching to journalists and delivering mass media reach.

PRs can be generalist consultants or specialists, focusing on just one sector. Fashion, travel, financial, healthcare, music and tech are sectors where specialisms are common.

There is also the option to hone in on a particular skillset – crisis, event or influencer management; paid or organic social media delivery; copywriting or subediting; content creation or design for example. You could become a corporate comms specialist, guarding the reputation of PLCs among a raft of stakeholders, or become a creative director, conjuring up campaigns that will get the world talking.

There is also the role of a publicist to consider – although this has a slightly different meaning (publicists generally protect and promote artists, TV presenters, film stars and musicians).

What is the PR IndustrY?

The PR industry refers to anyone working in PR in any of the above fields or specialisms.

Research the PR industry even a little and one thing will quickly stand out to you – just how much the sector has changed in the last decade alone, thanks to the seismic impact technology has had on us all.

Reputations have become harder to manage – with the speed and visibility of reputational successes or failures amplified like never before. In the days of print media, it was often said that today’s news would be tomorrow’s chip paper. Now a bad review, or a critical article in the mainstream media (MSM), could haunt your Google footprint forever.  For better or worse, consumers can interact with a story, leaving their thoughts on the comments section, sharing on their own social channels, commenting on brand posts and tagging their friends. When a PR stunt is flying, there is no better (work) feeling than seeing your story resonate with the people you wanted to reach; when a crisis is unfolding, there is no worse (work) feeling than reading the hate that has been generated around your brand.

With publishers’ websites updated every few minutes, the appetite for news is huge. But there is immense competition too. We have to be quicker, cleverer, more creative, more mindful and more determined with each passing year. We have to move with the times – developing stories that not just the MSM will like, but will also land with the viral sharing juggernauts like Tyler and LADBible.  And we have to create packages that will work for publishers on all their channels – providing assets and headlines for their social channels, B-roll footage for their websites and static images to support the story too.

Technology has also opened a whole new world of opportunities for the sector. It has made communication between brands and their audiences instantaneous. We needed the middleman before – now we have owned social channels to have a two-way dialogue with consumers and to present our true personality. We can use PR to drive backlinks, helping clients to climb the Google rankings, and can use our content skills to improve the performance of paid campaigns.

Why is PR Important?

It seems fair to assume that if you asked business leaders whether the reputation of their brand is important, most would say that it is – which makes it surprising that many leave it to chance. A report published in 2023 by the Institute of Directors and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations found almost a fifth of businesses had no public relations support, either internally or externally.

I know I am somewhat biased but this feels terribly shortsighted – the way an organisation presents itself across both the digital and traditional media has a huge impact on how audiences view their business, which will – ultimately – influence buyer behaviour. It’s a PR person’s job to get the world talking about clients by using the vast array of tools at their fingertips to tell stories, build relationships, engage in conversations, and create shareable content that excites, entertains, inspires or educates.

From positioning businesses as thought leaders to launching products, an effective PR strategy can nurture and grow established brands or help bring new names into concentrated markets.

It’s a fantastic career and I have can safely say I have enjoyed (almost) every minute of the 25+ years I have spent working in the industry. It’s faced paced, yes, but it’s certainly never boring. And it’s different. How many people do you know who put glitter into gravy or get Pete Andre singing with a seal for a living? I am being glib – we do those things for a reason – to enhance brand reputation, resonance and visibility. What we do works, and we’ve got countless case studies to prove it. So, if you are thinking of embarking on a career in PR, I say – go for it!

The author:  Jane Ainsworth is managing director of WPR. She has more than 25 years’ experience in developing and delivering communications strategies and impactful consumer PR for brands including Dunelm, Tesco, Warner Leisure Hotels, Greene King, Alton Towers, Beaverbrooks and Oxfam.