I am writing from my desk with a holiday spiced coffee in hand and Santa socks up to my knees, wondering why I haven’t yet brought any Christmas decorations to my office. Looks like I need to sort my priorities a bit more this week.
With the Lubbock lights all around and Christmas in the air, not to mention all the clients trying to theme their way through their promotions this month, it’s hard not to be in the holiday spirit. Holidays make for happy thoughts and more individuals wanting to do community events or outreach. It’s a great season to be in the PR business! Lucky timing, considering…
In an age when just about every teen that has internet access is already a social media expert and big honchos are being sued for some business malfeasance or identified as power exploiters of some form or fashion, it is no wonder that PR has recently been looked over as a silly waste of money when you should really have a lawyer.
However, there is a reason that PR grew to be the industry it is today. One of those reasons is the practices of Arthur W. Page.
Page, who really started becoming a “father” to the industry in the 1920s, never considered himself a publicity man per se, but a policy man. He famously put a condition to his hire at the American Telegraph and Telephone Company. Yep, he played hard-to-get with AT&T. His condition? He need to be at the big boy’s table helping develop policies, not just communicating them after they’d been made.
Page’s career helped defined what PR is -and should be- today, and through his work was derived seven principles that outline the responsibilities of corporate PR. All this information and more can be found at www.awpagesociety.com and I encourage you to take a look.
Remember, don’t just thank history for giving us holidays that make people want to do more PR, learn about the history that first gave PR that seat at the big boy’s table for when the holiday season is over. Don’t let your CEO tell you PR isn’t necessary; instead, tell him the “P” might as well be Policy because your brand will depend on the policies you make, not just how you gain publicity for them.
If you are a student in communications or business, consider participating in the Arthur W. Page Society’s Case Study competition that happens each year. Prize money is awarded to winners! The best part: learning more about PR strategies and the policies that began it all, while delving into case first hand. Previous cases can be viewed at https://awpagesociety.com/study_competitions
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
