1) Public relations has evolved significantly over time but the basic goals and techniques used in ancient civilizations are similar to modern public relations, including using art, speeches, and staged events to influence people and spread messages. 2) Early examples of public relations included the Rosetta Stone which promoted the pharaoh's accomplishments and Julius Caesar who wrote compelling accounts of his military victories to promote his political ambitions. 3) Public relations developed in other countries throughout the 19th century, often driven by large companies and governments looking to communicate their messages, and professional public relations associations began forming in the early 20th century.

1. Public Relations
CEDRICK ABADINES

2. The practice of public relations
is not what it used to be.

3. Short
History
of Public
Relations
Ancient
Beginnings
• ROSETTA STONE
• JULIUS CAESAR
THE MIDDLE AGES
THE BEGINNINGS OF PUBLIC
RELATIONS IN OTHER NATIONS
• Germany
• Great Britain
• Australia
• Taiwan
• Philippines
• Spain
• Russian Federation
WESTWARD
EXPANSION

4. A Short History of Public Relations
THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IS PROBABLY AN OLD AS
HUMAN COMMUNICATIONS ITSELF. IN MANY ANCIENT
CIVILIZATIONS, SUCH AS THOSE OF BABYLONIA, GREECE AND
ROME, PEOPLE WERE PERSUADED TO ACCEPT THE AUTHORITY
OF GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION THROUGH COMMON PUBLIC
RELATIONS TECHNIQUES, INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION,
SPEECHES, ART, LITERATURE, STAGED EVENTS, PUBLICITY,
AND OTHER SUCH DEVICES. NONE OF THESE ENDEAVORS
WERE CALLED PUBLIC RELATIONS OF COURSE, BUT THE
PURPOSE AND EFFECT WERE OFTEN THE SAME AS TODAY’S
MODERN PRACTICE.

5. Ancient
Beginnings
It has often been said that the Rosetta Stone, which provided the key to modern
understanding of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, was basically a publicity
release touting the pharaoh’s accomplishments. Similarly, the ancient Olympic
Games and promotional techniques to enhance the aura of athletes as heroes in
much the same way as the 2008 Beijing summer games. Even in speech writing
in Plato’s time was similar to speech writing today. The speechwriter must know
the composition of audience, never talk down in it, and impart information
that is credible and persuasive.

6. ROSETTA
STONE
•The Rosetta Stone is one of the most
important objects in the British Museum as it
holds the key to understanding Egyptian
hieroglyphs
An inscribed stone found
near Rosetta on the
western mouth of the Nile
in 1799.
Its text is written in three
scripts: hieroglyphic,
demotic, and Greek.
The deciphering of the
hieroglyphs by Jean-
François Champollion in
1822 led to the
interpretation of many
other early records of
Egyptian civilization
– a script made up of
small pictures that was
used originally in ancient
Egypt for religious texts.

7. In the past, great care and
effort went into crafting
messages and pitch
development.
For example, when Julius
Caesar wrote his compelling
pitch in 50 B.C., his vivid
portrayal of military exploits
convinced the people of Rome
that he was the best candidate
to be head of state.

8. JULIUS CAESAR
Was probably the 1st politician to publish a book, Commentaries, which he
used to further his ambitions to become Emperor of the Roman Empire.
He also organized elaborate parades whenever he returned from successful
battle to polish his image as an outstanding commander and leader.
After he became consul in 9 B.C., he had clerks made a record of senatorial
and other public proceedings and post them on walls throughout the city.
Those “Daily Doings” were probably one of the world’s first newspapers.
Of course, Caesar’s activities got more space than his rivals.

9. THE
MIDDLE
AGES
The Roman Catholic
Church was a major
practitioner of public
relations throughout
the Middle Ages.
Pope Urban II
persuaded thousands
of followers to serve
God and gain
forgiveness of their
sins by engaging in the
Holy Crusades against
the Muslims.
Six centuries later, the
church was among the
first to use the word
propaganda, with the
establishment by Pope
Gregory XV of the
College of Propaganda
to supervise foreign
missions and train
priests to propagate
the faith.

10. THE BEGINNINGS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN OTHER
NATIONS
The British Scholar J. A. R Pimlott once wrote,
“Public relations is not a peculiarly American phenomenon,
but it has nowhere flourished as in the United States.
Nowhere else is it so widely practiced, so lucrative, so
pretentious, so respectable and disreputable, so widely
suspected, and so extravagantly extolled.”

11. It’s so important to realize, however, that
other nations have their own histories:

12. Germany
• Mid-century: railroads and other large business
enterprises began publicity efforts.
• Alfred Krupp, founded the Krupp Company, the
premier industrial firm and eventually the base of the
Nazi war power, wrote in 1866 :We think…it is time that
authoritative reports concerning factory matters, in
accordance with the facts should be propagated on a
regular basis through newspaper reports which serve an
enlightened public.”
Great Britain
• The Marconi Company – world leader in wireless telegraphy
established a department in 1910 to distribute news releases
about its achievements and operations.
• 1911 – The first government public relations campaign has
launched by the Insurance Commission to explain the benefits
of the National Insurance Act.
• 1919 - The Air Ministry appointed the first government press
officer.
• 1920 – Sir Basil Clarke, selected by Ministry of Health, a former
Reuters correspondent, as Director of Information
• 1922 – Government launched the British Broadcasting
Company (BBC) as a way to communicate British values and
viewpoints to its colonies and other nations.

13. Great Britain
• Professional public relations counseling for business was introduced
in the country in 1924, when Sir Basil Clarke, a former government
press officer, established a firm in London. His first client, a dairy
group; he promoted the idea of milk pasteurization, an innovation
that had met with some resistance from the public.
• A year later, Sir John Elliott was reported as public relations officer of
the Southern Railway Company.

14. Australia
• Public relation in Australia largely consisted of publicity efforts
until after World War II.
• When US Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived after his escape
from Corregidor in 1942, he introduced the term public
relations, and with a highly skilled staff, demonstrated
numerous ways of promoting his image and the war effort.
• 1960: The Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) was
formed Notable practitioners have included George
Fitzpatrick, credited with being the First Australian to
conduct public relations, and Eric White, who according to
one source, “virtually created the public relations industry” in
Australia. As early as 1960’s, White oversaw extension of his
firm to the Pacific Rim countries.
Taiwan
• Government was the first entity to utilize public
relations tactics.
• 1950’s: government used public relations to conduct
“nation building”.
• Several government information offices were formed to
release government news to the public.
The Public Relations Foundation, a professional body of
practitioners, was established in 1956.
• 1958: group announced policy for government agencies
and private organizations to promote public relations.
One of the organization’s vehicle is Public Relations
Magazine, which is used to promote professionalism in
the field.

15. Philippines
• The Public Relations industry in the Philippines was transplanted
from the West in the 1940’s. In fact, the country is considered the
“Pacific birthplace of public relations: US Amy public information
officers regularly issued news releases to the Philippine press during
World War II.
• After war, the concept spread to local business and the Business
Writers Association of the Philippines was organized to promote the
idea of corporate social responsibility.
• Notable of the early Filipino pioneers is PETE TEODORO. He was
public relations director of Elizalde & Company, a paint
manufacturer, and is credited with undertaking the first organized
public relations campaign to generate goodwill and business from
local contractors and architects.
• 1966 – The San Miguel Corporation established the first public
relations department.
Spain
• The growth of public relations in Spain started in the
1950s and paralleled political, economic, and media
developments in Spain. An advertising agency, Danis
Advertising of Barcelona, launched a public relations
campaign in 1955 to build community ,goodwill for a
corporate client and its product. One of the directors of
that campaign, Joaquin Maestre, started his own public
relations firm in 960.
• According to one historian, the advent of public
relations consultancies, “marked the beginning of a
‘dynamic consumer market’ for public relations services,
which led to setting up the first public relations agencies
as a direct response to the market demand for services.”

16. Russian Federation
The collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991, ushered in the free-market
economy and democratic reforms that
caused the rapid growth of the public
relations field in government and
private business. With the new
openness, global companies began
selling products and services in the new
Russia with the assistance of Western-
style advertising, public relations, and
promotion.
In addition, the Russian companies
began to understand the importance of
publicizing their products and services.
Before that time, most “public
relations” was conducted by the
government. In the mid 1990s, a
Russian association of public relations
professionals was organized to promote
standards and provide continuing
education. Most observers think the
public relations industry will continue
to expand as the economy grows.

17. WESTWARD EXPANSION
Throughout the 19thcentury, publicity and promotion helped to populate the
western United States. Land speculators distributed pamphlets and publicity that
described almost every community as the “garden spot of the West’ which one
critic of the time called “downright puffery, full of exaggerated statements, and
high wrought and false-colored descriptions.” One brochure about Nebraska for
example, described the territory as the :Gulf stream of migration… bounded on
the north by the ‘Aurora Borealis’ and on the south by the Day of Judgment.
Other brochures were more down-to-earth, describing the fertile land, the
abundant water, and the opportunity to build a fortune.

18. Westward Expansion
•AMERICAN RAILROADS, IN PARTICULAR, USED EXTENSIVE PUBLIC
RELATIONS AND PRESS AGENCY TO ATTRACT SETTLERS AND EXPAND
OPERATIONS.
ANDY PIASECKI ONCE SAID: THE EXPANSION OF THE RAILROADS WAS
DEPENDENT ON PUBLICITY AND PROMOTION.
THE PUBLICITY AND PROMOTION PAID OFF. HE NOTED: DURING THE
1870S AND THE 1880S, THE RAILROADS ATTRACTED SOMETHING LIKE
4.5 MILLION PEOPLE TO THE MIDWESTERN STATES, AND THEY WERE
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT THERE OF ALMOST 2
MILLION FARMS. NONE OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED
WITHOUT C+OMPLEX COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES CLOSELY LINKED
TO BUSINESS OBJECTIVES.

19. If you dig deep enough, you’ll find some interesting clues from
the past that mirror what an effective public relations strategy
should look like today.
Below are five essentials to successful public relations efforts
that began in ancient times:
1. Establishing your point of view.
2. Delivering persuasive communications.
3. Communicating through storytelling.
4. Dodging the spin zone.
5. Getting intimate with your target audience.

20. Establishing your point of view.
TODAY, WE DEFINE A POINT OF VIEW AS AN OUTLOOK
OR WAY OF THINKING.
WE MAY NOT HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS, BUT WITH THE
INCREASING NUMBER OF HIGHLY-CIRCULATED NEWS
PUBLICATIONS, OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEDIA
INCLUSION ARE EVERYWHERE, AND AUDIENCES ARE
EVERYWHERE.
TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS ENVIRONMENT, YOU
MUST HAVE A POINT OF VIEW THAT SPEAKS TO
MULTIPLE MEDIA TARGETS ACROSS A VARIETY OF
DIGITAL AND TRADITIONAL OUTLETS. THE SOPHISTS
CERTAINLY HAD A DISTINCT POINT OF VIEW ON A
NUMBER OF ISSUES FACING MANKIND.

21. Today, your stance on important issues and challenges affecting your
industry is critical. It sets the tone for every media opportunity,
speaking engagement and self-authored publication. After time, it
becomes infused with your brand.

22. Delivering persuasive communications.
Perhaps one of the biggest difficulties afflicting today’s
marketer is the inability to persuade. Aristotle was a master
of persuasive communications, particularly in his ability to
develop compelling arguments. Every message succeeds by
its ability to inspire devotion in others.
From the dawn of language to today’s ultra-fast technology
culture, words have always mattered. Today, many public
relations professionals have replaced persuasive arguments
with messages that go to everyone but reach no one. We
have the ability to change the entire mood of a nation
through words. They are powerful and often misused.

23. Communicating through storytelling.
JULIUS CAESAR CREATED THE FIRST
PUBLIC NEWSLETTER FOR CITIZENS
THAT FEATURED FASCINATING
STORIES ABOUT HIS MILITARY AND
POLITICAL VICTORIES.
IN PETER GUBER'S BOOK, "TELL TO
WIN," HE DISCUSSES HOW
STORYTELLING WILL ALWAYS BE
ABOUT OOHS AND AHS, NOT
ZEROES AND ONES.
ACCORDING TO
GRUBER, STORIES HAVE
ALWAYS BEEN IGNITERS
OF ACTION, MOVING
PEOPLE TO DO THINGS.

24. Only recently has it become clear that
purposeful stories—those created with a
specific mission in mind—are absolutely
essential in persuading others to support
a vision, dream or cause.

25. Dodging the
spin zone.
In the 3rd Century B.C., Socrates
believed that communications
should be based on true accounts.
Whether it’s rising competition for
content placement or yoga-like
flexibility with truth-bending
tactics, public relations experts are
often forced into a dark corner
between authenticity and
fabrication.

26. Today, traditional “spin
doctoring” is being eviscerated
by a more open and transparent
approach to marketing aimed at
building trust in an increasingly
complex digital world. If you lie,
you will be found out.
Establishing an environment of
open public feedback and
response is the new evolution of
public relations

27. Getting intimate
with your target
audience.
Ptahhotep, an ancient Egyptian
official and author, believed in
targeting the specific interests of
the audience.
Today, that translates into
understanding your media
channel’s target readership.

28. The reality is that a large
percentage of your media
coverage may have little value
to the end user, because it’s
more promotional than it is
helpful
Whether the goal is to be a part of a dialogue
that potential customers are reading or to
deliver a more controlled message through a
third party publication, you must know your
target in an intimate way.

29. Through the course of time and with the advent of
sophisticated online communications, one thing remains
certain: We can all learn a thing or two from the past. When
it comes to public relations, it’s more important than ever
that we reach back before we pull forward.

30. Public Relations
THE END