--- title: Public Relations (PR) — definition | RGM® Glossary url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/public-relations/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/public-relations/ --- # Public Relations (PR) pub·lic re·la·tions/ˈpəblɪk ɹiˈleɪʃənz/noun Advertising is saying it yourself — PR is getting someone credible to say it for you. Term : Public Relations (PR) Era origin : Ivy Lee, Edward Bernays (1900s-1920s) Modern split : Earned media, comms, reputation, crisis Measure : Coverage quality, share of narrative, trust ## Forms & parts of speech earned media · noun phrase (PR's output) Coverage attention bought can't buy. "The launch needs **earned media** — a TechCrunch story converts skeptics the ads never will." ## Definition in plain terms Public relations is the discipline of earning credibility through third parties: journalists, analysts, creators, and communities saying things about the brand that the brand could never persuasively say itself. Its surfaces — media relations, executive comms, thought leadership, analyst relations, crisis management — share one mechanism: borrowed trust, governed by people the brand doesn't control. ## The mechanics The trade's core asset is the STORY THE OUTLET WANTS: news value (data, conflict, firsts, stakes) packaged for a journalist's incentives, not the brand's. Modern PR runs on original research and data journalism (the most reliable coverage engine), founder/executive voice, fast expert commentary on news cycles (newsjacking, politely), and product moments genuinely worth covering. Measurement matured past clip-counting toward coverage quality (tier, message pull-through, links — PR is now an SEO channel too), share of narrative versus rivals, and downstream lift in branded search and trust metrics. Crisis is the other half: the discipline that decides whether one bad week becomes the brand's Wikipedia summary. ## When it matters PR matters most where claims need witnesses — launches into skeptical markets, categories with trust deficits, fundraising and talent narratives, and YMYL-adjacent industries where third-party validation is the conversion event. It compounds with everything else: coverage seeds the retargeting pool, earns the backlinks SEO can't buy, and supplies the social proof performance creative quotes. Its limit is honesty's: PR amplifies what's true; aimed at papering over what's false, it eventually invoices the brand for the difference. **Worked example.** A fintech startup launching into a trust-poor category skips the press-release spray. The PR build: one piece of original research (its anonymized data answering a question journalists already argue about), offered exclusive to a tier-one reporter; the founder available for fast commentary on every rate-change news cycle; customer-proof stories pitched to trade press. Three months: nine stories, two tier-one, every sales deck now opening with third-party headlines instead of self-claims — and the demo-request form's 'how did you hear about us' starts saying 'read about you,' the phrase ads can't buy. **Failure modes to watch.** Press-release spam with no news value; measuring clips instead of message pull-through and lift; newsjacking tragedies; and deploying PR to launder problems the product team should be fixing. ## Synonyms & antonyms ### Synonyms PRpublic relationsearned media (the output)comms ### Antonyms paid mediaadvertising (the bought voice) ## Origin & history The practice's American founding runs through Ivy Lee (the 1906 'Declaration of Principles' — candor to the press as policy) and Edward Bernays, who named and theorized the field — teaching the first university PR course (NYU, 1923) and publishing *Crystallizing Public Opinion* the same year; the phrase 'public relations' itself appears in 19th-century usage, but the profession's identity is theirs. Etymology: [source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations). ## Usage trends Search interest for this term over the last five years: [View interest-over-time on Google Trends →](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=public%20relations&date=today%205-y) ## Common questions What is public relations? : Earning third-party credibility — media coverage, narrative, and trust built through voices the brand doesn't control. How does PR differ from advertising? : Advertising is bought and controlled; PR is earned and governed by third parties — which is exactly why it converts skeptics. How is PR measured now? : Coverage quality and message pull-through, share of narrative, earned links, and lift in branded search and trust metrics. ## Related tools & calculators - tool[Funnel drop-off analyzer](/tools/funnel-drop-off-analyzer/) ## Resources & people to follow - book*Crystallizing Public Opinion* — Edward Bernays (1923) - referenceEdelman Trust Barometer — the trust context - referenceWARC — earned-media effectiveness cases Curated, non-competitor resources verified per term. ## Related training - module[Growth marketing foundations](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/) ## Disciplines Areas of marketing where public relations (pr) is a core concern: [Channels](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/)[Brand strategy](/training/growth-marketing-foundations/) ## Read next ## Related terms [Edelman Trust Barometer](/glossary/edelman-trust-barometer/)[Thought leadership](/glossary/thought-leadership/)[Content marketing](/glossary/content-marketing/)[Link building](/glossary/link-building/)[Brand awareness](/glossary/brand-awareness/) ## Sources 1. trends[Google Trends — "public relations"](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=public%20relations&date=today%205-y)