"The three main elements of public relations are practically as old as society: informing people, persuading people, or integrating people with people. Of course, the means and methods of accomplishing these ends have changed as society has changed." - Edward Bernays

That’s a quote from a movie I was watching this past weekend which referenced Edward Bernays – considered by many to be the “father of modern public relations.” A nephew of Sigmund Freud, Bernays pioneered the PR industry's use of psychology and other social sciences to design public persuasion campaigns.

In his day, Bernays and his ideas were considered radical. Toward that end, at times I’m sure many dismissed him, dubbed him crazy and snickered both behind his back and to his face. It’s no surprise, innovators are often sculpted from a different mold – they have the ability to think outside-the-box, an endowment the “average” person simply lacks, and therefore is incapable of understanding. Incredulousness and unwanted change are two things that cause most people to engage their natural defense mechanisms – allowing them to retreat to the traditional, safe processes they’ve always used. The fact is Bernays was right. And now, I believe PR is overdue to endure another such renovation. The future is now. More and more people are becoming increasingly dependent on receiving their news from personally selected RSS feeds which appear effortlessly in their inbox each and every morning. The days of reading the morning paper while enjoying a cup of coffee and a muffin are slowly fading. Unrelated side note – How big are muffins going to get before we all join hands across America? Seriously, standard-size muffins have vanished, I must have missed the memo. It’s either the giant mega-muffin wrapped in enough cellophane to cover your pool, or a bag of mini-muffins. It’s ridiculous.

But that’s neither here nor there. In the end, I’m extremely excited to be involved with an agency that will lead the next generation of marcom – not by dismissing the techniques of Bernays, but rather by integrating those tactics with new, more-focused strategies. Mr. Bernays's promotion efforts became legendary despite the fact that his approach was oblique. Here at AgencyNext, we’re not trying to re-invent the wheel; we’re just facilitating superior rotation. Oh yea, we’re also relentlessly searching for a place that serves a good muffin.

Share This