What is Public Relations?

That’s a question Public Relations professionals have wrangled with for decades and as the profession has grown and adapted, that answer has reshaped and reformed. If really honest, PR hasn’t been ‘PR’ for a very long time.

In the back end of 2025, you may have seen, or heard, Sarah Waddington the CEO of the PRCA, engaging in a heated Radio 4 debate with Martin Sorell, whose view of the PR industry was that it was dying and that the only way to succeed in comms is to ‘flood the internet’.

Needless to say, this caused huge ripples. A lot happened in the weeks following that interview. One of those things is a new and revised definition of just what Public Relations is.

Redefining Public Relations

This PRCA ‘re-definition’ is very much welcome. Outmoded views of Public Relations continue. With the likes of Sorrell – and many others, lets not single out one individual – maintaining deeply outdated perceptions of an industry, which has grown far beyond their comprehension.

The days of PR as a sole media coverage machine are long gone.

It’s been replaced with something far more comprehensive, strategic and valuable.

This PRCA definition, is very welcome. But it’s a punctuation mark, on a sentence that’s already been written.

So, what is Public Relations, what does it actually do? How does it bring true strategic value to an organisation? How can it fuel growth and create opportunity?

The role of Public Relations professionals

As Public Relations professionals, we manage how an organisation communicates with, and is perceived by, its audiences. How we do this takes many shapes and forms.

You may believe that we do this through media coverage. That is true… to a very small extent.

Media relations remains a part of the strategic communication process, though a very small part.

Modern communications is far broader, far more focused on the bigger picture, as well as the bottom line. It can be a lot of things, all at once. It could be:

Advising leaders on communications strategy and reputational risks.
Developing narratives that position organisations with clarity and credibility.
Building leaders’ profiles and thought leadership
Managing stakeholder communications across multiple channels.
Developing, creating and activating multi-channel, multi-format content strategies
Monitoring sentiment, media trends and issues that could influence reputation, operations and the bottom line.
Building media relationships and securing meaningful coverage.

But, in truth, this barely scratches the surface.

Strong PR helps organisations earn trust, demonstrate leadership and express their purpose with clarity. When done well, it protects long‑term reputation and ensures the right people understand not only what an organisation does, but why it matters.

For companies competing for attention and credibility, the combination of strategy, narrative and relationship‑building is essential.

What a PR agency brings

Your perception of Public Relations may be one of media coverage, circulation figures and advertising value equivalent. If that is your understanding, that’s fine – we’re not here to judge.

But we are here to change your mind.

To show you that PR is far more valuable than you perhaps once understood it to be. You see, most organisations work with communications agencies to expand their capabilities. To access specialist insight and support that they can’t access in-house.

Communications partners offer the advantage of perspective. The ability to be removed and impartial. To step back, challenge assumptions and look at operations and communication through the eyes of the public.

They also work with agencies to expand their brand, enhance their reputation and organisational value. You really can’t achieve this without third party impartiality. So strategically, communications can act as an organisational pivot. A means by which leaders can test out and sandbox products, services, messages and more.

By reframing PR and communications, not as a luxury, or a tool to be picked up and put down at will, organisations can unlock the true strategic power of communications.

Strategic communications = organisational asset

Public Relations is sometimes reduced to a series of familiar actions: a press release here, a crisis managed there.

But this limited view fails to understand the true value of PR and communications.

When practised strategically it is a powerful organisational asset. A strategic asset that strengthens decisions, sharpens direction and creates the conditions for more sustainable growth.

Reputation, narrative and trust influence outcomes, far more than product and outright marketing.

Strategic PR helps organisations navigate these challenges, by aligning communications with mission, vision, goals and priorities. It supports leadership, engages teams and reinforces systems, to keep an organisation functioning well.

This isn’t an add on. Nor is it something that you do once and then never again.

This is part of how truly successful organisations think, plan and lead.

The Strategic value of PR

At its core, PR and communications integrates external intelligence, insight and organisational strategy.

It helps leaders understand not only what people are saying, but why what they are saying matters and what needs to be done about it.

Strategic PR gives businesses and brands a clearer view of the external and internal forces shaping their operatinal environment. From regulatory pressures, investor concerns and customer expectations, to workforce sentiment and emerging societal issues.

This combination of internal and external factors, when fed into planning and decision-making, enable organisations to move and scale with greater confidence.

It helps anticipate questions before they are asked. React to problems before they arise and enter into meaningful industry debate and discussion with confidence and clarity.

It’s also one of the few functions that brings together multiple viewpoints.

Customers, employees, media, communities, partners and regulators and more… it takes these viewpoints and perspectives and translates the insight into actionable guidance.

This kind of insight gives organisations a much stronger foundation for long-term success.

Driving growth through reputation and narrative

Growth is rarely driven by product alone.

Growth is dependent on credibility, market confidence and the ability to tell your story in a compelling way. Strategic communications strengthens all three.

As an organisation, when you have a clear, compelling narrative you have a competitive edge.

It becomes easier for customer to understand your mission and your vision. It becomes easier for partners to advocate and for investors to commit to your cause.

Whether entering new markets, bidding for contracts or recruiting new talent… a strong reputation accelerates and enhances opportunity.

PR is a huge contributing factor here; by identifying the right conversations to join, the right partners, shaping messaging that cuts through and elevating spokespeople who can bring clarity and leadership.

It does far more than simply ensure your communications are coherent. It creates a grounding force tied to long term ambition… not just short-term activity.

Supporting the C‑Suite

Senior leaders benefit from PR not because it manages their image, or spins a narrative.

Rather because it strengthens their effectiveness, shows them to be authentic humans and ultimately builds trust.

Strategic communications help executives communicate and articulate strategy all while maintaining trust and authenticity. It offers counsel grounded in insight, audience understanding and risk awareness.

Whatever the scenario, be it crisis communications, change management or bringing a new product to market. Strategic communications in the C-Suite helps leaders make more informed decisions, grounded in actionable insights.

Strengthening operations and internal performance

Strategic PR does more than shape external perception… it can be used to underpin internal cohesion.

When communications and operational functions work together, organisations can avoid misalignment and misinterpretation and mitigate crises and issues that would otherwise be catastrophic.

The operational benefits of strategic communications are clear and present.

With concise narratives that explain goals and priorities, progress and challenges, teams understand direction and feel part of something bigger. This strengthens morale, accountability and decision-making. Things run more smoothly when communications are consistent and transparent.

Well-integrated strategic communications also helps businesses identify operational risks early.

Through a process of monitoring online sentiment, media attention and internal communications channels, issues can become visible long before they escalate.

Where tactics Fit In

The tactical side of PR and communications – press releases, issues management, content production – all have a role to play.

But the value of these tactics isn’t solely in the execution, or the tactic itself.

A press release can position a company clearly in a target market. A media interview can reinforce leadership and attract attention. A content programme can enhance thought leadership. A crisis response ca protect trust and maintain continuity.

In silo, these indvidual outputs can serve a purpose, but only a small one. PR tactics are at their most effective when they’re combined and concentrated under a clear organisational strategy.

In modern communications, the tactics serve the strategy not the other way round.

PR as a long-term asset, not a reactive tool

Organisations that treat PR as a reactive function can severely limit its impact.

But those who treat it as a long-term strategic tool can give themselves a significant competitive edge and it shows up in a lot of ways. Faster decision making, more resilience under pressure, increased trust with all audiences and better alignment across teams… and this barely touches the surface.

When PR sits at the leadership table, we can guide decisions rather than simply responding to them. We can even predict and react to situations before they even happen.

But this requires a perception reframing.

When organisations understand and the ‘long-termism’ of PR and acknowledge their communications partners as exactly that, partners, they can unlock a previously untapped layer of operational strategy.

A more strategic future for PR

The term PR isn’t really fit for purpose any more. It’s a hangover, from a time long gone.

High performing organisations understand this.

The biggest and best brands and businesses recognise the value in strategic communication. They understand that in a world of commercial gains, venture capital, growth and investment, trust is a precious component.

Your commercial model, your products, your services. They mean nothing without trust. It truly is your most important commodity.

Modern communications doesn’t spin. It doesn’t artificially inflate. It doesn’t conflate vanity with value.

Modern communications blends insight, foresight, strategy and an ever-changing set of tactics to inform, engage and build trust over time.