Public opinion; Public relations; Publicity; Social psychology
The public relations counsel must advise him on these factors as well
as on their presentation to the public most interested in them.
In this state of affairs it is not at all surprising that industrial
leaders should give the closest attention to public relations in both
the broadest and the most practical concept of the term.
Large industrial groups, in their associations, have assigned a
definite place to public relations bureaus.
The Trade Association Executives in New York, an association of
individual executives of state, territorial or national trade
associations, such as the Allied Wall Paper Industry, the American
Hardware Manufacturers’ Association, the American Protective Tariff
League, the Atlantic Coast Shipbuilders’ Association, the National
Association of Credit Men, the Silk Association of America and some
seventy-four others, includes among its associations’ functions such
activities as the following: coöperative advertising; adjustments and
collections; cost accounting; a credit bureau; distribution and new
markets; educational, standardization and research work; exhibits; a
foreign trade bureau; house organs; general publicity; an industrial
bureau; legislative work; legal aid; market reports; statistics; a
traffic department; Washington representation; arbitration. It is
noteworthy that forty of these associations have incorporated public
relations with general publicity as a definite part of their program in
furthering the interests of their organizations.
The American Telephone and Telegraph Company devotes effort to studying
its public relations problems, not only to increase its volume of
business, but also to create a coöperative spirit between itself and
the public. The work of the telephone company’s operators, statistics,
calls, lineage, installations are given to the public in various forms.
During the war and for a period afterwards its main problem was that of
satisfying the public that its service was necessarily below standard
because of the peculiar national conditions. The public, in response to
the efforts of the company, which were analogous to a gracious personal
apology, accepted more or less irksome conditions as a matter of
course. Had the company not cared about the public, the public would
undoubtedly have been unpleasantly insistent upon a maintenance of the
pre-war standards of service.
Americans were once wont to jest about the dependence of France and
Switzerland upon the tourist trade. To-day we see American cities
competing, as part of their public relations programs, for conventions,
fairs and conferences. The _New York Times_ printed some time ago
an address by the governor of Nebraska, in which he told a group of
advertising men that publicity had made Nebraska prosper.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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