The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) offers this simple and useful definition of PR: “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” To carry out this mutual communication process, the PR industry uses two approaches. First, there are independent PR agencies whose sole job is to provide clients with PR services. Second, most companies, which may or may not also hire the independent PR firms, maintain their own in-house PR staffs to handle routine tasks, such as writing press releases, managing various media requests, staging special events, and dealing with internal and external publics.

Many large PR firms are owned by, or are affiliated with, multinational communications holding companies like Publicis Omnicom Groupe, WPP, and Interpublic (see Figure 12.1). Two of the largest PR agencies, Burson-Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton, generated part of the $16.1 billion in PR revenue for their parent corporation, the WPP Group, in 2012. Founded in 1953, Burson-Marsteller has 159 offices and affiliate partners in 110 countries and lists Facebook, IKEA, Coca-Cola, Sony, and the United Arab Emirates among its clients. Hill & Knowlton, founded in 1927, has 90 offices in 52 countries and includes Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, Proctor & Gamble, Starbucks, Splenda, Florida Healthcare, and Latvia on its client list. Most independent PR firms are smaller and are operated locally or regionally. New York-based Edelman, the largest independent firm, is an exception, with global operations and clients like Ben & Jerry’s, Bank of America, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, and Unilever/Dove.

In contrast to these external agencies, most PR work is done in-house at companies and organizations. Although America’s largest companies typically retain external PR firms, almost every company involved in the manufacturing and service industries has an in-house PR department. Such departments are also a vital part of many professional organizations, such as the American Medical Association, the AFL-CIO, and the National Association of Broadcasters, as well as large nonprofit organizations, such as the American Cancer Society, the Arthritis Foundation, and most universities and colleges.