PR THROUGH THE AGES: From Press Agents to Influencers
Topic: Evolution of Public Relations in Indian and Global Context
Group Size: 3–4 students
THE MISSION
You are a team of PR historians. Your job is to travel
through the history of Public Relations and discover: How did PR change from
simply creating publicity to managing relationships, reputation and digital
conversations?
You will investigate six stages of PR evolution and finally
create your own “PR Evolution Map.”
STEP 1 — FORM YOUR PR HISTORY TEAM
Divide yourselves into groups of 3–4.
Assign these roles:
· PR
Historian – looks at the historical development.
· Indian
PR Expert – focuses on Indian developments.
· Global
PR Expert – focuses on international developments.
· Digital
PR Expert – focuses on modern PR.
Record the group's final answers.
STEP 2 — THE SIX STAGES OF PR
Your group must study the following six stages. You do not
need to research them. Use the information provided below.
STAGE
1 — EARLY PUBLICITY
Global context
· In the
early days, organisations mainly tried to attract public attention.
· Publicity,
posters, announcements and newspapers were important.
Key idea: “Get attention.”
STAGE
2 — PRESS AGENTRY
Global context - In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
press agents worked to generate publicity for individuals, businesses and
entertainment.
P.T. Barnum became famous for publicity and promotional
techniques.
Key idea: “Create publicity and get people talking.”
STAGE
3 — PROFESSIONAL PR
Global context - PR gradually became more organised and
strategic.
Ivy Lee promoted the idea of providing accurate information
to journalists and maintaining communication with the public.
Edward Bernays helped develop PR as a profession and
connected it with ideas from psychology and public opinion.
Key idea: “Understand the public and influence public
opinion.”
STAGE 4 — PR DEVELOPS IN INDIA
Public communication in India has a much longer background,
including communication used by rulers and public institutions.
In modern India, organised government communication
developed during the colonial period.
After Independence, government communication expanded
through institutions such as the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
PR gradually developed in business, government,
public-sector organisations and professional associations.
Key idea: “Inform and communicate with citizens and
stakeholders.”
STAGE
5 — CORPORATE PR
As Indian industries and businesses expanded, PR became
increasingly important for:
· corporate
reputation
· media
relations
· investor
communication
· crisis
management
· employee
communication
· brand
image
PR moved beyond simply getting newspaper coverage.
Key idea: “Build and protect reputation.”
STAGE
6 — DIGITAL & SOCIAL MEDIA PR
Today PR operates across:
· Instagram
· YouTube
· X
· LinkedIn
· websites
· podcasts
· influencers
· online
communities
Audiences can now respond, share, criticise and create
content themselves.
PR is therefore increasingly about conversation and
relationship-building, not just sending messages.
Key idea: “Listen, engage and build relationships.”
STEP 3 — BUILD THE PR TIMELINE
On your paper, draw this:
EARLY PUBLICITY → PRESS AGENTRY → PROFESSIONAL PR → INDIAN
PR → CORPORATE PR → DIGITAL PR
Under each stage, write:
1. Main purpose: What was PR trying to achieve?
2. Main medium: How did PR communicate?
3. Audience: Who was being addressed?
4. PR professional's role: What was the PR person expected
to do?
Complete the table:
|
Stage |
Purpose |
Medium |
Audience |
PR Role |
|
Early Publicity |
||||
|
Press Agentry |
||||
|
Professional PR |
||||
|
Indian PR |
||||
|
Corporate PR |
||||
|
Digital PR |
STEP 4 — INDIA vs THE WORLD
Now compare the Indian and global evolution of PR.
Complete these statements:
Global PR
PR initially focused heavily on:
It gradually moved towards:
Indian PR
PR initially developed strongly around:
It later expanded into:
One major similarity:
India and the world both moved from __________________ to
__________________.
One important difference:
STEP 5 — THE BIG PR QUESTION
Imagine that you are a PR professional in 1900.
Your client says:
“I want everyone to know about my new business.”
What would you do?
Write three PR activities you could realistically use.
Now imagine you are a PR professional in 2026.
The same client says:
“I want everyone to know about my new business.”
Write three PR activities you would use today.
Compare:
1900 PR
2026 PR
Then complete:
“The biggest change in PR is not just the technology; it is
the change from __________ to __________.”
FINAL CHALLENGE — CREATE THE PR EVOLUTION FORMULA
As a group, create a one-line formula showing how PR has
evolved.
For example:
Publicity → Information → Persuasion → Reputation →
Relationships → Engagement
But your group must create its own version.
Give your formula a title:
“Our PR Evolution Formula”
FINAL SUBMISSION
each group should submit one sheet containing:
✅
Six-stage PR timeline
✅ Completed PR table
✅ India vs Global comparison
✅ 1900 vs 2026 comparison
✅ Answer to the “Big PR
Question”
✅ Your group's PR Evolution
Formula
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