McDougall: New Definition of PR is "Vanilla"

Excerpted from PR News Online (March 2, 2012):
By Bill Miltenberg

As public relations evolves and incorporates a suite of new digital strategies and concepts, so too must its working definition. That's why the Public Relations Society of America's Public Relations Defined initiative fielded suggestions from PR pros, academics and students, as well as the public, to help redefine PR itself.

More than 900 suggested definitions were winnowed by PRSA to three finalists. The winning definition, by popular vote: Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. 
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Mike McDougall, APR, and managing partner of McDougall Travers Collins and a member of PR News' Advisory Board, says the new definition result is a "bit vanilla," but that's to be expected when trying to crowdsource a definition that needs to encompass a big-tent profession. "It will play well in a textbook, but not so well in business," says McDougall. "This definition could apply to related professions—IR, government affairs, customer service and even sales in some instances. The best we can hope is that someone hearing the definition will ask for clarification, forcing practitioners to provide a more focused explanation as to their value and expertise."
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