Public relations is a management function that establishes and sustains mutual communication, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its target groups. It plays a crucial role in building and strengthening corporate image, ensuring social acceptance of organizations, safeguarding public interest alongside corporate interests, and shaping public opinion. It is a profession that requires multiple competencies and skills and carries significant roles and responsibilities within organizations.

With the rapid development of new communication technologies and the increasing global competition among organizations, the need for public relations practices has grown significantly. Organizations that fail to manage communication processes with their target audiences face serious challenges in sustaining their services. In this context, public relations has become an essential necessity and a fundamental requirement for every organization today.

However, despite undertaking critical responsibilities regarding the image and reputation of other organizations, public relations has not been able to build and protect its own professional image and reputation to the extent it deserves. The profession being incorrectly defined, explained, and interpreted leads to serious problems.

In particular, small and medium-sized enterprises being unaware of our profession, confusing it with other occupations, misdefining it even when they are aware, and assigning practitioners to inappropriate roles constitute major issues. Consequently, the public’s misperception of our profession and the resulting misjudgments further exacerbate the problem. Moreover, we expect professional associations and sector representatives not to ignore this issue but to bring it to the agenda and develop solutions.

Therefore, as “IAU PR Workshop,” formed by students of the Department of Public Relations and Publicity at Istanbul Aydin University Faculty of Communication, we address the sector and the public: “BE AWARE OF MY PROFESSION!”

With this project, we aim to bring the perception problem of our profession to the forefront and to raise awareness through various communication strategies. Through the promotional videos we prepared with an amateur spirit, we sought to clearly demonstrate what our profession is not, using a language that everyone can understand.

We say “BE AWARE OF MY PROFESSION,” because:

A public relations practitioner is not:

• A marketer or salesperson.

• A call center employee.

• An information desk officer.

• An advertiser.

• A secretary.

• Public relations is not a profession exclusive to women.

Public relations:

• Is a management function that requires expertise.

• Is a process that creates and sustains communication between organizations and their target groups.

• Promotes organizations and increases their visibility.

• Protects public interest and helps build public awareness.

• Manages communication processes.

• Is responsible for managing media relations.

• Directs organizations toward social responsibility initiatives and contributes to social benefit.

• Provides consultancy to organizations.

• Ensures that organizations are managed professionally based on ethical values.

• Helps organizations gain social acceptance.

• Works collaboratively with departments such as marketing and advertising within the framework of a 360-degree communication process.

• Public relations practitioners are honest, trustworthy individuals with strong communication and persuasion skills.

• When employing a public relations practitioner, a “public relations degree” should be required.

The support we expect from professionals in the field is clear and straightforward: to help raise public awareness and amplify our voice by saying  “BE AWARE OF MY PROFESSION!”