Crystallizing Public Opinion

Famed as "the father of public relations," Edward Bernays pioneered the technique of working to change attitudes rather than just selling products. In this 1923 classic, the first book ever written about the public relations industry, he delineates the approaches that corporations and governments have taken for the past century to influence social tendencies.Crystallizing Public Opinion identifies the techniques employed by public relations professionals, from authoritative-sounding surveys to persuasive endorsements from opinion leaders, celebrities, and experts. Bernays ? whose high-profile clients included Procter & Gamble, General Electric, CBS, NBC, and Time, Inc. ? cites examples from his successful campaigns, including a physician-endorsed promotion of bacon as a healthy breakfast option. He quotes leading theorists on the role of herd mentality in the minds of the educated as well as the ignorant, and he explains the value of communicating the right facts at the right time to a targeted audience. Although technology has changed in the years since this book's debut, human nature has not, and these principles remain of timeless value to business and marketing professionals, students of public relations, and other readers.

Part I: Scope and Functions I. The Scope of the Public Relations Counsel II. The Public Relations Counsel; The Increased and Increasing Importance of the Profession III. The Function of a Special Pleader Part II: The Group and Herd I. What Constitutes Public Opinion II. Is Public Opinion Stubborn or Malleable? III. The Interaction of Public Opinion with the Forces that Help Make It IV. The Power of Interacting Forces that Go to Make up Public Opinion V. An Understanding of the Fundamentals of Public Motivation is Necessary to the Work of the Public Relations Counsel VI. The Group and Herd are the Basic Mechanisms of Public Change VII. The Application of these Principles Part III: Technique and Method I. The Public Can be Reached Only Through Established Mediums of Communication II. The Interlapping Group Formations of Society, the Continuous Shifting of Groups, Changing Conditions, and the Flexibility of Human Nature are All Aids to the Counsel of Public Relations III. An Outlining of Methods Practicable in Modifying the Point of View of a Group Part IV: Ethical Relations I. A Consideration of the Press and Other Mediums of Communication in Their Relation to the Public Relations Counsel II. His Obligation to the Public as a Special Pleader