This might be one of my favorite times of the month because I get to tell you about weird PR facts from history and how PR was used in ways you didn’t think about.

ptahhotep This month is about Emperor Julius Caesar and his use of “PR” to help him win over his people and other ancient forms of “PR.” 1

When vying for power over Rome, he crafted a multitude of “press releases,” portraying his military might and victories over others in a way to gain favor and change the public’s opinion of him. While  he did not have a Crisis PR Alum guiding him, he embellished here and there – and he paid the price for it. But his PR attempt was done so that he could control public opinion to his favor.

Cleopatra did something similar in Egypt by focusing on her intellect and grasp on Mathematics. I guess women leaders needed to showcase their prowess in STEM (Science, Math, Engineering and Science) back them, just like today.

In Greece, around the 5th Century, the Sophists (paid teachers of philosophy and rhetoric) were the first to establish what is known as “a point of view” when addressing situations and communicating. However, their form of PR was to confuse the issues being talked about by entering questionable semantics into the equation.  This was a form of manipulation, disguised as PR, in order to gain agreement on actions that were questionable ethically. It’s a black PR tactic used today by unscrupulous campaigners and corporate communicators.

The Sophists were capitalizing on  how key opinion leaders operate, even today. There’s an issue. A key opinion leader has an opinion and point of view. He or she addresses the situation. Opinion promoted. Boom.

Aristotle was the master of persuasive arguments and broke down the anatomy of compelling arguments. This is the core of any business trying to get their message about their company heard; establishing why they are the go-to leader in the industry and not the other guys.

Possibly the most important of the bunch was Socrates and how he believed and taught that communication should mirror the truth and be based on fact. This is the core of the JoTo PR way. Hard analytics that backs up why we put out what we put out with no fluff. True PR is the communication of the truth and nothing else (done in the correct way) in order to build a foundation of trust.Ptahhotep

Lastly, Ptahhotep (have fun saying that one) an Egyptian official and author, believed in targeting people based on their specific interests. This might ring a bell for you because that is what modern targeted marketing and PR is. Guy watches football, guy likes beer and when he sees a beer commercial during the big game, it fits and impacts on him. Marketing 101, yes, but something that has been brewing since they were building pyramids.

I may not have a degree in history but I hope this little dive into the connection between ancient PR and modern PR was as eye-opening as it was for me.

1 B. Evans  “5 Ancient public relations secrets” PRDaily.com. N.p., 21 May. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.