My time in Boston has been a very insightful and rewarding experience. Presenting at the recent AEJMC conference was wonderful, and along the way I got the chance to meet up with fellow scholars, students, and professors from universities around the world. I was also able to attend several key socials as well – I had a great time!
Another activity that I got the opportunity to do was to meet up with family. I had the chance last night to spend some quality time with my second-cousin Ingrid. Ingrid and my Dad are second cousins – my great grandfather and her grandfather were brothers. Anyway, Ingrid and I have corresponded via email and social media, and we finally got the opportunity to meet in person here in Boston. I could definitely see the family resemblance as soon as well met – that was very exciting!
While I was in Boston, I got the chance to talk to Ingrid about what I am doing in Public Relations, and I found out the family connection to the field and how I must have been destined to work in this profession. Ingrid told me when she was going to school, she had the opportunity to work with Edward Bernays, who is considered by most in the Public Relations academic and professional community as the “Father of Public Relations.” In all of our textbooks, historical case studies on public relations, and professional papers – Edward Bernays is mentioned quite frequently and recognized for his influence in the profession to make it what it is today.
Of course, I wanted to interview Ingrid and ask her what it was like to work for such an icon in the profession that I was working in. Ingrid was able to take the man that has been written about a thousand times in books, papers, and articles – and was able to give him an inside perspective of the man behind the name. From his directness to providing her advice to make her own name in this world (as she said “the world is your oyster!”) to learning about the importance of establishing your own brand that separates yourself from others (ex. having own letterhead), Ingrid was able to shed light into Bernays’ personality and character.
One story that Ingrid told me was how Bernays was very strategic in public relations and how it influenced multiple industries. For example, before Bernays advocated that smoking was dangerous, he was part of a project in the 1920’s to promote the brand Lucky Strike. During this time, mostly men were smoking and women were not. One of the goals that Bernays was supposed to work on during this campaign was to get more people (ex. women) to smoke.
So, how did he do that? Well, Ingrid said that there was a period of time where the color green was very fashionable, and so Bernays suggested that Lucky Brand change their logo to incorporate green – where they would be the only company to do that. Their advertisements focused on having women with the brand, and the box was green. As a result, Bernays helped Lucky Strike obtain more clients. I have never heard of this story before about Bernays, but it does give you an insight into the mind and interworkings of a strong and creative strategist in public relations. I found this very fascinating myself.
I really appreciated Ingrid taking the time to meet with me and talk about family history, public relations, how we come from a long line of foodies, and memories growing up. It was an evening that I will always remember fondly.
Hope you all are having a wonderful day! 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen
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