From time to time, we should ask ourselves a fundamental question: Why did public relations come into existence in the first place? Was it created to increase sales? To manage public opinion? To lobby? To build an image? To manage reputation? To produce content? Or to serve every new concept that finds its way into the vocabulary of this profession?

My answer is simple: Ultimately, public relations is about people.

In my view, after nearly a century of development, public relations has gradually drifted away from its original philosophy—the very philosophy that Arthur W. Page championed many years ago: that the reputation of an organization lies in its actual behavior, and that public relations should be the voice of truth and the conscience of the organization, rather than merely the voice of publicity.

Public relations is not lobbying. It is not simply an industry for generating revenue. Nor is it a factory for producing news and content. If all these activities are not ultimately in the service of people and the preservation of their dignity, they may be called many things—but they are no longer public relations.

If we define public relations as interaction, that interaction must benefit people. If we speak of virtue, it must be reflected in the way we treat people. If we value authenticity, it must be expressed through respect for human beings. If we discuss the attention economy, the experience economy, the industrial economy, or any other emerging theory, all of these frameworks are meaningful only when they contribute to improving people’s lives. Otherwise, they become tools that have lost sight of their true purpose.

Mardomdari

Persian culture offers a far more beautiful expression for this philosophy: Mardomdari—a concept that embodies genuine care for people, respect for human dignity, and the prioritization of human values above all else. It reminds us that no interest, no technology, no organization, no brand, and no profit should ever take precedence over human dignity.

If public relations cannot protect human dignity, cultivate trust, encourage dialogue, inspire hope, and improve the quality of life, it may appear successful by conventional standards, but it has strayed from its reason for being.

This is why I believe public relations today stands at the threshold of a return—a return to its original purpose.

This return does not imply rejecting technology. Artificial intelligence, data analytics, public opinion research, digital communication, social media, and every modern communication tool present extraordinary opportunities. Yet they are valuable only when they serve people. Technology should never replace human beings; it should enhance our ability to serve them.

This perspective also explains the growing importance of strategic public relations. The idea itself is not new. In his 2011 article Public Relations and Strategic Management: Institutionalizing Organization–Public Relationships in Contemporary Society, James E. Grunig argued that organizations whose public relations functions participate in the formulation and implementation of organizational strategy are more successful in managing stakeholder relationships, building trust, and achieving organizational objectives. In other words, excellent public relations is part of strategic decision-making—not merely part of the communication process.

Today, however, we need to go one step further.

If the greatest aspiration of the previous decade was securing public relations a seat in the boardroom, the greater challenge now is restoring people to the center of every organizational decision.

Strategic public relations becomes truly strategic only when it guides organizational strategies not merely toward economic performance, but toward protecting human dignity, strengthening public trust, and improving quality of life.

People are the ultimate purpose

From this perspective, people are the ultimate purpose, while strategy, technology, data, media, and artificial intelligence are simply instruments for serving them—not substitutes for them.

Perhaps the most important mission of public relations in the coming decade will not be producing more content, using more artificial intelligence, or gaining greater media visibility. Rather, it will be defending humanity in a world that is becoming increasingly automated, faster, more complex, and, in many ways, less just.

I believe that if a new movement in public relations is to emerge, it must begin here: with a return to the profession's founding philosophy—a return to the principles championed by Arthur W. Page, James E. Grunig, and many other pioneers of the field: honesty, responsibility, dialogue, trust, respect, and service.

Perhaps the time has come to redefine public relations:

Public relations is neither a tool, nor an organizational function, nor a communication technique, nor an industry. Public relations is the art and the responsibility of serving people. Anything else may bear another name—but it is certainly not public relations.