Social movements and public relations in the early twentieth century: How one group used public relations to curtail venereal disease rates
Abstract
A case study of the American Social Hygiene Association (ASHA) campaign to craft a national vision for social health showed that the group used public relations-like strategies to, as one of their officials said, “crystallize public opinion” years before Edward Bernays wrote a book of the same title. Although these efforts might not have been labeled public relations at the time, this study introduces some precedents of contemporary public relations. In this study, social activism offered a more robust approach to addressing an issue than using media relations alone could do. ASHA members used communication strategies such as segmenting audiences, utilizing events to reach appropriate audiences, using visual media, and creating house organs to arouse public sentiment, influence attitudes, and promote desired behavior.This case study expands public relations history theory by examining why ASHA members practiced public relations as they did. In this case, ASHA used persuasive communication to pierce the veil of silence around venereal disease to craft a national vision for social hygiene and legitimize the group as the major voice on this topic. Lessons from this case can illustrate how public relations can be conducted more effectively, especially in relation to social movements.