Richard Edelman inducted into Arthur W. Page Hall of Fame

Maureen Mullins | 9/21/18

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“To become leaders in the industry there must be a shift in how we are thinking. There is needs to be a push by combining marketing and communications and making it communications marketing,” Edelman said in his hall of fame inductee speech.

“We are advocates for truth. [We] prove it through our behavior and action; no other discipline holds it that closely. Now it’s time to lead,” Edelman said, while addressing his colleagues about the evolution of public relations. At the Arthur W. Page Society event Richard Edelman, president and chief executive officer at the public relations firm Edelman spoke to fellow practitioners about the evolution of public relations. The event was held to honor him as the 2014 Hall of Fame inductee.

There he mentioned that it is time for a change. To be leaders in the industry it is time to value and follow these three points: evolve, promote and protect. Doing this will result in leading and being proactive instead of reactive. Edelman mentioned “Recognize our role to evolve, promote and protect company, always doing what’s right for the enterprise not for the next day sale.” This will propel the industry, instead of focusing on damage control. It’s all about being ahead of the problem and holding companies to the standard they represent, guiding them to have strong trust with their publics.

He made his opinion clear by indicating, “it is time to change and grow” by having a strong ethical base. Edelman listed five trends to pursue, by representing trust, adapting to the complexity of the industry, brands acting for the community, adjusting to the transformation of media, and understanding the benefit of technology. Edelman claimed “We must be brave enough to make organizational and cultural changes.”

Olivia Cebollero, a student at Washington State University who watched the speech said:

The speech was very interesting, especially when Richard Edelman elaborated on how a simple word

switch like “marketing communications” into “communication marketing,” can impact the

communications world for the better. I appreciated his candid talk of accepting that these new ideas

will cause discomfort but implored his peers to push through.

Indicating that Edelman’s words will be carried through to future public relations practitioners.