Proactive Versus Reactive

In 2011, Edelman was named the largest public relations firm in the world. This well deserved title came from over 60 years of hard work, dedication, and sometimes hardship from Dan Edelman and his team. Over those six decades of tireless work in the public relations industry, Dan Edelman stayed true to his values. He made the decision to keep his firm an independent and family owned business. He turned his dream from a small office in Chicago into a worldwide public relations powerhouse that is now unstoppable. Edelman is known for being creating consistently innovative ideas for clients and one campaign in particular really shows that.

In 2004, Dove hired Edelman to lead the public relations component for their Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. After doing some alarming research, Edelman found that only 2 percent of women found themselves to be beautiful and only 13 percent of women were satisfied with their weight and shape. This astounding fact help Edelman grow the Dove for Real Beauty Campaign by launching a worldwide media tour to promote real beauty and to debate society’s unrealistic expectations of women. The campaign landed on the cover of People magazine and was featured on TV shows such as Oprah, Ellen, Dr. Phil, and The Today Show. The campaign is still going strong and continued to help promote self-esteem and women and girls around the world.

Rick Murray, Edelman Chicago’s President, said it perfectly when he stated, “The public relations industry should be proactive versus reactive.”  The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is just one example on how Edelman was proactive with a campaign and looked at a larger picture than just selling products. They saw the positive long-term effects of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, a campaign that is still very prevalent in our society.

Brittany Worthylake is a senior at DePaul University double majoring in Public Relations/Advertising and Relational Communication. Brittany is currently the Sony Pictures Intern at Allied Integrated Marketing and was the president of DePaul University PRSSA from March 2011-March 2012. Brittany hopes to work in a firm specializing in restaurant, hospitality and lifestyle PR. She can be reached at bworthylake@gmail.com.