Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Bv EDWARD L. BERNAYS
or through a relatively primitive print- edge of the situation and on the appli-
ing press. Books, pamphlets, and news- cation of scientific principles and tried
papers reached a very small literate practices to the task of getting people
segment of the public. to support ideas and programs. Any
We are tired of hearing repeated the person or organization depends ulti-
threadbare cliche "The world has grown mately on public approval, and is there-
smaller"; but this so-called truism is fore faced with the problem of engi-
not actually true, by any means. The neering the public's consent to a pro-
world has grown both smaller and very gram or goal. We expect our elected
much larger. Its physical frontiers government officials to try to engineer
have been expanded. Today's leaders our consent—through the network of
have become more remote physically communications open to them—for the
from the public; yet, at the same time, measures they propose. We reject gov-
the public has much greater familiarity ernment authoritarianism or regimenta-
with these leaders through the system tion, but we are willing to take action
of modern communications. Leaders suggested to us by the written or
are just as potent today as ever. spoken word. The engineering of con-
In turn, by use of this system, which sent is the very essence of the demo-
has constantly expanded as a result of cratic process, the freedom to persuade
technological improvement, leaders have and suggest. The freedoms of speech,
been able to overcome the problems of press, petition, and assembly, the free-
geographical distance and social stratifi- doms which make the engineering of
cation to reach their publics. Under- consent possible, are among the most
lying much of this expansion, and cherished guarantees of the Constitu-
largely the reason for its existence in tion of the United States.
its present form, has been widespread The engineering of consent should be
and enormously rapid diffusion of based theoretically and practically on
literacy. the complete understanding of those
Leaders may be the spokesmen for whom it attempts to win over. But it
many different points of view. They is sometimes impossible to reach joint
may direct the activities of major or- decisions based on an understanding of
ganized groups such as industry, labor, facts by all the people. The average
or units of government. They may American adult has only six years of
compete with one another in battles for schooling behind him. With pressing
public good will; or they may, repre- crises and decisions to be faced, a leader
senting divisions within the larger units, frequently cannot wait for the people
compete among themselves. Such lead- to arrive at even general understanding.
ers, with the aid of technicians in the In certain cases, democratic leaders
field who have specialized in utilizing must play their part in leading the pub-
the channels of communication, have lic through the engineering of consent
been able to accomplish purposefully to socially constructive goals and values.
and scientifically what we have termed This role naturally imposes upon them
"the engineering of consent." the obligation to use the educational
processes, as well as other available
T H E ENGINEERING APPROACH techniques, to bring about as complete
an understanding as possible.
This phrase quite simply means the Under no circumstances should the
use of an engineering approach—that is, engineering of consent supersede or dis-
action based only on thorough knowl- place the functions of the educational
T H E ENGINEERING OF CONSENT 115
democratic countries where free com- ject to possible change after research;
munication and competition of ideas in specifically, what is to be accomplished,
the market place are permitted. The with whom and through whom;
profession has its literature, its training 4. Research of the public to learn
courses, an increasing number of prac- why and how it acts, both individually
titioners, and a growing recognition of and as a group.
social responsibility. Only after this preliminary ground-
In the United States, the profession work has been firmly laid is it possible
deals specifically with the problems of to know whether the objectives are re-
relationship between a group and its alistically attainable. Only then can
public. Its chief function is to analyze the engineer of consent utilize his re-
objectively and realistically the position sources of manpower, money, and time,
of its client vis-a-vis a public and to ad- and the media available. Strategy, or-
vise as to the necessary corrections in ganization, and activities will be geared
its client's attitudes toward and ap- to the realities of the situation.
proaches to that public. It is thus an The task must first be related to the
instrument for achieving adjustment if budget available for manpower and
any maladjustment in relationships ex- mechanics. In terms of human assets,
ists. It must be remembered of course the consent engineer has certain talents
that good will, the basis of lasting ad- —creative, administrative, executive—
justment, can be preserved in the long and he must know what these are. He
run only by those whose actions war- should also have a clear knowledge of
rant it. But this does not prevent those his limitations. The human assets need
who do not deserve good will from win- to be implemented by work space and
ning it and holding onto it long enough office equipment. All material needs
to do a lot of damage. must be provided by budget.
The public relations counsel has a Above all else, once the budget has
professional responsibility to push only been established, and before a first step
those ideas he can respect, and not to is taken, the field of knowledge dealing
promote causes or accept assignments with the subject should be thoroughly
for clients he considers antisocial. explored. This is primarily a matter
of collecting and codifying a store of
PLANNING A CAMPAIGN information so that it will be available
Just as the civil engineer must ana- for practical, efficient use. This pre-
lyze every element of the situation be- liminary work may be tedious and ex-
fore he builds a bridge, so the engineer acting, but it cannot be by-passed; for
of consent, in order to achieve a worth- the engineer of consent should be power-
while social objective, must operate fully equipped with facts, with truths,
from a foundation of soundly planned with evidence, before he begins to show
action. Let us assume that he is en- himself before a public.
gaged in a specific task. His plans The consent engineer should provide
must be based on four prerequisites: himself with the standard reference
1. Calculation of resources, both hu- books on public relations, publicity,
man and physical; i.e., the manpower, public opinion: N. W. Ayer & Son's
the money, and the time available for Directory of Newspapers and Periodi-
the purpose; cals, the Editor and Publisher Year
2. As thorough knowledge of the sub- Book, the Radio Daily Annual, the
ject as possible; Congressional Directory, the Chicago
3. Determination of objectives, sub- Daily News Almanac, the World Al~
T H E ENGINEERING OF CONSENT 117
bination of both, or some other strategy. activities will be on the written and
It may be necessary to develop a plan spoken word, geared to the media and
of action for an election that will be designed for the audiences he is ad-
over in a few weeks or months, or for dressing. He must be sure that his ma-
a campaign that may take years, such terial fits his public. He must prepare
as the effort to cut down the tuberculo- copy written in simple language and
sis death rate. Planning for mass per- sixteen-word sentences for the average
suasion is governed by many factors school-age public. Some copy will be
that call upon all one's powers of train- aimed at the understanding of people
ing, experience, skill, and judgment. who have had seventeen years of school-
Planning should be flexible and provide ing. He must familiarize himself with
for changed conditions. all media and know how to supply them
When the plans have been perfected, with material suitable in quantity and
organization of resources follows, and it quality.
must be undertaken in advance to pro- Primarily, however, the engineer of
vide the necessary manpower, money, consent must create news. News is not
and physical equipment. Organization an inanimate thing. It is the overt act
also correlates the activities of any spe- that makes news, and news in turn
cialists who may be called upon from shapes the attitudes and actions of peo-
time to time, such as opinion research- ple. A good criterion as to whether
ers, fund raisers, publicity men, radio something is or is not news is whether
and motion picture experts, specialists the event juts out of the pattern of
for women's clubs and foreign language routine. The developing of events and
groups, and the like. circumstances that are not routine is
one of the basic functions of the engi-
T H E TACTICS
neer of consent. Events so planned can
At this point it will be possible to be projected over the communication
plan the tactics of the program, i.e., to systems to infinitely more people than
decide how the themes are to be dis- those actually participating, and such
seminated over the idea carriers, the events vividly dramatize ideas for those
networks of communication. who do not witness the events.
Do not think of tactics in terms of The imaginatively managed event
segmental approaches. The problem is can compete successfully with other
not to get articles into a newspaper or events for attention. Newsworthy
obtain radio time or arrange a motion events, involving people, usually do not
picture newsreel; it is rather to set in happen by accident. They are planned
motion a broad activity, the success of deliberately to accomplish a purpose,
which depends on interlocking all phases to influence our ideas and actions.
and elements of the proposed strategy, Events may also be set up in chain
implemented by tactics that are timed reaction. By harnessing the energies of
to the moment of maximum effective- group leaders, the engineer of consent
ness. An action held over but one day can stimulate them to set in motion ac-
may fall completely flat. Skilled and tivities of their own. They will or-
imaginative timing has determined the ganize additional, specialized, subsidary
success of many mass movements and events, all of which will further drama-
campaigns, the familiar phenomena so tize the basic theme.
typical of the American people's be-
havior pattern. CONCLUSION
Emphasis of the consent engineer's Communication is the key to engi-
120 T H E ANNALS OF T H E AMERICAN ACADEMY
neering consent for social action. But When the public is convinced of the
it is not enough to get out leaflets and soundness of an idea, it will proceed to
bulletins on the mimeograph machines, action. People translate an idea into
to place releases in the newspapers, or action suggested by the idea itself,
to fill the air waves with radio talks. whether it is ideological, political, or
Words, sounds, and pictures accomplish social. They may adopt a philosophy
little unless they are the tools of a that stresses racial and religious toler-
soundly thought-out plan and carefully ance; they may vote a New Deal into
organized methods. If the plans are office; or they may organize a consum-
well formulated and the proper use is ers' buying strike. But such results do
made of them, the ideas conveyed by not just happen. In a democracy they
the words will become part and parcel can be accomplished principally by the
of the people themselves. engineering of consent.