Lobbying, Public Relations

There is a common perception that lobbying and public relations (PR) have become more enmeshed in recent years, with lines blurred between the two. Part of the confusion lies in the simple fact that both lobbyists and PR specialists seek to influence others. Given the perceived overlap of lobbying and PR, we feel it’s important to distinguish between the two and outline the objectives of both. Let’s take a closer look.

Lobbying Defined

is generally defined as seeking to influence political decisions on behalf of an individual, organization, or group.

Lobbyists typically work with state and federal legislators and members of regulatory agencies to advocate for the proposal, passage, defeat, or amendment of laws or regulations—whether at the local, state, or federal level. Lobbyists are professionals who seek to understand the concerns, needs, and interests of their clients and use their knowledge of the legislative process to educate key decision makers. Lobbyists are sometimes unpaid volunteers who lobby because they feel strongly enough about an issue that they feel compelled to advocate for it.

Lobbyists represent a range of clients—from trade groups, to nonprofits, to labor unions, to corporations and religious organizations. They are prohibited from paying elected officials for their vote on an issue.

Those who meet three criteria must register as a lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. The criteria include:

1. Having earned more than $3, 000 over a three-month period from lobbying
2. Having had more than one lobbying contact
3. Having spent more than 20 of their time lobbying for a single client over a three-month period

Now let’s look at public relations.

Public Relations Defined

The definition of public relations (PR) is broad, but generally describes using communication to achieve a variety of goals on behalf of an individual, organization, or group. These goals can include:

• Promoting a product or service
• Internal communications (such as relaying the performance of a company to its employees)
• Communicating the performance of a publicly-traded company (investor relations)