Consulting on comms

PR and communications membership body, the PRCA, has changed its name to the Public Relations & Communications Association. The decision follows a four-month consultation involving members and non-members across every level of the PR industry.

The name was changed from Public Relations Consultants Association, held by the organisation since it was founded in 1969. At this time, the PRCA existed only to represent PR consultants. And, although its acronym remains to ensures brand recognition is retained, the PRCA says its new name, ‘Reflects the value that [its] members place on communications.’

Complementing the rebrand is a new strapline, ‘The Power of Communication’. This is as well as an updated online presence and renewed corporate identity. The now blue logo is capitalised, and eschews the previous complementary image of interlocking rings – a cleaner, brighter visual identity reflects its modernised name.

Francis Ingham, director general of the PRCA, says, "As the UK’s largest professional body for PR and communications practitioners, the PRCA represents people in every part of our industry – consultancies, in-house teams, freelancers, students. So our name needed to change, because the days when we were home only to agencies is long gone – we’re now the natural home of every serious PR and communications practitioner."

The initial consultation on a proposed name change was launched in May 2016. It followed concerns that the inclusion of ‘consultants’ was no longer relevant to the broad church of PRCA members, particularly as the body has been admitting in-house and individual members for the previous five years.

It was also considered that communications has an increasingly relevant role to play in the industry, with PR no longer the sole offering of most associates.