The Brewers and Public Relations History, 1909–1919

Abstract

In 1909, the American brewing industry's trade association, the United States Brewers' Association, launched its first year book to serve as an educational resource for those concerned about temperance and prohibition. Over the next 10 years, these year books revealed communication efforts that more closely resembled a modern approach to influencing public sentiment, such as the consistent use of 4 key messages, research on local option persuasion campaigns, and a relationship-building outreach program in the form of the Barley Campaign. This study, then, not only contributes to the historical scholarship concerning the role of trade associations in public relations history, but, in its departure from the timeline approach to understanding the field's development, it also contributes to the ongoing theory building in public relations history.