One ofthe limitations of current research in international public relations is the centrality ofthe nation state in definitions of the field (e.g., Sriramesh, 2009). And according to Bardhan (2013), public relations discourse about globalization is rooted in Western and capitalist/corporate models. Thus, most international public relations research has focused on corporate public relations, usually based in English-speaking environs. However, a recent study (Johnson & Sink, 2013) argued that communication for organizations such as ethnic activist groups or cultural heritage organizations has growing influence in global society and yet has received little scholarly attention. Although ethnic media scholarship has investigated the role of such niche media, there has been no similar examination in public relations, even though practitioners now produce globally distributed “owned media” themselves (Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 2014).

Given this organization-controlled media production, along with traditional media relations and other tactics, public relations by culture-specific organizations bears attention. One such organization is Catalan! Arts, part of the Ministry of Culture for the Government of Catalonia, an autonomous region in Spain. Catalan! Arts was created in 2005 by the International Promotion Department (now Market Development), a unit of the Catalan Institute for Cultural Companies. The organization’s aim is to create a brand that can help markets abroad visualize the Catalan cultural companies. The main purpose is to offer support to the production of professional projects and their promotion abroad. While diffusing Catalan identity and cultural knowledge worldwide and contributing to the cultural industries sector of the Catalan economy, this arts organization also improves the well-being of artists, performers and their audiences. Ultimately, this contributes to the creative economy of Catalonia.

The goal of this case study is to discuss the role of identity-based public relations in global society by demonstrating how Catalan! Arts employs a combination of digital and traditional public relations strategies to reach audiences throughout Europe, the Americas and beyond. The study provides insight and practical examples for communication professionals. In addition, by concentrating on an autonomous region’s strategic communication, we hope to help reduce what Sriramesh has termed the “extreme ethnocentricity” of the public relations body of knowledge (2009).