Clients Dictate Evolution in PR Strategy

"Coming to terms with the fear of death is conducive to conscious evolution."
-Stanislav Grof

Whether directly or indirectly, the client’s needs have an impact on business regardless of the industry. In this age of fluid and innovative media, how will the changing needs of the consumer affect public relations professionals and agencies?

PR professionals will continue to uphold their roles as trend analysts and organizational leaders. However, opportunities to become experts of the new complexities of the craft are quickly becoming the norm. This means that agencies will need to become trusted aides for their clients.

Keeping the patron’s knowledge razor sharp is one of the major undertakings. The client will be more able to make intelligent tactical decisions such as the right mix of strategies, channels, and tools.

Direct competition to PR professionals will force them to step up to the plate and deliver meaningful results. By-products of this high level contest should turn strategists to look at ways in which they can gain deeper engagement with clients in more project-based commitments. If the agency can’t prove the business impact of a project, the will lose the business.

So what will come of this aggressive push? The stakes are higher, meaning a bigger payout for those that figure out the "how-to" and a washout for those that fall flat. Also, a great benefit for the industry is that everyone must “raise [their] game.”

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

This is the first of many writings I will post about Public Relations this semester. To preface my outline style I will share that most of my writings will speak to the strategy of public relations. I will try to begin each post with a fun quote/image that relates to that particular post. Though there will inevitably be some selections that are jargon filled, I will do my best to keep it simple and pertinent.


Enjoy!

"Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine." 

- Robert C. Gallagher

The New Year is upon us and many are discussing what changes to expect for 2011. Now more than ever the business world is changing in remarkable ways. Public Relations has become an extremely volatile discipline. Some may even wonder if it is becoming obsolete.

PR agencies are service oriented businesses, which sell the time, knowledge, and skills necessary to complete tasks that give their clients the competitive edge. Software is becoming increasingly advanced and can take over many of the menial tasks that public relations agencies had been managing. The new tools and technologies are driving down the perceived value of those core tasks.

News consumption is becoming more personalized with social media distribution via Twitter, RSS feeds, etc. PR agencies can look forward to competing in this ever evolving environment by replacing service with product. Analysis functions are becoming more automated, yet there remains a significant layer of information that still requires interpretation.

Visionaries in the PR world will see this volatility and these technological innovations as good news. They will view applied technology as a method to streamline low value tasks. 

Bottom line...