PR Squared: Five Thoughts on The Future of Public Relations

IStock_000005408268XSmall Been doing a fair amount of reading and pondering about the future of SHIFT, and of PR in general.

We’ve come to think of our agency as a “tween.” No longer a scrappy start-up, and increasingly finding ourselves punching above our weight-class in newbiz pitches. It’s exciting to be pitching for FORTUNE 1000 business, even if it means the competition is far more fierce. We wrestle with how to best present our credentials.

Meanwhile, the PR industry is catching-on to this whole Social Media thang: although too many agencies still view Social Media as a “checkbox” rather than a sea-change, my arguments to this effect sometimes fall on deaf ears, especially when talking to less savvy prospects.

Lastly, a friend gave me a copy of the Arthur W. Page Society report on “The Authentic Enterprise.” There were no big surprises in the study, but, it did a good job of summarizing our industry’s challenges and opportunities. For example, this quote jumped out at me:

“What happens when analysts and media – once necessary aggregators if a business wanted to reach mass audiences – lose their unique ability to reach those audiences or to legitimize the company’s message?”

This future is coming and will crush PR agencies unprepared to meet the advancing wave of change.

And yet, change is scary. Even for a bleeding-edger like me. Some of the preparation we must undergo lies far outside our comfort zone. Here are 5 random thoughts on The Future of Public Relations…

Agencies must become comfortable with the personal branding of individual employees. Agency employees will increasingly need to step out of the shadows, to serve as transparent client advocates in a community relations role. Many clients will handle this on their own with internal resources, but even in those cases we can expect Agency personnel to supplement the effort – and in the process, become well-known to various online community segments. This is a far cry from our historical role behind-the-scenes. It also is scary from a talent retention standpoint.

Agencies must do a far better job of training staff. The days of paying lip-service to Training are over. With the sunlight shining on every pitch and community interaction, woe betide the agency who lets greenhorns loose behind the keyboard.

Agencies must explain to clients – with crystal clarity – that mistakes will happen. No one likes to admit to fallibility, especially in a newbiz situation, but the reality is that mistakes will be outed. More to the point, you can do everything right but, because the Agency now often deals with (unpredictable) edge users, even their best moves risk being unfairly skewered by the community. The burden is on the Agency to plan in advance for such contingencies. No one likes surprises and, everyone appreciates an Action Plan that can be turned to in a crisis.

Agencies must help clients move from Reactive to Proactive to Interactive. This was another interesting note from the Page Society report. For years it’s been enough to offer “Rapid Reaction.” Nowadays, Agencies can differentiate by developing proactive community outreach models that minimize the impact of inevitable flare-ups. But, what’s next? Outside our comfort zone, but within our reach: collaborating with all stakeholders (executives and employees, customers, online and offline communities) on an on-going basis to help guide corporate strategy. To help companies “conduct public relations as if the whole company depends on it.”

Agencies must reconsider their core value. While I think that the PR industry can legitimitely evolve to include aspects of Community Relations (a.k.a. Social Media Relations) under its banner, there are other ways to think about value. This is particularly pertinent for the hundreds of small to mid-size shops that can’t afford to compete on all fronts as they had when “Media Relations” was the universal specialty. Maybe it’s time to specialize? Is the Agency keenly tuned in to a specific vertical market (e.g., healthcare) or demographic (e.g., baby-boomers)? Start staking your claims.

These are mostly high-level musings – and there are more to consider, of course. What are your thoughts? Will you help me prepare for the future? With such high level concerns in place, my challenge will be to think about the strategies and tactics to address them for both our clients and agency. You’ll hear about these adventures (and misadventures) here at PR-Squared, ‘natch.

Comments

I agree that many agencies are in for a lot of trouble.. but is "doing social media" the answer?

Seems that you can outsource individuals being themselves.

I see PR pros being more important than ever. Most people don't get the social media revolution. There will be educational work to do for at least the rest of the careers of anyone that does.

Posted by: Warren Whitlock | May 7, 2008 08:47 PM

"Agencies must become comfortable with the personal branding of individual employees."

Bet you can guess why this is my favorite.

Posted by: Dan Schawbel | May 7, 2008 10:36 PM

Todd,
As I read your post, I can't help but think back to 8 years ago:

In 2000, The Council of PR Firms commissioned IMT Strategies, an international research firm with clients such as IBM and American Express, to research the Internet’s impact on the PR Industry. The result was a 70-page report entitled, “The Impact of the Internet on Public Relations and Business Communications” that was largely unread due to its length and price. But just because the study did not become a “must have” among PR practitioners does not mean it didn’t have valuable information.

IMT Strategies found that “the PR and communications industry was not leveraging technology as well as other marketing disciplines and is generally thin on innovation.” Further, “Internet-enabled, networked communications will force change on the communications industry, whether participants like it or not.” So how can we leverage this information to improve our own best practices, to enhance our service offerings to existing clients and to expand services and win new business?

In coming months, I’ll explore some specific ideas and tools that are available in practice. Today, I’ll leave you with the six high-level implications found by IMT Strategies about our industry and the corresponding six action items for us as communications leaders.

Implication #1
Quality and authenticity will be self-regulated
Corresponding Action
--Identify key online sources of credibility and influence

Implication #2
The volume of information flowing will grow
Corresponding Action
--Find ways to extract value from information

Implication #3
The media is exploding
Corresponding Action
--Develop new coverage models

Implication #4
Levels of centralized control will decrease
Corresponding Action
--Redefine value proposition from gatekeeper to gateway

Implication #5
Efficiency of communication will increase
Corresponding Action
--Get faster and/or get out of the way

Implication #6
Collaboration and interaction will increase
Corresponding Action
--Develop new models for two-way communication

around and around we go, eh?

Posted by: Dee Rambeau | May 8, 2008 12:11 AM

I always enjoy how you seem to have your finger on the pulse of PR. Excellent post.

Posted by: Hannah Smith | May 8, 2008 01:17 AM

I'd wanted to write a post along these lines, but struggled to go beyond the obvious ('opportunties and threats'). So I welcome your thoughts.

Senior PR practitioners help organizations envisage the future and help them navigate there. I can see why you're punching above your weight.

But at a more technical level, there are some gaps emerging. I see the need for a new class of editors: people who can commission, select, edit ideas in multiple formats (blog posts, web copy, news, podcasts, videos). Training may help, otherwise these jobs will continue to go to reporters, not PR graduates.

Phil Gomes and Mike Manuel have made good contributions to this topic at PROpenMic and in their blogs.

Posted by: Richard Bailey | May 8, 2008 07:08 AM

Agencies must become comfortable with the personal branding of individual employees.

My favorite as well. My boss just told me that my post on our blog may be too "self-congratulatory," but I was like "I've done a lot of work on this!"

The way I see it, if one employee shines, the whole team shine. The sun doesn't have to only bask it's glow on the president.

Perhaps that's a little naive, no?

Posted by: Chad Richards | May 8, 2008 09:35 AM

Interesting that added technology is actually forcing the humanization of the industry. Being honest, allowing for mistakes, admitting being on a learning curve, putting emphasis on the individual; what interesting concepts. You're on the right track. The audiences are moving even if some PR folks aren't...yet. Since the money follows the audience, smart communications professionals will too. Really smart ones like you already are.

I really enjoy your observations.

Posted by: Mike Chapman | May 8, 2008 09:37 AM

Great post! I especially like the "interactive" message. I started blogging about PR a few weeks ago specifically because of the reasons you posted here. I think a lot of agencies still see the web as a marketing function and they've got a lot of growing up to do if they're going to stay relevant in the changing economy. You're one of the few that gets it. Thanks for the insight.

Posted by: Marie Rotter | May 8, 2008 11:42 AM

The greatest impact Social Media will have on PR is that it is the lion that will cull the slow gazelles for not only the PR Industry, but Media outlets as well.

We're already seeing the demise of print publications, the pinkslipping of media employees, forcing us to be nimble and quick to respond to the changing landscapes. The firms that can't make this change will also be the Dinosaurs in this Social Media La Brea tarpit.

I think an important point that is missed in this is that Public Relations will have to be able to survive the scrutiny of being tracked for ROI. No longer is the clipping book a viable evidentiary example of your firm's work. Analytics and reporting will become a true measurement for PR that has some of my peers cringing.

I'm excited to be part of this rollercoaster ride and look forward to the next great communication tool coming down the pike.

-Chris
Sterling Cross Communications
Traditional Storytelling Integrating Today's Technology
www.sterlingcrossgroup.com

Posted by: Chris Lower | May 8, 2008 05:18 PM

Thanks, all, for the great and insightful comments (and compliments). And @Chris, yes, Measurement is a biggie. Woulda been #6. ;)

Posted by: Todd Defren | May 8, 2008 05:43 PM

Good post T, and interesting insight from Dee Rambeau; it's taken trad PR agencies an age to move away from a client offering that's only just maturing in its acceptance (and full rev gen potential) - isnt that why it'll take another 10 for clients and dinosaur practitioners to 'gettit'? Gerry

Posted by: Gerry McCusker | May 9, 2008 03:43 AM

Very interesting, thoughtful post. Love to hear more about your personal branding ideas and how you see agencies coming out from the shadows.

Posted by: Wendy Marx | May 9, 2008 12:00 PM

Todd,

Excellent post. Very insightful and provocative. A couple thoughts in response...

Many agencies and corporations are scared of the personal branding happening at the employee level. Perhaps tech-focused firms are better at this than others, but in my experience, most managers are more afraid of than excited about employees' personal blogs. They see it as a potential liability instead of a huge asset. Probably just a matter of perspective, I hope.

Clients do indeed expect mistake-free work. This was never possible, just easier to hide previously. Potential and actual clients must hear up-front that pitfalls exist, account execs are human and mistakes will be made. Of course, I've never heard that nor said that in a pitch.

Specialization and niche-development are the future and the near-present. Being a generalist doesn't cut it anymore because there are too many specialists working their butts off to know more, go faster and out-hustle their generalists competitors, and with their narrow, laser-like focus, they will probably succeed. Small is the new big, right?

Posted by: Cortland Coleman | May 9, 2008 03:01 PM

This post made Jo's PR top 5 http://strivepr.com/wordpress/2008/05/09/may-9th-jos-pr-top-five/

Posted by: Sherrilynne Starkie | May 10, 2008 07:32 AM