LIKE all things related to the coronavirus pandemic, change has redefined today’s PR practice. While most of us communication practitioners have focused on day-to-day concerns—work from home arrangements, spreading good news amid all the challenges, and handling crisis matters—we should use this opportunity to also think about the future.
With the passing of months, it seems that these changes are here to stay and it is up to practitioners to understand them, embrace them, and to live with them. And with these come thoughts of what is to come.
What indeed is the future of PR and PR agencies? It is said that with great challenges come great opportunities. And Alex Slater, founder and chief strategy officer of the Clyde group echoes this in his article “The Pandemic Will Hasten Changes in PR and PR Agencies in PR News.” Here are his thoughts:
There will be a new in-house/agency balance
With more companies enhancing their communications teams, “brands and companies may focus on building robust in house capabilities,” says Slater. Outside help, on the other hand, “will support the in-house team.”
Slater looks at this as a welcome development that will bring out the best in each side of the relationship. While “in-house personnel offer institutional and subject matter expertise, the strategic vision and tactical execution of an agency can complement that expertise.”
All in all, “balance is the key; each side must contribute to bring about efficient, effective results-oriented strategies.”
The brick and mortar agency will decline
In retail, we refer to brick and mortar as the physical store. In agencies, we are referring to office space, which will be evolving.
“In the wake of the pandemic, some PR firms will need to examine their real-estate costs,” says Slater. “Office space quickly has become a substantial expense, rather than an asset.”
That said, “PR is a human-first business; being in the same room remains incredibly valuable.” While zoom meetings and work from home arrangements point to virtual arrangements, these “more than likely will not be complete.”
Slater predicts that “agencies will retain offices, but they may resemble a free-flowing, coworking meeting space rather than a dedicated desk and cubicle office.” That practice social distancing and health protocols, may we add.
Every firm will be a crisis firm
Slater has observed that “the pandemic has turned nearly every communicator into an issues management consultant, whether they started in consumer PR or influencer marketing.”
With that, “crisis management expertise has gone from a highly concentrated specialization to an expectation of every PR pro.” Likewise, “companies and brands will continue to demand issues-management sensibility from consultants, no matter the project.”
The profession will be democratized
During the lockdown, “there has been a Covid-19- motivated explosion of on-line resources, courses, and academic material—many are free or low cost—that can help any PR practitioner.”
This has democratized the profession, allowed talent to grow further, and reminded us that our line of work demands constant learning and growth.
While quarantine has been challenging, it has also allowed us opportunities to grow and to have new perspectives that will level the playing field.
Projects will become the new normal
Slater sees that as economic uncertainty skyrockets, “companies on retainer will be less prevalent.” Instead, as budgets are squeezed and belts are tightened, “PR pros will need to show their value through quick, nimble projects that yield results and keep potential long-term clients coming back for more.”
Demand for PR holds
For Slater, it is clear that “until the pandemic is over, we will live with constant change and heightened uncertainty.” As such, demand for our expertise will remain.”
He sees that once the pandemic subsides, “we will enter a post-Covid world. Success will belong to those who form strategic partnerships with those they represent, serve as resources during crisis and upheavals, and ultimately deliver their promises.”
Slater says we can all look forward to a new age of PR, where PR firms will be held to a higher standard. With that, “it won’t be enough just to do the job—the PR industry will join the rest of the corporate world in a new era of ethical business practices, philanthropy, pro-bono work, and above and beyond community engagement.”
This is because in the wake of the coronavirus, “the public will expect nothing less.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.
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