I know, it sounds dramatic. Don’t worry though — this isn’t another post about the death of the press release. However, I do believe we are experiencing a significant shift in the way PR is viewed overall and how companies approach it to get more value and visibility out of their marketing investments.
Despite these changes, PR offers a reliably classic communications foundation that re-appears in many different forms over time based on evolving tastes, trends and business models.
The real question is not whether what we did before worked, but rather, how we can build on lessons learned and use new resources to incorporate yet-to-be-invented ways of reaching and genuinely connecting with the people who comprise a given target audience of customers, prospects, influencers, media, and others.
Part of this means leveraging tech and automation to synthesize current market data and customer experiences and preferences. The resulting insights can certainly inform new and improved thought leadership and media angles that can integrate with marketing campaigns.
But it’s also about organizations reflecting on their identity and noticing whether their PR voice comes across as human and relatable so that the right people pay attention.
It’s is the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine. Better than fine, actually, because I know we can still trust in the premise of the PR that we’ve practiced for decades, while expanding into new ways of delivering effective communications and strengthening an organization’s visibility and connection with the markets it serves.