PR and Tomorrow

The massive reset of the U.S. and world economy is still underway as we unwind from an era of excess(ive everything) and legacy cost burdens which are unsustainable in the on-demand information age. Public relations continues to be well positioned for future growth as old-school advertising morphs to look more like expensive PR. Advertising is certainly needed, just not as it functioned before. I’m coming off of two weeks of travel to Raleigh, New York City and Las Vegas. Below are a few of my observations on how communications and general trends fit into this emerging world order.


Make a connection. The more and more I read, observe and discuss, the more I am convinced that most meaningful brand interaction and reputation building will originate on the Internet. Not all consumers are going there first, but mavens and educated people are. Yesterday’s NYT had a full-page advertisement for the iPhone which showed all the applications that are usable right now for nearly everyone. Social networks? Restaurant ratings? Recipes? Weather? GPS? Yes. All of them and more. There are applications being created for smart phones every day to help people communicate and maneuver through life with more ease. These communications techniques (known as apps) will serve as hubs for meaningful interaction and value.

Be real. Authentic experiences are becoming more and more important to stakeholders. Cookie-cutter approaches to communicating for the purposes of scale are increasingly difficult. They can drive profits, but the break through communicators are seeking authenticity. How do you create authenticity? If you experience it, you know it.

This is me. Everyone wants to use the word transparency. It is today’s buzzword, but I submit that honesty could be a more descriptive word for how companies need to think about communicating with audiences, especially internally. Transparency is me being open to evaluation by others. Honesty is being able to share information in an open, tactful and, well, honest way. Honesty breeds trust. Think about the difference between the two.

Risk and reward. I read where Goldman Sachs is sending e-mails to clients with investment opportunities with projected returns. Surely this is crazy talk during the recession, right? No, I believe the best positioned individuals and brands are aggressively seeking new profit centers right now. Creativity and perception has always been a good trait for picking winners in America. The question for PR people is how to find the special people and tell their story and what avenues to use.

May I help you? Steve Rubel from Edelman Digital wrote about customer service in 2009 focusing on the giant social network world as a virtual customer service hotline. “Customer service is the new PR,” he said. Because of the glitz and over-the-top atmosphere of Las Vegas, customer service is tantamount to staying in business. While there for the NCAA basketball tournament, it was amazing how much more I was willing to pay for great service. Internal communications training programs on etiquette, appearance and customer engagement could be the difference between profit and loss and a PR professional can help you navigate that avenue.

Smile. Since October 2008, we have promoted that the best leaders should have an optimistic outlook and speak up. I’d like to extend that to brands. The bottom of the market may not be here yet, but consumers and business leaders-alike are tired of the bad news. Using bright colors, communicate the good news early and often. It might rub off on someone.

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