The debate about the changing state of the PR industry seems to be rumbling on. The so called weakening press, continuing fall in print circulations, lack of journalist contacts and the social media boom is leading to questions such as “Has the British PR industry grown too big for journalism?”
There seems to be a noticeable split between those who think that the practice of PR is having to shift completely, and those who think that ultimately the role of PR is the same, there are now purely more ways to inform and persuade the public.
A recent BBC Radio 4 debate hosted by Evan Davis saw some of the industry’s top practitioners at loggerheads over the state of the PR industry. Julia Hobsbawm (Sarah Brown’s former business partner) maintained that there has been a movement on from the common definition, “the use of 3rd part endorsement to inform and persuade” to a new culture of engagement, where the public can now “answer back” in a way that was not previously possible. This, she argued, means that PR is having to become more specialised to cater for fragmented audiences. This is why I believe it’s so important for brands to cultivate a trustworthy ‘personality’ and engage in a two way exchange of information with consumers.
Tim Bell of Chime Communications hit back at this idea arguing that there’s a danger that people are rebranding the industry which is ultimately the same. Is there actually any difference between so called engagement and relations? The role of PR, he purported, is the same, there are just ‘more media’ through which to communicate with target audiences.
I would tend to agree with Tim on this one, whilst it may now be more difficult to get publicity in what Hobsbawm described as the big media influencers, social networks are now part of mainstream media, and PR officers need to become savvy in working with all outlets, both traditional and contemporary. As a budding account exec myself, I think it’s important that I am competent at traditional media relations as well working with social networking sites and bloggers. This is where the industry is ultimately headed.
50 foodie things to do before you die
10 years ago
Posts
Well done for raising this important topic.
ReplyDeleteI note how David Phillips is ready to proclaim the Death of Public Relations: http://leverwealth.blogspot.com/2010/02/death-of-public-relations.html
From my perspective, it's obvious that tools and techniques will continue to evolve because of eg changes in the media landscape. But I see no need yet to revise my understanding of the purpose of public relations, which has never been explicitly about any one channel such as media relations.
That's why the definitional issue you raise is so important.