Former Head – Corporate Communications, L&T
Even though the Future seems far away
It is actually beginning right now
When starting to think about what the future of Public Relations is, a question worth asking is, what is PR all about?
Well, in simple terms Public Relations is about touching hearts and minds while telling compelling stories of positivity.
Now for a moment let us look at the current state of the world around us. The rising trends are that of:
- Polarization of society and politics
- Geo-political volatility
- Anxiety and uncertainty due to impact of climate change and new technologies such as AI
- Dearth of inspirational figures who can lead the world on the righteous path.
Not to forget the raw scars of the pandemic that humankind is trying to heal from.
Weaving through all these trends is a common thread – the relevance and exigency of credible and thoughtful voices across all touchpoints of social interactions. Voices that people can trust and depend on to make sense of what is unfolding around us.
In my view, as the world negotiates the complex interchanges, cross roads and inflection points, leaders and organisations across society will increasingly feel the need for thoughtful counselling and guidance to make sure that their voices cut through the clutter with the sharp edges of TRUST & CREDIBILITY.
As practitioners in this industry, we know fully well that trust and credibility are hard baked into the DNA of Public Relations.
The future unquestionably belongs to Public Relations.
Well, does that mean we as practitioners of PR just put on our best suits and wait in anticipation as organisations and leaders start to queue up outside our doors.
Far from it. There are challenges that the PR industry faces within that need to be addressed with clarity and urgency.
The foremost factor, which I feel often messes with our future thinking is the dreaded T word.
These days most of our discourse on the future of PR gets lost in trying to measure the dimensions of the Godzilla called TECHNOLOGY.
Indeed, technology is a disruptor. As much as it has changed the way we communicate, its use by bad actors has also created a significant trust deficit in society.
So, while we try to tame the dragons of AI, VR, Data and Analytics, and in trying to compete with marketing to get a larger slice of the integrated communications cake, we often get distracted from the big picture – the purpose of PR. Now, more than ever is the time when we need to collectively double down on keeping the basic values of PR front and center. That is what makes us different and gives us a seat on the decision making tables.
On the structural front of Public Relations, there are huge changes underway in both the Consultancy and In-House Communications spaces.
I see public relations consultancies as mines that create the diamonds of our profession. When young talent is subjected to intense heat and pressure of consistently delivering thoughtful work based on sound reasoning and thinking on their feet in the face of fast developing scenarios, they develop into stars that further the cause of the profession.
PR consultancies are currently engaged in a battle on several fronts – How should they structure? How should they position and price? What should they do to attract and retain talent?
The In-House Corporate Communications space too is reshaping rapidly in response to the transforming corporate landscape.
Growing digitalisation and efficiency tools are forcing businesses to undertake restructuring at a massive scale. In this context, in-house PR will play a multidisciplinary role.
As much as the media and external audiences, employees have emerged as a priority stakeholder for the in-house PR function. Workplace environment and workforce well-being are areas where PR will have increasing inputs.
With society and employees expecting businesses to take a public stand on social causes, manoeuvring around the exploding landmines of issues and developing an early warning radar for potential reputational impact is another area where PR will be increasingly involved.
As a complex, multi stakeholder society demands more from organisations and corporations, PR is grappling with dilution of trust in legacy media, which till recently had a cloud cover of credibility.
This creates a new challenge for PR, that of building its own community on the back of trusted content and owned digital media channels.
While the realm of involvement of in-house PR is expanding, there are challenges around models of structuring the role and allocation of budgets.