EVP & Chief – Corporate Communications,
ITC Limited
UNLEASHING A LATENT SUPERPOWER
In 2025, we are no longer required to ponder and pen a chapter. No human is.
The future has arrived.
For the first time in the history of humankind, humans are not the only ones capable of being human-like. Artificial Intelligence or AI has already changed how we look for and consume information, with AI-powered search replacing traditional googling, conversational AI replacing old reading habits and zero-click searches replacing lead generation strategies, to name just a few use cases.
But this article is not about AI in PR.
For, it will take you or your GenAI chatbot just a few seconds to read millions of sites on your behalf, access gigabytes of information, which it can parse and present to you in a format exactly as you prefer it – paragraph-style, bullet points or even a Shakespearean sonnet!
Therefore, something like ‘10 new trends in the future of PR’ is a clickable knowledge that is admittedly rich, and available on your palm before you can read the next line. And that’s brilliant. For, this frees me up to share with you a few personal thoughts on what I believe the future entails in the world of PR & Corporate Communications.
A FLEXIFUTURISTIC FORCE
When you crystal gaze into the future, it is difficult to miss the signs of a latent superpower waiting to be unleashed. Much like everything else happening in the confident, technologically savvy and resilient India.
Let’s look at some of our enduring strengths. Collectively, PR professionals possess thousands of hours of invaluable, solid and battle-worn experiences and a treasure-house of lasting relationships. We have a summit view of our organisation and its universe and a proven track record in resolving crises. And we are the rocket fuel that powers the reputation of the organisation and its leadership to newer heights.
It is, thus, no surprise that our unique multi-faceted role affords us a front seat in the carnival of eternal change that propels the world forward.
And that brings me to the soul of the future. Change.
In 1899, Charles H. Duell, Commissioner to the US Office of Patents, famously said “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” Four years before the Wright brothers invented the airplane, 28 years before the television entered our lives, 39 years before the ballpoint pen. You get the drift.
Things change; they always have. This time around, there is one difference. Never before have the speed, scale and frequency of change been this mindboggling, this dazzling, this overwhelming.
If geo-politics, re-globalisation and trade conflicts are changing the world as we knew it, emergencies like climate change and depleting resources are putting a question mark on existence. Corporates are not islands of calm in this sea of turbulence. The new mantra is resilience in the face of adversity, agility to reimagine competitiveness and ability to harness technology to take the next leap forward.
This is where the first and perhaps most critical skill for future PR professionals emerges.
A photograph, be it a sepia-tinted postcard in an old family album or a digital click posted on social media, remains a precious moment, evoking the same emotions, whatever be the medium.
Today, technology has brought an overwhelming array of mediums at our disposal. Reels, stills or an OTT feature, sound on or sound off, vertical or horizontal, owned media or influencer collab — it is easy to get lost in this labyrinth of options and forget our core tenet — message over medium. While the medium keeps evolving, the message must remain our timeless hero.
Some timeless truths of our profession that I believe will endure the tests of time lie in: the power of the message; the genuineness and honesty of the messenger; the ability to craft positive memorable moments; the pursuit of the art & science of communication to build reputational equity in the minds of millions and the ability to create and enrich relationships.
Yet, this will happen in a fast-evolving world that is fractured yet hyper-connected, where conversations are voiceless but take place in a virtual cacophony, where algos decide what you see, where a constant barrage of information competes for your attention, where your newspaper, television, movie theatre, library, social gatherings, e-commerce, therapist and doctor are reaching you through your intelligent specs as you navigate a driverless car.
The superpower that is the need of the hour is the ability to synergise our timeless truths with this avalanche of change, harness the technological advancements to strengthen the perception and reputation of our organisations that have a direct bearing on business outcomes. As we do so, we must again and again remember that our core strengths will differentiate our journey into the future, not just the channels we will deploy as tech evolves even more rapidly around us.
WARRIORS OF A DIFFERENT BATTLE
This brings me to my second belief — I believe the time has come to see our work through a new lens that defines a new purpose for all of us.
For long, reputation and its management has been our raison d’etre. Yes, creating trust, shaping perceptions, engaging with stakeholders and enhancing relationships are the bedrock of building reputation.
But in a supercharged environment of change and uncertainty, winning enterprises need a hefty dose of resilience, nimbleness and far-sightedness to seize opportunities and strengthen competitiveness.
Thus, from a reactive role, where we championed business outcomes to enhance the reputation of our organisation, we have to become the reason for the business outcomes. A shift from a support function to a strategic one that plays a proactive role by channelising our strengths and skills to create visible and meaningful business value.
How we help build moats around our businesses to protect them from future threats, how we leverage our summit view and relationships to identify opportunities and trends ahead of time and how we align internal and external forces to sharpen organisation-wide agility will decide how we shift the needle of PR from ‘support function’ to ‘strategic business partner’.
I strongly believe that the primary task for Corporate Communications and PR is to enable an organisation to achieve extreme competitiveness. And to be extremely competitive, an organisation must create and be known for great winning products and services that are superior to anyone else, and have earned the trust of consumers and customers; a passionate team that puts the organisation ahead of oneself; an alert, proactive and innovative mindset that is forever in a learning, creation innovation and execution mode; and a corporate soul that deeply cares about being sustainable and inclusive. It is such a synergistic combination that will create and build reputation, now and forever.
What we stand for and how we express and amplify our thoughts, beliefs, strategy and action can not only influence investors, convince customers and empower stakeholders but also strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of our company. The scope of our communication has expanded from market and product to purpose and larger value creation.
Enduring relationships are at the heart of all that we do. With all our stakeholders. The future will need us to forge closer relationships through collaborations not just between individual organisations and enterprises but also by creating and nurturing eco-systems. As virtual communities and tribes drive conversations, we will need to be in many places simultaneously engaging with a wide variety of people, many faceless and unknown. This requires tremendous knowledge and comprehension — of our businesses, of the industry segments we represent, of the economy, global shifts and most importantly the burning issues in people’s minds that define their actions and affiliations. The future skills that will create standout PR managers will lie in management strategy, in levers that enhance business value, in the ability to forge and enhance interpersonal connections, in understanding and harnessing relevant technology, in behavioural sciences to understand people better and in having empathy to influence a better tomorrow.
MOUNTAIN MOVERS
Given this unique role that we play, what stops PR professionals from using their powers of persuasion and communication to rally people and groups, communities and organisations for a larger purpose to secure a better future for the generations to come?
Today we live in a world that we did not set out to create. It’s a world that is in constant conflict with itself, scarring the beautiful planet with climate emergencies and devastation, folding in on itself even as we keep building tools that seek to shrink distances and traverse chasms. We had dreamt of leaving behind a better world than what we inherited. The only way we can unite to bring back that hope is to elevate our work to shape a larger purpose and reflect how we can leverage everything at our disposal to leave behind a better world. We need real and authentic engagements, ignite ideas and innovation and forge collaborations & partnerships to seek out solutions that can make a meaningful difference to building a better tomorrow. This will not only be a task we choose for ourselves for the future, but one that will be immensely satisfying knowing that we did more than what we could do to shape a new destiny.
A message can move mountains. As wordsmiths, communication strategists and perception architects, as writers and imaginators, we are in a pivotal position to bring people, communities, companies and civilisations together to work for something that is bigger than our individual KPIs. That will be our biggest contribution, one that may not be reflected in our performance bonuses alone but will pay us rich dividends in human terms.
PARTING THOUGHT
Interestingly enough, the contours of the PR profession as I see it in future, is not bound to the PR professional alone! Managers of the future will need many a skill that today are the domain of PR. We will have to embrace and encourage that. We need to help develop talent that can also be Ambassadors of Purpose who will add to their skills the magic of PR to create even more business value. For the organisation stands to gain from a multitude of people amplifying their purpose and message to its stakeholders as they transition to becoming the Enterprises of Tomorrow.
The future can we daunting given the enormous changes hitting us from all directions or it can be a universe of opportunities unfolding before us. While collective action can indeed transform the future, I cannot but put my pen down before emphasising the power of one, the power all of us possess to make a difference. As Hellen Keller said, despite all the disadvantages fate brought to her, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” Let us do that something and build the future.