by Amith Prabhu
Founder of the Promise Foundation for PR
We are in a very interesting year! It’s a quarter century year. The silver jubilee year.
I see many opportunities this year for public relations professionals. I also see a few challenges. I am going to pick my Top 5 in both baskets:
Let’s look at the opportunities first:
1. Embracing artificial intelligence – While we have been hearing a lot about AI along with its pros and cons my take is that AI is here to stay, and we have to accept it and live with it. Those who will be able to grasp it quickly and deploy it swiftly will survive. Many who don’t will fall by the wayside. Public Relations is certainly a profession that has lot at stake with this development.
2. Being strong on the basics – The basics of Public Relations are campaigns, communications, culture and common sense. Nothing can change that. The more practitioners embrace it and become better at it the longer their professional lifespan will be.
3. Going all out to focus on behaviour – That is the bedrock of great organisations. How they behave with each, and every stakeholder matters now more than ever before. Reputation is 90% behaviour and 10% how that behaviour gets communicated. Behaving bad is not an option. It is better to err on the side of caution than take unwanted risks. Calculated risks are acceptable but only until they are not hurting others.
4. Making technology a way of life – Digital transformation has been an ongoing activity for over a decade. We saw the speed multiply in the last five years. There is a great future for PR professionals who manage technological advances with ease. This will be possible with reading and doing.
5. Leading with authenticity – Every move that one takes is an opportunity to progress. Progressing with genuine action that makes a positive difference is what authenticity is all about. It can only unfold when there is intent. Authentic brands and authentic people behind these brands will always flourish. This essay was written completely from scratch without the use of any AI tool. I wanted it to be as authentic as possible.
And here are the challenges:
1. Too much is happening – The world is in a perennial flux. There is increasing amounts of consumerism. There is also unrest ay micro and macro levels. A Public Relations professional who is able to navigate the challenging times with grace will make it big.
2. Attention spans are decreasing – A lot of content is being offered in numerous ways. People are binging on it. It is making the life of a corporate communicator harder and slowly redundant. Previously the corporate communicator had to deal with many people and fewer mediums. As the mediums increased the tools began to remain in the hands of the customer. Customers are bombarded with multiple messages and a variety of options. Helping them make a choice has become tougher.
3, Breaking the clutter is becoming harder – There is a lot of clutter in every space. Breaking it is not easy. Traditional ways are being replaced but traditional products are still holding sway in many areas. For example, it was easy to open a PR firm and thrive ten years ago. Now, there are PR firms aplenty and very few stand out for being innovative. In the process the offerings are become commoditised.
4. Social media is breaking – We have seen great social media platforms implode. Twitter has literally become X (ex). Facebook has become a dumping yard rather than a place for meaningful conversations. Linkedin has become a place to show off rather than a place to showcase.
5. Corporations are getting uneasy – World over there is angst and companies are finding it difficult to maintain harmony. Mergers are the offer of the day. It is not merely survival of the fittest but survival of the mightiest even if they are not fit. And might is not always right.
Amith Prabhu is the Founder of the Promise Foundation in India. It’s a social enterprise that does PR for PR. He can be reached at @amithor and at bit.ly/amithprabhu
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