Moving to the Center of the Marketing Mix—Strategic Shifts Brightening the Outlook for Public Relations
Today’s market is a dynamic one for marketing services. It’s a “jump ball” environment, and public relations firms, ad agencies, branding and digital shops, among others, are all seeing opportunities to compete but also to collaborate in new ways. Clients and prospects clearly seem less concerned about which discipline to work with; it’s all about who brings the best thinking and the most innovative ideas.
Overall, this trend represents good news for the public relations industry. One recent study has forecast that spending on marketing services will rise by almost five percent through 2015, with public relations and word-of-mouth marketing the fastest-growing disciplines. Public relations is becoming “a more prominent component of integrated marketing campaigns.” We are already seeing public relations taking market share from other disciplines and, in some instances, becoming the steward of the overall communications and marketing strategy.
It’s not hard to understand why. The rise of social media has prompted more companies to focus on new ways to engage with their customers. In addition, more companies are focused on reputation and how it relates to valuation and to purchasing decisions. Also, preparation for crises and navigating how issues affect marketing decisions have taken on more importance in an increasingly complex world. And, public relations firms have always been good at storytelling and engaging multiple stakeholders to communicate about substantive issues. The Web lends itself to targeted stakeholder engagement, and PR firms are seen as possessing the specialized know-how required to build communities and advocacy online.
This bright picture should not lead us to complacency. The meshing of disciplines means greater opportunity, but also more competition. The public relations industry can continue moving to the center of the marketing mix if we focus on the following priorities:
- Intellectual capital: Our business has become increasingly specialized. At Weber Shandwick, we continue to hire people with specialized backgrounds in digital, advertising, and strategic planning. But it’s also not uncommon to see our teams comprised of lawyers and public policy experts, financial communications professionals, and/or PhDs who understand and explain the science behind a new drug coming to market. Expansion of the talent pool is key, across practices and geographies.
- Integration: Clients aren’t just looking to partner across disciplines; they want partners capable of understanding the whole marketing mix and who can collaborate with others outside the traditional “PR” function. We’re also seeing multinational firms thinking more globally about their overall communications strategy, consolidating with one or a few firms or putting more emphasis on bringing their partners together to ensure that their strategic messaging is applied in local markets around the world. Firms with more flexible, collaborative cultures will win out.
- Innovation: To keep up with the pace of change in communications, we must continue to invest in technology and develop new products and services. The speed of communications and vast array of available communications platforms has created an ever-expanding media environment, and we need to adapt quickly. And we must continue to lead in social media. It’s our sweet spot given our storytelling heritage and our experience in driving conversation.
With public relations taking the spotlight as never before, it’s incumbent on us to do what it takes to deliver results in strategic and innovative ways. This isn’t about one discipline winning, but about how individual firms can best integrate and work across disciplines to successfully tell the client’s story.
Thanks for this post, Andy. You remind us that the focus of our work is about providing value. With competition on the rise from both traditional and non-traditional resources, we must do more to bring the best solutions from the smartest, most innovative and creative professionals available. If we don’t, someone else will.
Well said, Andy, and thanks for providing the Council’s perspective on the important information presented in the VSS 2011-15 Communications Industry Report. It was certainly encouraging to see PR and word of mouth marketing be labeled by VSS as the “fastest-growing marketing-related segments.” It wasn’t all that long ago that this statement would have seemed ridiculous to many in the communications industry. And yet, in 2011, it is reality and one those of us in the PR industry, whether we represent PRSA, the Council of PR Firms, Weber Shandwick or any number of other groups, should be very proud of. And your point about not allowing this good news to cause us to become complacent is well taken.
Ultimately, the value of public relations rests on the innovative work of the more than 200,000 public relations professionals who drive the U.S. PR industry. As the latest VSS report clearly shows, it is a vibrant period for PR, and one that both of our organizations should work hard toward advancing.
Keith Trivitt
Associate Director
Public Relations Society of America
Andy – I’m glad to see Weber Shandwick is continuing to work to solve business and communication challenges on the broader scope beyond traditional definitions of public relations. Weber has always been good at working beyond silos and determining how to provide clients with value that positively impacts their business. Here at William Paterson University in both our M.A. Professional Communication program and in our undergraduate public relations program we are teaching integrated communication, digital communication, global communication, corporate social responsibility, management/leadership, crisis & issues management and social media marketing along with our core public relations applied curriculum. Much of this curriculum and our goal of inspiring students to become professionals who are multi-dimensional strategists vs. solely tacticians was inspired by my previous tenure working with you at Weber…(thanks!).
Lorra M. Brown
Professor, Public Relations/Professional Communication
William Paterson University, NJ
Former agency executive at Weber Shandwick, Ogilvy, etc.