PR agencies will not exist in a decade
After Graham White’s response to Joe Hildebrand’s CommsCon speech generated some heated debate on the state of the PR industry, Rob Lowe argues ‘PR agencies’ are already dying out.
PR agencies will cease to exist in the next ten years. Is that shocking enough for you? Well it’s true. Too many PR agencies are outdated, the traditional media landscape is shrinking, and with increasing numbers of advertising, social media and even SEO agencies getting in on the action, we need to smarten up.
Lowe
I believe we need to redefine what PR is in order to re-educate the industry and clients about the potential for what PR thinking can do. Changing how we refer to the skillset could help.
The words aren’t quite right but for lack of anything better right now, I think PR agencies will start to rename themselves ‘Earned Media Creative Agencies’ or ‘Engagement Agencies’ or anything other than ‘PR Agencies’, which bring to mind less strategic and overpriced press offices with bulging media relations teams.
Being an ‘Earned Media Creative Agency’ won’t mean we focus on creating earned media; that’s just a by-product and it’s what most PR agencies currently do anyway. ‘Earned Media Creative Agencies’ will be more creative and strategic about how we earn media and consumer interest; they’ll focus on the idea first, knowing that awareness via multiple channels will follow and the result will be a behavioural change or shift in perception.
The best earned media creative campaigns I’ve seen recently give the clients’ brands a beneficial role in their consumers lives and engage them with the brand. What can your brand add to people’s lives? Can it entertain, educate, be useful, increase social standing or in some way make the world a better place? This is what interests people, because it’s real and it matters. And if people are interested they’ll share it on social media and traditional media will want to cover it.
It’s exciting times. And being forced to be more creative is fun, because the idea is interesting and people want to hear more. It makes the job so much more enjoyable, means the time spent is more efficient and that the ROI and personal fulfilment is greater.
Creating ideas for brands that people want to share and talk about is a priority for not just the PR industry, but also advertising, experiential and social media. It’s the common thread that brings all great campaigns greater ROI and fame. In an age where communication between businesses and consumers is two-way, it’s the only way forward. So the ‘Earned Media Creative’ skillset will live in every media channel. Some agencies get it and others don’t. The best advertising and PR agencies will incorporate both creative and traditional PR skillsets into what they offer.
Maybe one day, advertising agencies will also cease to exist in the way they’re currently categorised and there’ll be even fewer boundaries.
With all this in mind, it’ll change the way we measure and evaluate what we do, with less emphasis on outputs and more focus on how our ideas have affected consumer behaviour resulting in outcomes and business results. It’ll also mean that earned media skillsets won’t be segregated as a channel since we’ll specialise in making any channel, whether it be paid for, owned or experiential, creatively earn more than its natural output.
Cannes PR Lions are the ultimate recognition of earned media creative work and as we’ve seen before, PR still has lots to learn from the advertising agencies, which have dominated the space. There are however a few PR agencies who are learning and leading the field. They’re the ones to watch out for because in ten years’ time they may not be calling themselves PR agencies.
Rob Lowe is PR director of Eleven PR
Well said Rob, Couldn’t agree more.
The more we (comms, PR, creative earned media folk) talk about this and share our opinions, then one can hope that people will appreciate what we do and how the industry is evolving.
Look forward to reading the comments.
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Totally agree Rob. In fact the traditional PR model has died already with many downsizing and looking to focus on quality and not driven by quantity. The new innovative, creative and content driven firm is what clients are looking for across all media.
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I agree this is absolutely true for one part of the PR industry…. for the consumer and marketing comms PR agencies, for those focused on driving ‘media relations’ of old in a new world of social and content. Let’s recognize though that this is one, relatively narrow part of the ‘PR’ industry. There is a massive and vibrant, distinctive and bold future ahead for financial communications, investor relations, employee comms, issues and crisis management, hardcore healthcare PR, government lobbying and public affairs, channel PR- the list goes on. The PR industry is not driven by the ‘marcomms’ sector under the most obvious threat- those competing increasingly with the creative and digital and social agencies. Yes- they are under threat, need to re-position and reinvent- and also have the biggest opportunity- as they are ideally positioned to triumph in a world they grew up in- deep audience understanding, and earned media DNA .And they will triumph if they rebrand and reposition the way you are suggesting. Issues of this sector of the industry don’t fully apply to the huge and diverse interests of all stakeholders within the big and robust industry that is ‘Public relations.’ It’s never been in a better shape to ensure it’s powerful seat at the table. And is fortunate to have a reinvigorated and increasingly effective Public Relations Institute of Australia shaping and safe-guarding its future, and protecting the interests of all stakeholders in the wonderful industry.This includes agencies in whatever discipline, and also individuals, across all spectrums of the industry.
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Agree brother!
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Was just talking about this exact topic with PR colleagues last night. Totally agree!
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There is a future for any marketing communication that is entertainment driven, which is generally the case with PR. Unlike ads that are usually made by people that are very enthusiastic about ads, unlike the rest of us.
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I agree with Rob, but was surprised to see on Eleven PR’s website that they measure publicity success by calculating ad value. (I went to their website as I hadn’t heard of this agency before). Example: “The event generated…116 separate pieces of coverage published, providing a massive PR value of $1,128,612.”
And how many cents?! LOL. Personally, I don’t agree w/ this form of measurement. What does the coverage actually say? That’s much more important, and this is where the value of PR lies.
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First job is to come up with a new name. Earned media creative agency does not roll off the tongue and describes very little of what we do.
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But ‘the idea’ won’t come first. Before it comes the insight and customer/stakeholder understanding. Great media relations, investor relations, stakeholder engagement and so on starts with deep knowledge of said media, investors, stakeholders etc.
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ditto – digital agencies, social agencies, specialist agencies, creative agencies they will all disappear over time and merge into agencies that provide ideas/solutions that cut across earned, paid and owned media.
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Exciting times indeed. I always think PR’s strengths come down to two things; relationships and reputation. Surely these could be a starting point for any new industry titles.
And sorry Rob, but +1 to Bernie’s comments about measuring PR value in ad value – yikes! Tsk tsk … 😉
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Thank you all for the feedback. Generally the comments have been more positive than I expected given the headline. Chris and Jackie – I agree – I wrote this with consumer PR in mind and should have been clearer. Bernie and TDMJ – you’ve hit a sore point – the website and case studies are in the process of being updated. Hopefully our campaigns we’ve entered for Cannes this year will set a better example. Fraser, you’re bang on.
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Well said Rob!
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Digital is dead, long live PR.
PR is dead, long live Earned Media.
Creativity will never die.
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This article highlights the key problem for true PR professionals. You see, the tasks that have been defined as Earned Media Creative Agency work are what true PR people are doing now. These people – as opposed to former ad agency, marketing or journalism trained/qualified people – promote effective two-way communication between an organisation and its vast array of publics. And media is just one of many ways of communicating to to just one of these publics – as in, the general public. True PR professionals strategise and manage a whole array of messages to multiple different groups. The problem is – and has been for a long time – that PR has been defined as mass communication. This is something that PRIA is aware of and, I hope, is working to change. Perhaps a name-change is exactly what’s needed to reflect the full spectrum of what PR trained and qualified people really do.
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Graham White’s article is fantastic …. and this is, well sorry but it’s just dribble mate.
I mean let’s humour the article (aimed only at attracting readers it seems, whilst strangely and ambivalently kicking the strongest comms profession on the planet in the teeth for no explainable reason) for just a sec:
So, when the game that you play starts being emulated and played by everyone else too, you need to change the name of your game? You and your game are now doomed to extinction? …. because there are still some old-fashioned individuals still playing the game?
Honestly, the largest pile of horse apples I’ve seen in a long while.
No PR agency is outdated, due to the fact that the game being played is (in multiple areas) light years ahead of what everyone does in the comms industry.
Yes journalism needs updating, woop doop so what, and the sky is blue too. It’s beggard belief that hardly anyone sees or celebrates the timeless principles and usefulness of Public Relations as a game in its own right.
PR has had it right in so many ways for so long, and the biggest talking piece I can think is the fact that the greatest PR Agency in history hasn’t even been formed yet.
What PR practitioners SHOULD be concerned about, I believe, is the intelligent people who are left in advertising starting to go deeper with insights and mastering human behaviour and behavioural sciences.
That’s the only challenge that might knock PR off the top of the communications throne that I can see.
Thus the best thing a PR agency can do to evolve to the next level (and get back to being 20 years ahead again) is to buy/establish/incorporate a behavioural research agency/outfit that represents at least a quarter of total staff numbers.
All the rest, well no need to worry about a thing, all is nicely on track, you’ve got the best game in town and should ignore articles like this one.
As for “SEO”, well PR was doing that long before Google was a thought in a sweaty college dorm room.
“If I came down to my last dollar I’d spend it on Public Relations.”
Bill Gates
(the only thing I’ve ever like that Bill Gates has said 🙂 )
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Great article Rob. We specialise in placing Talent across of variety of creative industry sectors including PR, Search, Social, Advertising and Content – and the lines are very blurry as to where one ends and another begins.
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Dear Rob and others.
I have no problem what you’re suggesting. It has left me wondering though.
1. What will happen to the role of those who typically appoint a ‘PR Agency’?
2. Given you’ve named a specific tim- frame, what will happen in the next 3,650 days? Why isn’t it five years, or 15 years?
3. Isn’t all media earned? Even if you pay or own it?
I suggest that specilisation will not segment across owned | earned | paid but in terms of who a brand wants to connect with through its media. The days of mass audiences are rapidly coming to an end! The future’s bright though. Blindingly bright!
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