When public relations first came on the scene in the early 1900s, it was originally based on a journalism foundation simply because most companies wanted to get their name in the newspaper. As it evolved, it became a sophisticated approach to creating the right message targeted to the right audience in the right way. This resulted in public relations becoming one of the go-to services for companies seeking to mold how their consumer viewed their brand.<\/p>\n
Now, fast forward to today. Has the meaning of PR changed? With the advent of technology and the wide variety of ways we communicate, it has morphed into an all-encompassing field that now crosses boundaries with digital, advertising, marketing and more.<\/p>\n
The Expanding Public Relations Bucket<\/strong> Public relations, at its heart, is all about storytelling. While today\u2019s PR professionals are tech-savvy and trends-focused, the profession still concentrates on shaping the message, earning the trust of the audience and moving the needle on how a company is perceived in the marketplace. Yet today the line is blurring between all of the services found on a company marketing wheel. In fact, PR companies these days include full creative services such as video production, event development, brand marketing, media planning and buying, as well as content creation and influencer strategies.<\/p>\n With the growth of mobile, social and viral PR, the industry has gone through a radical shift. What we are seeing today is a recalibration of offerings by agencies on both sides of the aisle. Creative agencies \u2013 typically in the advertising bucket \u2013 are using content creation, digital strategies and experiential designs while PR agencies continue to push into paid digital and advertising, as well as earned media.<\/p>\n The baseline of PR: The Art of Storytelling<\/strong> What has changed is the definition of PR as we approach 2020. While it is still rooted in its storytelling framework, today the stories are crafted in a very different manner. It can be an immersive, interactive event for a branded hotel; it can be an unveiling of a product at a trade show; it may revolve around a strong thought leadership program or any one of a million ideas that create and shape a successful campaign. As a result, some of the trends we\u2019ll see in 2020 include:<\/p>\n Public relations has evolved drastically, and no doubt this trend, too, will continue. That said, while the delivery methods may have changed, the underlying definition has not. After all, in the end, it\u2019s truly all about the story.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When public relations first came on the scene in the early 1900s, it was originally based on a journalism foundation simply because most companies wanted to get their name in the newspaper. As it evolved, it became a sophisticated approach to creating the right message targeted to the right audience in the right way. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1296],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2473370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-public-relations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWhile traditionally public relations focused on editorial content, today the PR bucket holds much more than media relations. It now includes earned media (editorial coverage), shared media (social), owned media (websites, company newsletters, etc.) and paid media (advertising). Yet, this can \u2013 and often does \u2013 fall under the PR banner. While all these tools and tactics offer PR teams a wide range of options in how they communicate their specific message, has it changed the meaning or just the delivery of the message?<\/p>\n
\nWhile this \u201cblurring of the lines\u201d makes it harder for clients to determine the type of firm that they are looking for, does it change the meaning of public relations? The art of storytelling hasn\u2019t changed. PR is still rooted in influencing opinions and ultimately changing behavior. No matter the mode of delivery \u2013 social media, paid ads, influencer campaigns or other tactics \u2013 this is not going to change. We will always need to craft the narrative: people love a good story.<\/p>\n\n