By HMA PR, our PRGN partner based in Phoenix, AZ.
Time to dust off the crystal ball and gaze into the year ahead. Because we are a member of the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), we happen to have crystal balls all over the world. Here’s what some of our international partners had to say about PR in the coming year:
- Christina Rytter – Scandinavian Communications, Copenhagen: “I see continuing growth in clients’ demands for international communications strategy and high quality content for digital and social media.”
- Jim Bianchi – Bianchi Public Relations, Inc.,Detroit: “In the United States for 2017, with post-election polarity and mistrust spiking among consumers, trust will be more important than ever, and the PR industry will have more opportunities to help clients of all types to rebuild that trust and repair relationships through genuine positive action.”
- Frédéric François – Two Cents Content & Communication, Brussels: “Our PR actions continue to evolve into content marketing activities. This means we not only produce (and spread) content through press relations, but also on blogs, social media, at events and for SEO. Our goal? Create awareness, attract customers and generate leads and sales for our customers. To succeed, strategic thinking has never been more important!”
- Judy Kuramata – Integrate Communications, Tokyo: “The PR industry in Japan has shown stable growth in the last few years. Our work will focus more on consulting in the marketing and branding areas, as well as in the newly growing social media area, including risk management, and less of a focus on media relations.”
- Yap Boh Tiong – Mileage Communications, Singapore: “Less PR Budget. Less Retainers.”
- David Landis –Landis Communications Inc., San Francisco: “I predict that the three big trends to watch in our industry are: voice search, artificial intelligence and self-driving cars.”
- Owen Cullen – Cullen Communications, Dublin: “Content is our industry’s most precious commodity, although the events of 2016 showed that we have yet to achieve balance in the supply/demand of high quality, original, verifiable content. As we continue to evolve our content-creating skills and options, video – in particular live video – will likely emerge as one of the key PR trends of 2017. It won’t appear in most job descriptions but all the most successful agencies will be entirely staffed by videographers, each capable of capturing ‘the story’ from multiple angles for multiple audiences. Cameras at the ready!”
As for me, I think there may be a reality check for the unbridled fake news sources and more skepticism from the public-at large about the credibility of their news sources.
What do you think is ahead for the PR industry? Leave a comment below or tweet us @LandisComm.
This blog was originally published by HMA PR – see it here.
Scott and our other PRGN partners – thanks for contributing to our blog this week. Now that we’re a couple of weeks into 2017, I’d also add that we need to be uber-vigilant about “fake news” or especially what one bad PR pundit calls “alternative facts.” True PR professionals stick to the facts. Thanks so much for a great post, Scott! Cheers, David
I’d like to believe that most people will question their news sources, but unfortunately I don’t think that will happen – it’s part of a reason we got into this mess!
I’m betting all of these trends will make a big appearance in 2017. I especially like Owen’s thoughts about video. People want quick, entertaining stories to get the latest news. Video is the wave of the future, and smart PR agencies should already be jumping on this forward-moving bandwagon.
Now that the new administration has taken its place in D.C., we’ll all need to work together to ensure that everything we react to from a news perspective is rooted in truth. We’re embarking upon some new and potentially dangerous territory. The onus is on all of us to remain diligent and ensure the real facts are always defended as facts.
I think the “fake news” topic will be a widely discussed topic this year. Also, the role of spokespeople/public relations professional will be under the microscope, as we continue witnessing “spinners” (especially those in the White House) spiraling out of control.
I am in agreement with Cullen Communications that live video/ live streaming will be the next big trend in PR!