PR Predictions For 2017? The Same Predictions As Every Other Year

It’s that time of year when we are all inundated with trends lists. Every year it’s the same. Professionals from every discipline sharing their insights into the issues that are going to “shape”, “redefine”, “revolutionise” even “dominate” their respective industries. PR is no different. We love lists, we love change and we love opinions, especially our own! I was going to do one such list but as I thought about the topics I’d write about I realised a lot of the issues that I anticipate will impact our industry are the same ones that have been on the radar since I started in PR. With that in mind, and tongue firmly in cheek, I present a list of what will happen in PR in 2017 and probably will happen in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and beyond too.

The press release will die

A quick search on Google will give you over 11 million results for the query, “Is the press release dead?” Articles like this have been doing the rounds from the days when questions like this were posed to your friendly internet search butler, Jeeves. Press releases are not dead and they won’t die in 2017.

X will be the new Y

“Social media” is the new “New media”, TV is the new radio, radio is the new newspaper etc. There’s always something new on the horizon that PR professionals have to up-skill in. A good PR person is versatile and quick to spot and adapt to emerging trends and issues that will affect their career. New channels will simply be incorporated into the communications mix as opposed to replacing a specific medium.

That one thing that will change EVERYTHING but doesn’t

There’s one every year. Last year it was Pokemon Go. Yes, Pokemon Go was a last year's "thing" that saw hundreds if not thousands of marketing professionals writing think pieces on why Pokemon Go was a game-changer. Numerous innovations and inventions will promise to change our industry irrevocably but the fundamentals will always be the same. Back in the 00s it was Second Life, remember that?  

Measurement will be more important than ever

Measurement is always the next big thing. Unfortunately, advances in technology have not made the task easier. In the same way that there is no one size fits all for a communications strategy the same applies for measurement. 2017 will not see a breakthrough in this area. As always, those who set results that are SMART at the start of each campaign will see the best results.

Unfortunately, AVE will continue to be used even though it’s been frowned upon for years and some clients and agencies will be delighted with the $17.2 billion AVE they secured for the launch of a new soap.

Real time will be even more real time

It has evolved and become its own buzz word but PR has always operated in “real time”. Tell a PR person from 50 years ago with an angry journalist chasing them for a comment that issues and queries needing a rapid response would be a trend in PR in 2016 and they’d laugh at you. From its earliest iteration of media management, tight turnaround is part of the DNA of the PR industry. Getting to the nub of an issue quickly and without the luxury of research and focus groups underpins the work that PRs do and have always done.

Uncertainty will reign

Every year there’s a new issue that PRs are told will cause chaos and confusion for communicators and radically alter how the industry interacts with the public. This year will see fallout from Brexit and Trump and whatever else 2017 decides to throw at us. Like every other major global event since forever the industry will adapt.

Influence will be more important than ever

PRs have always been in the business of influence and leveraging influencers for the benefit of our clients. Influence is always important and while we’ll see different and new influencers emerge PRs will continue to work with them for the benefit of our brands and clients. Every year PRs have new people they have to influence whether it’s a new editor in the local paper or a new makeup blogger. PRs will continue to influence the influencers whoever they may be.

We’ll worry about others eating our lunch

Media buying agencies, digital agencies and advertising agencies have always been circling and last year we saw a few of the big management consultancies take big steps into PR with acquisitions. The numbers tell a different story though. The industry is worth $15 billion globally and is set to rise to $20 billion globally by 2020. This is because PRs have been busy doing what we always do, adapting to change by diversifying and selling our expertise better. The best PRs aren’t worried about others eating their lunch, they’re on the second course of someone else’s lunch.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Undoubtedly, the PR industry has experienced a lot of change over the past few years but these changes are superficial. Although we have new tools at our disposal and challenges to face, the industry’s role has always been to persuade and this has not and will not change.

Martyn is an account director in the corporate team of Edelman Ireland, the Irish office of the world’s largest PR company. He blogs on all things PR here. You can follow Martyn on Twitter at @rosney.