PR spend took a hit like everything else in 2009 and 2010 is likely to present similar challenges but every cloud has a silver lining: tough trading conditions make us more focused. Clients and agencies alike are nudged into ever more strategic thinking; joining up, piggy backing, cross-marketing – whatever you want to call it, it all comes back to accountability, whether it be to board members, shareholders, consumers or any other kind of stakeholder. So recession can, conversely, be good for all of us in PR/communications. It sharpens our minds and makes us question our ideas and plans to be sure they deliver best value against the objectives. A classic case of a challenge that presents opportunity.
The evolution of social media is another one. It’s exciting and challenging, mostly because, in its purest interpretation, it can’t be controlled, but also because it doesn’t wait for anyone. Social media has a role to play in most PR campaigns these days, subject to the demographic of your target audience but we will continue to bang the drum for integrated communications campaigns that run social media activity alongside traditional communications channels – media relations, stakeholder relations, events, sponsorship etc . Budget of course plays a role in determining the weighting of marketing campaigns but, subject to objectives and timescales, each route has its’ merits.
Tags: events, evolution of social media, integrated communications, integrated communications campaigns, marketing campaigns, media relations, PR, PR campaigns, PR spend, social media, sponsorship, strategic thinking