From Viral Campaigns To Crisis Management: PR Highlights That Defined 2023
Public Relations has quickly emerged as an institution to be reckoned with, following globalisation of the Indian economy in the 1990s. Today, PR not only encompasses media relations and employee communication, but also involves strategic communication, brand building, customer relations and crisis management. The strong wave of startups and unicorns in the country have been driving growth, and PR firms and consultancies are playing a more strategic role as India Inc.’s C-suite increasingly recognises the value of PR professionals.
Digitalisation has transformed virtually all businesses, and the PR industry is diversifying to keep up with the change. PR agencies are leveraging user-generated content, tapping into trends, challenges, and social issues, collaborating with influencers and micro-influencers, creating genuine, high-quality, engaging content, and embracing unconventional tactics to generate viral, resonating campaigns for brands and companies. Through prompt acknowledgements, transparent and humanised responses, and helping clients demonstrate accountability, carefully crafted PR strategies have achieved mitigation of reputational damage, delivering successful crisis management. Putting the year into perspective, several campaigns and strategies set the tone for what can be expected from the evolving PR industry in the coming future.
A Human-Centric Approach
With higher technology integration, brands and companies require a much more personalised approach that fosters customer connections and alignment with a brand or company’s values. PR firms are playing a crucial role in establishing an authentic brand voice, along with driving human-centric campaigns that are built on data-driven ideas and deliver a tangible impact on the target audience. Audiences have grown significantly aware from times of the pandemic with the rise of fake news and online misinformation, and it is of paramount importance for brands to create personalised messages and content for audiences. Improved PR campaigns guided by human-centricity will help brands achieve authenticity and reach out to customers more meaningfully.
Social Media & Thought Leadership
A notable instance of transition in PR strategies is increasing focus on social media, especially for those that have generally placed a high value on coverage in traditional tier 1 media. Social media has quickly emerged as a viable tool for PR strategies. Social media platforms can be used to demonstrate thought leadership, understand and build relationships with customers, and even develop media relations. With 700 million users on LinkedIn alone, PR strategies for brands and companies can be leveraged to establish industry leadership through published articles, open forums, networking, insight-driven communications, and much more. Platforms like Twitter, for instance, are also used by various artists, journalists, videographers, and bloggers to connect with new audiences, and PR professionals adept at handling media and social media can use these platforms to look for new pitches and sources.
A Global Vision For A Localised Strategy
India has a rich tapestry of cultural diversity, and successful PR campaigns know how to embrace it. Things get slightly complicated when one considers that the country is also deeply connected to the global stage. In this dynamic environment, PR firms are progressively strengthening regional outreach to help companies and brands tap into tier II and tier III audiences. By understanding local nuances, preferences, media landscapes, and aligning strategies with broader global trends, PR professionals will design tailor-made campaigns that cater to specific regions, ensuring that the message remains relevant in the global context.
Embracing Digital PR
As PR opportunities evolve and change, digital PR takes centre-stage. Commonly used techniques in digital PR include social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), and online reputation management. Widespread internet usage and technological demand across the world provide new avenues for discovering innovative strategies in PR campaigns to reach out to a vast audience. SEO, which involves building primary links, heavily relies on PR, and the relationship will become much more critical. Incorporating varied digital channels such as virtual and augmented reality, podcasts featuring niche topics, and other immersive experiences into PR strategies will further result in improved outcomes for brands and companies. Moreover, PR firms and professionals will benefit from leveraging digital tools, data analytics, and emerging technologies such as generative AI, machine learning, and more to enhance storytelling capabilities, measure campaign effectiveness, and adapt to prevalent transformations.
Leveraging AI In PR
Artificial intelligence has been the most disruptive technology in the 21st century, spreading like wildfire for its numerous advantages. Automation of repetitive tasks, data analysis at unprecedented speeds, and generating insights on consumer behaviour are all features that can potentially revolutionise the PR industry. Additionally, AI can be leveraged by PR professionals to analyse media coverage and social media conversations to identify trending topics and relevant journalists. This enables a sophisticated data-driven approach that enhances media outreach, placements, and increases overall brand visibility. Advanced AI-powered sentiment analysis tools can help monitor brand reputation online, and businesses must actively explore the role of AI in their respective PR strategies.
Outlook for 2024
The media landscape is set to be transformed in the coming period, and getting results from PR strategies will largely be shaped by the trends mentioned above. For spreading a positive brand message and capturing attention, it is crucial to embrace new and old strategies. Consumers have evolved, becoming highly demanding and less forgiving over time. From internal communication, to external, to brand and partner communications, to even defining brand identity, PR firms have diversified the gamut of services provided. In times to follow, PR will be driven by research-oriented storytelling that establishes credibility for brands and companies, and to achieve successful campaigns, PR strategies will aim to generate top-notch conversations about the most critical business interests, integrating paid, owned and earned media platforms in their respective programmes.
Author: Gaurav Patra, Co-founder of Value 360 Communications