Public relations has long played a part in the marketing jumble, but experts say the industry is steadily commanding a leading role.
As consumers have become increasingly curious, and as clients have developed more of an interest in multichannel marketing, PR has asserted its dominance.
In the eyes of Gini Dietrich, CEO of integrated marketing and communications firm Arment Dietrich, PR earned its star status long before 2016.
“PR has not been an add-on,” she says. “If we’ve not been at center stage for the past six or seven years, we certainly have been a star performer.”
Here’s how Dietrich sees PR’s influence at work:
“When we use the ‘paid, earned, shared and owned media’ model to integrate our communications efforts, we build authority, thought leadership, Google rankings, awareness and, most importantly, sales that we can track directly back to our efforts. At the center of all of that is where PR leads—and has always led. It’s in building trust, in building relationships and in building authenticity. Those three things are why people buy.”
Boston-based marketing and communication consultant Susan Harrison says PR ought to be at the helm of an organization’s integrated marketing strategy. She says that in order to create a “great brand with a positive image,” organizations must employ a robust PR staff.
Harrison suggests that to succeed in 2016, an organization should train all of its communicators in PR so they embody the organization’s philosophies when interacting with consumers.
“Marketing, advertising and customer service [staff] need PR training to be able to respond to any situation,” Harrison says. “If you’re in PR, stop trying to take on the world alone. You should have as many hands on deck as possible. To succeed, you need to become more upfront and willing to share.”