Redefining public relations

Tim Burt, writing in his book Dark Art: The Changing Face of Public Relations, comments on the emerging challenges facing the PR industry:

“A number of [public relations] agencies are reconsidering their models and staging structures amid volatile fee income and increasing competitor pressures from new rivals.

The upheaval of the past four years shows no sign of slowing down. The scale of digital challenge, a threat of increased regulation and a media environment which no longer plays by the old rules of engagement is forcing the PR industry to reconfigure its services. Agencies are trying to repurpose themselves for a new, less predictable and potentially less profitable future. Firms are adapting for a permanent climate of reputation anxiety. Many are reconsidering the sort of clients they want to represent, and reassessing the risk-benefits of the full-service model, spanning everything from public affairs to product marketing, against a strategic focus on one particular discipline. Such reviews reflect growing market competition, with new agencies and solo practitioners jostling for clients and fees.

[…]At the end of the current quadrennial, numerous firms are redefining themselves. Different PR players in different markets have embarked on various tactics to defend their role as effective advisers. Some claim to be reputation specialists; others seek the mantle of strategic counsel. Another category wants to be defined as communications risk managers. The next four-year business cycle will determine which model succeeds. But no industry standard has been established; and little agreement has been achieved on how to define – let alone market – the new world of ‘reputation management’.”

Dark Art: The Changing Face of Public Relations is available in hardback from Amazon for £10.49.