By Lynsey Barry:
Like the world of fashion, trends in the PR world come and go.
In the 25 years since I walked onto the campus in Leeds to study a degree in PR, I have seen the media landscape change, the arrival of social media, and channels like newsletters coming in, going out and then coming back into fashion again.
But what stands true to this day is how much more successful PR is if it’s linked back to a bigger business or comms strategy. So why is this still so hard to achieve in 2024?
Why do agencies give away strategy and insight for free at the pitch stage, then jump straight into tactical delivery when they’re hired?
Why don’t PR budgets have more allocated to the ‘thinking’ part of the puzzle? The bit where we really understand who we are trying to reach, what they are thinking, where they are, what they want to know and crucially, how to tell an interesting human story that will relate?
It may seem simple, choose a direction, and implement it like hell. But for some reason, in the PR world, the ‘choose a direction’ bit is anything but. And it’s not just an ‘us’ problem. The fact is that most of the time, PR doesn’t have the ongoing budget for strategy and insight – arguably the bit that as agencies is our most valuable asset.
This also isn’t a dig. As industry professionals, we all have a part to play. And we all have day jobs, targets, last-minute pressures, changes of focus, lack of time and many other things that get in the way of, well, thinking.
But without it, is our industry going to be relevant in the next 25 years?
At Five not 10, we’re so interested in the barriers to creating and maintaining strategic insight in PR that we’re doing some research into it – and we’d love to hear from you.
What challenges do you face? What are the great examples you have seen of companies getting this right? What do you think would make a difference?
Is it a lack of value for PR and comms within a business?
Is it only a problem for companies with smaller budgets/teams? Or certain verticals?
Is it because messaging, strategy and insight falls between the cracks of responsibility in an organisation?
If we could collectively solve this problem, I’d wager our industry would have a whole lot more kudos in the boardroom and beyond. Watch this space for more on this over the coming months.