We left off with the formidable Bill Jones giving us a glimpse insight into the world of PR in the 80s. Like any industry PR has gone through its hey-days.  Was the 90’s a hey-day decade? From my perspective it thrived on personal relationships – and as someone who generally loves meeting people and the entertaining side of the profession it suited me fine.  Whilst every decade brings a new and exciting challenge to us PRs, as a mid-90s child in the business I remember, whilst the budgets were more generous, PR was still very much seen as the poor relation to other marketing disciplines, namely advertising, with clients not really understanding its true value.  Until the brand got into a crisis and then it was worth its weight in gold.

So whilst we knew how to party well, which of course brought its commercial and financial rewards for the PROs with spark, we were constantly having to prove ourselves as strategic partners to marketing directors whose boards needed to see direct correlations between spend and sales.  They seemed to forget the job of reputation management, but of course we seemed obsessed by AVE and ROI against that…which frankly nowadays is completely redundant.  The rise of the digital age has brought the reputation of brands and businesses to the fore and hence PR is now coming back into its own – especially for those who truly understand PR’s ability to influence.

Accountability is key, and much more today than yesteryear.  The tools are much more sophisticated, the level of knowledge from the outset has to be much more relevant, but the determination and lust to succeed is just the same.  It’s just understanding what’s required at this moment and how your skills can add value to a modern and fast-moving communications sector.

I loved the 90s and wouldn’t change the discipline of processes, accountability, socialising and defending the cause.  It’s stood me in good stead to take on the greater responsibilities that are required today.  The landscape has changed but the fundamentals of a good PR haven’t strayed far, darling!