An article in The Economist this week (disclosure: client) revisits the argument that the public relations industry is enjoying a renaissance thanks to the rise of the social media.
“Such optimists – the industry is full of them, of course – now spy a rare opportunity to steal a march on the Mad Men of advertising and the flipchart wielders of marketing.”
Earning the attention of influencers is what the PR industry has done ever since the beginning of the twentieth century. But today influencers are more fragmented than ever and anyone armed with a laptop can become a corporate irritant and vent their ire online.
The role of traditional media remains important and is often used as a social media source.
“Most [social media influencers] get their information from old-fashioned news providers, as do most powerful and influential people.”
The Economist finds an industry in good health and that although it is in danger of believing its own spin it is finding ways to adapt to technological change.
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I’m pleased to see The Economist cover our industry (disclosure: I’m a subscriber) – but thought this was a disappointing piece.
For someone who teaches the subject, the stories about PR being created in the US by Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays are old hat (they’re trotted out in almost every textbook). Luckily, there’s now an International History of PR Conference in Bournemouth in July exploring other perspectives on PR history.
The debates about media, politics, ethical practice and social media are more important and more current – and the article summarises these well.
And disappointing to see the lack of gender awareness – although I appreciate the title is probably a sub-editor’s nod to Mad Men. Mind you, looking at an Event B2B magazine recently, it portrays women in PR as doing nothing more than handing out badges to guests! So that’s why we need specialist degree courses in event management…