Michelle Olson remembers the early days of her PR career, when researching a complex crisis communications plan would take hours. It was worth it to the client, she said, which is why they were OK with having it all billed back to them.

Today, however, thanks to AI, that initial research can happen in just a few seconds. While Olson or her teammates at Lambert by LLYC still need to fact-check for accuracy, they can complete many tasks faster than they did even two years ago, thanks to ChatGPT, she said.

None of her clients are asking for adjustments to their rates right now, Olson said. But given the rapid advancements in these technologies, she feels now is the time for firms to start thinking about not only how they’re billing clients but also how they’re proving their value to them.

“It’s really about viewing this opportunity to highlight that we’re much more than just ‘doers’ of tasks,” said Olson, Lambert’s chief client officer and a fellow at PRSA.

A discussion 20 years in the making

Olson’s firm still bills “pure,” or the actual time it takes to complete a work item. “If we have a retainer-type arrangement with our clients, we still (build) an hourly rate into that retainer.”

But she and PRophet founder and CEO Aaron Kwittken both said there have been conversations for more than 20 years about finding models to replace billable hours as the dominant method.

“I think the reason for the use of billable hours is that we’ve either been scared of or can’t define what success looks like,” said Kwittken, a “recovered agency guy” who pivoted to comms tech in 2022.

Olson noted that a much-discussed concept has been the value billing model based on the impact of the work rather than the time it takes to complete.

For instance, a quality pitch to the Wall Street Journal may only take a five-minute phone call – or about $5 on a $100 per hour rate – but the value of that placement could be “priceless” to a brand, Olson said.

It’s common for agencies to build in a certain number of hours per month, but Olson noted that this approach has flaws. “Our services aren’t utilized that way,” she explained.

“We’re crisis communicators. We’re issue managers. There’s something that happens every month that we don’t count on, that a communicator needs to help with,” she continued. “The hours are going to ebb and flow.”

How to readjust retainers

On the client side, teams want as much value as possible, Kwittken said. As such it’s about ways to rethink the billing process to highlight the works that’s taking place beyond press releases and website copy.

“(Clients) want to fix their costs and don’t want them to creep because they have a budget,” he added. “They want to pay for performance, not just activity reports. They want to know what we did to help them achieve their goals, like sales or shareholder valuation.”

The emergence of this tech may give PR agencies a chance to “productize,” not commoditize, what they do and assign specific costs or values to each task, service or deliverable against objective success goals, Kwittken said. He gave the example of tying PR’s impact on sales, employee morale, shareholder value, etc. directly into their client’s CRM.

To that end, Olson sees the potential for PR agencies to go back to the negotiating table and really drive home what they bring to the table in terms.

Olson’s hope is that while they may bill fewer hours for a particular project, AI is creating more time “to be in our clients’ heads about what they worry about every day.” That means there’s more time to do the analysis of social media audiences or strategize about campaigns.

“With those extra two, three hours we can figure out how to make a bigger impact for the client, so that the client benefits from us,” she said. “Maybe that’s another brainstorming session about an issue that they hadn’t told us about yet, because we’re not scoped for that.”

As part of the process, Olson suggested asking clients things such as what’s keeping them up at night and how they can help.

“We have a chance to become bigger strategic partners as an agency,” she said.

Finding the right solution for your firm

Olson noted that there’s no true challenger to the billable hour system. In fact she’s known only three agencies that have gone to the value billing model.

Two of them don’t even exist anymore.

That doesn’t mean value billing or another system won’t work, she said. It also doesn’t mean teams should avoid AI for the sake of taking longer to complete a job.

In fact, it’s just the opposite, Olson said. She believes the new data and insights that AI can provide will improve strategy and measure performance.

Firms need to evaluate their business operations and find ways where they can improve their high-level offerings. Doing so, Olson believes, will lead teams to hire more strategists, writers and data analysts.

“This is our moment to take the lead,” Olson said.

Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.

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Artificial intelligence tools have opened up new possibilities for communicators to elevate their digital storytelling through advanced video and image creation.

Steve Salvador, APCO‘s creative director of brand programming, noted that image and video generation are in their early phases. However, he emphasized that the field is rapidly evolving, pointing out that ChatGPT only emerged two years ago.

“AI is seen as a future necessity, something that holds a lot of potential and should be embraced,” Salvador said during Ragan’s recent AI for Communicators Virtual Conference.

To help communicators new to AI, Salvador and APCO designer JT Toomer shared insights and best practices for using AI to create visual content. They demonstrated AI tools their firm uses, including Midjourney, Runway, Copilot, Pictory, invideo AI, Lumen5 and VEED.IO. They also highlighted design tools that have incorporated AI capabilities, such as Canva and Photoshop.

APCO has used each of these tools in different ways, leveraging their features to streamline workflows, enhance project quality and spark creativity:

Canva: Toomer described Canva as a great entry-level tool for learning AI in design work. He praised it as “an intuitive and user-friendly platform,” highlighting its “Magic Edit” and “Magic Media” tools, which use AI to add, remove and create images.

Photoshop: New feature Generative Fill lets users add or remove content from images using text prompts for realistic results. This feature is great for adding small details to stock images or removing background elements, according to Toomer. For instance, you can remove a logo from a T-shirt without affecting the shirt’s coloration. It’s especially useful when you need hard-to-find images. Toomer recalled working on a campaign that required a gas stove image. He put a photo of a couple cooking into Photoshop, added a prompt to add a gas flame under the pot’s burner and produced an image that was used in the ad.

Midjourney: This image generation tool is one of the original AI art generators. Toomer described it as “making waves in the industry” when it arrived on the scene. He highlighted the tool’s ability to allow users to create images using text prompts. The feature is similar to the capabilities of newer platforms, like Copilot, but many users believe Midjourney generate more dramatic images. It’s also less expensive. APCO uses Midjourney to expediate storyboarding process by fleshing out an idea or concept quickly.

Copilot: Comms pros can use this versatile tool to generate photos and videos. For instance, Salvador created a social media post based on a corporate social responsibility report from Starbucks. Given a prompt, Copilot quickly scanned the report, found a suitable section and turned it into a short video showcasing the company’s positive environmental impact. The video included an outline and linked to the relevant data in the report.

Pictory: Pictory has a video summarization tool that automatically pulls out the best parts from long webinars and podcasts, turning them into short, shareable videos. What sets it apart from others is its AI-powered Image Enhancement tool, which boosts the quality of images used in videos. With scripted video editing, users can edit videos simply by changing the script’s text.

“I would encourage you to start small,” Salvador said. “Begin with simple projects like social media posts or 30- to 60-second videos, where you can use AI to help digest the copy and ideate, and then use the tools to automate some of the video editing process.”

The post Tips for using AI for video, photo generation in PR appeared first on PR Daily.

There are times when your organization will have to turn down a media request.

Michael Perry, a vice president of external communications for the E.W. Scripps Company, noted that reporters typically understand that companies or individuals have to do what’s best for them. But the way an organization chooses to decline a request for comment or an interview can have an effect on not only that story but future stories down the road.

“Every organization has to do what’s best for them and their situation,” said Perry, who began his career in journalism. “But there is also a way to not comment that can show respect and professionalism and not damage relationships with media outlets.”

Deciding whether or not to respond

When possible, it’s best to offer a response to a reporter, Perry said. But there are times when that just can’t happen, especially when it comes to sensitive topics. In those situations, it’s important to consider two major questions:

• Is there value in sharing your side of a story or adding information that might not be known?
• Could an interview or comment hurt you or your company and how?

Perry noted that it’s vital the entire organization – investor relations, the legal department, human resources and the executive team – works in sync when deciding whether to respond.

“Thinking about how everything plays out later, including on social media, is important,” he said.

Another factor to consider is the organization’s past experiences with the media outlet and reporter. If the company has provided access to sources and information for years and there’s one time they can’t comment, that shouldn’t be an issue.

“I would have equity with you,” Perry said. “If we have never worked together, you might be more frustrated because you don’t know me.”

The dos and don’ts of saying ‘no’

Perry described responding to all media inquiries as “a must” – even if you can’t provide a comment.

His team always responds to calls and emails from reporters as soon as they can – whether they’re planning to issue an on-the-record response or not. If they can’t provide an answer, they let them know and, if possible, explain why.

“It’s a personnel matter, a personal matter, pending litigation, a privacy matter – those are legit reasons for not responding,” Perry said. “But at least offer an explanation as to why you’re not commenting.”

If you’re on the fence about taking part in a media request, it’s possible to respond to questions without really answering the question directly. Perry isn’t an advocate for that approach because he doesn’t think it’s particularly effective.  It happens though, and there’s an art to it.

“Listen to every Sunday morning news program and every coach’s press conference,” Perry said. He noted that good reporters will likely continue to try to ask that question or word it differently.

A simple “no comment” is sometimes unavoidable, Perry said. But he would “rather have an article say I responded and couldn’t comment versus did not return calls or refused to respond to emails.”

Perry said doing that is never ideal, though, regardless of the circumstances. Reporters and the public may interpret that as the organization being dismissive or evasive, or both.

Success measured in relationship strength

Of course, there are times when a PR professional has to turn down a request for an interview or comment even if they want to respond, perhaps due to a deadline issue.

If that happens, it’s always nice to at least email the reporter and let them know why they can’t take part in the story, Perry said. It’s about treating them like professionals with a job to do – and that includes being respectful and accessible, within reason.

“A reporter wants to be treated respectfully and with the understanding they have a job to do that sometimes conflicts with what you would like,” Perry said.

Journalists and PR practitioners often have a collaborative relationship, but sometimes there is a fork in the road where each needs something different.

Perry emphasized that the most obvious gauge of whether or not to decline comment or an interview request is the quality of coverage and whether there was fair treatment. But he also stressed that another important barometer is how the situation affects working with a reporter or an entire newsroom down the road.

“I know it’s easier said than done, but reporters and media relations teams should have tremendous respect for each other’s roles and understand what’s in the best interest of one might not be in the best interest of the other at any given time. And that’s OK.

“Everyone has a job to do,” he added. “Communicate with respect and know that a long-term relationship has value.”

Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.

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An effective communications strategy is one that reflects the overall goals and values of the organization. The best way to do that is to work closely with a range of in-house stakeholders – from the marketing team to the HR department, even IT – to craft a messaging approach that will work well to reach the full spectrum of potential audience types.

“Put (a) cadence of communication together so that you don’t either spend time stepping on each other’s activities and diluting the impact, or you don’t leave large gaps in what you’re doing,” said Brian Brockman, VP of communications for Nissan Motor Corp., U.S. and Canada.

Brockman spoke at a recent Ragan Communications panel on employee experience. While the nearly 40-minute conversation leaned into internal comms, the three panelists made a point to highlight the importance of working together to craft a cohesive cross-functional strategy that includes public relations.

Brockman stressed that communication strategies are most effective when, as an organization, there’s an understanding of how people can affect change together – whether it’s a brand initiative or product launch.

“It’s more important than ever to have marketing amplifying what we’re doing and putting some dollars behind it in meaningful ways, and (to show) that we’re creating content that they think is worthy of (that expense),” he said.

In many cases, PR professionals aren’t reporting to the same team leader as their peers in internal comms, branding or marketing. As a result, there are often tasks, such as employee experience, that don’t end up with a “natural owner,” according to panelist Gideon Pridor, Workvivo’s chief marketing officer. Instead, those types of tasks can fall into a gray area between HR, comms and marketing.

Pridor said communicators often find themselves in a situation where those other departments end up “begging for favors” – help with a campaign or crafting an email, for example – but they don’t have the proper technology to orchestrate it and they’re often operating from an institutional deficiency because they don’t always have a seat “at the table” during those operations conversations.

By establishing a workflow cadence between the other departments, communicators can position themselves as strategic collaborators rather than just “message transmitters.”

“When you have somebody steering the ship, it’s much easier to set goals and not ask for favors and run across different departments,” Pridor said. “And I think that’s the future.”

Establishing these relationships may not feel entirely natural unless there’s already operational overlap. So, one way to approach it is to look at the company’s organizational chart and company structure to find the connective tissue where you can make an impact.

Brockman also emphasized that, when possible, it’s important to make sure there’s buy-in and a direct line to the top, either the CEO or another C-suite level leader.

“It’s obviously most valuable… when you’ve got an equal seat at the table, but at the same time, you’ve got to work across all of those functions to make sure that you’re amplifying (that message).”

Watch the full video below.

Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.

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David Murphy is an account supervisor at Method Communications.

There’s an understanding in PR that if you want to go deep, work in-house, and if you want to go wide, work for an agency. If you chose the latter, chances are you’ll be staffed on multiple accounts in a variety of industries. You might have never thought about crypto, unless it was a meme, and suddenly your new crypto client’s asking for your opinion on strategy. Welcome to public relations! 

How much time you dedicate to learning the ins-and-outs of a new industry can drastically vary, depending on whether it’s a brand new client, or you’re just the fresh face on an existing account. The best case scenario is your agency just won a brand new client — congratulations — and you’re tasked with absorbing everything you can before the avalanche of real PR work starts. So where do you begin? 

Don’t reinvent the wheel 

The secret to success in PR is to work smarter not harder. Figure out what existing materials and resources are at your disposal and where you need fresh research to fill in the gaps. If your agency already has a client in this particular industry, connect with that team for recommendations on where to start. They might have existing onboarding materials quickly condensing the key players and defining industry jargon, or at the very least, can point you toward essential trade publications to read. 

If PR is a vehicle to tell your client’s story, the media list is the gasoline of the entire operation. Take a look at your colleagues’ media list to get a quick glimpse of who’s who in the industry, and which publications and reporters will become go-to targets moving forward. You’ll want to spend time reading their coverage and monitoring their X accounts to identify what elements they typically include in coverage. Do they only speak with CEOs? Or maybe they require exclusives? 

If you’re the fresh face on an existing account the good news is your team is there to support you while you get up to speed. While Google is your friend and independent research is always welcome, you can take comfort in the fact that you can rely on your teammates for client context and history.  

Breaking new ground

If you find yourself on The Road Not (previously) Taken, and this is your agency’s very first foray into cybersecurity, edtech, or any number of fill-in-the-blank industries, a proactive mindset makes all the difference. The first thing you’ll want to understand is where your client fits into the marketplace. Look back at the last few months of announcements, at their C-suite’s thought leadership profiles (or lack thereof), and analyze why an announcement succeeded or failed to generate coverage. 

From there, the next step is to ask your client who their top competitors are. Researching the scope of competitor coverage, what messaging resonates and who is covering them, will provide a strong sense of what success metrics look like for your relationship moving forward. 

For example, if it is an industry where competitors struggle to generate significant coverage, or, alternatively, receive dozens of earned mentions each month, you’ll want to be aware of this. Compiling a competitor share of voice report allows you and your team to start off on a solid foundation.     

Become a sponge 

Whether you’re leading the charge with a new industry at your firm, or simply joining an existing account, the common thread to becoming the industry expert your clients deserve is to read, watch and listen to everything you can. As Albert Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”   

The post Become the industry expert your clients deserve appeared first on PR Daily.

Dozens of athletes and executives gathered in Paris to mix, mingle and discuss the ongoing Olympics, NIL marketing and more as part of a networking reception hosted in partnership by PR Daily, Green Buzz Agency, Axios and MOGL.

For five hours, participants sipped champagne and custom cocktails, mingling with current and former Olympians from sports including triathlon, handball and rowing.

“This was a really well-put on event, in a really nice, intimate location. Got to meet a lot of great people and had a great time,” said Ebiye Udo-Udoma, a member of the U.S. handball team.

Among the hottest topics of discussion at the event was how the athletes in Olympic events, which shine brightly every four years but then recede in the face of dominant sports like American football and baseball, can capitalize on their intense but often brief fame.

Tod Plotkin, founder and CEO of Green Buzz Agency, cited the overnight fame of Stephen “Pommel Horse Guy” Nedoroscik, who helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team to an all-around team bronze – and became a viral meme.

“How does he continue that for months and carry on and turn that into some sort of profitable, revenue generating thing?” Plotkin mused.

Women’s sports were also a major conversation. Women have nearly achieved 50% gender parity at the games for the first time, NPR reported. Many of the this year’s biggest  stars are women, including gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Katie Ledecky, both old hands at the Olympics. Back home in the United States, women’s basketball continues to grow in popularity, driven in part by superstars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, both of whom are sitting out these games, leading to a unique opportunity in women’s sports for marketers.

“This was a great opportunity to meet cool people but also just learn about what other people are doing that’s related to sports, to health, to technology and this global initiative of athletes, sports and people who love sports,” said Christian Brown, founder and CEO of Blimish.

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Rachel Huff is president and founder at agency search consultancy Victoire & Co

It’s generally understood in agency reviews that, when all is said and done, clients will disclose why agencies won or lost the business — it’s part of the unspoken contract when participating in these reviews.

As an agency search consultant, I even include a stipulation in my contracts that clients must provide feedback to every participating agency. In the spirit of transparency and trust – qualities that all clients want in an agency partner – and out of respect for the amount of time that agencies invest in pitching, it’s only fair that if they don’t win the business, they receive feedback to learn and improve for next time.

But the reality is, even among those clients who take this important step of sharing timely and candid feedback, some have a tough time sharing the real reason an agency didn’t win their business. In some cases, it’s because they aren’t even willing to admit it to themselves.

So, agencies, next time you lose a pitch, consider that it might have been one these lesser-known (or at least less frequently cited) reasons:

You turned on the sales engine. Please, don’t take the word “pitch” too literally. By being too focused on getting the client to like YOU, you can lose sight of getting to know THEM. Clients want to work with people who they consider a partner, and vice versa. As one recent client said: “We’re looking for our new best friend who will tell us like it is.”

You rested on your laurels. By the time you get to the pitch phase, clients no longer care if you were named Agency of the Year. Nor do they care about your big, splashy campaign for a client with ten times their budget. What they care about is whether you can deliver on their goals within their budget, while easing the burden on their team and hopefully having a little fun together along the way.

You’re too big for them. Nobody wants an agency that’s too small to have the resources or expertise to deliver. But increasingly, clients are also skeptical of agencies where they foresee being a small fish in a big pond. More than one client has expressed concerns to me that, given the prominent logos on an agency’s roster, their account might not receive the enthusiasm they deserve.

It was something you said — or didn’t say. One seemingly small detail can sway a client’s opinion in one direction or the other. For example, maybe you recommended an influencer who recently partnered with their largest competitor. Or maybe you failed to address one of the subtle points raised in their brief. Both big and small details matter.

Their heart was already set on someone else. Hopefully you took the time to evaluate the opportunity and are confident that the client is running a fair search and is seriously considering your firm. Still, during the process, sparks can fly and clients can become infatuated with another agency. And they’re probably not going to admit to you that they just didn’t like you as much as someone else.

There are a lot of reasons clients get turned off by agencies. If you’ve gone through all the obvious ones and still can’t figure out why you weren’t chosen to be their next partner, here’s one last possibility: You aren’t the CMO’s best friend.

Kidding aside, while personal relationships might get agencies a foot in the door, it often becomes clear when there isn’t a genuine fit.

The post Lost a new business pitch? 5 reasons clients will never tell you. appeared first on PR Daily.

An increasing number of communicators flock to the French Riviera each summer to participate in the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.  For the first time, Ragan will have a presence at the event, hosting a communications leadership roundtable, executive interviews and meetings.

Events throughout the week of June 17 will culminate in the Communications Leadership Council Roundtable on June 20.

The exclusive roundtable for communications executives, hosted by Ragan and Muck Rack, will focus on themes including the business case for creativity, finding your voice in a noisy year and more.

“Cannes is one of the foremost places in the world for creative thinkers to gather, and we’re excited to elevate communications in the conversation,” said Diane Schwartz, CEO of Ragan Communications. “Creativity plays a vital role in communications, and we’re looking forward to learning and sharing with the bright minds at Cannes.

The roundtable and other editorial interviews will be held at the  Ragan x Muck Rack Headquarters across from  the Palais de Festivals, providing a central location for leaders to gather, network and meet leaders from both organizations. Schwartz will also conduct interviews with delegates on communications, leadership and more.

Other events taking place in Cannes during the festival include the famed Cannes Lions Awards, which celebrate creativity across the advertising and communications industry, presentations and conversations with some of the biggest names in the industry, and splashy activations from major brands.

To participate in the roundtable or to secure an interview spot during the festival, fill out this form.

The post Ragan, PR Daily to bring comms to Cannes Lions this June appeared first on PR Daily.

Dan Mazei is principal at All Tangled Roots. He previously worked at brands including Tinder, Activison Blizzard and Reebok. 

Your procurement lead e-mails you to check-in. You’re coming up to the end of your agency’s contract, and it’s time to evaluate. 

You look back through your quarterly reports, the coverage summaries, the recommendations for the new year. There are no real red flags or disastrous misses; you rationalize that the moments of frustrations can be traced back to internal timing shifts, re-briefs, lack of clarity. The work has been solid. 

So… what is this nagging feeling? 

Beneath every decision today, there are festering anxieties. Work-life balance and the morality and practicality of return-to-work requirements. Stagnant salaries. Rampant layoffs. Shrinking dollars and, in America, early signs of an emotionally taxing election.

The fact is, brands cannot ultimately succeed if their leaders are mentally and emotionally taxed beyond their means. 

As service providers, agencies and consultants have been trained for a generation to be strategic partners, thought leaders, problem solvers and resolute warriors. But missing in that equation is caring, understanding and empathy. These are fundamental tenets of humankind, not luxuries afforded to the clients with the largest retainers. 

It’s only prudent, then, that decision makers consider when selecting or retaining their agency partners how those teams treat them as individuals. 

So, as a leader, how do you know when it’s just not right? 

Firstly, consider this: If you sat down with your agency lead over a coffee tomorrow morning and asked, “What are the biggest challenges I’m facing right now,” what would you hear in response? The answer should not be a recitation of your last status call agenda, nor should it be a summation of your company’s operating environment. Both of these are data sources for problem solving, but they are not reflective of a deep personal understanding of you and your daily realities. 

Next, think about the questions you get back from your agency or consultant when you present a new challenge. You should certainly remember receiving thoughtful, strategic questions. But are you hearing questions about your existing workload, and how this challenge fits into your priorities? More specifically, do you expect your partner to proactively lighten your burden, so you can be a better operator internally? 

And when you’re closing your laptop on a given day, are you doing so knowing that your partner is thinking of ways to be more efficient and flexible? Past the timelines and the hard deliverables for your work, do you see your partner putting in the time and effort to streamline the process; to make the work more easily consumable for you and any other stakeholders; to get you the materials early so you have more runway for review and improvement? 

The value exchange of the client/partner agreement demands that these questions end with a resounding, “yes.” 

Servicing an in-house leader today requires an active understanding and appreciation for the quiet noise – the things that may not be captured in an e-mail or noted on a call, but are nonetheless impacting the way the work is actually getting done. Drawing out and analyzing the quiet noise is not easy, but great partnership requires it. It is both good business and good ol’ fashioned civility for your partner to ask questions beyond the brief, and to think from your perspective as a leader, people manager and peer. They should be considering and framing their questions around how you’ll be managing your internal team on this work; around the relationship dynamics of any other stakeholders who will see this work; around the toll this work may be taking on your overall stability. This is the quiet noise. This is what makes already challenging work that much harder, and it can only be seen through the eyes of partners who rightfully prioritize caring, understanding and empathy in their service model.

If this sounds foreign to you as a leader, it doesn’t mean your agency or your consultant is bad. It simply means you’re not getting the maximum value available from your partnership. Because, when both signatures go on that contract, you mutually agree to do your best work together. When the world around us grows more complex, so too does the expectation of what can be defined as a partner’s best work. 

Make sure, when you sit down to talk big picture with your agency lead or consultant, that you make this expectation clear, and that you need it to be your best as a client, an operator, and as a fellow human being. Explain that this does not replace another section in the scope of work, but is simply a way of operating that will strengthen the satisfaction and, in turn, the commitment of everyone involved. 

Because, at the end of the day, the work you do with your partners can crush every KPI and win industry awards – great, enviable outcomes, to be sure – but will that be what you remember if the journey to get there was sad, confusing and lonely? Of all the questions to ask today, perhaps that’s the most important.

The post The new agency contract appeared first on PR Daily.

Sarah Riley is a vice president at Method Communications.

PR people are in the business of establishing, nurturing and maintaining relationships –but no relationship is more important than those we have with our clients. The benefits of stellar client relationships are twofold: seamless communication makes for better outcomes, increased efficiency and honest conversations. Equally as important: it’s nice to enjoy the people that you work with every day, and feel that they’ve placed their trust in you. 

Our industry brings high highs, like celebratory cheers after a great piece of coverage hits, and low lows, like commiserating when an exclusive falls through. Both are bettered by a solid foundation between agency and client.

Here’s how to get there. 

Establish genuine connections 

Establishing trust with a new client is table stakes, but developing a working relationship that feels natural, positive, and good is something else. It’s not just small talk during the first five minutes of a call. It’s sending chocolates when they get promoted, commiserating about a delayed product launch and finding ways to trauma bond through an all-day and all-consuming crisis. 

When you’re lucky, it’s also laughing over two, maybe three, glasses of wine after it’s all over. The aim here is to instill confidence that you’re united by the same goal: helping them and their company be successful. 

Learn what a client wants, what a client needs

Another surefire way to establish a good working relationship? Make your clients’ life easier. Our goal should be to give them something (research, monthly priorities, messaging – anything!) that they can use, not something they need to do something else with to be able to use. Think about something as mundane as a recommendation you give in response to an inbound request from a reporter. You could say “This publication is legitimate, it’s worth doing in our book,” or you could include the UVM, the last time your client connected with that publication, a flag about a coverage area they’ve been dipping into lately, and a drafted note they can pass along to execs that outlines the ROI for the opportunity. 

Ask yourself: How can I make their day, week and life easier? How can I make them look good to their boss? How can I encourage them towards making something bigger and better than they imagined? Call it concierge service, white-glove service… just look for ways to surprise and delight. 

Discover how to fail together, then grow from it

When I’m training interns new to PR, I tell them to always expect the unexpected. We’ve all learned over time that despite our strongest efforts and best-laid plans, disappointments are inevitable. We’ve been the bearer of bad news, but we don’t need to hide our disappointment with smoke and mirrors. We can tell our clients that we’re as upset as they are that we didn’t land inclusion in an article we worked really hard to get featured in. That we know their hard work feels fruitless, and that we can do what’s possible to create another opportunity – even if we can’t always guarantee it.

A true partner shares in joint failures as much as successes, and how we respond to those failures is equally important as how much effort we put into avoiding them. When you’ve established a solid relationship with clients, this won’t come across as excuses or lip service because it will be genuine. 

By doing all of these well, you’ll not only be a good agency partner, but an asset to your clients as individuals for life. The world of PR and marketing is increasingly small and constantly moving. A client today could be a colleague tomorrow, or even an advocate for you and your agency when they move to a new company that would be amazing to work with. You never know where people are going to end up, so nurturing every relationship you can is in everyone’s best interest. 

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This artifact is shared in partnership with the Museum of Public Relations. 

Ofield Dukes was born in 1939 in Rutledge, Alabama, and passed away in 2011. Dukes’ work included advising all Democratic presidential candidates since 1968 and many other political and cultural figures. His work focused on strengthening the relationship between Washington and Black leaders. Throughout his career, he worked with other renowned corporate clients, including Lever Brothers, Anheuser-Busch, CBS Records, AT&T, the National Bankers Association, the National Education Association and the Treasury Department. He retired a few months before his passing.

The plaque was gifted to Dukes from Motown Records. Motown was among the first clients as Dukes launched his public relations firm, Ofield Dukes & Associates, in 1969. The plaque is today housed and displayed by the Museum of Public Relations in downtown Manhattan.

“Motown Records Gratefully Acknowledges Ofield Dukes, A Living Legend and a Public Relations Pioneer. In honor of Black History Month, we celebrate your legacy, significant contributions to Motown Records, and your lifetime commitment to the field of Public Relations and Communications.”

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➢ Communicators have a steady seat in the boardroom and are taking an active role in crafting corporate policy and voting on pivotal issues.

➢ Generative AI wipes out the busy work and allows communicators time to be strategic, creative and proactive.

➢ The word “strategic” has been scrapped from the term Strategic Communications for its obvious redundancy, and the Chief Communications Officer now reports to the CEO.

➢ DEI and ESG are no longer polarizing labels as the practices of inclusion, diversity and sustainability are as normalized as media relations and community relations.

Is this the future of communications, or is this just a pipe dream? For most communicators, it’s hard to imagine a future in which the scenarios above come to fruition.  

There’s a small cohort, perhaps the ones attending Davos or other economic global forums, who have the seat at the table and the ear of the C-suite. But for most communicators, you are just too busy getting through the day.  

You say you’re too busy. In Ragan’s 2024 Communications Benchmark Report, communicators cite that the top reason they can’t be more strategic is because they are being pulled in too many directions, with tasks and requests that keep them from big-picture strategy. This answer has topped the other choices for the past six years of the Benchmark Report.   

The last several years have been seismic for communicators. As the stakes were raised during the early stages of the pandemic, and amid social justice and geopolitical unrest, communications met the moment. In my three decades in this space, I’ve never seen so much positive movement.  

Communicators were front and center, keeping stakeholders informed, employees safe and connected. They weren’t in the boardroom, per se, but they were (and arguably are today) at the heart of their organization, not missing a beat.  

The risk is real

But the more things changed, the less it stuck. As we look to the near future, we risk a slide back.  

The tremendous influence and authority gained from 2020 to 2023 is at risk of slipping through the many priorities organizations face unless there is a collective awareness that Comms is still taking a back seat to other roles in the organization. Communicators need to come together around the core issues impacting society and their organizations and assume a role they might not have deemed themselves worthy of when they first entered the profession.  

The stage is set to take the lead role on critical issues of the day: AI’s impact on work and society, employee upskilling, brand management and social issues, misinformation management and ensuring a reasonably diverse and inclusive work culture.  

We are not talking side character or cameo roles — comms should be the lead role in this regular series.  To do this, it’s critical that communicators get curious beyond the walls of its own comms department.  

Here are some ways forward: 

Play in the AI sandbox: Dabble in the potential of AI for you and your team and for the larger organization, asking questions that will positively transform business. Play with AI rather than pray that it won’t impact you. Partner with other communicators to create a framework that moves our profession forward.  

Become business fluent: Treat it like learning a new language and commit to diving into the numbers, getting curious about the ecosystem that drives your business and dashboarding KPIs that truly tie comms to business growth. 

Take the lead in upskilling: AI has accelerated the need for most professionals to develop new skills and competencies (upskilling has always been important). In addition to ensuring you and your comms team are learning new skills, you have the chance to be at the table formulating and overseeing a talent revolution. Somebody’s got to do it – why not you? 

Be comfortable in the fog: With the U.S. election and nearly 40 other elections around the globe in 2024, this will undoubtedly be another year of uncertainty and division within your organization and among your customers and other stakeholders. Communicators will need to manage the murkiness and be the voice of reason, stability and truth. 

Stop being so busy: As mentioned earlier, communicators are busy bees. But as you commit to taking the lead on upskilling, AI and strategic business counseling you’ll find that the stage is yours to take the lead. Decide where you need to spend your time or someone else will decide for you. 

This is all to say: Buckle up, communicators, for an exhilarating ride.  

Diane Schwartz is the CEO of Ragan Communications.  

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There are never enough hours in a day to complete all the work an in-house communicator has on their to-do list. The nagging feeling that there’s more that you could, should, be doing is enough to bring even the most cheerful pro down.

But sometimes, agencies can be a solution to that time crunch.

PR Daily spoke to Laura Emanuel, managing director of Red Thread PR, and Randi Berris, vice president of Marketing and Communications at Business Leaders for Michigan, about when an agency can supplement in-house work.

Emanuel said that she helps in-house teams assess their agency needs and where the best opportunities for collaboration lie.

“Together it’s the ultimate kind of partnership and the ultimate team to really pull everything off to the best of our ability,” Emanuel said.

‘Look under the hood’ first

Before collaboration even begins, it’s critical to understand what your needs are. The first step is to understand what everyone is doing by conducting an audit to understand what tasks are on everyone’s plate, what’s getting done and where another set of hands is needed.

“Look under the hood of what everyone is doing,” Emanuel suggested, to gain insight into how to rebalance workloads for greater success.

For instance, Berris said her company heavily relies on agencies for their media relations acumen, especially when it comes to specific relationships with reporters in local markets across Michigan.

“When I’m looking at different agencies to choose, I need a good thought partner for strategy and tactical support for advertisement placement and bread and butter public relations,” Berris said.

Once needs are identified, it’s time to identify where an agency can really pitch in. Often in-house communicators must stay responsive to quick-turn, high-importance requests from within the organization. But when it comes to looking for opportunities, an agency might bring the fresh eyes you need.

“More of the proactive type things that oftentimes (in-house teams) need an agency to keep an eye on,” Emanuel said of using an agency.

In addition to helping with comms planning, agencies could help an in-house team see things through a new lens.

Emanuel said that an in-house team might be so used to being reactive to internal comms pressures that an external agency has the advantage of seeing the big picture that’s often overlooked when one is immersed in the day-to-day grind.

Berris echoed similar thoughts. Berris said that in her experience working in larger companies, her in-house team relied on agency support as thought partners to bring to life new ideas and comms strategies – especially if they had a fresh take on something that an in-house team might have missed or were too busy to see.

“Now and in my previous roles, having that third-party perspective is really important,” Berris said.

Berris said that in-house teams might not see the forest for the trees in their comms because they’re dealing with it day in and day out. Having an agency could show them what comms angle is working and what’s not and what makes sense and what doesn’t.

“I think it’s very easy for us to assume everyone understands exactly what we’re talking about – how we’re saying it,” Berris said of an in-house team. “And having the third party helps balance us out and be able to push back when we’re getting too comfortable with language that some might see as jargon-y or bureaucratic. An agency is helpful in being that reality check.”

Using agencies for tactical support

Emanuel said that it is vital for agencies to have an ongoing dialogue with their in-house teams about resource allocation and the internal measurement process to best understand the success of the partnership. That also looks like ensuring everyone is on the same page with tracking tools to know how stakeholders engage with internal content to see if the messaging works or should be tweaked.

“It gets pretty granular,” Emanuel said of the data shared with her agency. She added that while clients will share different amounts or kinds of data, it provides agencies with a better understanding of the broader picture.

“It’s not just asking for data for the sake of data,” Emanuel said. “It’s so that we can build the case for where (we’re at) and where we’re falling short.”

Berris said it’s important to have a regular cadence of meetings and check-ins between in-house and agencies to ensure everyone’s aligned.

“I also hold quarterly meetings where I get all of my agencies together on Zoom and we talk about all of the issues. And it’s never my intent for agencies to be competing against each other,” Berris said. “We should be working toward the same goal … to support the client, me, and be on the same page with strategies.”

Sherri Kolade is a writer and conference producer at Ragan Communications. She enjoys watching old films, reading and building an authentically curated life. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR/comms speaker in mind for one of Ragan’s events? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com.

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Here are a few safe bets for 2024: AI will continue to grow in importance. The U.S. election will be an absolute mess. And PR pros will handle it all with grace and style.  

Everything else that might happen in 2024? That’s just a guess. But we’ve assembled some of the brightest minds in the PR industry to share their very best predictions for the year ahead. See what they thought, and see how accurate our 2023 predictions were. 

Wishing you all a very happy holidays.  

AI 

It’s more important than ever before to make sure our clients have consistent online coverage that sheds them in a positive, accurate light as we still don’t 100% understand where AI gets its data from.

Lindsey Stecki, president and founder of Palmer Public. 

Comms offerings and pros’ experience will be reassessed through the lens of, “Can’t AI do that?” Making the case for our value proposition will require stakeholder and business partner reeducation, business model rejiggering and skills development rethinking.  

Lynnea Olivarez, founder and community manager of Ticket to Biotech.

There is way too much chatter about using AI tools like ChatGPT as content drivers beyond basic outlines. As the legal industry more closely looks into the issue of AI and copyright, there will be some short-sighted organizations that will cross lines they shouldn’t and will be held up as trailblazing examples of how and where AI can be used to run afoul of best practices.

Rod Hughes, President, Kimball Hughes Public Relations.

Media relations 

PR pros will focus less on the medium and more on the message in 2024. Since our directive and expertise often lies in earning media coverage for our clients, we can silo ourselves to editorial publications as the sole medium for promoting key messages. Developing compelling storylines and mapping them to the appropriate medium — company blog, thought leader LinkedIn, contributor profile, etc. — will lead to more high-impact campaigns. 

Kim Jefferson, EVP at BLASTMedia.  

This is the first time we’ve had significant global conflicts in the age of social media and such open and fast communications platforms. It’s jarring to see how easily images, videos, and accounts of war can be shared. Public affairs and communications experts must determine how we can use these platforms to more quickly and accurately provide help and assistance, while sharing actionable insights for policymakers. In 2024, we will see a shift in policy media and conversations on social media platforms. 

Bonnie McLaughlin, vice president and public affairs lead at RH Strategic Communications. 

PR needs unity with all types of media. PR practitioners will have to be creative and resourceful to attain placements and, generally, rely more and more on a unified mix of earned, owned and paid media. There are several ways this can be achieved in the future, and it all boils down to creating fresh and useful content and finding where and how it can be placed to reach target audiences.

Vicki Bohlsen, president and founder of Bohlsen Group 

PR will continue to hone its seat at the mid-to-lower funnel tactic table. PR is no longer siloed as an awareness-focused tactic due to advances in measuring capabilities, making companies see the discipline’s value further down the consumer journey.

Nicole Gainer, AVP at Red Thread PR 

Social media 

While there are still some holdouts, the media and brand exodus from X (formerly and more respectfully known as Twitter) may seal the platform’s fate. Companies don’t want to be locked into high advertisement spending while still running the risk that some jokester can replicate their username and hurt their reputation, like Eli Lilly’s stock. HubSpot also cites in a 2023 report that Twitter has one of the lowest ROIs — in short, the bird has flown the nest and brands will decide they should too.

Jake Doll, VP of PR at BLASTMedia. 

Brand founders should feel as open and accessible as influencers. Instead of over-produced content, create organic short-form videos that show the brand’s personality. These also offer the audience a sense of who the founders really are. It goes back to authenticity.  Whether social content, a podcast interview, byline or blog post… offering your key audience a look under the hood is sure to be a hit and drive trust and loyalty.

Sarah Schmidt, executive vice president at Interdependence .

Gen Z are becoming more wary and less trusting of influencer marketing on social media, due in large part to a perceived over-saturation of these posts across all major social platforms. While engaging influencers can at times be an effective method for reaching Gen Z, brands that green light a scrappy social media strategy with clever references to trends in “meme-culture” will often have more luck generating awareness and trust with this generation – generally at a lower cost.

Becky Want, account supervisor at Ketchum.

Crisis comms

Corporate accountability will continue to increase. We are already seeing it as expectations have moved from simply ‘Has [Company] commented?’ to ‘Does what [Company] said have any actual impact or meaning behind it?’ I personally think this is a positive change and will further challenge companies to evaluate their actual impact and role in a crisis or difficult situation. Audiences are tired of companies simply providing lip service to a topic, and comms pros should be, too.

Natalie Maguire, VP of Comms, GIPHY .

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“AI won’t replace humans — but humans with AI will replace humans without AI.”

-Karim Lakhani, Harvard Business School professor specializing in workplace technology and AI for the Harvard Business Review.

As PR professionals, we find ourselves at a unique juncture: Artificial Intelligence offers the opportunity to significantly enhance our abilities when it comes to media relations (the bread and butter of our profession) — but using AI is not without risk.

Before diving into this new technology, here are a few things communicators should consider:

Your creative lifeline: How AI rescues writers from stagnation

For those of us who identify as external processors — individuals who thrive by thinking out loud — AI can be a game-changer. In the fast-paced world of PR, we often find ourselves grappling with time constraints that prevent us from engaging in lengthy brainstorming sessions. When used properly, AI can take on the role of collaborator, seamlessly transforming our scattered ideas and outlines into cohesive and compelling narratives, press releases, or pitches.

In addition, writers who have worked on the same brand for an extended period, sometimes spanning months or even years, may find themselves inadvertently confined by the established brand guidelines. These guidelines can become deeply ingrained in our minds, inhibiting the exploration of new and creative writing approaches. Generative AI can be an invaluable resource in such situations, offering a fresh perspective and encouraging experimentation, helping writers break free from the constraints of familiarity and inject new life into their content.

Indeed, while AI can be an invaluable tool in the creative process, it is essential to emphasize that the role of the PR person remains paramount. AI can assist, streamline, and offer suggestions, but the human element of intuition, creativity, fact-checking, and brand understanding that PR experts bring to the table cannot be replaced.

Keep it secure: Safeguarding sensitive information

Just as companies created social media policies in the early days of Facebook and Twitter, they must now collaborate with their general counsel or chief information security officer to develop comprehensive AI policies. Communicating confidential or sensitive information is one of a PR person’s most significant responsibilities. Announcing a life-changing medical breakthrough, introducing a new executive, unveiling an industry-changing product, or revealing daring new creative — you absolutely don’t want these sorts of announcements to leak before the embargo breaks. Yet many companies have found themselves in hot water by improperly using public AI.

A solid understanding of AI, coupled with a well-thought-out AI policy, can help establish important guardrails to prevent confidential information from finding its way into open-use AI tools where users have little control over their data.

Ai’s impact on newsrooms and PR: Challenges and opportunities

Much like PR agencies and in-house communications teams, newsrooms are also grappling with the implications of generative AI. Are they allowed to use it? Should we disclose if AI has helped in the writing of an article? Some of these questions are still to be answered. The Associated Press has put out its own guidelines, and as a leader in the industry, it’s expected many publications will follow suit.

As far as their interactions with PR people, New Yorker writer John Seabrook shared, “My fear as a consumer of public relations is, I’m getting 200 PR pitches a day and with AI that I’ll get 2,000 pitches a day. That’s a nightmare scenario that I want to avoid.”

Additionally, journalists have reported that they’ve received pitches containing praise for books they didn’t author or articles they didn’t write — all AI hallucinations.

While AI promises to enhance efficiency, caution is necessary for PR professionals, particularly in their engagements with journalists. The key lies in continuing to thoughtfully vet media lists and personalize pitches — much like we did in the good old days before AI. Information generated by AI should always undergo rigorous verification, ensuring the preservation of trust and authenticity in the rapidly evolving world of media and communications.

***

So, as we confront the challenges and opportunities AI presents, what is there to do next? PR professionals navigating the uncharted waters of generative AI in their media relations strategies should turn to three key principles to guide their approach: curiosity, protection and precision.

• Be Curious: New AI tools specifically created for PR professionals are popping up every day. Now is the time to embrace the potential of AI to revitalize content and enhance creativity.
• Be Protective: Establish an AI policy that allows experimentation without jeopardizing proprietary data or information.
• Be Precise: Don’t get carried away with the efficiencies AI affords. PR people must hold tight to their standards to maintain their relationships with the media and remain effective communicators.

Hannah Freedman is director of media and communications at Notified. 

The post The future of media relations: Navigating AI’s impact on PR appeared first on PR Daily.

Delta Dental of California sought to do something about the high rates of cavities and poor oral hygiene in Hispanic youth. But their communicatons team knew that a preachy, PSA-driven campaign wouldn’t cut it with this young, tech-savvy audience

So Delta Dental created a multi-channel campaign, Healthy Teeth from Crib to College, to reach this audience where they live.

Their campaign emphasized the importance of good oral care during National Smile Month (May 15­ – June 15) last year. Highlights included a Spotify playlist, influencer outreach and earned media.

Zelly Lodin, corporate communications manager at Delta Dental of California, told PR Daily that their PR team brought energy and life into the campaign to make their messaging stick.

“It’s going to be hard to get your audience excited if you’re not excited,” Lodin said. “It’s oral health, but we got really excited when we see these comments roll in on content we share. The energy we’re bringing is reflected in the audience in what they’re experiencing and we see that through engagement.”

The campaign achieved its goals — and won Delta Dental the Collaborative Social Media Communications and Multichannel Campaigns in PR Daily’s Social Media and Digital Awards.

Here’s what you can learn from the campaign:

Tap experts to spread the word

The PR team made Chief Dental Officer Dr. Dan Croley a key part of the campaign. They reached out to numerous members of the media to secure interviews, like this one on PBS South Florida. During the interview, Dr. Croley talked about prioritizing oral health and cavity, and disease, prevention with good oral hygiene.  Their efforts earned them 285 traditional media placements and an audience of 175 million in outlets including the Los Angeles Times, the Houston Chronicle and the Miami Herald.

“As a team, we’re very small, so we’re always leaning on our chief dental officer and dental experts internally,” Lodin said. “We kind of fold so many people from throughout the company to really be the spokespeople for some of the content.”

The campaign had a number of firsts for the company with their efforts, including the first Spanish-speaking TV broadcast interview and its first Spanish-speaking published interview featuring Dr. Ernesto Borgards.

“It felt like it was very validating – all the work and effort we put into creating these internal connections and collaboration opportunities,” Lodin said.

Connect with influencers

Lodin said that the PR team cast a wide net across platforms to reach their audiences, which included using influencers.

Delta Dental partnered with influencers like Meleah Campbell, a Washington, D.C., educator, to engage in conversations about children’s oral health. They also engaged with dancer Kim Hale, who encouraged her followers to follow @deltadentalins on Instagram and comment on what made them smile during the campaign.

Lodin added that Delta Dental is not the “sexiest company out there” and oral health is not always top of mind. But the influencers helped add a sense of fun to what can be a boring — or even scary — concept.

Lodin said that simply putting out content about the importance of oral health is not enough.

“It is not going to resonate,” Lodin said, adding that kind of content coming from an influencer, making that touchpoint, and incentive for engagement, is “key.”

Consider nontraditional messaging

The team also came up with a creative idea to use music to reach their young audience: Spotify playlists featuring two-minute songs — the correct length of time to brush your teeth — catered to different interests and age groups.

Lodin said that she and her team tried to think of the end-user when making the playlists, which include everything ranging from kids’ music to lo-fi.

“I really tried to craft it and communicate what people are searching on Spotify and make it user-centric and patient-centric,” Lodin said.

She added that someone listened to a song on one of Delta Dental’s playlists and said that they have ADHD and dental anxiety. The person decided to add one of those songs to their own playlist and it improved their brushing habits. That’s validation for Lodin.

“When we have messaging and tie it into the company and take what we do in the industry to the next level, we can move the needle in people’s lives for the better,” Lodin said.

Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she is not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading and building an authentically curated life that includes more than occasionally finding something deliciously fried. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR story idea? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com.

The post How Spotify playlists helped Delta Dental of California reach new audiences appeared first on PR Daily.

Mary Poliakova is a global PR consultant, co-founder and COO of a London-based PR agency Drofa Comms.

Samantha Jones from “Sex and the City,” Alexis Rose from “Schitt’s Creek,” Olivia Pope from “Scandal” – what’s the common thread binding these cherished TV personas? You guessed it right. They all worked as publicists or communications specialists. However, financial public relations professionals are notably absent from this list. Why? Well, financial PR doesn’t carry the same allure and glamor among entertainment folks. 

On the one hand, financial PR is very niche and does differ from entertainment, fashion or beauty PR, and other industries. Yet, although financial PR seems very scary and out of reach at first glance, it utilizes the same tools and has no less networking involved – only we hang out with investors, traders, and venture capitalists events rather than with designers and beauty gurus at a product launch party. What I’m getting at is that, initially, financial PR might appear intimidating. However, I want to reassure you that stepping into this field is not as daunting or challenging as it may seem. Let’s see what sets financial PR apart and what practical habits will push you forward – no matter if you’re planning a specialization transition or a total career pivot.

What makes the world go round

Simply put, financial PR is about communicating complex financial information to a range of stakeholders. Unlike entertainment or fashion PR, it navigates intricate regulatory landscapes, conveying critical data to investors, analysts, and the general public. This demands a deep understanding of financial markets, regulations, and the ability to translate technical jargon into clear, accessible messaging. Still interested? Then, to make things easier for aspiring financial PR pros, I gathered five practical tips on how to start your career journey and succeed:

Hit the books

A finance degree isn’t a must for financial PR. I stepped into financial journalism 15 years ago without a finance background. Yet, my initial action was to pass a three-month course on “financial market basics” at a brokerage house. Needless to say, it was the best decision I’ve made in that position. That lesson stuck with me and influenced our agency’s approach. We have employees from diverse backgrounds, with or without prior finance experience. No matter the background, new team members take our finance course in the first two weeks of onboarding. It’s a practice that’s proven effective and inclusive, nurturing skills regardless of past financial expertise.

Navigate the news flow like crazy

Market volatility can stir concerns among investors, causing stocks to experience rapid fluctuations. In such moments, adept navigation and flexibility are imperative. A readily accessible life hack is leveraging a macroeconomic events calendar. This proactive tool enables preparation ahead of time — drafting press releases or insightful commentary in anticipation of market declines or surges. It helps craft impactful content and breaking news but also equips you to promptly address journalists’ inquiries about your company’s stock performance. 

Always keep in mind the regulators 

Numbers speak louder than words, particularly in the realm of finance. Delving into financial PR entails understanding diverse regulatory landscapes across countries. Take, for instance, the intricacies surrounding PR for a company embarking on an IPO. It becomes crucial to discern the occasions when and which information can become public. Similarly, companies that already have traded shares must follow strict guidelines for revealing financial data, including the specifics of timing, recipients, and sequence.

Know your numbers

In finance, guesswork and opinions without solid numbers fall short. Convincing arguments must be rooted in concrete figures. Mastering data journalism techniques in PR is a bonus for you. Again, you don’t need specialized education; the world of numbers operates on logic and clarity. From my experience, finance and numbers prove seamless to work with. Why? Numbers and analytics transcend politics and subjectivity, offering a reliable touchstone. Proficiency in handling figures is the key to success in financial PR. When exact earnings can’t be disclosed due to NDA or compliance, leverage percentage indicators. For instance, replace “the company earned $200 million this year” with “the company’s revenue increased by 130%.” Feel the difference. This approach aligns with Kahneman’s insights and is well-explored in his work “Thinking, Fast and Slow” – a recommended read.

Embrace business and finance as your hobby

If the realm of finance and numbers doesn’t intrigue or captivate you, then even exceptional professionalism in communications won’t help you master financial PR. The secret I’ve learned as a PR lead, you need to have an interest in business and finance to succeed in this field. My colleagues come from various backgrounds – IT, education, and even the arts – now working with tier-1 media outlets and specializing in quarterly and annual statistics from leading finance firms. Previous experience in PR from another sector isn’t the decisive factor; your eagerness and drive to understand finance will chart your path toward your goal.

Utilize, succeed

The tips above have proven effective to many top-notch professionals in financial PR, myself included. The critical aspect for aspiring communications pros is embracing change — whether it entails transitioning from a different PR niche or commencing financial PR afresh — and being open to new, exciting challenges.

The post The secret to financial PR success: 5 practical tips for aspiring pros appeared first on PR Daily.

Amanda Guisbond is founder and chief communicator at Intersection: Health. Rachel Huff is president and founder at agency search consultancy Victoire & Co

There’s a rising tension between PR agencies and in-house teams, fueled by the perception that PR agencies are not “delivering.” This trend is complicated by a media landscape in which there are many more communicators than reporters and increasing pressure on clients of all sizes and stages to be more visible among their customers, buyers and investors with fewer people and less budget.

So, how can agencies and in-house teams avoid the 30-day-kill clause and come away feeling more satisfied with their partnerships? Below, we explore the latest strains on agency-client relationships, contributing factors and how everyone can navigate and adapt for better results.

Initiative and adaptability are paramount

Increasingly, we hear from client-side communicators that their agency partners are not generating the media results that drew them to work together in the first place. Though media relations isn’t the only role of a PR firm, it’s a core component – particularly for early-stage companies that are new to telling their story, or for more established brands that are looking to redefine themselves. Clients rely on their PR firms to be strategic storytellers, adapting communications to capture the attention of journalists as the gatekeepers to other audiences. Yet some agencies are throwing their hands up; or worse, waiting until clients complain, and then suggesting they pay-to-play.

Agencies are right to point to a challenging media landscape where earned media is harder to come by, and owned or paid content is a faster path. But to meet a client’s ire by suggesting they invest more to fix the problem? That can add strain to an already rocky relationship.

Agencies need to get in front of client expectations, fast, and advocate for measurable program strategies for which they can deliver. Starting from objectives, with a focus on results, is key. For example, a compelling LinkedIn post about a new product, shared from the company page, could be more effective at reaching potential customers than a mention in a trade publication.

To adapt to change, agencies must proactively acknowledge circumstances, educate clients and offer creative alternatives—before their clients beat them to the punch.

Double down on delivering

Agencies are always revisiting and expanding their services to meet client needs and grow revenue; however, this can backfire if they don’t deliver on all axes. Agencies should assess their foundational strengths and focus on strengthening these competencies. Similarly, clients should exercise caution when an agency claims, “we do it all.” While it might seem appealing to consolidate agency relationships, it’s worth questioning whether one agency can truly excel in media relations, positioning, executive communications, social media, content creation, issues management, influencer marketing and so on.

Lately, we have engaged in much debate with clients about the merits of full-service versus specialist firms and the agency of record (AOR) model versus project-based work. The answer is, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for every organization. Many agencies excel across multiple disciplines, but it’s essential to understand where they have expertise and where they may be overextending themselves.

Make teams more dynamic, and adopt a collective mindset

Post-pandemic, more top communications and PR talent are going out on their own, whether as independents or by establishing their own firms. In-house leaders can tap into this talent by fostering a collective mindset and encouraging cross-resource collaboration. Some fractional leaders now offer this service themselves, identifying the right resources and building customized teams around the client, based on their unique needs and budget.

To stay competitive, agencies should explore new ways to align their teams with client needs and demonstrate greater staffing flexibility that reflects the dynamics of their clients’ businesses.

It’s also essential to recognize and meet the current demand for a flexible work culture. Two notable examples include R/GA’s recently launched fractional work program, ensuring agency alumni a minimum of 20 weeks of work per year, and MullenLowe’s Momternship, a 10-week paid internship program designed to support mothers returning to the workforce. These initiatives extend agency resources in new, innovative, and more inclusive ways.

Bake accountability into contracts

More than half of procurement professionals, a key player in evaluating and selecting agency partners, believe agencies “over promise and under deliver.” Yikes.

This is where both clients and agency teams need to interrogate a contract, together, and align on clear deliverables and hard results – that are, we argue, tied to payment. One way to prove the value of PR is through scopes of work that have more skin in the game. Consider, for example, a tiered approach to payment based on deliverables, such as a baseline amount for PR activity that is greatly enhanced with higher-impact results.

Most importantly, move away from standardized contracts and have frank conversations about what’s most important, where the client has historically struggled to get results, and what would be best to measure together. These types of conversations should happen early and often; otherwise, they happen when it’s too late and everyone’s frustrated.

Recent research validates what many already know: stronger client-agency relationships produce better results. Agencies and in-house teams negatively impact the broader perception and value of PR and communications when we don’t get these relationships right. Doing so requires more proactive, honest dialogue, a shared appreciation for the changing dynamics of effective communications, and a willingness to adapt -– by all.

The post The PR agency-client model is broken. Here’s how communicators can adapt. appeared first on PR Daily.

Doyle Albee realized his team was missing opportunities.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault. But the traditional PR team at his Denver-based Comprise agency was head down on media relations while the digital team was busy with social media and no one was really looking at the bigger picture.

“There were times when, because we weren’t speaking together as well in advance, I think that we didn’t take advantage of opportunities as well as we could,” Albee told PR Daily in a recent interview. They were lacking one person who was looking at how digital and traditional PR meshed in the 25-person agency and what each discipline could offer the other in a holistic way.

Let’s say a client was releasing a new diversity, equity and inclusion campaign. In addition to having a story on their brand newsroom, had they strategically seeded breadcrumbs on their site before the announcement to show this wasn’t a new commitment? Did their social media reflect the same values? Were there other ways digital could get involved to bolster the traditional media efforts — and vice versa?

There was no one to make sure everything was singing in harmony.

Albee and his team decided that what they needed was an integrated marketing director.

HubSpot defines integrated marketing as aligning your communications efforts in tandem, across channels and platforms. That includes making sure your brand voice is consistent, your materials drive to consistent places and your storytelling is seamless and resource rich.

Comprise was lucky enough to have a candidate fall into their laps without even having to post the role. James Royer has been with the company about four weeks, and already Albee said the role has been “a breath of fresh air” as Royer has been able to offer high-level strategy that ties together the agency’s two main silos.

And not only is that good for clients, but it’s also good for the agency. One of the key ways Albee will measure the success of the role is in how Royer is able to extend the breadth of services clients access by demonstrating how the full breadth of the communications strategy fits together.

“We want to be able to say that all of this is important. You can do a great job, get all sorts of reporter interest, and if the website is terrible, it breaks there. If the social isn’t paying it off, whether it breaks or not, it certainly is a missed opportunity,” Albee explained. “So we see all these things working so closely together, I will think that this really worked well.”

If your organization isn’t lucky enough to have the right candidate fall into your lap, Albee has some advice for finding a great integrated marketing professional.

The first is having the right skillset. You want a person whose experience spans different disciplines, so they can credibly speak the language of the branches they’ll be dividing. They don’t have to be an expert in everything, but they do need some experience and familiarity. The other aspect is the right cultural fit to effect change.

“There’s a million ways to change things. And you can do it as the proverbial bull in a china shop or you can come in and work with people and bring things along. So I was really looking for somebody who wanted to come in and say, ‘This is great, what you’re doing here, I really like this, I’m impressed with this, I see a way to make this better,’” Albee explained.

Both factors need to be in balance.

“I think perfect skills and bad culture would have failed. Perfect culture in the wrong skills would have failed,” Albee said.

While it’s early days for integrated marketing at Comprise, Albee is already seeing a positive impact.

“You can really change your agency. I think it can change and improve the value you bring to clients so much.”

Allison Carter is executive editor of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post How integrated marketing can boost your PR practice appeared first on PR Daily.

No one sets out to hold a bad press conference. But it does happen. And that can lead to burned goodwill with employees or simply holding a party that no one attends.

“I am very opinionated about press conferences because I don’t like them,” Jay Geer, president of Miller Geer & Associates, told PR Daily. He admits they can be effective, especially for politicians, government agencies or notable people. But he said he cringes when most agency clients suggest a press conference.

“There’s a certain amount of hubris that goes with thinking the media is going to show up to hear you say something,” he explained. “Even if you have something really important to say. There are other ways in dealing with it.”

If you must hold a press conference, however, you’ve got to get certain factors right — like the details.

Include the deets

Logistical steps to help reporters goes a long way. Does a press kit at the event  include links for B-roll, photos, a website or press releases with more information?

While press releases are a popular mode to get the word out, Geer says to stick with media advisories (press releases are too long) for press conferences and give reporters the who, what, where, when, why and how at the event.

“Give what the news is, why it’s relatable and it needs to tie into the day or at least something relevant in the news,” Geer said.

Nicole Gainer, associate vice president at Red Thread PR x Brownstein Group, said that media advisories should include names of prominent attendees to attract a bigger crowd. Also ensure that those who are speaking know what they are saying and preparing remarks for them – and don’t let speakers’ comments overlap one another.

Now that you’ve (hopefully) enticed the press, let’s get the timing down.

At the right time

Geer said that holding press conferences on a Thursday at 10 a.m., for example, is a bad idea because the event is now competing with everything else going on at that time. 

“If something else is breaking or it is a hot news day, your stuff could be important but nobody’s going to come,” Geer said. “I’ve been embarrassed at press conferences even for the city when no reporters showed because there was breaking news.”

Gainer said holding it earlier is not necessarily better because most broadcast stations have meetings with their newsroom first thing in the morning.

“You wouldn’t want to plan a press conference, 8:30, 9 a.m.,” Gainer said. Later is better according to the pros.

Geer suggested if a press conference time does not work out, either reschedule it or rethink the purpose of it.

Consider pairing it with an exclusive story featured in a newspaper the day of the event.

“Print drives the electronic media, so I want that story to break the morning of my press conference so other media when they get in in the morning they see my story,” Geer said. “Now you’ve got momentum. If I can get that embargoed story to break and have a press conference, I’m already successful.”

Consider the timing of how long people speak at press conferences, too. Don’t have five people speak for 10 minutes each. Think about having one person speak for about five minutes and offer the press one-on-one interviews with two to three experts so there are not a “bunch of talking heads,” Greer advised.

Press conferences should, overall, be short and sweet – around 15 minutes, keeping reporters’ busy schedules in mind, Geer suggested.

“What they really want is one-on-ones and they want B-roll. Make it visual. They don’t want a picture of someone talking.”

Setting the right mood 

From ensuring that good visuals elevate the scenery and provide print or digital content for reporters, photographers and videographers to creative staging – take an extra moment to make your press conference pop.

Gainer said that she’s all about creating a dynamic space for reporters at press conferences with memorable, intentional moments.

“One of the things that we try to do is keep in mind that the media get invited to press conferences every single day,” Gainer said. “What we like to do is bring a little theater to our press conferences. I think about how we can take a traditional announcement and take a non-traditional approach. That really starts with thinking about the visual that we can share with the media and think about branding.”

Gainer shared how one of her clients held a press conference for Legoland Discovery Center opening at a mall in Pennsylvania.

“We had several announcements and we started with a groundbreaking,” Gainer said. Instead of having a traditional groundbreaking press conference showing project partners with hardhats and shovels scooping out clumps of dirt, Gainer said they chose 50,000 LEGO blocks instead of dirt. Instead of real construction workers or executives doing the digging, kids in hard hats scooped out mounds of colorful bricks.

“We partnered with a nearby school because (LEGO) wanted to start building their relationship with schools,” Gainer said. “It just created a great visual for the media.” 

Geer has also found success in featuring kids in press conferences.

He recently had a school-based health press conference and had children playing on a school campus playground in the background as opposed to having the announcement in an office.

“It was very effective,” Geer said. “You got to think, ‘I’m a photographer, what do I need? You got to do the press conference in the environment you’re talking about.”

Planning goes beyond cute visuals but strategic ones, too, for prominent brand exposure. Geer said to make sure podiums have a brand’s logo and there are risers in the back of the room for TV cameras and they’re situated above the audience.

“I’ve seen badly staged ones,” Geer said. “They don’t put any thinking into it. They’re worried about what kind of chairs to put out for the press and forget about the riser, or step and repeat or logo. Really do hard thinking, ‘Is anybody going to come to this? I start with that question: ‘Who cares about this.’ And work backward from that.”

Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she is not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading and building an authentically curated life that includes more than occasionally finding something deliciously fried. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR story idea? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com. 

The post Set the stage for a winning press conference that doesn’t bore appeared first on PR Daily.

Roughly 3% of businesses in America are Black-owned, according to the Pew Research Center. And recognizing these numerically small but mighty brands is important to the 58% of Black people who consider their support an impactful way to improve equality for their cultural peers in the United States, per Pew.

Acknowledging Black Business Month is one such way to show support. BBM is observed annually in August when Black entrepreneurs and businesses are celebrated along with their impacts on economic progress in this country, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

One PR expert said that what makes a successful campaign during the month is brands focusing on the purpose of BBM and not straying into political territory.

Amore Philip, CEO at Apples & Oranges Public Relations, told PR Daily that during this month, she hopes brands focus on the positive economics of Black businesses.

“I think a successful campaign could be one that is really based on the real purpose behind Black-owned businesses, which is (in) part (to gain) generational wealth,” Philip said. “And have some sort of a stake in the economics of this country.”

During Black Business Month, Philip said that brands should inspire stakeholders to take action and support these segments of the community in meaningful ways by leading by example and showing direct benefits of support.

“A message that focuses on ways in which if you shop at this particular business, you are helping the store owner do X,” she said. “It gives you some sort of personal connection to the store owner.”

Here are some good examples of brands that are effectively recognizing the month.

Celebrity La La Anthony partnered with Now and Later to shine a light on Black-owned self-care companies during the month. Now and Later’s “Pause Now, Hustle Later” campaign awarded $50,000 in grants to five up-and-coming Black-owned self-care brands, according to a press release by Ferrara Candy Company. They kicked off the campaign on July 24, International Self-Care Day.

“One of my favorite ways to unwind is to enjoy a sweet treat like Now and Later, and now I get to encourage others to pause while also shouting out some of my favorite go-to Black-owned companies,” Anthony said in the release.

The sweet collab stayed true to the Now and Later brand’s campaign messaging -– timely snacking, recharging and grinding -– while giving these new businesses  a platform to shine. The campaign was made even more delicious with the financial boost helping to set up these brands for success.

Pepsi is also helping increase visibility during Black Business Month through its Dig In Day campaign that offers month-long programming to inspire people to eat more at Black-owned restaurants, according to a press release by PepsicCo Beverages North America posted on Cision PR Newswire. Pepsi’s annual event is on Aug. 19 and features activities nationwide including a Washington, D.C. block party to spotlight local Black businesses, dinner festivities and paying for $100,000 worth of free meals for patrons at select restaurants throughout the country. The campaign also urges attendees to post a photo of their meal from one of the Black-owned restaurants and tag the location and Pepsi Dig in for a potential opportunity to win $5,000 to eat at their favorite Black-owned spots. Another $5,000 would go to the restaurant.

“Our goal for Pepsi Dig In has always been to celebrate and generate awareness for Black-owned restaurants, not just on Pepsi Dig In Day, but all year long,” says Scott Finlow, chief marketing officer of PepsiCo Global Foodservice. “This year, we’re turning up the flavor and … people can indulge in delicious food, cheer on talented chefs, and soak up the vibrant culture that accompanies every dish.”

This campaign helps bring attention to Black-owned restaurants with intentional partnerships with them to influence consumers to think more about where they eat and try new places when they dine. 

It’s never too early to start or at least begin thinking about 2024 plans. Consider impactful ways your brand could create a well-received BBM campaign or comms strategy for next year.

Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she is not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading and building an authentically curated life that includes more than occasionally finding something deliciously fried. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR story idea? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com. 

The post Learn from these strategies to succeed in Black Business Month appeared first on PR Daily.

Brands have two choices when it comes to answering misinformation or disinformation about them: to respond or not. Misinformation is accidentally getting the facts wrong while disinformation is the intentional spread of lies. The rise of AI has also added to the confusion and noise with deepfakes leaving brands concerned about their response strategies.

During PR Daily’s Media Relations Conference session on Strategic PR and Media Relations: Unlocking Trust in the Misinformation Age, Sally Lehrman, founder of The Trust Project, and Mike Nachshen, former senior director of International Communications at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, spoke about solutions.

“AI changes everything. The scope, the speed, the scale of misinformation. You have to be prepared for AI and what it means to your organization’s reputation,” Nachshen said. “A lot of goodness comes out of it, but keep in mind it’s not just state-sponsored misinformation you have to worry about. Could be a disgruntled employee, could be a bored 15-year-old kid sitting in his basement. It could also be a competitor.”

Nachshen talked about how even beyond AI and misinformation and disinformation, offshoots of world events can impact a brand’s reputation, as happened to Raytheon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Nachshen said that Ukraine used Raytheon’s Javelin and Stinger Missile to combat attacks against Russia, which General Valery Zaluzhny of the Ukrainian Armed Forces showed appreciation for to Raytheon in a letter.

“The customer is satisfied with this product, the end user is satisfied with this product and the people whose lives depend on it are well-satisfied with this product but there’s a lot of propaganda and misinformation about it inside Russia,” Nachshen said.

Some of that Russian disinformation stemmed from false allegations about Ukraine selling Javelins for $30,000, the BBC reported last September.

“When you’re confronted with misinformation or disinformation you have a choice you need to make. Do you respond or do you not respond?”

Nachshen said that responding takes time and energy and a Raytheon dis/misinformation decision matrix shows how to handle such issues.

If dis/misinformation is detected, Raytheon informs internal stakeholders and monitors the situation.

If it influences their audience, they respond. If it does not influence their audience, they do not respond but keep monitoring.

“It’s here to help you make the decision,” Nachshen said, adding that the flow chart helped them reach the decision not to engage with the disinformation. “The people who matter knew the facts and no amount of fake news is going to dissuade them.”

While some people can cut through the noise and determine fake news, others, however, are put off from trying to wade through it all.

Lehrman said that while people want to be informed, a growing number of Americans are pulling back from the news because they feel inundated with misinformation, disinformation and complicated or upsetting news leaving them exhausted, anxious or disengaged.

A 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that just 50% of people trust the media.

“What we see is a public that’s just overwhelmed by information that we find concerning,” Lehrman said. “You can see how that affects everyone.”

But how do PR and comms pros know which press they want to engage with when it comes time to fight back against false information?

The key lies in trust.

Lehrman said that The Trust Project uses a system they developed called the 8 Trust Indicators, which helps vet news articles and organizations for ethical and dependable reporting.

The Trust Project works with news organizations around the world to help them show themselves as more trustworthy and to show the integrity behind their work. It also helps brands to think more about brand reputation and connect with the above-board ones.

“It’s a collaborative, journalism-generated standard,” Lehrman said. “It will help you know which news organization I should work with and help you think about their work with media and demonstrate your trustworthiness and be part of the solution and bring that brand halo to the work you do.”

The indicators encourage people to look at these factors:

• Best practices
• Journalist expertise
• Labels (straight news, opinion piece, etc)
• References
• Methods
• Local sources
• Diverse voices
• Actional feedback

PR and comms leaders have a very important role to play in the process of responding to misinformation and disinformation, upholding brand integrity, and prepping their leaders on strategies surrounding these issues, Lehrman added.

“If you become involved in addressing disinformation and addressing misinformation not just because it’s about your brand but for the greater good, then that influences people’s perceptions about your organization,” Lehrman said.

Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she is not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading and building an authentically curated life that includes more than occasionally finding something deliciously fried. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR story idea? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com. 

The post How to strengthen your comms strategy when combatting misinformation or disinformation appeared first on PR Daily.

Public affairs is a noble, yet often misunderstood, arm of public relations.

They suffer from some of the same challenges as other branches of PR, but the stakes are often higher as public information officers communicate messages about shootings, natural disasters and more. On the other side of the industry, public affairs agencies must work to sway the opinions of both governments and the public.

Trust can be in short supply from all sides.

Rebuilding trust

Scott Thomsen, director of Communications and Public Affairs at the Ventura County Fire Department, said that building up stakeholder trust is imperative after it’s been broken.

Thomsen, a longtime public affairs official, said that, for example, law enforcement has faced major fallout for about a decade due to a lack of trust in the public toward police officers stemming from questions around officer-involved shootings and use of force.

The public has a certain expectations from people working in the public sector, Thomsen said. Those expectations, when not met, can result in disillusionment and major distrust. Thomsen said that public affairs is facing many problems with perception. PIOs must address contentious issues and be transparent and truthful in their comms, which has not always been a priority for all public safety departments.

“When that trust is broken, it is very difficult to win it back,” Thomsen said. “The implications of that are really big.”

Thomsen said that health organizations felt the lack of public trust for different reasons after the pandemic hit. The National Institute of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had to combat a slew of misinformation and disinformation campaigns that skewed the public’s view of these entities.

“All of those things kind of carry over into this broader, less defined doubt about government as a whole, whatever other agency you work for,” Thomsen said.

Thomsen said that this public perception has increased recently.

“Over the last six to eight years, we’ve seen a lot of intentional commentary and activities that place questions on government institutions,” Thomsen said.

Thomsen also said that some politicians build their campaigns around attacking the integrity of governmental institutions, which is something “we haven’t really seen in quite some time.”

“They’re having an effect on not just an individual associated with an agency but the entire institution,” Thomsen mentioned. “That’s not good for the functioning of our government.”

Not only is infighting an issue with image in public affairs, but so is a lack of openness and transparency.

“As communicators, I see this as one of the biggest challenges that we face right now is restoring confidence, by the public, in our organizations and agencies, and that won’t happen with a ‘no comment,’” Thomsen said.

Thomsen encourages those in public affairs to strike a balance. Share good stories and good news while being upfront and truthful when discussing unpopular news. Inform the public about what’s happening and where the information is coming from so “it is unassailable.”

“Be proactive when something does go bad. If there are mistakes, we need to own them and apologize for them because we live in an age where not only are people questioning our institutions, but they don’t believe you unless there’s a video to show it,” Thomsen said. “We need to do a better job of telling our stories as government agencies.”

Telling better stories

In another branch of public affairs, Chris Guenza, partner at Chase Global, has seen his fair share of complex comms issues. Guenza works at a firm that specializes in crisis issues and reputation.

He also has worked for large developers looking to build neighborhoods and cities.

During his time at a former public affairs and crisis consulting firm, he understood entering spaces where not everyone buys into an idea. He helped solve major developer perception problems with authentic stories to bridge any gaps from the public.

“From local politicians to community members and local businesses, often, you’ll come into a community as an outsider, already perceived negatively,” Guenza explained. He said that in one case, he and his team worked on a large development in Southern California, which was a point of contention in the neighboring community. His job was to connect with the community members and hear their concerns regarding their negative perception of the project.

“The project was in a rural area, and our firm was based in Los Angeles,” he recalled. “The community members in opposition to the development worked to paint us as a bunch of ‘slick, big-city consultants’ who were out of touch and unconcerned with the issues they faced, like traffic and safety.”

Guenza said that in order to break down barriers, his team prioritized getting to know the community and letting them know who they were.

“We hosted many meet-and-greet events where we brought pizza, beer, wine and coffee to discuss their visions for the area,” Guenza noted. “We talked to attendees about our personal experiences as well, like where we grew up, went to school and what our individual ambitions were and why we thought the project would be good for their community. We leveled with them about traffic concerns and how the same project would be perceived in the small towns where we grew up.”

Guenza said that their genuine efforts paid off and being authentic was a major player in gaining the community’s trust and ultimately, project approval.

“People are smart and care about their communities,” Guenza said, adding that people aren’t convinced by flash or jargon. “We need to meet people where they are and take their concerns seriously. When we do this, we make the best possible effort to jointly find solutions. Everyone now has the power to leverage technology and create a coalition, so it’s important to treat every issue as something that could metastasize.”

Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she is not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading and building an authentically curated life that includes more than occasionally finding something deliciously fried. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR story idea? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com. 

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