Page 15 - PR COMMUNICATION AGE July - December 2020

Now become the two-way PR - A public relations message
was once a one-way effort. In the 21st century, the target
audience can reply to messages immediately. A small
business may need to designate an employee to monitor
social media responses to see if they are positive. This
means you must be prepared to alter your message as you
get feedback from your target audience.

Public Relations (PR) consultancy

challenges & its prospects:
Prospects for the PR industry, and therefore PR
consultancies, are good. In particular, crisis and health care
PR are expected to grow, according to the Council of Public
Relations Firms. Clients across all types of industries need increasingly rely on PR agencies for strategic counsel, the
to understand how to integrate fast-changing digital ability to solve client's big-picture problems is as important
communications into their communication plans. as creativity and writing ability.

Technology - One challenge is keeping up with continually PR in the new normal: Effective Public
evolving digital communications technology and
determining how best to engage with client's target Relations is the dire need:
audiences through them. This technology provides The world today is facing an unanticipated pandemic.
consultancies with the opportunity to gain the trust and ear Today, when everyone is finding one way or the other to
of top executives by helping them understand the impact cope up with this crisis situation, a good and planned Public
of blogs, tweets and Facebook pages. Firms that can Relations (PR) approach is definitely the need of the
provide this counsel are more likely to gain or retain the situation for businesses and organizations. COVID-19 has
lead agency position with their clients. brought many challenges for us. For effective
communication, the PR professionals need to adapt -
Research and Measurement - Since 2010, about one-third thereby helping open newer avenues for spanking new
of firms have added advanced research techniques to their communication ideas. In fact, now when most people are
arsenal, according to the Council of Public Relations Firms. at home and exposed to different mediums, a well-
These include market research capabilities, such as focus packaged communication will grab more eyeballs. Hence,
groups and surveys, as well as media analysis to assess the a communication agency needs to look for new, innovative
quality and quantity of news coverage. Firms that can and properly planned communication ideas.
provide solid measurements of return on investment and
target audience engagement demonstrate the strongest The PR agencies need to weave new and interesting story
chance of continued profitability and growth. ideas so that it breaks the clutter and draws maximum
eyeballs of both the target public and the journalists at the
Strategic thinking - To continue to prosper, PR same time. Journalists today are board with Covid-related
consultancies need to learn as much as they can about client stories and are in search of other stories in parallel. The
businesses and become partners with them. The challenge ideation process needs to consider the vision and mission
is to think strategically, rather than simply executing of the clients along with keeping the message meaningful
creative and media campaigns. PR firms fall short when during this pandemic situation.For example, a travel and
they focus on the tactical execution and the "creative" tourism company cannot focus on their core travel business
solution, instead of asking "why?" and sell tour package stories any more - at least till the
people adjust to the new normal. Coming up with a do's
Mingling withtalent - Another challenge PR agencies face and don'ts guide for short business travellers; can both be
is hiring, retaining and motivating top talent. As clients informational and may also give some media footprints.

PR COMMUNICATION AGE July - December 2020 15