The Shoemaker's Children:
Gary F Grates
Globally renowned expert and counselor in change mgt, organizational communications, corporate relevance, business strategy in a digital world
Why The PR Industry Needs to Undergo its Own Transformation/Change Effort
The latest news regarding year-end business results of holding companies, independents, and specialty public relations/communications consulting firms was depressing if you hadn’t noticed. Of course, the spin and messaging from some of the industry’s most notable pros focused on the more superficial aspects such as a slowing economy, conservative budgeting by clients, and shifting priorities caused by AI and other forces.
Anyone paying attention and spending time in the profession working with clients, addressing both organizational and market related expectations, interacting with practitioners, and observing agency trends and traits will tell you the cause is much deeper and troubling.
It appears our profession, which is in the throes of being at its apex in importance and efficacy, is suffering from numerous self-inflicted wounds.
Among them:
Ø We’ve Lost our North Star
The greats before us (Page, Burson, Bernays, Edelman, Lee, Hill) all stood for the greater good. Through their actions they forged a set of principles and ethics to deliver excellence. This is sorely missing today!
Ø We Undervalue our Worth by the Hour
Working in an agency is a fast-paced and incredibly rewarding experience. Working with clients on myriad assignments opens one up to an incredible world of challenge, opportunity, and potential. However, pushing people to meet targets and lowering value by billing hourly creates inefficiency, lack of self-worth, and poor results.
Ø We’ve Become a Bit Narcissistic
PR was always about being “behind the curtain.” No more. We have more awards than people. And the bar is so low most “winners” won’t be in the profession in five years.
Ø Ambulance Chasers
Unfortunately, agencies have become so large that they need to feed the beast continuously. AI is the latest effort to convince organizations they have the answer. They don’t. What they do have are resources and expertise to focus and dissect new areas and technologies without self-proclamations. As one CCO told me recently, “My global agency president just called me to sell in an AI training session for my staff at $150k. What would have been useful is if we co-created something that addressed our particular needs."
Ø How We “Think”
PR has always been about how we think. Not what we do. Larger firms have all but stopped training, teaching, and educating staff. This has lowered what we do to tactics, which are a commodity.
Ø Bait and Switch
The age-old practice of having a layer of “suits” pitch the business and then turn it over to lower priced people continues unabated. The problem is even more acute as the “suits” are the problem now. Several firms employ people who lack the requisite experience or are too political to improve service at the mid to senior levels.
Ø RFPs Should Be DOA
Whoever decided that the RFP process results in anything, but theatrics should turn themselves into the authorities now.
More and more small to mid-sized firms are eschewing RFPs positioning themselves as professionals and experts resulting in clients spending time on actual needs and services.
I’m pleased we are working with organizations large and small to optimize corporate communications functions and better align agency relationships so both party’s benefit.
PR has never been more critical to business success and stakeholder relationships and professional service firms owe it to themselves, their clients, society, and our profession’s legacy to rethink and renew what matters.
Like the shoemaker's children it's time to relearn our craft!
Gary
Public Relations Strategist
10moExcellent summary of the industry’s largely self-inflicted challenges and more misguided tendencies. We have essentially muted and diminished any “speak truth to power” ethic in our industry for many of the very reasons you’ve wisely enumerated, Gary. We are an industry obsessed with being liked rather than being respected. To be respected, we must be respectABLE. Far too many PR “leaders” simply aren’t up to the task, and their weak example sets the pace for everyone else. Thank you for boldly calling out these flaws. We can all work together to do better, but there must be a willingness to do so.
Accomplished Brand & Corporate Communications Leader
10moWell said, Gary. In addition to relearning our craft, it is also time to better understand the market and business challenges our clients face - agency side and corporate side - so that we can deliver more strategic advice that builds the brand and supports revenue generation and growth.
Professor Emeritus, Advertising & Public Relations, University of Alabama
10moThank you, Gary, for another thoughtful and hopefully thought-provoking article. "How we think" and "narcissism" are especially growing issues. Are we the new owners of Broadway?
Award-winning writer/editor/content creator
10moAmong the cogent points in your piece, Gary, one in particular resonated with me: “We’ve Become a Bit Narcissistic.” I won’t pretend I’ve never shared work or good news on my social accounts, but I try to do so in a way that’s newsworthy or informative. Most of what I see is self-aggrandizement, pure & simple. I see it by PR professionals (“I’m so proud of this or that work project or award”) and especially (surprisingly) by PR academics (“My students say they love my class”… “The ratings by my students were off the charts again this year,” etc.) “Behind the curtain” is, as you say, no longer. I understand social media is about sharing. But whatever happened to modesty and humility?
Fractional communications strategist creating "aha moments" that improve health care and outcomes
10moLoved the point about training, teaching and educating staff — if you don’t know what makes a story different, you can’t get a meaningful story told.