Perspectives - 2006, Issue 1
Media (Communications) Gazing Cont'd
QUESTION: Other panelists shed light on different aspects or offered a different outlook for media communications in 2006. Here are their thoughts.
CRIPPS: I foresee more integration of programs, and public relations could take more of a lead in those integrated campaigns than in the past. Clients are open-minded when hearing ideas from their outside consultants and about who will drive those ideas. If PR agencies come to the table with good creative ideas and think strategically about the business, then they’re in the position to take more of a leadership position. As for new media opportunities, PR firms must figure out how to build a profitable business out of them. Clients seem intrigued with reaching audiences through podcasting and other new media, but we must still work on how to translate that interest into revenue for PR firms.
ROSE: In 2006, the communicator will become the media. Audio and visual online interviews will become commonplace, like that with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. When you see and hear Ballmer (through your Windows media player, of course) in an informal setting, being playful, serious, personal, and all business, it is hard to demonize him as the Darth Vader of software. The Internet allows the use of visual images to augment messages for a mass audience. Media communications will become more important in the PR mix as agencies find ways to establish ethical, verifiable, effective news bureaus. American's distaste for hidden news sources will be apparent every time the practice is uncovered. PR people who comment on industry trends will be trusted sources for journalists. "Bloggers reveal …" has supplanted "sources said …." as a lead-in to radio and TV news. Bloggers are now quoted like journalists. That trend will continue as media communications encompasses an ever broader, amorphous news distribution network that seems to ebb and flow with each story. Educating clients about this brave new world of digital media communications will be a major challenge.
STRAUSS: The dominant issue facing media communications today is credibility. With venerated publications like The New York Times struggling to regain trust, looming court battles ahead pitting journalists against "Scooter" Libby and friends, and ongoing scrutiny of packaged news segments (VNRs), we can't blame Americans for questioning the objectivity of what's reported by media. This will pose the greatest challenge to PR practitioners in 2006 – choosing messengers and channels of communication that people can believe. As more people "tune out," communicators will need to reinvent the way they communicate.
SKOLODA: Credibility will be more important than ever. With so much information available, credibility is a key filter that consumers use to navigate information and messages.
FALCONI: Traditional media communication is still very strong and frankly dominant everywhere in our practice. But throughout the world – and particularly in Europe, Asia and Africa – there are stimulating indications that research, educational and professional communities are recognizing the need for different approaches. These new approaches are capable of enabling private, public and social sector organizations to relate more effectively with their influential publics by practicing differently and, increasingly, with two-way and dialogue-based communication.
There are many underlying and interrelated social, cultural, economic and technological factors that contribute to this: from the growing awareness that organizations need to capitalize on the growing value of their stakeholder relationships systems, to the opportunities to create new one-with-one and one-with-few virtual relationship environments. There’s a recognition that globalization processes have led to an explosion of the awareness that each individual is different.
QUESTION: Now, let’s look ahead. What major shifts and changes in media communications do you foresee by 2015, and why? Back to our first four panelists again.
HOOD: That’s a tough one. Media communications by 2015 will be more about the ease and adaptability for audiences. The generation now leading companies will be replaced by more technologically savvy leaders, so I expect there will be many more outlets and ways to communicate. People’s appetites are voracious and they will want more and more.
I don’t think we’ll replace anything. For instance, I don’t believe the print world will die although its functions will continue to evolve. A decade from now, new technologies will emerge that we know nothing about now.
Also, things will be more local since people, ultimately, are tied to the communities in which they live. The specialization of information we receive almost limits the global world, and I think that’s a danger as we become more selective in the news we get.
MARTIN: Traditional print media, especially daily newspapers, will decline rapidly in size and impact. Younger audiences are almost totally driven by electronic media and this will only grow. Relationship marketing, word of mouth and similar efforts will be a predominant force as this generation ages and takes positions of greater authority. Continued blurring of the lines between advertising, editorial and advocacy will make it harder to distinguish earned media from paid placements.
SAMMER: Our work as PR experts will change dramatically: Media will lose their power as opinion leaders due to the diversification. Strong personalities, "opinion gurus" and organizations will take over this role. But, also, PR experts will become direct opinion leaders. We will become the medium. Only lower-income people will watch TV and read free magazines. Attractive targets groups will mainly get information via their mobile devices (cellular phones, iPods or PDAs), and they will get the information continuously. Newspapers will only be read to get further details (such as comments, background reports, just the way we are currently reading our Sunday newspaper). Movies will be consumed mainly via DVD or pay-per-view.
CHUNG: In China, there will be, one, a predominance of digital media. Regulations in China may mean that digital media are tightly controlled at present, but this situation is changing rapidly, particularly when coupled with an increasing demand for up-to-the-minute coverage. Blogs will disseminate news and views communicating to wireless gadgets. RSS will distribute news directly from a corporate Web site, and search engine optimization will provide an effective platform for online reputation management, etc.
Two, there will be a highly sophisticated audience. Influential international media will have consolidated their footholds in China and the domestic audience will expect nothing short of international standards of media conduct and coverage. This will further drive the domestic Chinese media to become more professional.
QUESTION: Interesting observations. And, for our other panelists, what do you anticipate by 2015 and why?
CRIPPS: New media will continue to emerge. But we need to figure out how to plug into them and how to counsel clients and find ways for PR firms to make money themselves from them. Print media, by the way, is here to stay. The question will be how we use the print media to achieve our clients’ messages. I foresee a shakeout among bloggers and I expect some to rise to the top and become more important.
ROSE: I can only hope that the feedback loop will be an accepted communications practice, replacing static press releases and company statements. Why? Because it's the best way to build brand, goodwill, loyalty and value. Because the market demands it. PR people will be schooled in rapid news deployment through technology and clients will be trained to feed the 24-hour news cycle. What won't change – business media will always value market intelligence and entertainment media will always slavishly chase the celebrity scoop.
STRAUSS: Ten years is a long time. By then, today's teens will have reimagined Internet communities, blogs, gaming platforms and other vehicles gaining popularity for reaching elusive groups. A population raised on the computer and the iPod will rely on technological toys for information and influence – presumably, toys that don't even exist today. Traditional print and broadcast media will still serve its niche, but I presume that will only be an aging population raised to get information that way. Blogs will be passé or forgotten, though something else will take their place. Their genesis, though – the trend toward self-expression – no doubt will continue.
SKOLODA: Word-of-mouth communicating will rival traditional communications vehicles. By then, ways will be found to measure and determine return on investment on word-of-mouth methods. It goes back to credibility and trusted sources – word of mouth from a trusted source is like gold.
FALCONI: Organizations will be ever more aware and keen to practice one-with-one and one-with-few relationship systems as they prove to be more effective. The best communicators will strive to practice both avenues as the first is not necessarily in contradiction with the second, provided that processes and tools are clear and fully cohesive with their organization’s objectives.
QUESTION: Are you excited or fearful of the changes ahead?
HOOD: I’m optimistic. But I do think, fundamentally, that PR has to shake things up a bit. The PR community was taken aback by the phenomena and power of blogs and it sort of snuck up on everybody. I don’t know why I don’t see the kind of leadership in an industry that should be considering and adopting new technologies before their clients suddenly ask about them. Also, PR agencies generally are weak in marketing themselves and their expertise and talent across the world. They must think more creatively to differentiate themselves. Differentiation and creativity will be key, or the PR industry runs the risk of being viewed as simply delivering a commodity.
MARTIN: Public relations and organizational communications can play an even more important role as consumers, employees and investors seek institutions they can trust as employers, suppliers and places to invest. Such trust will be built on credible actions rather than empty promises. We can continue to be influencers in helping our organizations make more trustworthy decisions.
SAMMER: I am excited that PR will change. In the future, we will not only be mere intermediators – between journalists and companies or between opinion leaders and companies – but WE will shape opinions and WE will be opinion leaders.
CHUNG: The importance of China on the international stage cannot be understated. The pace of change that we are witnessing is phenomenal, which makes this an exceptional market to be working in. In the near term, we will be talking to an increasingly sophisticated audience through professional and diversified media about a much broader range of companies and products as China moves from being manufacturing to consumer-driven. These changes also will drive standards in the communications industry, which will become much more valued than it is today.
CRIPPS: I’m bullish about the opportunities for public relations. When you look at and read how companies are valuing PR, the opportunities for us are wide open to be creative and go to clients with ideas that help them. That is, as long as we help them see how PR programs will help connect with their business objectives. We still need to do a better job there.
STRAUSS: I am very excited about the imminent shake-up in communications. Traditional media has been losing its clout for years, but it will take drastic change in TV ratings, newspaper and magazine circulation, and traditional radio listenership to redefine the meaning of public relations, how it is practiced and how it is valued. To relate to the public, we will have to meet the public on its terms. Whether by embedding messages in cool, new games or music lyrics, or by involving consumers more in what we say and how we say it, we will have to adapt as Generation Y, those born between 1978 and 1994 and known for empowerment and demand for control, seizes the reins and opts out of listening. This is an exciting future filled with great creative potential. If the medium is the message, the future is all about "new" media.
SKOLODA: With credibility playing such a vital role in communications, I'm excited about the role of PR in the future and more fully harnessing our capabilities to deliver credible information via credible sources.
FALCONI: Obviously, I’m excited. Public relations practitioners will be more and more valuable to their organizations. And the more traditional forms of communication will be infected by the new trends and that should benefit everyone.