As a young and impressionable public relations (PR) intern for a publishing company back in 2013, I remember how much of a vital task it felt assembling press kits in a cramped stockroom, burning the articles to CDs, and adding a printed copy for extra measure. We took those press kits along with copies of magazines and hand-delivered them straight to the news desks of various editors across the metro.
Fast forward to today and the practices once common to public relations have transformed dramatically. Face-to-face interactions have turned to simple messages on social media platforms, and press kits with CDs have evolved into PR “gifts” that are flaunted and reviewed by influencers on videos. In a span of a decade, this rapid change in the PR landscape and the industry’s collective embrace of digital marketing is powerfully telling of how easily systems and norms may fluctuate and how the industry has adapted to these innovations.
Here, we ask three PR practitioners about how their field has transitioned and how these changes reshaped the way they build meaningful relationships for their clients.
A Matter of Influence
Among those who have arduously studied the science of advertising and public relations is media buying agency GroupM, which has been around since the early 2000s. Micah Musada, the Content Planning Group Head of GroupM’s GOAT subsidiary (which works with major clients like L’Oreal Phililppines) believes that both traditional and digital media can and do co-exist today. While print and television once dominated as the go-to channels for delivering brand messages, the rise of digitalization has introduced new platforms, sparking a competitive race for the public’s attention.
That’s not to say what’s old is gone, however. Musada believes that every platform serves a role. “Key platforms have their specific roles based on how audiences use these platforms,” she says. “Tiktok houses trending edutainment content. Facebook is now used as a news and community building platform. Instagram contains a plethora of experiential and diverse content. Youtube is for longform informative and more immersive content. Mainstream news and print platforms or publishers are now present on these key platforms… Yes, they still make an impact as they have evolved digitally over the years.”
Public relations, marketing, sales, and product professionals often try to meet their audiences at what’s called the “Moment of Truth” or the point in a customer journey where they may encounter the brand and form an opinion around it or its service. The once-simple customer or buyer’s journey that’s often quoted by business books and professionals has shifted alongside buyer behavior. The number of ways to meet customers at their Moment of Truth multiplies by the day. This has prompted brands and PR practitioners to diversify the social channels they’re on.
Musada specializes in influencer marketing and engagement as her medium for connecting beauty brands with the public. The process has become sophisticated and digitized like everything else, as it had to due to the growing number of influencers. At the agency GOAT, she and her teammates utilize a planning tool that allows them to screen and go through hundreds of thousands of influencers simultaneously. They then analyze whether the content an influencer creates is an appropriate fit for their campaigns.
“Today, the content we create [for our campaigns] is inspired by trending content from video-first platforms such as Tiktok,” she says. She proceeds to list popular content formats such as dance challenges, product reviews, customer testimonials, and skits, as examples. “Influencers are now not just utilized for awareness and consideration. They play a key role in the lower marketing funnel, guiding consumers to purchase directly on platforms like Tiktok Shop.”
Each influencer caters to a unique audience, which is what makes matching an influencer to a brand all the more critical. “Different tiers of influencers, including celebrities, play specific roles in a campaign. They are classified according to important metrics on platforms they are present in,” says Musada. She mentions that the usual data they measure to help gauge the tier of an influencer consists of potential reach, following, engagement score, and video views.
But even with this formulated science of influencer marketing, change always abounds. There are no rules for how to create content anymore, as almost anything goes. One format can cross over to another. Big-name celebrities host live-selling videos on Tiktok’s 11.11 sale, television shows have moved to Youtube, and influencers can be mainstream stars with billboards on EDSA or recorded voice options on Waze. This proves that the industry is not done changing, nor will ever stop.
The Shifts in Storytelling
During the great digital migration in the mid-2010s, PR practitioner Diane Hidalgo remembers how erratic the shifts and practices were, and how challenging it was to navigate what she calls a “social media tsunami.” She recalls the rise and fall of several social media platforms, and how in the past, a front page feature on a major newspaper or a magazine spread were indisputable measures of a PR campaign’s success.
She remembers the time when collaborating with influencers was far from the norm. But again, much has changed in just a decade’s time. “Success is now determined by conversions, the quality and volume of engagements, and actual behavior change,” Hidalgo says, “It has been quite a ride.”
Hidalgo is currently the Director for Corporate and Public Affairs at Evident Communications, an integrated marketing and public relations firm that believes in “purpose marketing” or centering campaign messages around a company’s values and foundations.
“We respond to every brief by asking ‘how do we move clients to a position where they can make a positive social impact or PSI?’”, she says. This unique measure serves as the compass for the agency to help guide their clients towards meaningful and impactful public engagements. “We help move clients towards those goals [of sustainability and circularity, DEI, better corporate governance and accountability] and tell their stories to the right stakeholders with clarity and creativity.”
For businesses to get their stories out, there are various platforms to consider, but of the most foundational ones, Hidalgo recommends prioritizing these three investments: (1) mounting a website, (2) creating a presence on social media, and (3) utilizing content marketing. For applicable businesses, they may join e-commerce platforms. Not only do these social platforms serve as a marketing tool, they also have the ability to improve the customer journey, recall, and provide businesses with data on customer profiles and behaviors. “The general guidance is that you should invest in channels where your primary audiences spend their time and money on,” she says.
Having data alone doesn’t guarantee the success of a campaign—it’s the analyst’s expertise that makes the difference. While there are free and paid listening tools and other data-gathering apps, Hidalgo believes information is only as good as what you do with it. “Analysts are there not just to structure queries and to extract data. They also need to have a good understanding of the external environment–politics, culture, a bit of social psychology, a bit of behaviorial economics, to make sense of the numbers and the Why’s that drive the conversations,” she says. “If you get the Why, you also get the most intimate understanding of your audience.”
Many forget the ‘R’ in PR, and that PR is not just about publicity–relationships are at the core.
Projects with Purpose
“Can you make this go viral?” This is a question often asked by businesses who approach Nikki Santiago Rivera and her partners at Better Mondays PR Consultancy, whose clients include beloved beauty brands like BYS Cosmetics, Kiss New York, and Deoproce. But what business owners need to know is that a viral sensation does not happen in a heartbeat. It can take months or even years for a product to be beloved and to gain renown, which is what Rivera and Better Mondays specialize in.
“Many forget the ‘R’ in PR, and that PR is not just about publicity–relationships are at the core,” she says. She goes on to share that while Better Mondays also monitors and measures the industry standard public relations metrics to track a campaign’s performance, media trust and true meaningful connections are strong indicators of success. “For us, PR is not just about visibility but the quality and longevity of those relationships.”
A long-time magazine editor, Rivera has the unique perspective of coming into the PR industry having seen the receiving side of it. When asked whether traditional media can work in tandem with today’s new media, she believes both sides have something to offer. “Traditional media and new media, such as influencer engagements, can complement each other by offering different perspectives and amplifying reach,” she says. “Traditional media often brings credibility and depth, with carefully researched stories and expert insights, while influencers can provide a more personal, immediate connection with audiences.” Utilizing both media forms in the proper and informed way can create a well-rounded narrative that’s effective and measurable.
Public relations has long been deemed a tool by companies to spread word on their products and services, but today’s PR carries more weight. It holds companies accountable to take positive action, as Better Mondays believes. “It’s no longer enough just to have a good reputation, brands needs to demonstrate meaningful actions, whether through sustainability efforts, community engagement or philanthropy,” says Rivera. These actions act as influencers to an audience who desires for impact.
Another way PR has changed with its stakeholders is that the public now values sustainable practices more than ever. They long to be affiliated with “good” brands and the media with positive news to report. Having started in the pandemic, Better Mondays empowers brands to follow this direction, believing that PR may be used as a force for good.
Collage by Dannah Valdezco. Woman holding a smartphone by Turner El Manuel. Stack of magazines by Billion Photos. Office background by peshkov via canva.com
