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Welcome.
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This is the Public Relations Review Podcast, a program to discuss the many facets of public relations with seasoned professionals, educators, authors and others.
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Now here is your host, peter Woolfolk.
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Welcome to the Public Relations Review Podcast and to our listeners all across America and around the world.
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Now this podcast is ranked by Apple among the top 1% of podcasts worldwide, so let me say thank you to all of our guests and listeners for being the basis for this ranking and, of course, if you enjoy the podcast, we'd certainly like to get a review from you.
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Now question for the audience.
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It's now 2025.
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What are some important trends in public relations you should be aware of?
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Well, my guess is five trends she has determined that should be on your radar.
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She has a distinguished 15-year career in strategic communications, digital marketing and publicity event.
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Now, add to that, she is also a doctoral candidate at liberty university, pursuing her doctorate in strategic media communications.
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Further, she was also a national chair for the public relations society of america's entertainment and sports executive committee, and she is also linked to many other organizations.
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So joining me today, all the way from austin te, texas, is Brandi Sims, founder and CEO of Brand Inc PR and the host of the Brand Inc podcast.
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So, brandi, welcome to the podcast.
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Thank you for having me and I love that intro.
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I really appreciate it.
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Well, I always try to read it so I make sure I have it right and give everybody an understanding of who the talent is going to be on the show.
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Well, I always try to read it so I make sure I have it right and, you know, give everybody an understanding of who you know the talent is going to be on the show.
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Well, absolutely Well, you definitely didn't skimp on mine, so I appreciate it.
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Okay, well now, basically, this came about because I read in PRSA's open forum maybe a week or so, over a week ago, that you had invited people to listen to your podcast about the five trends that you see developing for 2025.
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And, as a result, I reached out to you to come on our podcast to talk about what those trends were.
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Absolutely Well, definitely happy to do that and and so glad that you saw that post.
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But yes, I wanted to share just some helpful insight and an awareness into some of the trends that are happening within the PR and communications industry this year and just kind of a future look how things are going to continue on, just based on the trajectory.
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But yes, there are five top PR trends that I wanted to share that professionals should be on the lookout for and should be on the watch for.
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Starting with the first one I really wanted to focus on how are we learning about the media landscape now as it stands, with the inclusion of new technology as well as newer platforms, and my first trend to watch out for is media pros turning into content creators.
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So one thing that we've observed just in the last few years is that there has been a significant increase of layoffs with media professionals from reporters, journalists and traditional media outlets.
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We've seen a rise in the layoffs of those in their positions and because of this, now we're seeing almost a shift from those traditional media outlets to them choosing to create their own platforms and actually capitalize on their own opportunities by creating their own platform, whether it be a newsletter.
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I know many people are familiar with Substacks.
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That has been a primary driving source for former media journalists, reporters, et cetera to create their own separate platform and generate their own fan base and audience, as they're doing their own content and really independent content creation.
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So this is a trend that we're absolutely looking at and we're seeing more of a shift of of media pros that are choosing to become content creators in and of itself and on their own by developing their own platforms that have garnered their own separate attention outside of a traditional media outlet source quick question now.
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Have you noticed, though, whether there's any particular of the size of it?
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Is it more TV reporters, radio reporters, print reporters or a combination thereof?
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So there's definitely a decrease in all of the above.
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There's not as many journalists and reporters that are available to report on the news, whether it be from radio, print or television.
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There's just not that many to report on these things and so, in turn, they're becoming more selective of the stories that they choose to cover.
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There is a talent, almost celebrity angle, but I think that's always existed.
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I think it's just getting a little bit more honed in because there's only so many reporters to report on certain news, so they're incredibly selective on what they choose to allow on the platform.
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So it definitely is going to be one where they're looking for stories that are going to get more eyeballs watching or reading about it, as well as more listeners that are going to tune in for it.
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So they're definitely trying to get the most bang for their buck, if you will, but with that, because there's only so many of them, you also have to think of the caveat of delay offs existing and decreasing those employment opportunities for them.
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So there's almost like this push and shift into digital platforms that are kind of forcing those journalists and reporters to adapt and they've adapted pretty successfully, I would say if they've created their own platforms, created their own subscribers and their own brand awareness in and of itself and actually developing a significant following that has resulted in monetization on their own.
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Well, you know, one of the things that I've noticed sort of supplement what you said I've actually had several former have been a combination of both print, particularly television, folks that have actually started their own public relations firms I've interviewed several of them.
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One, as a matter of fact, wrote a great book about it.
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I had her on Ann Page, I believe it is.
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She was on sometime last year or so and she seems to be doing seemingly well.
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So I mean, I can certainly support the fact that you've got media pros making the conversion.
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Absolutely.
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I agree wholeheartedly.
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You know, I think it's great that journalists and reporters are deciding to almost take matters into their own hands and not just kind of be left to fall with the ship right.
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They're looking at opportunities, they're being adaptable and they're finding ways to help and assist business owners and consumers with the very thing that they deal with, which is communication.
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So I think it's great.
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I love to see more media pros shifting and transitioning into PR.
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I think that PR and journalism in and of itself are very in line with one another.
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You PR, there is no journalist.
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Without journalists, there is no PR.
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We're all very much working on the same sheet of music.
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So it makes sense for the proper transition to be for those that decide to do this is create their own agency where they can continue to share stories, compelling, interesting stories that help to foster awareness and growth on behalf of their clientele.
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So I'm all for it.
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Well, I support you and I certainly tip my hat to you for making this.
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You know, just raising the visibility of this taking place.
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I sure appreciate that.
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So what's number two for you?
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Yes, yes, okay.
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So then number two.
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So we talked about media pros kind of turning into content creators.
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The second one is really a focus on the technology side of things and I'm specifically sharing that.
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I believe that there's going to be a dial back on AI and, more specifically, chat GPT.
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So now, while there's some folks that are just getting hit the chat GPT and the use of AI in terms of productivity and growth within their businesses, others have been using this quite some time.
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I mean I can say that our agency at Branding PR, we adopted AI very early on at the start of the agency, around 2020.
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So we had already been utilizing it, teaching on it, as well as incorporating it into our own tools and resources to help improve that productivity and efficiency within the business.
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So we had already been doing it, but there's some that you know it took a little bit longer to adapt and now we're seeing kind of the result of that.
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So why I believe that there is going to be a dial back in the youth of this is consumers are starting to recognize what is an AI quote, unquote driven post and what is an authentic human driven content that's being shared here.
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So, for example, you know we've all seen the post where it starts with exciting news, thrilling news.
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Well, let's just be real.
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Not everything is very thrilling and not everything is always exciting.
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There is some exciting news, don't get me wrong, but not every time is it exciting news.
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Every week you have exciting news.
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Every day you have exciting news.
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It gets old and it's kind of a part of the blueprint and framework of chat GPT and it's an easy indicator that you're using that to replace actual, real content.
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So what I think in 2025 is that we're going to see a dial back by brand small business owners of the use of chat GPT because, slowly but surely, becoming that thing where, okay, I see you guys aren't really authentic.
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You just plugged it into ChatGPT.
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It spit out what you wanted.
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You didn't even tailor it towards your brand, you just kind of copy-paste it, in which case you're not a brand that I want to identify with or associate with, because I look for authentic brands, I look for brands that speak to me.
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This is kind of what's coming from the consumers.
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So, because of that, you're going to see the dial back of folks really being intentional in its use of ChatGPT, and that is.
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It's a tool.
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It's simply that it's not a replacement.
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Very, very important to be aware of that.
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It is simply a tool.
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But also, as you're using this tool, just make sure that you are not only aware that it is just a tool, but also that you're still bringing the true authenticity of your brand out of your communication and your messaging when you're using these types of platforms and tools well, let me say I certainly, you know, tip my hat to you for that, because I certainly do use chat GPT.
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but one of the things once it gives me basically what I've asked for, then I take a look at it and then I start making adjustments to it so it sounds like me and can add the specifics on it that it lacks, that it doesn't have the information that I have, but make sure that's included in there.
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So for more, for me it's a time saver.
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I don't have to sit down and think of a lot of things, just crank out the basics for me.
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I'll take it from here and plug this in, change that and leave this out altogether.
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You know, make those modifications so that it fits exactly to what it is I'm looking for.
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Absolutely Well.
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You're absolutely using it the right way.
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You know.
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You recognize very early on, too, that it's very much just a tool.
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You don't want it to become this thing, that it replaces your own thoughts, your own insight, your own expertise.
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It needs to be something that can help simply with the efficiency of getting the work done.
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So definitely use AI sparingly.
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Always incorporate your unique perspective to make sure that your stuff stands out.
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I think is the biggest takeaway for number two.
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Well, I certainly appreciate that, because you're absolutely right.
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Chad GBT is a time saver, but it should not become you or represent you.
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It's just helping you save time getting done what you need to get done.
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Absolutely I can't agree more to get done.
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Absolutely I can't agree more.
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So that's definitely one that we'll start to see more and more brands as they're building their communication along.
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You're going to start to see more of those authentic, human driven types of content because they want to resonate with consumers and not resonate.
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You can't resonate with a robot.
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You need to resonate with a human and we want to resonate with a human, we can.
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So that's the way to go about it is focusing on that human-driven content, not so much the robotic responses that we've unfortunately kind of grown accustomed to the last few years.
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Well, in addition to that, though, depending upon the audience you're dealing with, I mean, there might be some cultural issues, there might be some ways of going about things or saying certain things, and if you overlook that you know you're absolutely right you can basically harm what it is you're trying to get done simply because you're trying to speed it up, but in the process of speeding up you actually missed the target.
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So I certainly agree with you, you know, put it to your advantage, but don't let it skew who you are.
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It's something that it reinforces the importance of that true authenticity.
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You have to bring that forth anytime you're dealing with brain communications and content.
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That's at the pinnacle and the source of it all is what is our story that we're wanting to tell and how can we bring about our best self each time that we tell this story?
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And that starts with just getting real about it and being honest about it.
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But yes, the tool is there.
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It's there to help you, it's there to polish, but it's also there to remind you of how important that your authenticity is cleared completely through the way and that you are reinforcing this every time that you're using this.
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Tailor it, clip it, you know, edit it, update it.
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You know, one of the things that chat always shares whenever you're submitting any type of prompt is make sure that you tailor it towards your language or tailor it towards your goal or your angle, and I think that's still a very, very important thing, and I'm glad that it's still on there to remind folks that you know this is here to help you, but at the same time, you definitely still want to tailor and shape this language to yourself.
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That makes sense for your audience, absolutely.
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Let me just add to that.
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It's just interesting that you brought that up, because we just did an episode on storytelling and one of the things that came out of that the important thing is you've got to be authentic and connect with your audience, because if you don't, your audience could be very suspicious and might start to do a U-turn on you, very suspicious, and might start to do a U-turn on you.
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Oh yes, and you see it all the time.
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I'm sure you've seen the campaigns where audience members will really turn on these brands that they love, all for poor storytelling or, you know, a misfire in the communications.
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But I mean, you're exactly right.
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You know you can lose out and really really good followers, fans and consumers of your brand by simply taking, I would say, even the easy way out of just the copy paste Well, what's been done before?
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Let me just go and do that so we can get it done and check the box to say that we've done it, and it's going to end up causing you more harm than good by doing it this way.
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Be intentional about your communication, be intentional about your usage of this new tech, software and tools and be intentional about your brand and the overall vision.
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Your communication flows from it.
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So when you show up authentically, people will gravitate towards that quicker than they will someone that's being inauthentic and disingenuous.
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Well, let me tip my hat to you for bringing that to everyone's attention, and obviously you've got number three here, so this is another one that folks need to pay attention to.
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Yes, yes, absolutely, yes, yes, absolutely.
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So the next one that we have as far as PR trends to watch for 2025, is we're going to see more online media collaboration.
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So oftentimes, you know and I'm sure you can say the same dealing with clients, you know, there's always this sigh of goodness when we're talking about okay, so these are the media outlets we're going to reach out to.
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We're going to mix traditional media as well as digital, and everyone's all excited when we're talking about radio and television appearances or newspaper or magazines.
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So, when we get to podcasts and blogs, we often hear the oh gosh, you know those little things or those little platforms.
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Well, let's just be honest these aren't little platforms anymore.
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I read a report and study recently that showed that it actually was the Nielsen report for this year.
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It actually showed that 60% of consumers use and rely on social media, and specifically digital media, as their source of news information.
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So they rely on it 60%.
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It's the first time it's ever been this high, and it's actually over the percentage of individuals that still rely on traditional media as their news source.
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So, just to kind of break it down, 60% of people said that I look to social media to find out what's happening in the world, versus about 53% are still looking for the newspaper or looking for television to let them know what's going on in the world.
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That's a huge thing.
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So we have 60% of people that are saying that social media and digital platforms are where they're finding out about their news.
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That's a huge thing.
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So we can't dismiss and act like digital media isn't a source of information or a source for people to tune into.
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They are already tuning in.
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So, with that being said, this is going to require many brands if they haven't done so already which I mean goodness, why haven't you?
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But this is going to require them to really adopt and adapt to using and being on podcasts, blogs, digital media as a part of their media collaborations.
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There's not any more time to waste not being on there.
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I think of the example of more recently, there was a podcast called or, it really is a podcast, it's still active called Call Her Daddy, who actually secured a $30 million deal with Sirius FM it's the highest deal that's ever been recorded in history for podcasts and was able to secure this because they were receiving multi-millions in listeners and viewers in each episode that they were recording.
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So they have a huge, huge following of both listeners and viewers that were tuning into this to be able to secure that deal.
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So we got to go and ask ourselves you know, are we really still in the space of?
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Oh, online media platforms aren't serious?
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We can't be, because why they're booming?
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They're booming and this is an opportunity for brands to really hone in and collaborate and find more opportunities with media platforms that are online.
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It's definitely not enough anymore to just be on traditional media because, as I mentioned before in that data report, people aren't looking at the traditional media the same way that they were 20 years ago heck, even 10, even five years ago.
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They are leaning more towards these digital platforms.
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So we have to make a concerted effort to be engaging on these platforms, otherwise we risk, you know, falling by the wayside.
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Well you know one of the things that Well, you know, one of the things that I certainly you know.
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Salute you for saying that.
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The one thing that I always advise people to do, of course, is when they're using or listening to information off the internet or other digital platforms, consider the source, because there's also so much misinformation that's being put out there and if you have some concerns, I would double-check the information.
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Go to sources you know are reliable to double-check what's being said, because foreign countries are doing it to us, we're doing it to each other around the country and those sort of things.
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So certainly consider the source before you jump up and go take some actions, because you heard it on somebody, somebody's podcast oh, absolutely, and I'm so glad that you mentioned that, because there is that caveat right that now we're dealing with more misinformation and disinformation when you're dealing with online uh media and platforms.
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And it's largely because, again, again, new media is still fairly new.
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It's only been about 20 to 30 years.
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It's still fairly new and a lot of the typical requirements for media don't apply to social media and blogs and so on and so forth.
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They don't really fall under the same requirements like, say, your code of ethics for journalism or your code of ethics in terms of communication.
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They don't fall under that.
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So therefore, there is a lot of room for journalism or your code of ethics in terms of communication.
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They don't fall under that.
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So therefore, there is a lot of room for error with them.
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So you definitely need to be very, very careful in the blogs, in the platforms that you choose to be on.
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In terms of online media, even more recently, just in this last week and a half, meta, which is kind of the conglomerate of Facebook and Instagram, announced that they would no longer be fact-checking, so that's going to open the door for a slew of, I would think, misinformation and disinformation without penalty.
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So we're going to see what that's going to look like, but I would largely kind of expect to see more polarizing content, more divisive content, as they kind of navigate the lack of fact-checking, which is going to open the door to even more issues.
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But I anticipate that it's going to be interesting in this next couple of months.
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Now that they've kind of taken away the parameters and filters for disinformation, it's definitely going to set the stage for even bigger conversations.
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We'll probably need a follow-up, honestly, peter.
00:22:05.840 --> 00:22:23.487
Well, you know, I think one of the things that's going to happen is that, somehow or another, folks are going to too many people are going to respond to some misinformation the wrong way or have some problems from it and, as a result of that, when it really starts to explode, then people will start to say hey, wait a minute, let's get back to what you know.
00:22:23.487 --> 00:22:34.839
How you guys particularly, as you said, facebook and others like that you know, somebody has got to make sure that what we're being given is accurate and is not dangerous or inflammatory or something along those lines.
00:22:34.839 --> 00:22:43.132
So I think, by them taking that particular guard fence down, it's going to cause some problems and those problems, sooner or later, are going to come back to bite them.
00:22:44.076 --> 00:22:44.779
I agree wholeheartedly.
00:22:44.779 --> 00:22:47.467
It's going to be interesting to see it.
00:22:47.467 --> 00:22:49.290
But you're exactly right.
00:22:49.290 --> 00:22:56.191
You know, when we don't have these safeguards and perimeters in place, it does make room for a lot of error and a lot of crisis.
00:22:56.191 --> 00:23:01.939
So it'll be really interesting to see how this navigates moving forward and how really we navigate moving forward.
00:23:01.959 --> 00:23:14.201
I think, more importantly, for those that are brand owners or small business owners, I think the biggest thing for this particular group is just to be very intentional again about your content and your information.
00:23:14.201 --> 00:23:42.759
Just because there's no fact check doesn't mean that people won't fact check you when you're sharing information and you're sharing content on these platforms, because you could end up in a huge, huge crisis and backlash in terms of your own fans and followers because you misappropriated information or you provided misinformation and you get called out.
00:23:42.759 --> 00:24:00.372
I've seen too many brands that I can count that have got caught up with, you know, using a false narrative or a false claim and quickly being checked about it by their own consumers and experiencing significant backlash for it.
00:24:00.372 --> 00:24:12.674
So you know, without these safeguards and perimeters, it's really going to be up to these brands to make a true concerted effort to make sure and verify your sources, your information before you share it on these platforms.
00:24:12.674 --> 00:24:17.375
Otherwise, you're going to be in big trouble in terms of crisis situations.
00:24:17.375 --> 00:24:18.657
Moving forward.
00:24:19.224 --> 00:24:32.424
You know, I was just going to say that because crisis communications is a huge issue too and unfortunately a lot of firms just don't know how to handle that properly issue too, and unfortunately a lot of firms just don't know how to handle that properly.
00:24:35.224 --> 00:24:37.836
And you, know putting out a fire is not as easy as you think, particularly if it's something that's been said over the internet.
00:24:37.836 --> 00:24:46.711
Now you've got something that's going outside of your neighborhood or your state or whatever, and you've got a problem much bigger than you thought you had, and it probably might cost you dearly to try to resolve it.
00:24:46.711 --> 00:24:50.098
So, as you said, be careful, consider the source.
00:24:50.098 --> 00:24:52.155
It's probably the best way of looking at something like that.
00:24:53.040 --> 00:24:53.644
You're so right.
00:24:53.644 --> 00:24:57.395
Consider that source proactive as you're considering the source.
00:24:57.395 --> 00:24:58.888
That's part of that.
00:24:59.550 --> 00:25:00.273
I agree with you.
00:25:00.273 --> 00:25:03.815
So, why don't we consider number four now?
00:25:05.105 --> 00:25:06.029
Oh, yes, yes.
00:25:06.029 --> 00:25:10.798
Let's consider number four, which is kind of getting into more partnerships.
00:25:10.798 --> 00:25:14.316
You know we talked about online media collaborations and seeing more of that.
00:25:14.316 --> 00:25:21.894
I think in this next year there's going to be more creative brand partnerships and we saw examples of this in the previous year.
00:25:21.894 --> 00:25:40.172
Using the example of the Deadpool versus Wolverine movie marketing campaign, which is one of my favorite ones of last year, we saw an example of how you can use very unconventional brand collaborations to hone in on your messaging but also amplify your messaging.
00:25:40.172 --> 00:25:50.939
We saw this movie combine and work with brands like Heinz and Heinz ketchup and mustard to be able to generate the buzz and the attention that they were looking for.
00:25:51.666 --> 00:25:53.704
But we also saw partnerships with apparel.
00:25:53.704 --> 00:26:12.305
We saw partnerships and collaborations with podcasts, which kind of just mentioned that in the previous example of just more of an increase of larger brands tapping into those online media sources, of larger brands tapping into those online media sources.
00:26:12.305 --> 00:26:16.085
So definitely thinking of these creative brand partnerships are going to be a thing to watch for in 2025.
00:26:16.085 --> 00:26:35.932
You're going to see a lot of unconventional partnerships, a lot of thinking outside of the box, but these are going to help amplify these messages even forward just in a very, very different way than they've done in the past, which is going to make all the difference and it's kind of part of why we saw such a success, especially in the box office for this movie.
00:26:36.213 --> 00:26:45.396
I think they raised well over $100 billion in this film and the same thing with even another more recent one with Wicked.
00:26:45.396 --> 00:27:07.798
We saw a lot of unconventional brand partnerships take place here that typically they wouldn't work with or they wouldn't partner with, but there were several viral moments of the stars of the show that appeared on podcasts in the same news cycle and media cycle that they would typically do with traditional media for an entire PR rollout.
00:27:07.798 --> 00:27:16.787
So there's definitely going to be more of that concerted effort to be creative with the types of brands that are being partnered with and aligning with.
00:27:16.787 --> 00:27:26.393
As well as that, more diverse online platforms being added into the mix of PR rollouts alongside traditional media.
00:27:26.393 --> 00:27:32.756
That is totally, totally unconventional, but absolutely well worth it and certainly amplifying those messages.
00:27:33.425 --> 00:27:35.952
Well, you know, the movies have been doing that for a long time.
00:27:35.952 --> 00:27:36.976
Television as well.
00:27:36.976 --> 00:27:46.644
When you got to see a certain brands up close, you could actually see what the name is Coca Cola or Dr Pepper or Heinz ketchup, those kinds of things.
00:27:46.644 --> 00:27:55.476
So there was a little bit of a forerunner for those kinds of things happening, and it's getting carried over to the digital age now as well.
00:27:56.085 --> 00:27:57.744
Yes, oh, 100%.
00:27:57.744 --> 00:28:05.013
You know, it's almost like a recycle of history, right, and I'm sure you can speak to this very well is a lot of the times.
00:28:05.013 --> 00:28:06.637
You know, there's the ebbs and flows.
00:28:06.637 --> 00:28:09.835
It's almost a pendulum swing, I should really say.
00:28:09.835 --> 00:28:28.912
You know, first we see a lot of creative and then we just kind of see it pulled back, and now we're swinging back into what's outside of the box, what's just very different or an unexpected partnership that would actually make sense for what it is that we're doing and what we're offering, and we're seeing more and more of that.
00:28:29.053 --> 00:28:29.273
Now.
00:28:29.273 --> 00:28:42.175
I think the biggest takeaway is that you're seeing bigger brands do this which typically was almost reserved for the smaller guys, right, those viral moments, those TikTok business owners, so to speak.
00:28:42.175 --> 00:28:46.144
You saw them doing kind of those unconventional types of brand partnerships.
00:28:46.144 --> 00:28:48.292
Well, now, it's no longer just them.
00:28:48.292 --> 00:28:50.871
Those unconventional types of brand partnerships Well, now, it's no longer just them.
00:28:50.871 --> 00:28:54.201
Now we're seeing some of the big guys taking on that same almost grassroots effort in.
00:28:54.383 --> 00:28:57.290
Yeah, we're going to check the box of all of our traditional media.
