The ellwood afield gallery hosted the PRCA’s conference to debate ’16 for ‘16′ – 16 recommendations for great communications in 2016.
The first recommendation is ‘Move beyond traditional stereotypes: Think post-demographics, beyond the obsession with putting people in neat boxes, and instead engage with them based on shared interests or human emotions.’
the takeaways
Business and consumer trends for 2016 debate.
Leanne Tomasevic, Head of Truth (what a great job title!) and Tali Kramer, Partner, Instinctif Partners discussed how the successful brands in 2016 will be connected to the rhythms and rituals that shape our culture, making those companies truly relevant. We will see a greater number of brand collaborations/partnerships between established companies and agile new firms. Brands that create relevant, appealing content at speed will be the ones to thrive in 2016.
Top trends for the PR industry in 2016 debate.
I like it when my views are challenged, but I also like it when they’re reinforced by others. So I was pleased when the panel, chaired by Rod Cartwright, Global Partner at Ketchum, agreed the number one trend will be further integration with Marcomms. I’ve seen this trend emerge over the last few years with clients instructing us to search for a new Communications or Corporate Affairs Director with ‘some’ marketing in their kit bag of skills.
Changing requirements of skills in 2016 debate.
Chaired by Gill Hardy, Global Talent Consultant at WPP, I was able to espouse my theory that analytical skills as part of the PR and Communications mix will be on the rise. In a Big Data world, organisations are increasingly drawing on data to support decisions and actions. (Also if you have not yet read up on Small Data it’s worth a read, and the next big thing.) CMOs have embraced this and PROs will need to.
Traditionally, the comms expert is more creative than analytical. However as the culture of business moves towards a greater reliance on Big Data, the need to marry creative skills with analytical skills will be a must. Balanced brains will be in high demand. In a Big Data world understanding this approach, its methodologies, its data science principles, and its best practices is the key to the future of PR and communications. Aligning these to business goals is also the future.
So if you want to future proof your PR skill set, get with the Big (and Small) Data programme.
