the 12 truths of modern public relations

Burson-Marsteller l Asia-Pacific l Evidence-Based Communications

Corporate communicationsin the age of social

technologyThe 12 Truths of Modern PR

Seoul, Korea 2011.10.11


People consume content selfishly

• ‘making the other person feel important’ has always been part of persuasion

• listening to the sound of one’s voice• clicking ‘like’ generates ‘likes’• narcissism and know-it-all-ism• sharing ‘what makes you look good’

1.


We keep losing control• of our time• of our privacy• of our own reputation• of the conversation topic• of the corporate communications

narrative

2.


Communication is becoming ‘female’

• communication is more and more about listening and not just talking

• vertical hierarchy being eclipsed by peer-to-peer horizontal

• a shift in the quantity & tonality of content

• more and more corporate communicators are women

3.


Sorry is no longer enough• the global rise of apology

communications• most companies will have a crisis in

the next year, but most are not prepared

• lawyers are losing more client debates

• holding statements look weak and defensive; ‘hiding behind a shield’

• apologies must be sincere and genuine

4.


Digital is becoming tired • there’s a backlash to digital jargon• ‘Face’ is more important than

Facebook• inaccessibility a barrier to adoption• the gurus say: most people ‘don’t get

it’ • but there’s only so much to ‘get’• social brand > social business > bla

bla• diminishing returns are setting in

5.


Attention spans keep collapsing

• the myth of multitasking debunked• constant restless scrolling and

clicking• the speed of change is accelerating• ‘what’s trending’ is often utter drivel• raw emotion – especially anger – is

trumping thinking and reflection• there’s no time to tell stories

anymore

6.


Digital storytelling is key• the simplification of complexity• the rapid rise of infographics• where data meets design is the

sweet spot• ‘brain drain’ from journalism to PR

when ‘every company can be a media company’

• Guardian announcement today: The Guardian displays newslist to public online

7.

http://bit.ly/pHe5Vu




PR & customer service are merging

• blurring of and confusion between traditional boundaries between disciplines

• real-time rapid response plus savvy content curation is easy but vexing

• the rise of dedicated digital teams• expanding the power of corporate

communications and the CCO

8.


It’s all about the content• content must tell a compelling digital

story• PR is becoming about programming

content for communities• there’s too much noise, not enough

signal • there’s a ‘TED’ constituency out

there• content must be repurposeable

across platforms, which change relentlessly

9.


10.

People crave deeper meaning• many feel unsatisfied from their

digital interactions, like eating chips• where the online meets the offline is

key• offline = the reality of everyday life • digital is ‘cool’ but it is also cold

(transaction-like); analogue is warmer and face-to-face (relationship-like)


Complexity is making PR harder

• the hundreds of people in a PR professional’s life have become millions

• the sheer size of communities is a communications management challenge

• communities are ‘social’ but they are highly atomized and ‘individually sensible’

• analytics only answer some questions

11.


Asian companies are going digital

12.

2010 20110102030405060708090

AsianWestern

Percentage of companies using a branded social media platform

the 12 truths of modern public relations

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