By Adam Wakefield

At the beginning of 2016, some of the trends that were predicted to take hold included the death of the traditional press release, the importance of producing high quality content, the necessity of online reputation management, social media changing everything, and integrated campaigns coming to the fore. 

How many of these predictions have come true, and what else has happened across the industry?

The ground has shifted

According to Kevin Welman, co-founder and director at ByDesign Communications, it has been a good year for communications and the rise of reputation over the importance of brand.

“I believe our industry has bucked the trend and grown at a higher rate than most marketing industries. The trend of ‘NOW’ continues; since the dawn of social media, and immediate news, this industry has sped up significantly,” Welman says.

“The adage of ‘news doesn’t break, it tweets’ is as true as ever. But news houses now need news in different formats; video, audio, designed graphics etc. The biggest trend is having the ability to provide content in a format that’s relevant, quickly.”

Content is more important than ever, as is having the ability to tell channel-agnostic stories any-time, anywhere.

Budget constraints is a theme many in the industry have alluded to this year. It was also discussed in depth at the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa’s annual conference in Durban during Loeries Week in August.

Amidst this environment, Joanna Oosthuizen, managing director at Ogilvy Public Relations Johannesburg, believes the rise of the narrative is the dominant trend in 2016. Companies and brands have sought to regain credibility for “their story” with their audiences and redefine how they strategically engage at a tactical level.

“Key to this need is to do more with less, how these efforts are housed in measurable results, gathering insight through data and analytics, and content which is to a degree sharable by design,” Oosthuizen says.

Why these trends have mattered in 2016

The reason Welman believes these trends have come into play is because, as newsrooms shrink, an organisation’s ability to tell authentic, meaningful stories increases.

For Oosthuizen, as PR moves further away from the press release, stories have realigned, the production of content that is credible has increased and such stories are being seeded well beyond traditional platforms.  

“This fundamentally redefines the value of PR in the overall marketing mix, especially in how these narratives drive the integration agenda,” Oosthuizen says.

 2017 is just around the corner

 So, 2016 is nearing its end. What does that mean for 2017? What trends will we see change the PR industry next year?

Oosthuizen believes 2017 will see technology continue to make a powerful impact, “especially as we introduce search optimisation into content and we work to influence how we better publish and share across digital platforms”.

Asked the same question, Welman picks out three trends, the first being content.

“Content will continue to play a major role; video, virtual reality etc. will continue to push the boundaries of storytelling,” he says.

The two other trends are the growing reliance by clients on analytics and insight, and PR being couched in terms of achieving business objectives.

“I believe clients are looking for better information. The role of analytics and insights will continue to be critical, and lastly, clients seem to be looking for higher level consultants,” Welman says.

“The age of the ‘doing-work’ being outsourced at a premium seem to be numbered but clients are looking for high level consultants who can consult at a business level. Knowing and understanding how communications will ultimately drive the client’s business forward is more important and more valued than ever,” Welman concludes.

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