20/20 Visions for 2020
They say hindsight is 20/20. That’s easy. Predicting the future is a bit tougher. Now that we are in the year 2020, what can we look forward to? I checked in with the HMA team and some of our Public Relations Global Network colleagues from around the world and here’s what they had to say:
HMA Public Relations
Scott Hanson: “Agencies that deliver outstanding results for their clients will continue to thrive.”
Abbie Fink: “Although we may have more platforms at our disposal, good content will continue to be key as it relates to strategic communications.”
Alison Bailin Batz: “Media relations and digital communications will continue the need to be customized to and for each type of media that Millennials, Oregon Trailers, Gen Xers and Boomers prefer.“
Annelise Krafft: “We will see more explosive social media trends (who will be the next Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich?) and podcasting will continue to grow.”
Autumn Jarrett: “A continued change in the way we use social media with the changes coming to Instagram and the rise of Tik Tok.”
Marissa Baker: “I’m looking forward to seeing how brands will use new platforms like TikTok and IGTV to promote and how this will change digital trends over time.”
Public Relations Global Network
Mark Paterson, Currie Communications, Melbourne, Australia: “We can look forward to restoring civility to public debate as the complex challenges business needs to navigate in the future, including climate change, technological innovation and wealth inequity, require business, government and community to work together.”
Robert Bauer, accelent communications, Vienna, Austria: “In Europe, the next big PR topic after GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) – which haunted the whole industry here in 2019 – will be the impact of the public climate change discussion which no client can avoid or shrug off, creating a big challenge and an even bigger opportunity for PR.”
Judy Kuramata, Integrate Communications, Tokyo: “As the merging of digital marketing, earned, owned and paid media continues, PR agencies will now rethink what their real capabilities are utilizing their power of communication skills, and/or thinking strategically.”
Andy See Teong Leng, Perspective Strategies, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: “The digital marketplace will continue to grow and transform with more clients seeing how the “smaller” firms are more agile to respond to the changing market place and can provide the quality talents and counsel that brands need to win the trust of consumers.”
Uwe Schmidt, Industrie-Contact (IC) AG, Hamburg, Germany: “Humans will still be needed, as studies and reports indicate that approximately 12% of competencies in the PR sector are supported by artificial intelligence, but 32% of the so-called ‘zero-tech’ skills are indispensable for PR work.”
David Wills, Media Profile, Toronto: “The more creative the campaign, the more success we’ll see, especially in traditional PR — and as media landscapes shrink and journalists constantly change roles, agencies that can keep up with all the changes, build and foster relationships with reporters on the move, and come up with on-point, creative pitches will see a lot of success.”
Sara Pearson, Spider PR and Communications, London: “On the heels of the last decade could we have guessed by the end of it the significance in our daily lives of climate change, veganism and #metoo – so what does 2020 herald: I’m reminded that our planning is God’s idea of a joke!”
David Landis, Landis Communications Inc., San Francisco: “PR professionals will play a greater role in guiding clients and organizations to embrace critical thinking as the public at large is becoming more sophisticated about what’s true – and what’s not – especially on social media platforms such as Facebook and with the U.S. election approaching, citizens will be wary and less likely to believe what they read on social media.”
What 20/20 vision do you have for 2020?
