Nearly 90 percent of PR executives believe the term “public relations” won’t accurately describe what they do in five years.

A recent Global Communications research project between The Holmes Report and the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations revealed that PR will become more closely aligned with marketing which will have serious implications for both PR Communication professionals and for PR firms.

The study polled more than 800 public relations executives from around the world. For the first time ever, the Report also featured insights from almost 700 public relations and communications students, along with in-house marketing executives.

47 percent of PR professionals and more than 60% of marketing executives believe that their two disciplines will become more closely aligned in the next five years. Some think PR will dominate. Others think it will be dominated. 

Currently 18% of corporate communications departments report into marketing. If that number grows will their influence decrease? Currently, PR agencies report into marketing 21% of the time. If that number grows will their bottom lines increase?

When public relations executives were asked which communications trends will be the most important in the next five years, digital storytelling ranked above the rest, followed by social listening, social purpose and big data.

Historically, the purpose of many PR firms was to use media to control the public narrative and perception of a brand. To that end, industry pioneers developed press releases and pitched their clients relentlessly to any journalist, reporter, or media contact they could to land mentions, features, interviews — you name it.

This exclusively client-centric pitching and media placement worked for some time. But as digital content and social have taken over and handed power to consumers, expectations around authenticity have changed.

Audiences go to sources they trust for information, forcing the definition of “media contact” to expand beyond reporters and journalists to include social media and industry influencers, thought leaders, and contributors to reputable online publications. When audiences reach these sources, they’re looking for more than promotional brand content — they’re looking for genuine value.

Modern PR, then, should be characterized less by the pitching and promoting of clients and more by the ability to deliver value to audiences, contributors, and clients alike.