The New Global World of Public Relations 

These leaders echoed one overarching theme: the need for global public relations agencies to build a consistent global brand as their work spans continents. It may sound grand in theory, but there are a series of tactics that can get agencies thinking and working on a global scale.

 

The first course of action is to invest in the future. It is not effective for an agency to focus solely on a region’s current value, they must anticipate that region’s importance further down the line. Additionally, agencies should be thinking beyond the notion of making strides and hone in on the precise, quantifiable results to be achieved by a certain point in time. The notion of consistency was repeated by multiple executives when asked about global integration of their public relations strategies. Keeping one high-level strategy and a common set of standards to measure results throughout the world is essential, but when it comes to specific projects and ideas, agencies should think locally and be mindful of varying cultures. These leaders also stress the importance of integrating traditional and digital PR, equating a client’s tendency to employ a separate digital agency to a restaurant having a separate department for stirring. In order to better position brands among stakeholders and make them more competitive long-term, an agency should be fluent in the tools and techniques of digital communications and allow them to inform all of the work they do. Today, the public relations practice expands beyond just securing media mentions and placements.

 

Agencies must take a multi-platform traditional, social and digital approach to building brand reputation and engaging key audiences, no matter where in the world they are.

 

Read more about building a global brand in the full report, The New Global World of Public Relations.