There is a lot of chatter (pun completely intentional) about the role that AI can play in the world of PR. Some are even talking about chatbots like ChatGPT sounding the death knell of the public relations profession. Setting aside the moral question of effectively plagiarising what has gone before, as well as the Terminator-like world-ending scenarios being sounded in some quarters at the mere mention of AI, how worried should a PR practitioner be at their potential to be replaced by M3GAN? (The office would certainly be a more dangerous place if new PR recruits started acting up like the eponymous ‘bot in Amazon Prime’s latest horror offering).
With the proliferation of online media you could be forgiven for thinking that print is on the wane. In reality, what is actually happening is that printed promotional material, particularly when it is used creatively, is increasingly providing the opportunity to cut through the digital information overload that we are all experiencing.
In these tough economic times, organisations are under pressure to tighten budgets with each pound that is spent under strict scrutiny. It is no secret that the Communications department and in turn, the PR agency are often the first areas to experience cut-backs. When evaluating out-goings, top-level management might review the spend on PR and deem this an expendable cost - but they tread a dangerous path.
