Communications to pick up the pace

21 Jan 2009

What's in store for communications in 2009? The publicists at Kezi Communications collectively put together this list of nine trends for a fast-paced, quickly changing world.

[2009 trends] Communications to pick up the pace

Regular coverage: clients will care less about the returns or AVE on coverage - they are wanting regular pieces in the media space - not always achievable but always challenging.
Clients under pressure: as budgets tighten, clients will be under more pressure to their EXCOs (executive committees) on delivery, which inevitably trickles down to their marketing teams: everyone will want more for less.
Budget cuts: PR/publicity/marketing/advertising - WE know it is a necessity but the financial men on EXCOs always look to chop here first. If you are not delivering outstanding results in 2009 on a regular basis, heads will roll... we have seen it already in 2008.
Forget timesheets: timesheets will become a thing of the past in 2009 - if we want those retainers paid, throw them away and deliver, deliver, deliver.
Strategic PR and publicity: these will become even more vital in 2009 - for example, clients we pitched to in 2007/8 are coming back to us after they went with bigger PR agencies with more impressive credentials. However bigger credentials do not mean bigger results - big budget PR events and becoming a number kill newsworthy opportunities. Clever, newsworthy angles will remain the key to PR success in 2009.
Smaller, more niche, more specialised: Kezi ourselves will undergo some reinvention in 2009, our fourth year of business. An incredible growth spurt in 2008 gave us a taste of what it would be like to become one of the giants. We didn't like it. We will do the opposite in 2009: become smaller, more niche, more specialized... is this an industry trend?
Unbelievable turnaround times: in line with the more for less, staying small, etc, we believe another trend surfacing is the EXTREMELY fast turn-around time: faster than we have ever experienced. Everyone is stressed and under pressure so when it comes to clients or media deadlines: they want 1200 words and pics in 24 hours - we make it happen. Things are happening so fast that we have already instituted DAILY status meetings instead of our weekly internal meetings - we need to react, prioritise and be proactive.
Personal one-on-one relationships with clients: these will become even more key as the pressure mounts - clients do not want to be a number. They want to 'feel the love' as one of our clients tells us! Traditional PR structures and PR teams don't work - smaller, niche hands-on, can-do, just-did teams are necessary.
Mobile office:: are we going to end up setting up offices in our clients' space? Blackberries and hotdesking will make us more mobile and effective in 2009.

About Keri-Ann Stanton

Keri-Ann Clark is the MD of Kezi Communications www.kezi.co.za. This contribution was a team effort from the publicists at Kezi Communications.
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