The Ever-Evolving PR Profession
We gathered friends and colleagues from across the comms industry to find out what they're doing now that they never thought they would be just 5 years ago. Here's what they had to say:
Mindy (Reisinger) Nelson - SVP, Media Strategy at AxiCom
"Leaning into and using AI. I’ve been in the tech PR world for more than 20 years and have never seen such a disruptor to all industries in my work lifetime. For communications, this means it is literally changing our job - I like to think mostly for the good, helping us prioritize higher-level, more creative work and, importantly, freeing up more time to build and deepen our client, colleague and media connections. While I wouldn’t call myself an early adopter, I am using AI to tackle administrative tasks such as note taking and meeting recaps as well as crafting headlines and helping analyze and test messaging. While not perfect, and it has to still have a human lens, I can already see the potential of how it will transform our work which is exciting."
Aimee Clark - Founding Partner, Dotted Line Communications
"As an agency founder that’s been in the trenches with my team for more than 20 years, I’m often surprised at the amount of education clients still require when it comes to understanding what is and isn’t PR, and what will and won’t make news.
It doesn’t matter how good our relationships are with media if there’s not a compelling story to tell. The essence of PR lies in crafting narratives that resonate deeply with audiences—stories that evoke emotion, shape perceptions and influence, and ultimately drive action.
This education may sometimes feel like a repetitive task, but it’s a crucial aspect of our role as communicators to ensure they understand the true value of strategic storytelling in building brand awareness and meaningful engagement.
The old saying goes, advertising is what you pay for, and publicity is what you pray for. And with a good PR team, most prayers are answered."
Keith Chapman - Founder & CEO of Chap Public Relations
"One of the biggest shifts I’ve seen over the past 5 years relates to thought leadership content. In year’s past, executives wanted their OpEds placed in top tier outlets. If that didn’t happen the entire effort was a waste of time in their mind.
It took a great deal of convincing to win executives over and show them how valuable owned content can be — whether on LinkedIn, Medium, or company blogs. This value comes from engaging executive networks, but also from having full editorial control and the ability to talk extensively about their own company and the wider industry.
Executives understand this now. But the challenge is getting them to be bold, share their authentic voice, and take a stance. That’s particularly daunting in our polarized media environment."
Morgan Witte - VP at WE Communications
"I’m glad to be evolving our executive communications capabilities for North America. The communications industry continues changing rapidly, and expectations for executives keep rising. It’s exciting to lead executive positioning work and craft individualized platforms that influence corporate reputation and brand purpose for a variety of clients — from leading healthcare organizations, to nonprofits, and tech companies."