Public relations is a craft that I’ve practiced for decades. PR is, at its essence, about communication. A strategic publicist builds the precise message that will resonate with the client’s target audience. Sounds simple…but its not…because the target keeps moving.
The America we knew just 5 years ago is long gone as it relates to trends and mindsets. Different cultures are not so different anymore. Now, the face of Congress reflects that. As demographics diversify, understanding the consumer becomes far more difficult.
When last night’s midterm winners take office, America’s newly elected representatives will include the first two Muslim women and the first two Native American to serve in Congress, Massachusetts’ first black member of Congress, and two of the youngest congresswomen of all time at 28 and 29 years old. Likewise, for the first time in America, an openly gay man will take over the governor’s mansion…and he’s Jewish.
What does all this mean in the world of PR? It’s time to do research and find out exactly who’s buying your products and services. America’s movers and shakers are no longer monochromatic. Then, craft new ways to communicate with a changing audience that hears and sees everything differently than before. Finally, if you hope to influence people of influence…learn how to give back. After all the divisiveness and polarizing rhetoric, we’re still the land of the free and the home of the brave.
– Ray Drasnin / Emperor Penguin
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Purple Penguin