Why reinvention is important to PR

Whether we want to admit it or not, as humans we are creatures of habit. Unfortunately, as consumers, we crave change and continually need to be stimulated by new trends.

Modern day life has led to a fast-paced world where our attention span, at most, lasts a dismal 20 seconds before we’re searching for the next thing to entertain us. Nowhere can this be better seen than in popular culture, be it the latest consumer trend or celebrity infatuation.

Take a look at the big global brands, everyone from Coca- Cola right through Samsung release product after product, each with something ‘better’ and ‘newer’ over the old. Even if it’s as simple as changing the colour or design of a coke can, or adding an additional high-tech feature to an already high-tech phone, changes to products and new product inventions are often drip fed to keep us wanting more – what we had suddenly isn’t enough, and the incessant need for the ‘next best thing’ keeps us hungrily waiting.

While the big brands may be the cause of the ever changing consumer landscape, they are also determined by it. If they want to stay afloat and importantly, ahead of the game, the big brands now have to engage with an audience that is used to change, and the only way for them to survive is to continually adapt their offering; it’s a self-perpetuating cycle.

If we take a look at celebrities, the scrutiny of the ever evasive media eye, combined with the importance of them being noticed, means that everyone from the Kardashians to Jennifer Aniston need to quickly adapt and change to meet the expectations of their eager audience. Some celebs will always be on a diet trying to drop that final stone, they will constantly be having plastic surgery to try and remain fresh and youthful for the cameras, and they will also always be spearheading the latest health and fitness craze.

Those in the media, whose survival is dependent on society’s desire to be entertained and stimulated by gossip, find themselves continually reinventing themselves to make them just as sellable as the consumer products churned out by the global brands. Celebrities are brands in their own right, and everyone is watching and waiting for them to fail, to pick themselves back up again, and then reinvent themselves ready for the next chapter in their lives.

Why is PR an invaluable reinvention tool?

Without the publicity, the various products crowding the market place are lost in the abyss that we have come to know as consumerism. Each product and each brand needs a voice, and for this voice to be heard above the crowd. This can only be done by building relationships with journalists and ensuring that key messages are woven into peoples’ train of thought, be it through concise editorial and/or trusted representation.

PR is the perfect tool which helps global brands ride the wave and make an even bigger mark. Likewise, celebrities need help from PR professionals on how to act and adapt to these constant changes. As an example, PHA Media, a London PR firm, lists one way that reinvention is vital in campaigns – brand development.

According to the organisation, brand development is one of the greatest challenges facing any professional and it is the role of this individual to ensure that this product stays fresh, relevant, as well as regularly talked about in the news. Simply put, if a brand does not evolve, and if its PR fails to evolve with it, consumers will almost always switch to a competitor.

Much like the tools used to give brands their publicity, PR can help change the publics’ view of those in the limelight – and in times of reinvention it can be an indispensable tool which helps to carve the next chapter.

Image © Grant via Flickr under Creative Commons Licence

Off the Record