In our modern “digital age,” it would seem that no industry is left unchanged by the wave of digital integration into every aspect of our lives. The behemoth fields of public relations and advertising are at the forefront of this digital innovation. The way consumers digitally communicate and interact is constantly changing, and since both disciplines are centered around communication, it is important that they be constantly following these ever-changing patterns.
Advertising faces a difficult challenge of continuing to get consumers’ attention in a digital landscape where it is easier and easier to ignore ads. With cable television going out of style and the use of ad-blockers increasing, advertisers must be more and more innovative to get their products in front of potential customers. Product placement is a great way to inject brands into popular content to create powerful associations. In class, a group found more than 10 placements in the music video for Lady Gaga’s hit song, “Telephone.” Proctor and Gamble bought an entire storyline on the hit ABC sitcom, “Black-ish.” Other unique forms of advertising have emerged as well. Native advertising allows vendors to place an article in a news site or paper while giving it the appearance of a regular article. Creighton has done this several times in the Omaha World-Herald as a way to engage the Omaha community. Other news sites like CNN will have a “From Our Sponsors” section with more native advertising articles. The form that I enjoy the most, but is the hardest to organically create, is viral video marketing. This is best illustrated with Blendtec’s Will it Blend? The YouTube program consists of hilarious videos where a silly scientists places all kinds of ridiculous things into a Blendtec blender, and has been viewed millions of times. While they are funny and enjoyable to watch, they are an extremely effective way to get Blendtec’s products in front of people.
Public relations, while less profit driven as a whole than advertising, is also responding to the new digital landscape. PR professionals have new ways of communicating with their constituents to make their message more effective and have a greater reach. The most obvious example of this is social media. During the PRSSA event Meet the Pros, I spoke with the Director of External Relations and Engagement, Jeremy Maskel. He explained that during a school lockdown, he was able to provide parents and other interested parties live information through the school’s social media accounts. While he likely used some sort of organized, after-the-fact communication as well, social media allowed him to inform people immediately as events unfolded. Under the umbrella of integrated marketing communications, public relations experts can use viral video marketing as well. WestJet’s “WestJet Christmas Miracle: Real Time Giving” video, which received over 48 million views on YouTube, served as both an advertisement and a PR effort. The message of the commercial was used to show WestJet’s charitable spirit and the energy of their employees, which isn’t in and of itself a product advertisement, but serves to give the consumer a better view of the company.
Public relations and advertising have grown more and more overlapping, and need to become more and more digital as the rest of our world and our consumers have. Both industries need to be constantly innovating in order to keep up with the lightning pace of consumer’s digital habits and needs, and it’s funny to imagine what will be the new norm in 15, 10, or even five years.
Media in our World 