PR in a recession? It's déjà vu all over again

Another month, another article for Marketing Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. I wrote this one a month ago the midst of reforecasting, and was a little grumpy. Is it still relevant a month on? Certainly recent events have seen China's economy continue to struggle.

I've spend most of November in China and even in the economically miraculous Middle Kingdom, all is not well in our PR bubble. While rather naively we may have expected the great wall to shelter us from the financial tsunami, it appears that the waves are building. So what to do? Talk ourselves into a recession? Duck and cover? Or do we take a long hard look at ourselves and maybe find a little ray of sunshine in all of this darkness.

To quote the great Marvin Gaye, "What's going on?" For PR, we'll see budgets remaining static or go into decline, marketing spend rationalization and global consolidation. But it's not all doom and gloom. On the plus side, there will be more project opportunities, but in the inevitable buyers market, agencies will fight for every penny.

And let's not forget the lessons from previous recessions - those companies that are serious about building a strong brand in Asia should keep their baseline corporate communications and product PR campaigns alive. Smart companies will remain visible, with clever, budget-sensitive programs that maintain presence and competitive edge. Social media programs anyone?

An interesting by product of all of this may be relief from the brutal talent war that we've been fighting since the beginning of forever. Perhaps folks will stick around with companies for longer and nurture their careers and professional development (as opposed to just their bank balances).

The downturn will certainly test the Gen Y PRs who have spent their formative PR years cushioned by prosperous times. It will be fascinating to see how these new age PR folks manage when times get tough. I'm hopeful that their instincts for innovation and collaboration will help lose some of PR baggage and create some real change.

We're also likely to see more part-time PR folks in the mix, with freelancing and contracting to become the norm in a time when headcount investment slows.

Another consideration is that the financial meltdown is occurring in (and contributing to) a time when corporate / institutional trust is at an all-time low. Consumers in China don't trust the food they're feeding their babies. Customers don't trust their banks and banks don't trust each other. Employees don't trust their employers and shareholders don't trust their investments.

These trust issues are compounded by consumers who are taking to the internet in droves to voice their concerns and demand accountability. This is forcing companies to take a long look at their CSR programs and turn them into something more than simple PR puffery. It is also forcing companies to look more closely at their supply chains and demand more accountability than ever before.

Let's also take a moment to consider the news media that are getting battered by declining advertising revenues, leading to closures and consolidation. We're entering into times of having to do even more with even less. But surely this is an opportunity for our profession to better support journalists and editors. We've got to get better at giving them what they need. If they're moving to online video content, then we must be able to provide it. If they need more contributed articles and better photography because of free-falling ad spend and headcount reductions, then give it to them!

Of course, social media needs to step up and take a bow. I sincerely hope PR decision makers and agencies use this unfortunate global opportunity to take a look at their pr programs and make some hard decisions on what tactics really are influential. Those press releases you labour over for weeks and yet only get picked up by three tier two outlets surely could be replaced by a social media engagement that takes your company directly into your most critical communities.

So, in a rather large nutshell...

1. The dominoes have started to fall. Now is the time for companies to assess their marketing channels, and agencies to assess their pipelines, people and P&Ls.

2. To quote Snap!, they (the consumers) "got the power". Corporations are talking to the most connected generations in history. It's no longer about information control, it's about community engagement.

3. The media ‘ain't what they used to be. The sands of influence are shifting. PR needs to be at the heart of this change, guiding our clients and ensuring we're doing the right thing by media old and new.

We do, indeed, live interesting times...

- Jeremy