Predictions on the future of PR

I am enrolled in a course at Syracuse University called The Future of Work. For our final assignment, we were tasked with the idea of envisioning our future career in ten years. As a public relations major, this made me question how what I am currently learning in class will differ from the work I will actually do in the future. The way technology emerges, ten years from now, we could see a complete shift in media norms and ideas. Digital marketing is constantly evolving and at a rapid rate.

In my PR Campaigns class, we discuss the shift from traditional media to digital media. My grandfather was a public relations professor at Michigan State University in the 1980s and his curriculum is completely different from what I have learned at school. Over Thanksgiving break, I shared with him my textbook for my campaigns course, Social Media Strategy: Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations in the Consumer Revolution. He finds it very interesting that I learn about PR from a perspective that he is completely unfamiliar with. Now it has been nearly 30 years since my grandfather has taught, but I only wonder where PR will be in the next 30 years.

Here are some of my predictions for different industries:

CONNECTIVITY: Digital media will be much more incorporated into our lives and how we contact and message one another. The days of just iMessage will be over, and social media will be incorporated into the way we connect with one another.

ENTERTAINMENT: DVDs will no longer be sold in stores. Streaming services will connect with social networks to create a viewing experience that feels like it’s in person while completely virtual. The metaverse will be incorporated into movie premieres.

SPORTS: Tickets will be sold through the metaverse giving individuals the feeling of being in a stadium from the comfort of their own homes. It will take a lot of PR to get society comfortable with an entirely new element to the ticket sales of sports.

CRYPTO: Crypto wallets will be sold to consumers as smart investment plans and will be widespread. It will be popular to use cryptocurrency as a form of currency, and this will be possible through rebranding by PR professionals.

HEALTHCARE: There will be advances in people’s access to healthcare through public relations. The cost of insulin and cancer treatments will be cheaper and more accessible through calling on organizations to fix their ethical issues of the past.

EDUCATION: Social media and marketing oneself will be used for college admissions. Test scores will not be as important as creativity and the use of technology. The way individuals can be successful in education is through marketing themselves properly.

RETAIL: In-person stores will slowly fade out as people find it is more time efficient to shop online. Digital marketing of retail items will make up the entire way brands can remain successful and relevant.

This project for my course really changed my perspective on the future of work in my preferred entertainment industry. To be successful in the future of public relations will be determined by individuals’ ability to adapt to trend forecasts and stay ahead of the curve.