PR practitioners gather to mark World PR Day
By Ibidunni Banjoko
Professionals in the public relations and communication industry gathered to mark the third edition of World PR Day, which is annually held on 16 July. It is a global event to recognise and celebrate the field of public relations and communications while fostering a unified global agenda to enhance understanding and utilization of Public PR.
This year’s edition has the theme: “Harnessing the Power Of Public Relations”.
The event was launched in 2021 to forge a global agenda of enlightening the world about the nobility and misconceptions around PR. Last year saw more than 10,000 people from 60 countries, across six continents participate in the day, which included over 20 PR and comms associations and 150 agencies.
July 16 also honours Ivy Lee, one of the pioneers of Public Relations practice who was born on the same date 145 years ago.
Commenting on this year’s event, the Founder and Convener of World PR Day, Ayeni Adekunle, emphasised the strategic significance of PR, stating, “PR plays a crucial role in building relationships, achieving business objectives, and preventing crises that could jeopardise companies or even lead nations to war. It shapes public opinion and creates a world where communication is intentional, credible, positive, powerful, and has a developmental influence.”
He said last year’s programme themed, ‘Trust, Truth, and Transparency,’ witnessed an array of conferences, fireside chats, virtual and physical events, summits, and festivals organised by renowned PR and communications agencies such as GLG Communications, Global Media Alliance Forum, and the Public Relations Council of India.
In addition to the festivities, he added that the 2022 edition, showcased a global agenda designed to explore the noble aspects of the profession, address misconceptions and motivate PR practitioners to fulfill their duty of facilitating responsible communication, advancing organisational goals, and making positive contributions to society and the environment.
While commenting on what to consider as the future of the PR and communication industry, in a webinar held by GLG communication, Jide Sipe, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications Ecobank Nigeria, said: “The future of PR is going to be dynamic, more relevant, and will create more direction for companies and for government institutions.”
Gregory Galant, CEO of Muck Rack, mentioned that speed and AI will have an impact on the future of PR.
He said: “We’ve been using AI for years now a lot of behind the scene things with how we do it and if you use our journals profiles or automatically discover who’s writing every article, we’ve always used a lot of AIS in addition to our human.
“Our editorial team, which has a lot of great professionals on it plus technology, is very powerful. We’ve since rolled out presspal.ai press release generator that helps you figure out whom to pitch. But, of course, and I think everyone should spend a lot of time playing with all the tools out there to really understand what they are,” he added.
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