I recently attended a panel discussion on “Public Relations in 2025,” hosted by the Cincinnati PRSA chapter. The impressive panel included marketing and PR leaders from a global manufacturer, integrated PR and marketing agency, public sector service organization, nonprofit entertainment organization and regional higher education institution.
While far-ranging, the discussion was driven by a core theme: Make sure PR adds value within organizations. As professional communicators in an ever-changing world, we’re all juggling new technologies, demands and societal pressures. The panelists’ advice varied about how to ensure PR’s value, but the foundation was consistent: Start by answering the “So what?” and “Why?” questions.
- “So what?”: Know how something — from the rise of AI to the fallout of a hard-hitting news story to an issue your instincts tell you may be coming down the pike — may impact your organization and its mission-critical audiences. Consider all the facts, and counsel against the urge to respond prematurely.
- “Why?”: Articulate precisely why it matters to your organization and those most important to your existence and future success.
Answers will differ for each organization, but the point was to make sure a room full of PR leaders could first answer those questions for their own organizations.
To truly add value, these professional communicators must distill ongoing, complex and extensive information and provide context and perspective within their organizations. Let’s examine those just a bit:
- Distillation: A professional communicator needs to distill everything down to its essence and real meaning for their organization.
- Context: Providing context means having the experience and ability to articulate to your organization’s leaders what you’ve distilled — and its significance. In other words, how might it impact the organization?
- Perspective: Provide leaders with a nuanced understanding of relevant issues by explaining different angles, implications and potential impacts to your organization.
Not surprisingly, the abstract soon became very real. The panel members were put on the spot when asked how they are addressing the high volume of perceived or enacted changes being driven in nearly every government agency by the recent transition of the Office of the President of the United States and the new administration.
Great counsel was provided. In essence, these PR leaders built on their responses to the first question.
- Distillation: Make sure you can articulate what the changes mean to your organization.
- Context: If you recommend a response from your organization, make sure you can justify why you feel the need to respond, and how to do so.
- Perspective: Understand and articulate the consequences of responding or not responding.
While the political leanings of the room may or may not have been aligned with the current presidential administration, the experience-laden responses from the panelists steered clear of encouraging professional communicators to insert their own political leanings into organizational PR decisions. Instead, they reminded attendees to ask “So what?” and “Why?” and let the answers guide any decisions.
Sounds like good counsel to me.
