Krystabell Amor, Founder & Lead Strategist, Krysel Brands GM, has stressed the need for public relations practitioners to embrace more creativity.
Making the above assertion during an exclusive interview with MARKETING EDGE, Amor argued that public relations practitioners need to embrace more creativity to effectively capture the minds of their target audience for affinity. She noted that the practice should be driven by innovative measures and disruptive approaches leading to some social impact, adding that with the new paradigm shift in technology, PR has evolved new consumer thinking and behaviour in the world of communication.
According to her, the need for creativity cannot be over-emphasized because every brand wants to get consumers’ attention and not being creative enough will mean losing customers who do not have patience for long attention. Originality and authenticity, she stated, lie in what PR practitioners can create in a few seconds because they need to carve a niche and build a community of people who are interested in a client’s brand while being strategic on any creative they put out.
While assessing the industry, Amor noted that PR has really evolved as people are beginning to understand the importance of customers. “PR is expanding. As of 2020, it was calculated that the global PR market is worth 88 billion USD, by the end of 2025, the industry is expected to surpass a value of 129 billion USD, at a CAGR of 7.4 percent.
“Opportunities in the PR sector are the wide range of tools for monitoring, tracking, ease, and writing. PR appears hard in the dynamics of the Nigerian system in profitability and honesty. Some think PR is propaganda. PR is to tell true stories and build reputation and also to manage crises. PR is perception change and you can do that through storytelling. It helps to shape any brand the way you want the receiver to get it,” she said.
“In Nigeria, we don’t have enough data to get insight; a lot of companies don’t find time to gather data,” she added.
“PR is one of the most important segments in the marketing mix. At the early stage of business design when you understand what your business is about, after creating your business model, value chain and others, it is the communication of all these that will make brands to gain the trust of customers and influence purchase.
“PR secures a space in the mind of the consumer, and digital disruption has shaped PR, while the Internet of Things (IoT) is revolutionising consumer behaviour and their interaction with brands. PR managers need to look beyond editorial and try to secure spaces in the mind of their consumers, experiential growth of online media as not reduce the commerciality of print media body influence. Everyone is online, PR managers are on their toes because anything can happen and it is important that we stand as advocates for brands through storytelling as a manager,” Amor noted.
Amor is also the DSP, Relations Continued Entertainment, SSA, Media & Public Relations, and Member, Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA).
