PR Goals and Aspirations to Work Toward in 2016

Courtney Lukitsch

As strategic and creative planners, PR professionals welcome each new business year, as it provides the opportunity to expand upon goals and aspirations, both internal to an agency and externally, client-side.

A topic close to our hearts at Gotham PR is the need for creative leadership. As our industry continues to expand its purview into content marketing, social media and digital media relations, it becomes more important than ever to maintain a creative edge on the competition.

The need for creative leaders is not a new topic, yet one that has little written on the importance and impact it may have for business. Published via PRNewser and O’Dwyers, iterations of this concept are seen as auspicious for 2016.

Attributes that the Harvard Business Review emphasizes for creative leadership include the following characteristics:

• They build core enthusiast communities inside and outside of their organizations
• They jump-start their innovation journey with storytelling
• They achieve big change through a series of small experiments

An interesting prognostication from the C-Suite, according to a recent Forbes forecasting study for 2016, is that digital marketing will cease, as marketers shift to marketing in a digital world. This is already in evidence within the PR industry.

On the resolution side of the business, PR pros may also adapt new behaviors that they can also leverage to the benefit of clients.

According to the Observer, be mindful of the 12 habits that are killing productivity. These include efficiency hacks that include focus rather than multi-tasking; setting boundaries as to the number of emails sent and checked incessantly; delegating responsibilities and tasks on the agency team; knowing how to say no; track results and increase reporting; establish routines; and work shorter but more effective hours.

Maintain a sense of humor PR people! An excellent appropriation of a social media pop cultural phenomenon on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Celebrities Reading Mean Tweets, the PR world now has its own via PR Daily. Enjoy PR Pros reading ‘Mean Media Tweets’ as it parodies the importance of taking things with a grain of salt, reminding all to embrace the New Year in a lighthearted manner.

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Courtney Lukitsch is Principal & Founder of Gotham Public Relations with offices in New York & London.