A call on the PR industry, an evolution of our field
By Jennifer Cloer
I never felt like I fit in with the PR industry. In the early 2000s, it was all pantsuits and PRSA – Public Relations Society of America. I remember going to my first PRSA conference in San Francisco and listening to Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher (both of the WSJ at the time) talk about working with flaks. I felt like such a pain in the ass, and I hadn’t called up one reporter yet.
Over the next 20 years, I learned how to share worthwhile stories with reporters, explore different angles and elevate technologists who were doing amazing things. In 2005, I stumbled into the Linux and open source communities and got drunk on collaboration, transparency and community (and I got to turn in my pantsuits for jeans). And in 2016 I started my own PR practice and independent storytelling work with the three-part docuseries the Chasing Grace Project.
Story Changes Culture combines all of this with both a PR consulting practice and a media platform that can elevate important and diverise voices that might not otherwise be heard. And, we counsel clients on how they can change culture with their stories and influence audiences in way that transforms.
My PR work is largely with tech entrepreneurs and leaders, enterprise software companies and open source communities and I feel honored to be able to help advance an industry-wide narrative about technology innovation. The work has never had more opportunity or more challenge.
Jennifer Cloer, in a rare pantsuit sighting
Over the last five years or so, tech has become a far more controversial industry and for good reason. While 10 years ago tech titans promised they were building a better, more equitable world for everyone, it’s become clear that as their original intentions crumbled in the face of financial incentives, they neglected to acknowledge the negative impacts of their work and to mitigate in a thoughtful way.
While we in tech pride ourselves on being agile, some of the largest tech companies in the world have been anything but.
That’s why as I look ahead, I believe PR will undergo a massive transformation for three reasons.
First, there's new expectations of C-level executives and companies to take positions on social issues. PR strategists and storytellers will need to work independently and in tandem with their clients to increasingly serve internal stakeholders. It will be particularly critical to employee retention of young professionals.
Second, there's increasing scrutiny on the use of misinformation. From the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma to Big Tech's congressional hearings, no one will get a pass on not acknowledging the danger in how information is shared and spread online. PR executives and storytellers will be increasingly called upon to advise on responsible storytelling, social media strategy and online security.
And lastly, there will be a collective call on the PR industry and content producers to examine trust and truth. As communications experts and architects, the industry's leaders have the opportunity to lead the discussion and be on the right side of history.
Now is the time to do that work.
If you have a story to share, please reach out directly. I’m at jennifer@storychangesculture.com If you’re a client looking for ways to rise above the increasingly noisy and chaotic media environment, let’s talk. And, if you’d like to explore the practice of PR more deeply, please subscribe to the Hyped podcast, a new series that I’m co-hosting and co-producing with longtime friend and colleague Amanda McPherson.