A new study by the University of Leipzig, produced in cooperation with the GPRA, examines the current changes in the communications landscape and the subsequent need for German communications and public relations agencies to alter the way they do business.
Specifically, the study looks at the consequences of European-wide trends towards greater interaction between companies and consumers, new avenues for gaining consumer trust, and new means of value creation by management in the implementation of Corporate and Brand/Product Communications.
Background research at the end of 2007 revealed an inherent paradox in the ‘changing landscape’: rising budgets, growing revenues and expanding staff on the one hand versus radical change in the structure of communication on the other, thanks to newly empowered consumers and new technologies that are fast making existing business models obsolete. Communications professionals are no longer the exclusive gate-keepers of pre-defined messaging and thus are faced with the need to seek alternative strategies and positioning for their clients.
These developments mean that it is more important than ever for companies to link business strategy with their communications, in the process integrating the use of both online and offline media. Measurement and evaluation of the impact of communications campaigns – identified by German firms as one of the greatest challenges over the next few years – is also of growing importance. Options for measurement include everything from qualitative and quantitative analysis of media clippings to opinions on the influence on reputation and stakeholder attitudes to direct effects on stock performance.
Meanwhile, the study notes that big companies feel increasingly unable to keep track of the changing communications landscape alone. This dynamic leaves room for greater collaboration with specialised communications firms, potentially altering the classic ‘client-service provider’ relationship in Germany to that of a strategic partnership in which the agency acts as a consultant on the latest trends and teaches how to exploit new technologies.
However, the problem in Germany, according to these companies, is that large differences exist in the quality of personnel – and their respective skill sets – from one agency to the next. Organisations that don’t yet feel they can locate the expertise they need in external agencies are therefore continuing to build up in-house capabilities. Inherently, though, agencies still offer the advantages of international networks with country-specific services as well as a unique ability to deliver opinion research and evaluation.
Based on the overall analysis of the current situation then, the authors pose six challenges to communications agencies that wish to succeed in this new landscape:
- Become trend scouts and navigators for the changing media environment
- Gain competency in creating dialogue across all possible channels
- Build up skills in video and face-to-face communications
- Highlight specialised knowledge, also in the international arena
- Create transparency in communications processes and their chains of effect
- Become a sparring partner to clients for strategy and communication planning
Only by adapting and embracing these new scenarios, they argue, will German public relations and communications firms continue to thrive.
A full copy of the report is available (in German) for download here or on www.iccopr.com.
