PR predictions 2010 – some things we think could happen

Brands will become spikier
At the turn of this century many brands decided that they needed to stop sounding so stuffy and uptight and become approachable and down to earth – your mate in other words. Well, it worked well enough for Innocent Drinks, with their no-nonsense ‘tasty little drinks’ slogan. The nadir possibly came when I went into a high street bank this year and saw the sign ‘I want to help’ where ‘information’ should have been.

But now it’s time for a change. Nobody’s fooled anymore, especially in these times of anger and distrust. Customers are well aware that businesses are money-making concerns with board members to think of and revenue forecasts to meet.

Which is not to say copywriting can’t encourage a relationship between brand and customer; but writers are going to have to stop being so matey and cut to the chase. Customers want to know first and foremost what they’re getting from the deal and they want it in simple, non-patronising and entertaining ways. One great example is the recent Dixon’s tube ad (here being lambasted by John Lewis), which is knowing, urbane but definitely not cuddly. Expect to see more of this.

PR will bear the brunt of rising cynicism

By Charlie de Mierre, creative strategist

2009 was a difficult year for almost everyone in the UK, and so there remained an element of Blitz spirit as most of us faced the dark clouds of recession shoulder to shoulder.

Not so 2010, however. The predicted, but minimal, resurgence of the economy will see a rash of material graspingness by those in a position to, thus underlining the divide between them and the struggling majority. Cue a deeper sense of resentment and cynicism among the public, leading to deeper suspicion of the rich and powerful, both in terms of people and brands.

So the task of communicating products and services to them in a convincing and persuasive way becomes harder, especially for the PR industry, which deals directly with them more than any other marketing field. But one of the benefits of this unnatural selection, of course, is a more bountiful future.

We’ll complain more, especially about the weather. Business will want their voices heard in the run up to the election

By Neil Bayley, director

Last year we saw social media come of age in mobilising public opinion. This year we’ll see consumers increasingly threatening to use the power of social networks to exert pressure on businesses.

Unhappy customers are increasingly likely to go beyond writing to the Chief Exec or threatening to contact media by turning to their Twitter following to vent their frustration. They don’t need to threaten media exposure in the same way anymore.

The question is, will companies be in a position to detect a fledgling backlash and fight their corner effectively in these channels? The risks are high, but the reward will become increasingly valuable.

Weather will obsess us all

We’ll see the British obsession with weather reach new heights in 2010. Whether it’s doom mongering over climate change or calling for accountability in the face of extreme weather, the media will be writing about it.

For businesses, this means weather becomes a news agenda issue, eg how technology is alleviating climate change, how businesses are capitalising on seasonal irregularities, how service providers are coping with stress caused by weather.

Very few public-facing organisations will escape the influence of British weather – it’s a cultural influence after all! The smart ones will turn it, and the media’s interest, to their advantage.

Business will be watching the election

With many British companies weakened to the point of submission and fighting for survival in an economy burdened with debt, businessmen will be taking a greater interest in the political bun-fight that is the election than ever before.

I heard a great debate on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme last week in which home editor Mark Easton, political editor Nick Robinson and business editor Robert Peston discussed challenges facing a new government.

Regardless of the election result, they predicted a tough few years ahead for business and consumers as we try to rebalance our economy. Let’s hope our footballers can at least fill the media with some much needed cheer at the World Cup this year.

The World Cup will go social

By Chris Nee, social media planner

Being an obsessive follower of football and social media, it would be neglectful not to make a prediction based on this summer’s World Cup in South Africa. The last World Cup, in 2006, was the first in which bloggers played a part in the related online activity.

Now, the football blogosphere is much better established and beginning to take on a community feel as previously isolated bloggers socialise with one another, primarily on Twitter and Facebook.

Some sites are already have specific World Cup blogs up and running, and others are experimenting with tools like Google Wave with a view to employing them between June 11th and July 11th. The competition drives a significant amount of web traffic and as the pockets of community swell during the summer, PRs would do well to figure out how best to engage.

My prediction for 2010 is that this year’s World Cup will see a number of exciting new match tracking tools which analyse content from Twitter and turn it into something of value for football bloggers and supporters, for example visualisations or stat packs which will show who or what dominated conversation at any given time, during any game in the tournament.

ITV worked on one such tool with a web build agency then known as thruSITES for the 2009 FA Cup Final and it worked rather well. Mobile versions, particularly iPhone apps, are a must for the brands that go down this route. If you’re talking online about the World Cup in June and July, expect your comments to be analysed every which way by anyone with an interest in football chatter stats.

Come to think of it, it’ll be interesting to see how Twitter stands up to its first World Cup, especially when England play against the United States on June 12th.

2010, like 2009, 2008, 2007 and every year of the new millennium so far will be the year of the mobile and when location-based services come into their own. Probably.

British politicians will try and be Obama

By Kerry Gaffney, digital expert

What we will definitely see in 2010 is UK politicians trying to emulate the online success of Barack Obama in the run up to this year’s election. Hailed as the first ‘Social Media’ President, Obama’s team used a wide variety of platforms to engage with voters and to fundraise.

In the UK around 100 MPs have embraced Twitter according to TweetMinster and I think every MP now has their own website or blog. However how successful they will be remains to be seen. If the recent Conservative #Kerryout Twitter campaign against Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy is anything to go by, I doubt the UK’s elected representatives and their supporters for will be cited as best practise case studies once May rolls around.