"Maniacs kill genres" is so true!

Well, there's a phrase I've been hearing a lot lately that makes me mutter to myself, "Yeah, that's true..." so I'll share it here. "Every genre is killed by its own fanatics" is a famous quote from the owner of a pro wrestling organization that successfully revived its popularity after a period of decline. This time, I thought I'd explore this quote not from a target audience perspective, but from a PR viewpoint.

Essentially, even industries or companies that once captured society's attention as trends will miss opportunities to attract potential users or casual users if they only market to their existing core user base. Even if you have a solid core user base, growth isn't possible without expanding to a broader audience. Plus, there's always the risk of losing even your core users. Applying this to information dissemination: if you're only satisfied with reaching your core target group through core-targeted messaging, you'll gradually drift away from broader societal values. Ultimately, you'll shrink into a niche.

Companies need to understand this and actively adapt to the current environment or they'll just fade away.

Now, I know this sounds obvious—everyone's talking about how drastically society and the information landscape are changing. You might think, "Well, duh! We get it!" But the outcome differs vastly between companies actively striving to adapt and those clinging to old ways as opportunists. I've been pondering why this happens, so let me share my thoughts. Actually, this analogy applies perfectly to our PR industry too, so let's dive into that this month!

The more pampered an industry is, the harder it is to evolve

Think about how celebrities rise and fall. Those who rest on their explosive popularity and lack a mid-to-long-term plan for securing their position in the next growth phase quickly become relics of the past. It's common to see them reappear on "Where are they now?" shows after years of absence. Of course, some have deliberately retired from showbiz to pursue different paths, and seeing that can be heartwarming—"Ah, their life seems eventful, but they're living how they want." But many still quietly linger on the fringes of the industry, still active (?) in some capacity.

Well, every now and then, someone might suddenly make a comeback based on past anecdotes! It's not like there's no chance for that. So, there are probably cases where people are keeping a close eye out for that opportunity. On the other hand, there are those who make a comeback as solo singers after being in idol bands, then become skilled producers handling lyrics and composition, or leverage their clever talk to become in-demand hosts on variety shows. There are all sorts of career climbers following different paths. Behind the scenes, there might be agency strategists skillfully orchestrating these plans, and that's impressive in its own way.

Then there are stars who've stuck to their guns since debut, unwaveringly maintaining their style. But this only works because their main fanbase forms a core group that can energetically support them. As these artists age, it's clear their appeal will inevitably taper off. Becoming a legend after retirement might be cool, and those artists might be fine with that, but companies can't survive on that alone, right?

Adapting to the times is what enables sustainability.

Corporate policy is extremely important. However, stubbornly clinging to it while tacitly accepting a disconnect from the times is not acceptable. The key is to grasp the policy broadly and ensure you don't stray from its core domain. Stubbornness can sometimes be detrimental. "How closely can we align with society?" is a crucial management decision for a company's operations and continuity.

Now, I used the celebrity analogy, but every era has its emerging trend markets and domains that are fawned over. Take the 1990s when I joined a PR firm: markets like automobiles, cosmetics, fashion, gaming, finance, and IT were rapidly expanding. Numerous specialized media outlets proliferated within each industry. Companies could just sit back and still get media coverage and exposure. It was an environment where simply showing a "product" made everyone want it.

However, today consumer purchasing desire has plummeted dramatically, and products have fallen out of the public's sphere of interest. Naturally, the media that covered these sectors have largely disappeared, and those that remain have seen their circulation numbers drop drastically. This is clearly insufficient for raising societal interest. Therefore, we must strive to identify broader target audiences and find new information channels to reach them.

This might involve leveraging media from other industries, like the automotive sector exhibiting at global home appliance trade shows. It could be "experiential events" designed for social media amplification. Or, companies might expand their owned media channels to become information sources themselves. Companies that sincerely recognize the challenge of broadening their target audience and reaching them are already accelerating these efforts. Yet, some companies remain unaware. They fall into the illusion that they remain relevant within their industry simply because they continue to receive coverage from the surviving industry-specific publications mentioned earlier.

The routine media engagements they've always handled continue, preventing them from noticing the changing external environment beyond that. But alas, the expected reach of information beyond those interviews is dwindling alarmingly. To avoid this state, a fundamental rethink is required: resetting past information dissemination methods and neutrally building communication plans tailored to each moment's timing.

The PR industry faces the same shift; required skills are rapidly changing

Our industry is no exception. We must not view PR activities as merely providing manpower support or outsourcing tasks as clients demand. That is, simply writing press releases and distributing them to the usual media list. Recently, there are even wire services that offer distribution with pre-set industry-specific media lists, so it's possible to complete the task without managing media lists or engaging in dialogue with individual media outlets. But that's just broadcasting information; isn't it the same as advertising to the media? The point is, if we consider the media as representatives of the public, shouldn't we be thinking not just about raising awareness, but also about promoting understanding and strengthening empathy?

In the PR industry, there's a basic program called retainer, which involves a regular annual contract for ongoing work. Through information-sharing meetings with the client's representative (who might be from PR, general affairs, advertising, or even a business division), we collaboratively decide what information to share, who to target, when to share it, and how to measure results. Yet, even here, we're seeing a growing demand for something different from traditional outsourced retainer programs. It's about co-creating the information to be shared.

Routine items like standard corporate or product information can be handled through the previous outsourcing-style communication. But what's truly demanded is the expertise to uncover or create information within the company that captures the interest of media and consumers, and to shape it into something aligned with consumer concerns. If we fail to recognize this, the professional role of PR could easily be replaced by part-time workers. We must change our mindset too, right?

Precisely because society's interest in PR is growing, I feel it's crucial for us to proactively educate others to avoid misunderstanding PR as mere physical labor. And it's safe to say this field is expanding steadily and accelerating. Major changes are still coming to this PR industry. By the way, next time, let's talk about how PR firms come in all shapes and sizes! We'll introduce various boutique PR agencies. Just like in the advertising industry, boutique PR firms with diverse strengths are emerging. Why not consider such specialized approaches? Stay tuned~.