What's behind the rise of 'corpsumer' PR, and what are the opportunities and challenges for communications professionals?
The media is shrinking: from business desk to one-man band
I was talking to a recruiter friend the other day who told me she was filling an agency role that covered external communications, internal communications, government affairs and marketing. That person is going to be spread pretty thinly. But businesses are trimming retainers while they widen scope, so agencies must respond.
The same is happening in the media. Earlier this year Ashley Armstrong, Business Editor of The Sun, took to LinkedIn to explain to PRs that there is no “business team” behind her. The business desk is her. She is, she said, “a one woman business band”. As a collective noun for a group of specialist journalists, the term “desk” is not long for this world.
Armstrong went on to explain that this meant that she was busy. I’ve no doubt. But it also likely means that her brief is only going to get broader. Her scope will stretch from companies to capital. Her day-to-day will be incredibly varied and she’ll be changing tack pretty quickly from one story to the next.
Why comms professionals need to widen their 'beat'
One of the most significant consequences of this shift is the rise of the word ‘corpsumer’. This is the evolution from multi-channel approaches to multi-audience considerations where we must target several groups.
If journalists are covering wider beats and reporters are wearing multiple hats, then communications professionals need to do the same, creating narratives compelling enough to stretch across business and consumer desks in order to generate maximum impact. We must return time and time again to good storytelling, making sense of the material impact of any given development and being able to communicate it clearly and effectively, regardless of the nuts and bolts of the subject matter.
It can be corporate clients who need to reach consumers, or vice versa. The work naturally becomes blended in approach, messaging and targets; this then plays out in how we pitch and to whom.
Lose sight of this and there is a risk PRs get stuck in the weeds, spending hours ensuring they come across as if they know what they are talking about instead of cutting through the details to emphasise what matters.
How to put 'corpsumer PR' into practice
In practice, corpsumer PR means stretching your day-to-day. All of your ideas need to start by bridging gaps and crossing specialisms. By starting with the broad approach, you are more likely to understand the wider impact and create a strong narrative.
It also means you need to be reading more widely, understanding shifts in consumer or market financials that you might not have had to before; and getting out and meeting journalists from different beats.
In time, this naturally means you’ll become a corpsumer PR, able to switch effortlessly from corporate to consumer, or perhaps, embody both.
I am always impressed how, if you flick through the Financial Times, the majority of stories reach well beyond the expected audience of any given topic. This is in part credit to the reporting, writing and editing, but also a product of the dilution of speciality. Read the Lex column and you’ll see technical market movements made relatable.
This direction of travel is only going to accelerate, through both the shrinking of traditional media and the generalisation of PR. This is not entirely a bad thing. It means that corporate stories require more personality, character that helps bridge gaps between audiences.
It’s an opportunity to do more for our clients, demonstrate our insights from different perspectives, and help them speak in exciting and unexpected ways.
Our top three tips for corpsumer PR success:
- Find the broader narrative behind your story.
- Meet journalists outside your traditional beat.
- Read more widely to bridge the gap between corporate and consumer stories.
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Roxhill’s all-in-one media intelligence platform will save you time, highlight your impact, and drive your business forward.
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