Perhaps the most potent symbol of PR's evolution in recent years is the seeming scarcity of "public relations" and "PR" in job titles. The growth of PR itself is to blame. The term "PR" hardly encompasses what brand communicators are now asked to do by their organizations or clients. If you're charged with building brand awareness and you're not placing ads in print publications—I saw one of those just last week—or working with an ad agency on a TV campaign, you're doing some form of PR, whether you're aware of it or not.
The PR pro of 2000 had to master media relations, crisis communications, internal communications, media training and change management. The brand communicator of 2017 very likely must master those same areas, as well as social media, data and analytics, visual storytelling, influencer marketing, SEO, content marketing and even advertising. This expansion of PR has been driven by technology, of course, but also by the communicators themselves, each of whom must be a jack of all trades and master of all.
PR News recently asked its community to tell us who should be listed among the top game-changers of PR in the last few years—individuals who have been accelerating the expansion and growth of brand communication. Here is our list of 50 Game-Changers of PR, culled from our community's submissions. (We'll soon be publishing profiles of all the Game-Changers.)
Jim Abernathy
Executive Chairman
Abernathy MacGregor
Kara Alaimo
Assistant Professor of Public Relations
Hofstra University
Lubomir Alamanov
Managing Partner
SiteMedia Consultancy
Maria Benvenuti
President
Benvenuti Public Relations
Melissa Brotz
Divisional Vice President, Head of Public Affairs
Abbott
Natalie Boden
President
Boden
Nikki Carlson
Co-Founder
ChicExecs PR & Branding, Chic Blvd. Inc.
Bobbie Carlton
Founder
Innovation Nights and Innovation Women
Steve Cody
CEO
Peppercomm
Lauren de la Fuente
VP, Marketing + Communications
Boingo Wireless
Jamie Diaferia
CEO
Infinite Global
Serge Dumont
Vice Chairman, Chairman Asia Pacific
Omnicom Group Inc.
Judy Evola
Director of Community Relations and Marketing
Walled Lake Schools
Erin Flior
Senior Director, Digital Communications
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Patricia Green
Founder & Chief Strategist
The Patricia Green Group
John Guilfoil
Principal
John Guilfoil Public Relations LLC
Tahoma Guiry
CMO
K9s For Warriors
James F. Haggerty
President & CEO
PRCG | Haggerty
Joy Hays
Chief Storyteller & Social Strategist
AT&T
Bruce Hennes
Managing Partner
Hennes Communications
Kathleen Henson
Founder & CEO
Henson Consulting
Catherine Hernandez-Blades
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
Aflac
Ahmad Itani
COO
Cicero & Bernay
Katie Keating
Global Social Brand Strategy Lead
IBM
Melissa Keklak
CEO/Founder
MMKpr
Anastasia Khoo
Chief Marketing Officer
Conservation International
Malorie Lucich
Product and Tech PR
Pinterest
Josh Martin
Senior Director of Social Media Marketing
Arby's
Beth Monaghan
CEO & Co-founder
InkHouse
Cooper Munroe
CEO
The Motherhood Inc.
Philip Nardone, Jr.
President & CEO
PAN Communications
Crosby Noricks
Founder and Director
PR Couture
Joshua Peck
Senior Manager, Media Relations
Duane Morris
Allen Plummer
Content Marketing & Social Strategist, Institutional Business
Vanguard
Karen Raskopf
Chief Communications Officer
Dunkin’ Brands
Kelly Rossman-McKinney
Principal and CEO
Truscott Rossman
Nicole Rodrigues
Founder & CEO
NRPR Group
Gloria Rodriguez
President and CEO
Comunicad LLC
Alyson Roy
CEO/Co-Founder/Partner Publicist
AMP3 Public Relations
Steven Shapiro
Founder & President
Communications Strategy Group
Morris Silver
Founding Managing Partner
Finn Partners/M. Silver
Dan Simon
CEO and Co-Founder
Vested
Elizabeth Sosnow
Managing Partner
Bliss Integrated Communication
Xurxo Torres
CEO
Torres y Carrera
Cindy Villafranca
Senior Communications Specialist
Southwest Airlines
Lars Voedisch
Managing Director & Principal Consultant
PRecious Communications
Larissa von Lockner
PR & Social Media Manager
PwC
Vanessa Wakeman
Founder and CEO
The Wakeman Agency
Heather Whaling
Founder/President
Geben Communication
Anna Ruth Williams
Founder + CEO
AR|PR