The past ten years have seen amazing changes in the role of PR in the marketing mix, and in the influence of communications leaders. On virtually all of our brands at P&G, and at many other companies, PR is now a regular source of big ideas that can become the inspiration for broader holistic marketing programs. And these programs are consistently top marketing ROI contributors. And by bringing relevant, game-changing external insights, communicators now have earned a seat at the business leadership table.
PRWeek has been an advocate and a guide for this transformation. You have highlighted great ideas, shared lessons from failures, and inspired business leaders and practitioners alike to shoot even higher. And there is so much more we can do.
Congratulations on 10 years of making a difference in our business. With change coming at us even faster than ever, your role will be even more important over the next 10 years!
Charlotte R. Otto
global external relations officer
Procter & Gamble
The past ten years may have been the most significant single decade our profession has ever seen. It has been a time of transformation, driven by the globalization of our clients' business… the digital revolution in communications … and our growing ability to serve clients as strategic counselors and integrators of business solutions.
Through it all, PRWeek has helped us understand, track, and take advantage of these and other trends affecting our business – delivering the sort of insight and perspective that makes all of us better at what we do.
Here's to the next 10 years. Happy anniversary!
John D. Graham
chairman
Fleishman-Hillard
The traditional gift for a 10th anniversary is an object made of aluminum. That doesn't sound all that enthralling, does it? But those of us in the PR industry who spend a lot of time in airplanes appreciate the value of the aluminum that surrounds us because it's a metal that has flexibility and strength.
Those are also the traits that have distinguished PRWeek in its first decade. The publication has shown great flexibility in identifying and covering new trends in our industry. The past 10 years have seen: the rise of digital and social media as important PR tools; the welcome trend of enterprises looking to their agencies as strategic partners; and the globalization of PR, as the industry has moved robustly into China, India, and other Asian markets. PRWeek has charted and analyzed these trends with great effectiveness.
As for strength, you have shown, over 10 years, that you support the PR industry, but are not just its cheerleaders. Single industry publications often lose their objectivity and ability to look critically at the businesses they cover – PRWeek has maintained its objectivity from the first issue.
Thank you for the past 10 years. I know you will keep to a high level of excellence for years to come.
Marcia Silverman
global CEO
Ogilvy PR
CONGRATULATIONS! I still recall arriving in the US over 10 years ago and being astounded that the only weekly published voice for our profession was a faxed newsletter. The first question was, ‘Do they take the PR
profession as seriously here as they do in the UK?'
Thankfully, PRWeek landed a few years later and gave our professionals the voice they deserved.
It's a voice that's had to adjust to an unprecedented period of change – one in which the very notion of public relations is being rewritten by conversations and the new power technology has given our publics.
We look forward to another 10 years!
Andy Lark
VP of global marketing
Dell
