PR isn't dead—it's the most strategic business function of 2025

Fast Company

03-06-2025

I saw a LinkedIn post last week from a CMO claiming PR was 'dead' and only about getting on 'Good Morning America.' I had to laugh. While this person was busy writing PR's obituary, the discipline was quietly transforming into the most valuable strategic function in modern business.
WHERE THE MONEY'S BEING MADE
Look, I get it. If you haven't paid attention since 2015, you might think PR is still just pitching press releases. But that's like saying marketing is just making brochures.
Here's what strategic PR is actually delivering:
When a tech company can't hire enough developers because Google and Amazon are snatching them all up, PR steps in to build an employer brand that positions them as the more interesting, innovative place to work. Suddenly, their application numbers jump 200%. That's not a 'soft' result—it's directly addressing the biggest business challenge they face.
Or, take that 50-year-old fintech company perceived as outdated. Its mainframe technology is actually cutting-edge, but who would know? Through strategic thought leadership placement and a narrative overhaul, PR shifts market perception from 'legacy dinosaur' to 'established innovator.' Soon, analysts mention them alongside flashy startups.
And Lord help the companies that go through mergers without PR guidance. I've watched it time and again—extensive M&A due diligence on the technology and finances, then complete chaos when nobody can explain what the combined entity actually does. Good PR creates coherent narratives that align internal teams while reassuring external stakeholders.
THE WOMEN REDEFINING THE FIELD
Watch what Allyson Park is doing at Walmart. She's seen PR's business impact throughout her career, noting that 'time and time again, I have seen the relevancy and results PR can create.' She's revamped how Walmart communicates across paid, owned, earned, and shared media, with measurable impact on consumer perception.
Beatriz 'Bea' Perez at Coca-Cola exemplifies how communications has evolved. As EVP and Global Chief Communications, Sustainability & Strategic Partnerships Officer, she spearheaded Coca-Cola's 'World Without Waste' program to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can they sell globally by 2030, transforming the company's reputation with environmentally conscious consumers.
The trend of PR professionals reaching the C-suite keeps accelerating. Last year, GE's Linda Boff and other marketing leaders moved into CEO roles. As Gartner analyst Ewan McIntyre puts it, this reflects 'a growing impetus on the marketing function to deliver growth.'
MY PERSONAL JOURNEY
I started as a tech journalist before joining a PR boutique when media relations meant actually building relationships with reporters. PR is no longer measured by clip counts—the industry has boomed to $129 billion because strategic communication delivers measurable business impact.
The distinction between internal and external communication is meaningless. Ever notice how quickly internal emails leak? Smart companies treat every communication as potentially public. PR pros now shape everything from all-hands meeting scripts to internal newsletters, ensuring what employees hear matches what customers and investors hear.
Builds Authority Through Targeted Channels
The media landscape has fractured into thousands of microchannels. Smart PR ignores the 'reach everyone' approach and instead targets the 3-4 podcasts, trade publications, or analyst reports that influence key stakeholders. One hit on an industry-specific podcast often delivers more value than a general business publication feature because you're reaching the right audience.
Connects Communication To Business Results
My firm tracks who sees our clients' content and what they do next. When we place a thought leadership piece, we can tell you exactly how many people visited the website, what pages they viewed, and whether they converted to leads or customers. PR and the sales funnel are inseparable strategic partners.
Prevents Reputation Disasters
A single Slack message can become tomorrow's headline. The 2025 Cision and PRWeek Comms Report found 96% of organizations experienced a crisis in the past two years. Companies with good PR teams recovered faster and faced less damage than those caught unprepared.
THE DANGEROUS GAP IN UNDERSTANDING
I see this gap at the top levels of too many companies. When CMOs dismiss PR as just media relations, they're about a decade behind reality—creating massive vulnerability for their organizations.
Modern PR encompasses everything from employee advocacy to social influencer strategy to crisis simulation. If your PR team is just pitching reporters, you have the wrong PR team.
INTEGRATION MAKES MAGIC HAPPEN
The Cision/PRWeek Report found that 84% of communications leaders report being consulted by C-suite executives more this year than ever. Yet only 18% of PR teams are properly integrated with marketing. That gap creates messaging chaos.
When PR and marketing operate in silos, you get the social team posting about product launches before the press release goes out, or contradicting the company's messaging. I've seen campaigns fall flat because the paid, earned, and owned strategies weren't aligned.
Warren Buffett gets it. His famous advice to Berkshire Hathaway employees says it all: 'Do nothing that you would not be happy to have an unfriendly but intelligent reporter write about on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper.' That's not just crisis prevention; it's strategic PR thinking at its finest.
WHERE IS THIS HEADING?
The most forward-thinking companies already treat PR as a strategic function creating measurable impact. Meanwhile, organizations still viewing communications as a cost center rather than an investment are creating dangerous blind spots in their business strategy.
What happens when a competitor reshapes market perception while you're still counting press clips? What's the cost when your antiquated crisis response takes three days instead of three hours? How do you measure the talent you never attracted because your employer brand was weak?
The reality in 2025 and beyond is that strategic communication directly affects business results. Companies that don't understand the new PR aren't just missing opportunities—they're creating competitive disadvantages.