Major PR Trends To Look For in 2025!

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Chapters

• 0:59 Public Relations Trends 2025
• 5:17 Media Transition and Authenticity in Communication
• 19:51 Navigating Online Media and Brand Partnerships
• 32:02 Evolving Role of Public Speaking
• 42:37 Brand Inc PR Podcast Interview

Transcript

Announcer: 1:00

Welcome. This is the Public Relations Review Podcast, a program to discuss the many facets of public relations with seasoned professionals, educators, authors and others. Now here is your host, peter Woolfolk.

Peter Woolfolk: 1:20

Welcome to the Public Relations Review Podcast and to our listeners all across America and around the world. Now this podcast is ranked by Apple among the top 1% of podcasts worldwide, so let me say thank you to all of our guests and listeners for being the basis for this ranking and, of course, if you enjoy the podcast, we'd certainly like to get a review from you. Now question for the audience. It's now 2025. What are some important trends in public relations you should be aware of? Well, my guess is five trends she has determined that should be on your radar.

Peter Woolfolk: 1:54

She has a distinguished 15-year career in strategic communications, digital marketing and publicity event. Now, add to that, she is also a doctoral candidate at liberty university, pursuing her doctorate in strategic media communications. Further, she was also a national chair for the public relations society of america's entertainment and sports executive committee, and she is also linked to many other organizations. So joining me today, all the way from austin te, texas, is Brandi Sims, founder and CEO of Brand Inc PR and the host of the Brand Inc podcast. So, brandi, welcome to the podcast.

Brandi Sims: 2:32

Thank you for having me and I love that intro. I really appreciate it.

Peter Woolfolk: 2:36

Well, I always try to read it so I make sure I have it right and give everybody an understanding of who the talent is going to be on the show. Well, I always try to read it so I make sure I have it right and, you know, give everybody an understanding of who you know the talent is going to be on the show.

Brandi Sims: 2:46

Well, absolutely Well, you definitely didn't skimp on mine, so I appreciate it.

Peter Woolfolk: 2:50

Okay, well now, basically, this came about because I read in PRSA's open forum maybe a week or so, over a week ago, that you had invited people to listen to your podcast about the five trends that you see developing for 2025. And, as a result, I reached out to you to come on our podcast to talk about what those trends were.

Brandi Sims: 3:12

Absolutely Well, definitely happy to do that and and so glad that you saw that post. But yes, I wanted to share just some helpful insight and an awareness into some of the trends that are happening within the PR and communications industry this year and just kind of a future look how things are going to continue on, just based on the trajectory. But yes, there are five top PR trends that I wanted to share that professionals should be on the lookout for and should be on the watch for. Starting with the first one I really wanted to focus on how are we learning about the media landscape now as it stands, with the inclusion of new technology as well as newer platforms, and my first trend to watch out for is media pros turning into content creators.

Brandi Sims: 4:05

So one thing that we've observed just in the last few years is that there has been a significant increase of layoffs with media professionals from reporters, journalists and traditional media outlets. We've seen a rise in the layoffs of those in their positions and because of this, now we're seeing almost a shift from those traditional media outlets to them choosing to create their own platforms and actually capitalize on their own opportunities by creating their own platform, whether it be a newsletter. I know many people are familiar with Substacks. That has been a primary driving source for former media journalists, reporters, et cetera to create their own separate platform and generate their own fan base and audience, as they're doing their own content and really independent content creation. So this is a trend that we're absolutely looking at and we're seeing more of a shift of of media pros that are choosing to become content creators in and of itself and on their own by developing their own platforms that have garnered their own separate attention outside of a traditional media outlet source quick question now.

Peter Woolfolk: 5:18

Have you noticed, though, whether there's any particular of the size of it? Is it more TV reporters, radio reporters, print reporters or a combination thereof?

Brandi Sims: 5:27

So there's definitely a decrease in all of the above.

Brandi Sims: 5:30

There's not as many journalists and reporters that are available to report on the news, whether it be from radio, print or television.

Brandi Sims: 5:37

There's just not that many to report on these things and so, in turn, they're becoming more selective of the stories that they choose to cover.

Brandi Sims: 5:47

There is a talent, almost celebrity angle, but I think that's always existed. I think it's just getting a little bit more honed in because there's only so many reporters to report on certain news, so they're incredibly selective on what they choose to allow on the platform. So it definitely is going to be one where they're looking for stories that are going to get more eyeballs watching or reading about it, as well as more listeners that are going to tune in for it. So they're definitely trying to get the most bang for their buck, if you will, but with that, because there's only so many of them, you also have to think of the caveat of delay offs existing and decreasing those employment opportunities for them. So there's almost like this push and shift into digital platforms that are kind of forcing those journalists and reporters to adapt and they've adapted pretty successfully, I would say if they've created their own platforms, created their own subscribers and their own brand awareness in and of itself and actually developing a significant following that has resulted in monetization on their own.

Peter Woolfolk: 6:52

Well, you know, one of the things that I've noticed sort of supplement what you said I've actually had several former have been a combination of both print, particularly television, folks that have actually started their own public relations firms I've interviewed several of them. One, as a matter of fact, wrote a great book about it. I had her on Ann Page, I believe it is. She was on sometime last year or so and she seems to be doing seemingly well. So I mean, I can certainly support the fact that you've got media pros making the conversion.

Brandi Sims: 7:21

Absolutely. I agree wholeheartedly. You know, I think it's great that journalists and reporters are deciding to almost take matters into their own hands and not just kind of be left to fall with the ship right. They're looking at opportunities, they're being adaptable and they're finding ways to help and assist business owners and consumers with the very thing that they deal with, which is communication. So I think it's great. I love to see more media pros shifting and transitioning into PR. I think that PR and journalism in and of itself are very in line with one another. You PR, there is no journalist. Without journalists, there is no PR. We're all very much working on the same sheet of music. So it makes sense for the proper transition to be for those that decide to do this is create their own agency where they can continue to share stories, compelling, interesting stories that help to foster awareness and growth on behalf of their clientele. So I'm all for it.

Peter Woolfolk: 8:25

Well, I support you and I certainly tip my hat to you for making this. You know, just raising the visibility of this taking place. I sure appreciate that. So what's number two for you?

Brandi Sims: 8:37

Yes, yes, okay. So then number two. So we talked about media pros kind of turning into content creators. The second one is really a focus on the technology side of things and I'm specifically sharing that. I believe that there's going to be a dial back on AI and, more specifically, chat GPT. So now, while there's some folks that are just getting hit the chat GPT and the use of AI in terms of productivity and growth within their businesses, others have been using this quite some time.

Brandi Sims: 9:09

I mean I can say that our agency at Branding PR, we adopted AI very early on at the start of the agency, around 2020. So we had already been utilizing it, teaching on it, as well as incorporating it into our own tools and resources to help improve that productivity and efficiency within the business. So we had already been doing it, but there's some that you know it took a little bit longer to adapt and now we're seeing kind of the result of that. So why I believe that there is going to be a dial back in the youth of this is consumers are starting to recognize what is an AI quote, unquote driven post and what is an authentic human driven content that's being shared here. So, for example, you know we've all seen the post where it starts with exciting news, thrilling news. Well, let's just be real. Not everything is very thrilling and not everything is always exciting.

Brandi Sims: 10:07

There is some exciting news, don't get me wrong, but not every time is it exciting news. Every week you have exciting news. Every day you have exciting news. It gets old and it's kind of a part of the blueprint and framework of chat GPT and it's an easy indicator that you're using that to replace actual, real content. So what I think in 2025 is that we're going to see a dial back by brand small business owners of the use of chat GPT because, slowly but surely, becoming that thing where, okay, I see you guys aren't really authentic.

Brandi Sims: 10:40

You just plugged it into ChatGPT. It spit out what you wanted. You didn't even tailor it towards your brand, you just kind of copy-paste it, in which case you're not a brand that I want to identify with or associate with, because I look for authentic brands, I look for brands that speak to me. This is kind of what's coming from the consumers. So, because of that, you're going to see the dial back of folks really being intentional in its use of ChatGPT, and that is. It's a tool. It's simply that it's not a replacement. Very, very important to be aware of that. It is simply a tool. But also, as you're using this tool, just make sure that you are not only aware that it is just a tool, but also that you're still bringing the true authenticity of your brand out of your communication and your messaging when you're using these types of platforms and tools well, let me say I certainly, you know, tip my hat to you for that, because I certainly do use chat GPT.

Peter Woolfolk: 11:37

but one of the things once it gives me basically what I've asked for, then I take a look at it and then I start making adjustments to it so it sounds like me and can add the specifics on it that it lacks, that it doesn't have the information that I have, but make sure that's included in there. So for more, for me it's a time saver. I don't have to sit down and think of a lot of things, just crank out the basics for me. I'll take it from here and plug this in, change that and leave this out altogether. You know, make those modifications so that it fits exactly to what it is I'm looking for.

Brandi Sims: 12:11

Absolutely Well. You're absolutely using it the right way. You know. You recognize very early on, too, that it's very much just a tool. You don't want it to become this thing, that it replaces your own thoughts, your own insight, your own expertise. It needs to be something that can help simply with the efficiency of getting the work done. So definitely use AI sparingly. Always incorporate your unique perspective to make sure that your stuff stands out. I think is the biggest takeaway for number two.

Peter Woolfolk: 12:42

Well, I certainly appreciate that, because you're absolutely right. Chad GBT is a time saver, but it should not become you or represent you. It's just helping you save time getting done what you need to get done.

Brandi Sims: 12:56

Absolutely I can't agree more to get done. Absolutely I can't agree more. So that's definitely one that we'll start to see more and more brands as they're building their communication along. You're going to start to see more of those authentic, human driven types of content because they want to resonate with consumers and not resonate. You can't resonate with a robot.

Brandi Sims: 13:18

You need to resonate with a human and we want to resonate with a human, we can. So that's the way to go about it is focusing on that human-driven content, not so much the robotic responses that we've unfortunately kind of grown accustomed to the last few years.

Peter Woolfolk: 13:34

Well, in addition to that, though, depending upon the audience you're dealing with, I mean, there might be some cultural issues, there might be some ways of going about things or saying certain things, and if you overlook that you know you're absolutely right you can basically harm what it is you're trying to get done simply because you're trying to speed it up, but in the process of speeding up you actually missed the target. So I certainly agree with you, you know, put it to your advantage, but don't let it skew who you are.

Brandi Sims: 14:04

It's something that it reinforces the importance of that true authenticity.

Brandi Sims: 14:10

You have to bring that forth anytime you're dealing with brain communications and content.

Brandi Sims: 14:16

That's at the pinnacle and the source of it all is what is our story that we're wanting to tell and how can we bring about our best self each time that we tell this story? And that starts with just getting real about it and being honest about it. But yes, the tool is there. It's there to help you, it's there to polish, but it's also there to remind you of how important that your authenticity is cleared completely through the way and that you are reinforcing this every time that you're using this. Tailor it, clip it, you know, edit it, update it. You know, one of the things that chat always shares whenever you're submitting any type of prompt is make sure that you tailor it towards your language or tailor it towards your goal or your angle, and I think that's still a very, very important thing, and I'm glad that it's still on there to remind folks that you know this is here to help you, but at the same time, you definitely still want to tailor and shape this language to yourself. That makes sense for your audience, absolutely.

Peter Woolfolk: 15:20

Let me just add to that. It's just interesting that you brought that up, because we just did an episode on storytelling and one of the things that came out of that the important thing is you've got to be authentic and connect with your audience, because if you don't, your audience could be very suspicious and might start to do a U-turn on you, very suspicious, and might start to do a U-turn on you.

Brandi Sims: 15:44

Oh yes, and you see it all the time. I'm sure you've seen the campaigns where audience members will really turn on these brands that they love, all for poor storytelling or, you know, a misfire in the communications. But I mean, you're exactly right. You know you can lose out and really really good followers, fans and consumers of your brand by simply taking, I would say, even the easy way out of just the copy paste Well, what's been done before? Let me just go and do that so we can get it done and check the box to say that we've done it, and it's going to end up causing you more harm than good by doing it this way. Be intentional about your communication, be intentional about your usage of this new tech, software and tools and be intentional about your brand and the overall vision. Your communication flows from it. So when you show up authentically, people will gravitate towards that quicker than they will someone that's being inauthentic and disingenuous.

Peter Woolfolk: 16:43

Well, let me tip my hat to you for bringing that to everyone's attention, and obviously you've got number three here, so this is another one that folks need to pay attention to.

Brandi Sims: 16:54

Yes, yes, absolutely, yes, yes, absolutely. So the next one that we have as far as PR trends to watch for 2025, is we're going to see more online media collaboration. So oftentimes, you know and I'm sure you can say the same dealing with clients, you know, there's always this sigh of goodness when we're talking about okay, so these are the media outlets we're going to reach out to. We're going to mix traditional media as well as digital, and everyone's all excited when we're talking about radio and television appearances or newspaper or magazines. So, when we get to podcasts and blogs, we often hear the oh gosh, you know those little things or those little platforms. Well, let's just be honest these aren't little platforms anymore.

Brandi Sims: 17:42

I read a report and study recently that showed that it actually was the Nielsen report for this year. It actually showed that 60% of consumers use and rely on social media, and specifically digital media, as their source of news information. So they rely on it 60%. It's the first time it's ever been this high, and it's actually over the percentage of individuals that still rely on traditional media as their news source. So, just to kind of break it down, 60% of people said that I look to social media to find out what's happening in the world, versus about 53% are still looking for the newspaper or looking for television to let them know what's going on in the world. That's a huge thing. So we have 60% of people that are saying that social media and digital platforms are where they're finding out about their news. That's a huge thing.

Brandi Sims: 18:37

So we can't dismiss and act like digital media isn't a source of information or a source for people to tune into. They are already tuning in. So, with that being said, this is going to require many brands if they haven't done so already which I mean goodness, why haven't you? But this is going to require them to really adopt and adapt to using and being on podcasts, blogs, digital media as a part of their media collaborations. There's not any more time to waste not being on there.

Brandi Sims: 19:16

I think of the example of more recently, there was a podcast called or, it really is a podcast, it's still active called Call Her Daddy, who actually secured a $30 million deal with Sirius FM it's the highest deal that's ever been recorded in history for podcasts and was able to secure this because they were receiving multi-millions in listeners and viewers in each episode that they were recording.

Brandi Sims: 19:44

So they have a huge, huge following of both listeners and viewers that were tuning into this to be able to secure that deal. So we got to go and ask ourselves you know, are we really still in the space of? Oh, online media platforms aren't serious? We can't be, because why they're booming? They're booming and this is an opportunity for brands to really hone in and collaborate and find more opportunities with media platforms that are online. It's definitely not enough anymore to just be on traditional media because, as I mentioned before in that data report, people aren't looking at the traditional media the same way that they were 20 years ago heck, even 10, even five years ago. They are leaning more towards these digital platforms. So we have to make a concerted effort to be engaging on these platforms, otherwise we risk, you know, falling by the wayside.

Peter Woolfolk: 20:38

Well you know one of the things that Well, you know, one of the things that I certainly you know. Salute you for saying that. The one thing that I always advise people to do, of course, is when they're using or listening to information off the internet or other digital platforms, consider the source, because there's also so much misinformation that's being put out there and if you have some concerns, I would double-check the information. Go to sources you know are reliable to double-check what's being said, because foreign countries are doing it to us, we're doing it to each other around the country and those sort of things.

Brandi Sims: 21:13

So certainly consider the source before you jump up and go take some actions, because you heard it on somebody, somebody's podcast oh, absolutely, and I'm so glad that you mentioned that, because there is that caveat right that now we're dealing with more misinformation and disinformation when you're dealing with online uh media and platforms. And it's largely because, again, again, new media is still fairly new. It's only been about 20 to 30 years. It's still fairly new and a lot of the typical requirements for media don't apply to social media and blogs and so on and so forth. They don't really fall under the same requirements like, say, your code of ethics for journalism or your code of ethics in terms of communication.

Brandi Sims: 21:58

They don't fall under that. So therefore, there is a lot of room for journalism or your code of ethics in terms of communication. They don't fall under that. So therefore, there is a lot of room for error with them. So you definitely need to be very, very careful in the blogs, in the platforms that you choose to be on.

Brandi Sims: 22:09

In terms of online media, even more recently, just in this last week and a half, meta, which is kind of the conglomerate of Facebook and Instagram, announced that they would no longer be fact-checking, so that's going to open the door for a slew of, I would think, misinformation and disinformation without penalty. So we're going to see what that's going to look like, but I would largely kind of expect to see more polarizing content, more divisive content, as they kind of navigate the lack of fact-checking, which is going to open the door to even more issues. But I anticipate that it's going to be interesting in this next couple of months. Now that they've kind of taken away the parameters and filters for disinformation, it's definitely going to set the stage for even bigger conversations. We'll probably need a follow-up, honestly, peter.

Peter Woolfolk: 23:02

Well, you know, I think one of the things that's going to happen is that, somehow or another, folks are going to too many people are going to respond to some misinformation the wrong way or have some problems from it and, as a result of that, when it really starts to explode, then people will start to say hey, wait a minute, let's get back to what you know. How you guys particularly, as you said, facebook and others like that you know, somebody has got to make sure that what we're being given is accurate and is not dangerous or inflammatory or something along those lines. So I think, by them taking that particular guard fence down, it's going to cause some problems and those problems, sooner or later, are going to come back to bite them.

Brandi Sims: 23:41

I agree wholeheartedly. It's going to be interesting to see it. But you're exactly right. You know, when we don't have these safeguards and perimeters in place, it does make room for a lot of error and a lot of crisis. So it'll be really interesting to see how this navigates moving forward and how really we navigate moving forward.

Brandi Sims: 23:58

I think, more importantly, for those that are brand owners or small business owners, I think the biggest thing for this particular group is just to be very intentional again about your content and your information. Just because there's no fact check doesn't mean that people won't fact check you when you're sharing information and you're sharing content on these platforms, because you could end up in a huge, huge crisis and backlash in terms of your own fans and followers because you misappropriated information or you provided misinformation and you get called out. I've seen too many brands that I can count that have got caught up with, you know, using a false narrative or a false claim and quickly being checked about it by their own consumers and experiencing significant backlash for it. So you know, without these safeguards and perimeters, it's really going to be up to these brands to make a true concerted effort to make sure and verify your sources, your information before you share it on these platforms. Otherwise, you're going to be in big trouble in terms of crisis situations. Moving forward.

Peter Woolfolk: 25:16

You know, I was just going to say that because crisis communications is a huge issue too and unfortunately a lot of firms just don't know how to handle that properly issue too, and unfortunately a lot of firms just don't know how to handle that properly.

Peter Woolfolk: 25:32

And you, know putting out a fire is not as easy as you think, particularly if it's something that's been said over the internet. Now you've got something that's going outside of your neighborhood or your state or whatever, and you've got a problem much bigger than you thought you had, and it probably might cost you dearly to try to resolve it. So, as you said, be careful, consider the source. It's probably the best way of looking at something like that.

Brandi Sims: 25:50

You're so right. Consider that source proactive as you're considering the source. That's part of that.

Peter Woolfolk: 25:56

I agree with you. So, why don't we consider number four now?

Brandi Sims: 26:02

Oh, yes, yes. Let's consider number four, which is kind of getting into more partnerships. You know we talked about online media collaborations and seeing more of that. I think in this next year there's going to be more creative brand partnerships and we saw examples of this in the previous year. Using the example of the Deadpool versus Wolverine movie marketing campaign, which is one of my favorite ones of last year, we saw an example of how you can use very unconventional brand collaborations to hone in on your messaging but also amplify your messaging. We saw this movie combine and work with brands like Heinz and Heinz ketchup and mustard to be able to generate the buzz and the attention that they were looking for.

Brandi Sims: 26:48

But we also saw partnerships with apparel. We saw partnerships and collaborations with podcasts, which kind of just mentioned that in the previous example of just more of an increase of larger brands tapping into those online media sources, of larger brands tapping into those online media sources. So definitely thinking of these creative brand partnerships are going to be a thing to watch for in 2025. You're going to see a lot of unconventional partnerships, a lot of thinking outside of the box, but these are going to help amplify these messages even forward just in a very, very different way than they've done in the past, which is going to make all the difference and it's kind of part of why we saw such a success, especially in the box office for this movie.

Brandi Sims: 27:33

I think they raised well over $100 billion in this film and the same thing with even another more recent one with Wicked. We saw a lot of unconventional brand partnerships take place here that typically they wouldn't work with or they wouldn't partner with, but there were several viral moments of the stars of the show that appeared on podcasts in the same news cycle and media cycle that they would typically do with traditional media for an entire PR rollout. So there's definitely going to be more of that concerted effort to be creative with the types of brands that are being partnered with and aligning with. As well as that, more diverse online platforms being added into the mix of PR rollouts alongside traditional media. That is totally, totally unconventional, but absolutely well worth it and certainly amplifying those messages.

Peter Woolfolk: 28:30

Well, you know, the movies have been doing that for a long time. Television as well. When you got to see a certain brands up close, you could actually see what the name is Coca Cola or Dr Pepper or Heinz ketchup, those kinds of things. So there was a little bit of a forerunner for those kinds of things happening, and it's getting carried over to the digital age now as well.

Brandi Sims: 28:53

Yes, oh, 100%. You know, it's almost like a recycle of history, right, and I'm sure you can speak to this very well is a lot of the times. You know, there's the ebbs and flows. It's almost a pendulum swing, I should really say. You know, first we see a lot of creative and then we just kind of see it pulled back, and now we're swinging back into what's outside of the box, what's just very different or an unexpected partnership that would actually make sense for what it is that we're doing and what we're offering, and we're seeing more and more of that.

Brandi Sims: 29:26

Now. I think the biggest takeaway is that you're seeing bigger brands do this which typically was almost reserved for the smaller guys, right, those viral moments, those TikTok business owners, so to speak. You saw them doing kind of those unconventional types of brand partnerships. Well, now, it's no longer just them. Those unconventional types of brand partnerships Well, now, it's no longer just them. Now we're seeing some of the big guys taking on that same almost grassroots effort in.

Brandi Sims: 29:51

Yeah, we're going to check the box of all of our traditional media. We'll do the TV interview, We'll hop on the radio, we'll stop by and get a quote in this local newspaper or magazine, but we're also going to add in those viral moments on these podcasts that have great following. We're also going to add in those viral moments on these podcasts that have great following. We're also going to add in those brand collaborations that are just different and unique but speak to what it is that our brand is doing. Those are the types of things that, as again the pendulum is swinging, the more out of the box the better, but making sure that it's aligned with the messaging and the overall vision of a true rollout, absolutely.

Peter Woolfolk: 30:29

Well, I certainly agree with you again because, as I said, people want to do something that works. What role is it that we have not traveled yet, that we see other people using, and how can we make it work to our advantage? We make it work to our advantage. So you know, that combination of print media and digital media and digital outlets certainly works well together when it benefits all parties involved.

Brandi Sims: 30:54

Oh, yes, yes, and I think that's the approach that every business owner or brand owner should be looking for is how do we create these out-of-box experiences and partnerships that make sense for our endgame right, our endgame, our result? What is it that we're looking for and what do we need it to do? And that's where you'll find the success and the results that you're looking for, just like these movies that have broken box office goals in a time where, I think just a couple of years ago, they were very concerned about. Is the box office going to recover? Is movie theater is going to still be a thing in a couple of years?

Brandi Sims: 31:32

Well, these two movies have just proven absolutely there is going to still be a need and there's still a goal for that entertainment and excitement about the entertainment. It's just the way that it's marketed and it's just the way that it's marketed and it's just the way that the PR approach has had to adapt in order to keep engaging that audience. And obviously they were able to do this successfully and get some very, very good results that have broken records and really set the stage for the future of cinema.

Peter Woolfolk: 32:02

Well, you know, the other thing too, and probably the basic thing, is the movie. Is it worth going to?

Peter Woolfolk: 32:08

see, because you know we have not seen. You know Tom Cruise, you know his movies, you know they just break box office records all around the world. So getting involved in something like that is fine. I think I forget one of the actors had some movie about his life. I'm not sure five people even showed up to see it. So you have to be careful about what it is. It's not so much who the actor was, but what's the story about, what's the movie about? So you have to have people who know what they're doing to get you involved in it and be prepared to pay for it.

Brandi Sims: 32:43

Oh, absolutely. You need to have a budget. You know all of this doesn't just magically appear, even these viral moments. Everyone that has gone viral can tell you there was a lot of work that went into play for that viral moment to even happen. So you've got to have a budget and you have to have a plan and a strategy approach that is effective, that is going to get you that result that you're looking for. But you're so right, you know these don't happen with no budget. You know you've got to be willing to invest. I'm just saying they didn't pop up with a $100 billion. You know, box office weekend by playing small, just saying.

Peter Woolfolk: 33:22

Brandon, that was great. So number five what do we got for number five?

Brandi Sims: 33:27

Yes, yes. Well, so for number five, our final one is just seeing an evolution of speaking engagements. So this one was really interesting because I had kind of personally observed and also just kind of connecting with my colleagues as well as just looking into the PR market and industry insights, and one thing I found is that speaking engagements have really made a transition from just being that informal outreach where you know you can send a cold email or a cold pitch or just stop by and say, hey, you know, I've got somebody great for you, and then you're able to secure these bookings, and it's shifted from that to now. It's a very structured package that we're seeing and, more specifically, we're seeing a lot of those in the speaker market almost deciding to package it into more of a sponsorship aspect that benefits both the business and the individual that's involved. So this is one that's making it and really what I'll say is this is that there are becoming more and more speakers and I think you've seen it too, peter. There are more and more speakers, more qualified, great speakers that are just kind of coming out of the woodwork, and I love it. I think it's great, if you have a talent and a skill, to be a communicator and communicate your message effectively on stage. I think it's fantastic. We need more of them.

Brandi Sims: 34:52

However, because there's such a rise of it, it's become very, very competitive in this market. So the traditional ways that you would typically find speaking engagements and opportunities it's almost sort of transitioning out of that and getting even more competitive, in that now there's actually packages, now there's actually a submission form or submission basis. Of course, these things have always existed between some events, but I'm seeing it more and more in trends that more events are saying, hey, you need to gain more experience or you want to elevate your profile and we need a speaker and we need somebody. That's good. So how can we couple this in so we kind of both get what we're looking for? That's where this is coming in is.

Brandi Sims: 35:37

We're seeing the evolution of speaking engagements becoming not so much the cold pitch. You know, you send out your bio or a clip of, you know, your speaking engagement and you've kind of gotten a way into the door and we're seeing that transition from that to now. Okay, they want a speaker package or they're looking for something that aligns with almost their sponsorship and marketing promotion. That kind of equally benefits you both. So that is something that is definitely a trend to watch in 2025. I see a rise in this kind of approach as more events are looking for high quality, high impact speakers, but at the same time they're raising funds for this event. They're also looking for kind of that sponsorship touch. They're raising funds for this event. They're also looking for kind of that sponsorship touch. I see it kind of almost getting coupled more into that sponsorship feel. As we're moving along, that's definitely going to be slimming down who and what is going to be selected for speaking opportunities moving forward.

Peter Woolfolk: 36:39

Well, let me say that I'm one of those people thinking about looking into it, maybe sometime next year, not only because of the podcast, but I've been in public relations for around 30 years. I've done some public speaking at the senior levels. When I was at the US Department of Education, the Clinton administration and I would speak to large. You know we're talking about those national events that maybe 600, 700 people come to or more and have a chance to speak there. So speaking is not uncomfortable for me, having been in radio and television. I've done that before and obviously the podcast now. But also I've been invited several times to speak to PRSA students, probably around 10 universities around the country. I mean, they've all been digital, but the fact is that you're still speaking to them. So that's something I will be exploring a little bit more in depth next year.

Brandi Sims: 37:33

And I think with your expertise and your experience, you're going to go very far with that, but I'm sure you don't need me saying that. You already know it right. So, with that being said, I think it's very important that speakers now that are coming out and say you know, I want to do full-time speaking engagements or you know, offer that as a service or an opportunity. Here, I think the biggest thing is that it reinforces the importance of having a really compelling presentation and a really compelling pitch to speak on behalf of your, speaking Once again.

Brandi Sims: 38:07

the speaker market is growing. It is growing and more and more people are kind of coming out and saying, oh, I'm a speaker even with very minimal speaking experience or opportunities, right. So more and more are coming out and we're all competing against the same thing is to find the opportunity. So what's gonna help you stand out?

Brandi Sims: 38:28

It's your expertise because, that expertise is very much coupled into your credibility as a speaker and then, of course, the overall visual. What is the compelling nature of your presentation. That is what's gonna really set you apart from the competition, because if you already have the expertise almost taken miles ahead of your competition because I can tell you just an experience a lot of folks that will have reach out even to us, while of course their intentions are are, I totally get it, it's probably pure. But you know they come in and they're expecting okay, well, you know, I'm a speaker today and we want you guys to find us all these speaking engagements even though we don't have any experience. Well, I'm probably not, guys, to find us all these speaking engagements even though we don't have any experience. Well, I'm probably not going to find you a lot. And if I do find you a lot, it's definitely not going to be paid and it's not going to be tens of thousands of dollars that you thought you were going to get out of this Absolutely not. It's going to be kind of a slow burn and build as you build up the credibility as a speaker, because right now we don't even have that as a leverage point. So definitely what's going to really set people apart is the experienced speakers, the experienced professionals within their industry and craft that are going to push and pave the way to those opportunities and be able to explore it much more extensively than some of the newer guys that are coming in and deciding to add speaker to their, to their roster and their list. You're definitely going to need to do get a little bit more experience.

Brandi Sims: 40:03

Experience and also consider some of those non-paid gigs and, of course, the one that I mentioned in the beginning of this, which is sponsorship, which is something that a lot of events I've found have started to do, is they're offering sponsorship as a way in for you to get your experience, but also they get a sponsor for their event.

Brandi Sims: 40:25

So it's kind of a mutually beneficial kind of play there. But you know, depending on what your budget is, it may not be in alignment kind of play there. But you know, depending on what your budget is, it may not be in alignment. I can tell you I've worked with a very, very well-known media conglomerate for years and one of the speaker quote unquote sponsorships was close to $40,000. And so you know you have to ask yourself if you're willing to spend that much on, you know, just being seen to be able to participate in an event. Why are we not considering PR and communication as an outsourcing, a consultant, or getting some support to where you can build upon that experience, instead of throwing away $40,000 for just a one time event that you'll be seen at? I mean, these are the questions we've got to ask ourselves here.

Peter Woolfolk: 41:15

Well, you know, one of the things that I think about, as I said, particularly when I've been talking to college students to grab their attention. My opening statement to them is how does a guy like me, who got kicked out of college twice, wind up working for the President of the United States? And I say what?

Brandi Sims: 41:32

Oh my God.

Peter Woolfolk: 41:37

How did that happen? Well, I decided I didn't like it. Well, I liked the idea of being cooked at school twice, but so I had to buckle down and make some serious changes about me. And you know a lot of other things taking chances. You know how to make things happen. As I said, you know, the first time the Clinton people called me, as I think I told you a while back, I didn't know who he was and so I didn't sign on with him. Then he went on to be president. So I'm going to go to the court and I'm done, and then how I fix that. So you know those kinds of things, the stories that I can tell, that I think will engage a lot of people in terms of, you know, pursuing this thing of speaking engagements next year. Now, I don't want to do it full time, but at least I certainly want to have a go at it because I actually enjoy doing it.

Brandi Sims: 42:21

For sure. Well, hey, you know, I always got your back. So whenever you are ready for a speaker circuit, I'm your girl.

Peter Woolfolk: 42:29

You know, I'm probably going to give you a call on that too.

Brandi Sims: 42:33

Yes, yes, give me a call. I'm always game, okay.

Peter Woolfolk: 42:38

So let me say, brandi, look, this has really been an informative session we've had here today and I really want to say thank you for obviously taking the time to do it. But I'm certainly glad that you put that out there and I had the opportunity to see it and thus invited you to the podcast there, and I had the opportunity to see it and thus invited you to the podcast, and I'm sure my listeners were going to appreciate very, very much about the substance of the content that we had today well, I appreciate you so much for having me on.

Brandi Sims: 43:03

This was so much fun and and definitely looking forward to having more chats like this in the future okay, well, let me say once again my guest today is Brenda Sims.

Peter Woolfolk: 43:11

She is the CEO and founder of Brand Inc PR and the host of the Brand Inc podcast, and you can find her on regular podcast sites. And I also want to say thank all of my listeners for listening and if you've enjoyed the podcast, we'd certainly like to get a review from you and also share this with your friends. And also don't forget to tune into the next edition of the Public Relations Review podcast and also don't forget to tune into the next edition of the Public Relations Review Podcast.

Announcer: 43:43

This podcast is produced by Communication Strategies, an award-winning public relations and public affairs firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank you for joining us.