By Stacey Holifield

It would surprise absolutely no one that I love the underdog. I love the gritty determination and scrappiness of fighters clawing their way to the top ready to take on challenge after challenge, never giving up.

That’s my style. For better or worse. And that is probably part of the reason why I’ve always been fascinated by PR. PR is undeniably the grittiest, most determined and potentially effective effort in the realm of marketing communications and advertising. PR people—we are fighters.

And yet the underdog.

Companies spend millions on fancy slick advertising campaigns and marketing efforts – buying, buying and buying. Because when in doubt, buy the minds and hearts of the people you need to influence.

Buy them.

Woo them.

Lose them.

Because you lacked sustainability.

And credibility.

And while all this spending and dazzling and wooing is going on, PR is relegated to the kiddie table condemned as lacking creativity, strategy and cohesiveness.

Let’s be real. PR people are smart. We’re smarter than any ad team you have ever brought in to your company because we’re used to dealing with people that can’t be bought. Influencing people that can’t be bought—that takes intelligent creativity and gritty determination.

In January, Ad Age published an article discussing how PR is “earning it’s keep” in 2016. A few favorite comments from the article:

• “PR has always been a weapon to battle bigger-spending rivals.”
• “How to get attention that isn’t paid for…”
• “…a need for PR to integrate more strongly as part of the overall solutions, specifically when delivering messages about brand purpose.”

The kiddie table days are over. See you in the boardroom.