The New Frontier of Influence

For decades, the playbook for corporate communications was a masterclass in precision and influence. The model was clear: craft a compelling narrative, build relationships with influential journalists, and strategically guide the conversation across a centralized media landscape. Today, those core skills are more critical than ever, but the landscape itself has fundamentally changed.

Our recent analysis, "How Audiences Are Shifting from Mainstream to Creator Media," shows that with prime-time broadcast viewership halving in a decade and creator content ad revenue set to eclipse traditional media, the audience's attention has decisively shifted. The media landscape now has multiple layers of influence, from traditional broadcast to streaming to creator platforms to community conversations. This is not a threat to the relevance of PR; it is the single greatest opportunity for communications leaders to redefine their value and expand their influence across these new layers.

This post will explore the strategic opportunities opening up for comms and PR professionals and introduce an evolved model for building trust and shaping narratives in the creator economy, helping you guide your clients and companies into the future of influence.

The Evolved Playbook: From Public Relations to People Relations

To lead in this new landscape, communications experts are evolving their approach. The goal is expanding from managing public relations to cultivating people relations. This means understanding and engaging across multiple layers of influence: from traditional media to creator platforms to community hubs. Here are the core fundamentals that define this evolution.

The Fundamentals

1. Evolve from Influencer Marketing to Creator Relations: This leverages the core PR skill of relationship-building. It’s not about one-off paid posts; it is about building long-term, authentic partnerships with creators who genuinely align with a brand’s values, treating them as strategic partners to earn their trust and advocacy.

2. Build and Manage Owned Media Ecosystems: As the influence of traditional media becomes more fragmented, brands have the opportunity to become their own media hubs. Comms leaders are perfectly positioned to direct this strategy, overseeing a robust owned media ecosystem—like a podcast, video series, or newsletter—that provides value directly to the audience.

3. Amplify Executive Voices as Thought Leaders: In an age of authenticity, people connect with people. A modern comms strategy empowers a company's leaders to become its most powerful communicators by building their personal brands on platforms like LinkedIn and X and sharing genuine perspectives.

4. Lead the Conversation in Community Hubs: The most important conversations about a brand are happening in the comments section, on Reddit, and in Discord servers. A modern comms team must be a strategic participant in these communities, listening, learning, and adding value to build relationships and gather insights.

5. Adopt an Evolved Measurement Framework: The metrics of traditional PR—media mentions, ad value equivalency—are insufficient for the new landscape. A new measurement framework focused on share of voice in creator communities, engagement, sentiment, and tangible business impact is essential.

The AI Foundation

In this environment, AI is not an optional tool. It is reshaping how creators produce content, how audiences discover media, and how brands participate in conversations at scale. The comms leaders who understand AI as a fundamental force reshaping their industry are thriving. Those who don't are falling behind.

AI's impact spans every aspect of modern communications work: from monitoring and measurement, to drafting proposals, managing client operations, negotiating contracts, and developing campaigns. The teams leveraging AI across their entire operation are moving faster, making better decisions, and delivering more value. They are defining the future of communications.