There have been many discussions lately about why the PR industry must evolve and how it needs to change its business model. At the World PR Forum two weeks ago, Anne Gregory urged PR to reach for a higher purpose and stop obsessing with tactics, but to assert its role as a management discipline.

Recently, Richard Edelman proposed that PR should move into a much more mission-critical role – Communications Marketing with communications being a full partner of marketing, beyond just building credibility to becoming the change agent.

But by far the strongest and most inspiring idea I've come across lately is a visual guide by Brian Solis, Vision and Cision and brilliantly illustrated by Hugh MacLeod.

Released just last week, the eBook outlines a new vision for the PR industry to harness technology and deliver business outcomes. It's a manifesto for building relationships in the digital age. And as we know, building relationships is at the very core of PR.

But first, why the need to evolve?

As explained in my book, the PR industry has faced dramatic changes over the last few decades. The advancement of technology, globalisation and the emergence of social media have forced the discipline (and our world in general) to shift and adapt. Practitioners have been required to evolve to play multiple roles and acquire overarching skills.

Transformation then is not a nice-to-have, but a must-to-have.

Relationships must be the guiding force of that transformation. However, in the digital era the very name "Public Relations" doesn't really capture the essence of what PR is about, of how it's role has evolved and how it delivers value.

So, what if PR stood for People and Relationships?

That's what Brian Solis proposes: People as real human beings, and relationships as the idea that we can do more together than alone.

This makes a lot of sense.

In the sharing economy the solution is not to take what we knew back then and use these traditional principles for what we do today, but to innovate and "shine in a new way".

In the eBook, Brian Solis explains really well what has changed and outlines how PR can meet the needs of the fast-changing business environment. He illustrates how we need to redefine success to be more resilient to change and more flexible to react and adapt to that change to bring about relevance. He talks about moving away from the "campaign mentality" and learning to build bridges between the people you want to reach and your business for the long run. He tells us why using big data to be more human is priceless. He shows us that relationships are the pillars that define our work, our brands and our legacy.

Interestingly, this feels really close to inbound marketing – to pulling people in, instead of interrupting, by putting their needs and interests first and so making them come to you naturally. This is marketing to humans. This is delivering mutual value via customer-centricity and meaningful relationships.

Because as Brian Solis says, relationships are powered by people, not technology. And unlike fleeting, real happiness comes from people, not stuff.

Caring, empathy, engagement, reciprocity and loyalty are then the guiding principles for effective people relationships that make your customers happy.

Enjoy reading the eBook!

"Humanity" image from eBook