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Introduction

With major progress in computer processing and data transmission, disruptions in the media space are underway across industries, driven by two technologies that demand very high bandwidth and processing power: Artificial intelligence and 3D video. These two technologies have been around for decades, but it’s only now that computing power has caught up to their computational requirements, such that we are bound to see major transformations in the media space.

The Rise of AI

The AI phenomenon is now well known by business professionals and consumers since last year, when Generative AI took the headlines to assist in content creation, and even to create new media from scratch. In turn, virtual reality and the metaverse are making slow inroads across industries because of the slow progression of 3D media consumption, but watch out. It’s a silent disruptor that is bound to shake things up in business use cases where it adds value.

Impact on Public Relations

One of the first media-driven industries bound to be transformed by 3D and AI is the PR profession. After all, today PR centers around managing the message in digital media. As major PR firms are busy managing top clients, entrepreneurs are leading the way with these innovations.

I came across a PR industry podcast that well summarizes this phenomenon in their May edition. It is produced by Provoke Media and Public Relations Organization International (PROI) Worldwide. The podcast is run by Paul Holmes, Founder and Chairman of Provoke Media, and a well-known PR thought leader. He found three independent PR agencies across three continents that are shaking the industry with their innovations.

Case Studies

Gullers Grupp is a PR and communications agency in Sweden that primarily helps clients with storytelling for social impact and places emphasis on education for PR purposes. The company models itself as an innovation system without middle management in order to think out of the box, which has led them to develop very creative communications campaigns like a campaign about multiple sclerosis (MS), with a shoe that educates people on how it feels to have MS. On the tech side, they created an AI compliance officer for their clients to be more efficient in their regulatory affairs and in their relationships to the government. Hans Gennerud, Managing Partner at Gullers Grupp, states: “We use state of the art technology to constantly think in what way can these tools be used in new areas and in new ways for the PR profession. Of all of the innovations by the tech giants, the one that I think will have more impact in PR and communications is AI and in particular large language models, which combined with other biometrics can help testing on how people react to information or how they react in crisis situations.”

M2.0 Communications is a PR agency out of the Philippines that is also developing new innovations using AI to produce media for PR campaigns. Its founder, Doy Roque, states: “AI is going to force substantial change in the industry as AI influencers in social media emerge to compete with human influencers.” However, he predicts fringe industry sectors and smaller PR firms will be ones to embrace the technology first. He adds: “It’s hard for human beings to get out of their comfort zone, and big corporations don’t have the incentives to get out of that zone.” He predicts that mavericks will take the media industry to new realities like the ones portrayed in the movie Her, where a man falls in love with an AI character.

Finally, Tank is a PR company in Colombia that uses both AI and virtual reality to modernize PR services. They have an AI-powered analytics tool to predict engagement (likes, shares, detractors, supporters) of a social media post. Their offering PrejaVú leverages virtual reality to train companies and executives on crisis management, under their premise that simulations of live crisis situations are the best coaching mechanism. Mauricio Ferro, CEO and founder, states: “We use a proprietary PR methodology for spokespersons and globally available 3D lenses, so it’s not just about better training, but also about making our services available globally.”

Conclusion

These innovations demonstrate how PR and communications are bound to be disrupted by 3D and AI technologies. Holmes states: “A lot of our podcasts cover topics that are already in the headlines, but this one was a real look ahead to the future of our industry. What the three featured firms are doing in terms of investing in people, technology, and product development is very exciting.”

Indeed, if you think about it, there are two things in common between these three companies. First, they are nimble mavericks by design. Second, they tend to leverage existing AI and 3D platforms from the tech giants to stay nimble. The main lesson for innovators: maximize the use of existing AI and 3D platforms to keep up the pace and look for the secret sauce somewhere else. This lesson transcends across industries. What’s happening in PR and communications foreshadows the transformations that are bound to happen in other media-related industries.

Source: Forbes