Written by: Kaila Currie-Bartlett, Account Executive, Craft Public Relations & Digital Communications Coordinator, CPRS Toronto
For our June In Conversation With series, we connected with Melissa Retty, Senior Vice President at Craft Public Relations and previously named PR in Canada’s Top 30 Under 30. She is a seasoned PR practitioner and industry thought leader, who has helped some of the world’s leading brands build and execute award-winning communication plans including GE Appliances, Tetley Canada, Keurig Dr Pepper and many, many more.
How did 2020 change your role as a PR practitioner?
There’s been no shortage of change in the PR world during the past year! The Canadian media landscape continues to evolve and unfortunately, has taken a hard hit in 2020-21 – and this in and of itself has made the role of PR more challenging than ever. We’ve had to completely rethink the way we execute events, adapting to a virtual world. And we’ve seen many shifts in the influencer landscape as new platforms and channels continue to emerge on a weekly – if not daily – basis.
But the core of everything we do as PR practitioners is storytelling. And even as we work our way through the biggest global pandemic, that hasn’t changed. Of course, we’ve had to adapt and evolve the way we choose to tell those stories to reach the masses but whether we’re pitching a magazine, working with a TikTok creator or leading a brand partnership program, we’re just using a different approach to tell our stories and I don’t think that will ever change.
What other changes to your career/role as a PR practitioner do you see emerging in 2021 and beyond? Why?
With clients busier than ever working to adapt their businesses to meet the new realities of the world, there’s never been more of a need for smart, strategic counsel from PR agencies.
The ability to come to the table with creative, strategic ideas and be nimble enough to adapt and implement these ideas with the world on fire around us has now become table stakes. I think the role of PR agencies on the whole will only continue to evolve in this way.
What is your biggest piece of advice for PR practitioners moving forward?
Every day at Craft, we challenge ourselves to be creative and think outside the box. We are constantly asking ourselves – is this the right approach to drive our clients’ business forward? And if it’s not, we’re not afraid to change course to make sure our PR efforts are making an impact. Fostering an environment where everyone on the team feels empowered to be creative and ask themselves this question every step of the way will not only make our work stronger as individual practitioners, but I do believe it can help breathe new life into the industry as a whole.
About CPRS Toronto’s In Conversation With blog series
Once a month, CPRS Toronto’s communications and marketing subcommittee will post quick conversations with GTA public relations practitioners and industry thought leaders. During these conversations we look to explore the impact COVID-19 has had on communication practitioners, as well as provide insights into the future of public relations moving forward. If you are interested in participating, please contact our Digital Communications Coordinator, Kaila Currie-Bartlett at kailacurriebartlett@gmail.com.