Global collaboration for PR consultancies now vital, says Global Communications Alliance chair

Global relationships are critical for leading consultancies in the very dynamic communications sector according to Peter Wilkinson, the newly elected chair of the Global Communications Alliance.

He says the decision to take on the role was influenced by a need to invest more to ensure staying ahead of the massive transformation occurring in the communications sector – the collapse of traditional journalism, emerging customer power, increasingly accurate measurement and analysis, diversity of devices including the Internet of Things, and the power of cross-channelling are some of the great disruptors putting pressure on consultancies and their clients in 2017.

Wilkinson, who owns Wilkinson Group in Sydney, says a PR innovation in Germany can be re-engineered within hours in Sydney or New York, as long as there is a quick and trusted way of exchanging ideas.  “That’s why the GCA is an essential component in our strategic planning to enable us to better serve our clients. The collaborations between consultancies, constantly sharing ideas, enable us to better develop each of our strategic directions.

“We all know the tectonic plates shifting around us – the factors that led to Brexit and Trump’s controversial election are just two of them; the social upheaval in the Middle East and the growing influence of China are others; as are the waning influence of journalism and the increasing reliance on the largely uncontrolled social media megaliths, mainly Google and Facebook.

“It is our role amid these massive changes that interests me because while some of that change is structural, much has to do with our area of expertise, communication. I believe that the communications industry has failed society through the current disruption. That failure has, in turn, aggravated negative outcomes.”

(Peter Wilkinson is Managing Director of Wilkinson Group and Chair of Etched Communications, two Sydney based consultancies.)