PR has transformed into a mission-critical driver of trust, authority and growth. In this piece, Sara Donnelly, founder and director of Beyond Echo PR, charts the evolution of communications — from chasing clippings to shaping reputation in the age of AI.
From the dizzying, alcohol fuelled mayhem of Absolutely Fabulous, to Bridget Jones ‘fannying around with press releases’, you’d be forgiven for thinking PR was nothing more than a fluffy nice to have; a bunch of ditzy women out on a jolly.
However, since the 90s and early 2000s, when iconic shows and characters like these seemingly set the tone for the industry (for transparency, I love them all!), the practice of PR has evolved massively. And for the better.
Back in 2004, when I graduated with a BA (Hons) in Public Relations & Marketing, and got my first job as a PR account executive at an agency in Knutsford, life was very much press release-led and tactical. I spent countless hours posting news releases to journalists (yes physically, with a franking machine and envelopes), and then more countless hours calling said journalists to ‘follow them up’. That left little time for much else.
Contrast that to today, and PR and communications is almost unrecognisable. Over the past 20 years, I’ve seen PR evolve from a tactical publicity strand of sales and marketing, to strategic reputation programming. To put it another way, the hidden engine fuelling organisational credibility, trust and growth.
From Clippings to Credibility: Why Old PR Struggled to Prove Its Worth
Two decades ago, PR was about one-way conversations – brands talking at audiences, rather than with them. The media was the ultimate target, with KPIs completely determined by coverage and clippings. Part of proving our worth to clients was to cut those clippings out, measure them with a ruler, and calculate the cost for that space if the client had paid for advertising. Or Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) – a cursory measure that has been, quite rightly, abolished as a metric in the industry.
But when your measure of success relies almost exclusively on journalists covering your news, this presented a major weakness for PRs, with measurable impact vague and hard to quantify.
The Shift: New Channels, New Expectations
Fast forward to today, and the question is no longer ‘did we get coverage?’, but ‘does our message drive authority in the places and with the audiences that matter?’.
Trust and reputation is built across multiple touchpoints – content marketing, social media, stakeholder relations, influencers, and media. And PR plays a vital role in all of it, because what a business says and to whom matters now more than ever.
Beyond Coverage: Teaching AI What Your Brand Stands For
Looking ahead, PR is going to play a vital role in the new age of AI search, which I liken to having a conversation with the most well connected person at a networking event. They’ve talked to everyone, heard every pitch, and remember every conversation. When someone asks them “who should I talk to about cybersecurity?” they don’t list 10 names – they introduce you to one person they trust.
And that’s what brands are competing for today – to be that trusted introduction, which PR has a huge part to play in.
Every press mention, media interview, and thought leadership piece is a conversation that builds your reputation. The more these conversations happen – consistently, across quality platforms, tied to your core topics – the more likely AI remembers your brand when it matters.
You’re teaching AI systems which topics your brand owns. You’re building the semantic connections that make your name synonymous with your expertise.
The metrics that matter now are:
- How strongly is your brand associated with the topics you care about?
- How often does AI recommend you versus competitors?
In AI search, authority beats advertising and relevance beats reach. And strategic PR is how you build both.
So the question now is, is your brand the name AI drops into conversation?
What Good PR Looks Like in 2025 and Beyond
Great PR doesn’t just get you seen – it shapes how you’re trusted, recalled and talked about. It’s reputation-first communication, where every word has a purpose, and every action builds momentum.
- PR today isn’t about pitching stories for the sake of it. It’s about building movements.
- It’s not about chasing coverage, it’s about sparking conversations.
- It’s not a fluffy “nice to have”, it’s about leading with purpose and making sure your audiences know about it.
- It’s not about pushing products, it’s about owning the right conversations in the right places — where your buyers are reading, thinking, and making decisions.
Reputation doesn’t happen by accident, it takes discipline: clear messaging, credible spokespeople, and content that turns media into momentum.
Whether you’re scaling fast or shifting perception, PR makes sure your story sticks, while building a reputation resilient enough to celebrate the good times, and withstand the bad.
To reiterate my earlier point, PR isn’t just publicity anymore, it’s reputation programming, and a founder’s growth lever.
So ask yourself, when the next customer, investor, journalist or AI engine is asked who they should trust — will they say your name?
About the author:
Sara Donnelly is the founder and director of Beyond Echo PR, a strategic communications partner for tech and B2B businesses.
