Seven Reasons Sir Martin Sorrell Is Wrong About PR

(MENAFN- PRovoke) What does it mean to claim, as Sir Martin Sorrell did during a debate with PRSA chief executive Sarah Waddington on BBC's Radio 4 before the holidays, that“there's no such thing as PR anymore"?

I think it's fair to say that these comments tell us more about Sorrell-who during his three-decade tenure as chief executive of WPP was responsible for the fortune of global agencies BCW, Hill & Knowlton and Ogilvy (none of which exactly flourished over that time)-than it does about public relations.

At best, it reveals an extraordinarily limited and outdated view of what public relations is and does, a point that Waddington makes during the discussion. But the format of a radio debate allows limited scope for a considered and detailed response to Sorrell's clickbaity comments, so I hope Waddington won't be offended if I offer my own perspective on why the S4 Capital founder is wrong.

1. A“Straw Man" Version of PR May Be on its Last Legs

There is, perhaps, one way in which Sorrell is partially (hypothetically) correct, which is that if there are PR firms out there still subsisting on old-fashioned product publicity-securing mainstream media coverage for brand clients-those firms, which have presumably found the past two decades increasingly difficult, are likely to find the future even less financially satisfying.

But that version of PR is a straw man. I don't believe any of the firms with which this publication engages on a regular basis have this antediluvian view of the business, but if they do I don't believe anyone reading this article will mourn their obsolescence.

(I can think of two possible exceptions: celebrity publicists and-another way of saying the same thing-those working for the newest generation of technology CEOs, whose idea of“good PR” appears to revolve around personal hagiography and the kind of myth-making that might crumble under critical scrutiny.)

2. Advertising, on the Other Hand...

In Adweek, marketing guru Mark Ritson refutes Sorrell's doom-mongering with a history of all the times marketing has declared one form of media or another“dead,” only for the corpse in question to revive in a new form, having adapted for the new world.

I was reminded of The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR by Al and Laura Ries, which Ritson doesn't mention, published more than two decades ago-and while I am certainly not going to challenge Ritson's central thesis that marketers are too quick to write obituaries, I am going to suggest that current changes in the media business-and in patterns of media consumption-should worry ad agencies way more than they do PR firms.

In particular, it has become clear that for most consumers the current environment offers a plethora of options to avoid advertising almost entirely. Ad blockers are ubiquitous, and those who can afford a few extra dollars for premium streaming subscriptions can bypass advertising entirely. Speaking only for myself, spending an extra $10 a month to avoid commercial pitches is a no-brainer.

3. Everything is Earned Now

The defining theme of the past three Cannes Festivals of Creativity has been the primacy of earned ideas. More and more, even campaigns that rely heavily on paid advertising require earned-first creative ideas, an acknowledgement of the reality that any good earned idea can be turned into an ad campaign but not every great advertising idea can generate earned coverage-and of the reality that advertising alone is limited, and requires amplification across other channels to make a real impact.

But if anything, this notion of“earned-first” creative understates the shift that has taken place in media consumption. Because in 2025 everything is earned-including that which is paid. Because paying for the ad only guarantees that an ad will appear on the Pahe or the screen. It does not guarantee that anyone will notice it, far less change their preference or purchase behavior in response.

If you want attention and-more critically-action, you have to earn it.

4. The Rise of Online Content is Good for PR

Sorrell again comes close to a valid point when he says“It's online content that's absolutely critical.” But the idea that this is bad news for public relations is bizarre-it has, in reality, been the primary driver of growth for a significant number of PR firms over the past decade.

Our Innovation SABRE Awards competition provides ample evidence of just how the critical nature of online content has impacted the PR industry. We have categories for digital activations, influencer and creator marketing, branded content, digital publishing, online annual and ESG reporting, social video, culture-jacking, VR and AR, memes and much more: a wide variety of online content that demonstrates the industry's versatility ad makes a nonsense of the idea that“creative agency” is a term typically pplied to a much more one-dimensional kind of business.

Beyond that, Sorrell displays a dangerously ad-centric mindset when he goes on to suggest that“flooding the internet with content” is the future he sees.

From the dawn of social media, advertising people seem to have decided that the best use of the medium is to shout loudly and constantly, a tactic that is obnoxious but admittedly hard to ignore. But in an earned-first world, one smart post can have more impact than“flooding the internet” with slop.

5. AI Search Places a Premium on Credibility

For some time, it has been evident that credibility is the most valuable commodity in brand marketing-again, this is something that must be earned; it can't be bought. And developm3nts of the part 12 months-driven by AI- have only underscored the vale of credible content.

“Instead of just looking for keywords and links, AI models synthesize information from trusted, authoritative sources to provide direct, conversational answers... This shifts the focus from traditional SEO to building a robust, trustworthy online reputation that AI algorithms recognize and recommend.” (This description of how search is changing was provided, of course, by AI.)

This shift in search trends and AI algorithms breathes new life into traditional earned media, which meet the criteria of trustworthy sources, andin the process implies greater value on the skillset of PR professionals, who have always focused on developing credible, authoritative content.

6. Complexity Elevates Corporate Affairs

All of the arguments above focus on the role that public relations plats in marketing and brand-building, which is presumably also where Sorrells focus lies... which might explain why his“there's no such thing as PR anymore” seems oblivious to the profession's role in communicating wutg the full range of stakeholders necessary for corporate syccess in a cmplex environment.

And the environment has never been more complex: companies are dealing with a wide array of geopolitical challenges, from unprecedented tariffs to regional conflicts; a more polarized political environment in which even a new logo can be weaponized as rage-bait; a rising tide of disinformation; and the rise of new technologies that have the potential to disrupt work for all of us.

No wonder, then, that firms specializing in corporate and public affairs are attracting private equity investment at record rates, outpacing other sectors in terms of growth, and taking on ever more mission-critical roles for their clients. Or that corporate affairs salaries and budgets are expanding?

7. The Biggest Misapprehension of All

And finally this: like many of the people who only half understand what public relations really does (a group that sadly includes many clients and no small number of practitioners), Sorrell misunderstands the end result of a good public relations campaign, which is not a press release of a news story but-the clue is in the name public relations-a relationship.

And the fundamental truth that underpins the relevance of our profession remains unchanged by changes in the political, media, and technology landscapes: companies require heathy relationships with the public-with employees, customers, communities, investors, regulators and legislators, and people in general-in order to survive and thrive.

As long as public relations continues to center those relationships and deliver the kind of work that strengthens them, its continued relevance is assured.

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