It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Matthew Ridsdale, founder of Cannon PR.
AI was one of hot topics in the PR industry in 2023 and I expect to see more businesses embrace the technology as it matures and becomes more accessible during the next twelve months.
With the prospect of offering many new possibilities and even helping to save time when it comes to crafting content, AI is something which can’t simply be ignored. However, whilst typing in a few terms can produce a string a of social media posts, blog entries, white papers and even press releases within a matter of seconds, there can be ethical and reputational risks in doing so.
AI will undoubtedly play a greater role in shaping the way marketing and PR content is produced in the future. The challenge facing communications teams will be how the technology can be embraced both as a time-saving tool, whilst crucially maintaining the ability to convey authenticity and credibility.
Creativity has always played a vital role in helping a story to resonate with its target audiences, especially when it comes to conveying complex or sensitive information. I’ve yet to meet a computer with a conscience and so I feel fairly confident that PR practitioners will continue to have the upper hand… for now.
Looking ahead to the news agenda in 2024. I suspect there will be one subject that will dominate the headlines for much of the year: the prospect of a general election. Will it happen? Won’t it happen? Will it be early? Will the Prime Minister decide to wait until there is better news to share about the ailing UK economy?
Depending on when the election is called, and if indeed the Prime Minister waits until December 2024 to send voters to the polls, it could end up being a talking point for much of the year. Whether Labour will to sweep to power with an emphatic victory akin to 1997, or the Conservatives defy all the current polls to secure another term, remains to be seen.
As Harold Wilson once famously said, a week is a long time in politics and by the time Rishi Sunak takes us to the polls, there may be some very different issues at the forefront of all of our minds.
