Another day, another declaration that PR is dead.

There are plenty of frustrated PRs out there saying there are no journalists left, nobody answers emails, there’s no space in the media and traditional PR is finished. Earned media is harder than it used to be, for sure. Newsrooms are under pressure, journalists are stretched, publications are changing and there are more brands competing for fewer opportunities. And good PR takes time – sometimes a lot of it!

It’s not the case of having a list of journalists we can just call whenever we fancy a bit of coverage. That mythical little black book doesn't really work these days.

People move around fast, and even a journalist who knows and trusts you still needs a good story, at the right time, for their audience. Sometimes we pitch an angle we genuinely believe is strong and… nothing. We follow up, try another angle, keep an eye on the news agenda, wait. And then when we've stopped expecting it, the replies come in.

And thank goodness, because that piece in the BBC, The Independent, The Times or a relevant trade title gives a brand something paid advertising just can't replicate: third-party credibility. There’s a reason brands proudly display those media logos and that “as seen in” strip can literally change a business’s fortune overnight.

But we need to ask a more important question than “Can we get coverage?” - rather “What are we actually trying to achieve?”

If the objective is to sell more products, perhaps a brilliant creator who can put that product directly in front of the right audience is more valuable than another piece of press coverage. If you're a charity trying to drive donations, investing in genuinely engaging organic social content could do more than a column inch. If you're launching an event, finding the right local influencers, community partnerships and social campaign mightl sell more tickets. And if you're trying to build a founder's reputation, an appearance on the right entrepreneurial podcast or a standout social media series could be worth more than a short profile in a newspaper.

That’s what modern PR looks like to us. Yes, seeing the BBC logo next to our client’s name is still pretty much God-tier PR, but we don’t build campaigns around getting coverage for coverage’s sake. We build the right mix of media relations, creators, social, podcasts, partnerships, events, collaborations and owned content around what our clients actually want to achieve.

The real value of PR is knowing what a brand should be known for, finding the story, understanding the audience, getting the message right, creating something people want to talk about. And building credibility and reputation over time.

Positioning. Messaging. Audience relevance. Creativity. Storytelling. Reputation. Those things aren’t going anywhere. The media landscape is changing, the way people discover information is changing, and the tools we use are changing - so PR is changing, too.

We're not going to pretend getting earned media is easy, and we're certainly not going to promise clients guaranteed results. But when the story is right, the timing is right and the persistence pays off, there's still nothing quite like seeing your client's name in print, hearing them on the radio, watching the interview go live - and then turning that coverage into content that works even harder across their own channels.

PR isn't dead. It's just more demanding, more creative and more interesting than ever.