Trust Me, PR Is Dead

Robert Phillips spent twenty-five years at the top of the Public Relations industry, travelling the world to speak alongside Prime Ministers and CEOs (in between presenting naked in Finnish boardrooms saunas and trying to bring an end to the British monarchy). But then he quit his job as CEO EMEA of Edelman – the world's largest PR firm – for one simple reason: he no longer believed in what he was doing. Messages can no longer be managed. The age of 'spin' is over. In this age of activism and individual empowerment, power is shifting from state to citizen; employer to employee; corporation to citizen-consumer. From media to publishing, law to diplomacy, and internal communications to leadership itself, traditional industries are facing a near inevitable demise. How can the PR industry be so seemingly unaware that it is experiencing its own death throes? And if everything is dead, what comes next? Using nearly 200 anecdotes, interviews, and case studies (including companies like Unilever, John Lewis Partnership, and Patagonia), Robert Phillips answers these questions and proposes a new model of leadership and accountability across business and politics.