PR Demanded to Achieve Not Just Exposure but Also Business Impact

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The role of public relations (PR) in Indonesia is entering a new phase, no longer solely focused on publications and media exposure, but demanded to provide real business impact, from contributions to revenue to strengthening public trust.

This change was revealed in a study on trends in PR consultancy spending launched by the Indonesian Public Relations Companies Association (APPRI) in collaboration with the Communication Studies programme team from the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences at Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta, on Tuesday.

APPRI Deputy I Faradila Astari Rahmiliza emphasised a significant shift in client expectations towards the communication function.

“From the results of this study, we see a consistent pattern: PR is already strong in execution, media, and also issues and crises. But expectations towards PR have shifted far beyond that now,” she said.

She explained that clients now no longer just ask about technical aspects or the amount of exposure, but are starting to demand more concrete impacts.

In addition, clients are also beginning to link PR work with trust aspects.

“Then they also ask how far from reputation to trust it has reached, so it’s starting to move in that direction,” she continued.

However, the study also found that this change in demands is not yet fully matched by internal organisational readiness.

APPRI General Chair Sari Soegondo stated that communication and PR are now present in almost all organisations, both for short-term needs like product launches, to long-term needs in building reputation and handling crises.

Nevertheless, a strategic approach to the communication function is still considered necessary to be strengthened.

The study also shows that PR performance measurement is indeed starting to move towards impact and business value such as return on investment (ROI), but in practice it is still dominated by output metrics like the number of publications.

APPRI hopes that the results of this study can serve as a reference for companies and PR consultants to reposition the role of communication as a strategic function relevant to business needs, while also encouraging the development of more impactful services.

“APPRI views it as very necessary to conduct market research like this so that it can present a portrait of current market conditions and business potential that can serve as a navigation tool for communication and PR consultancy companies,” said Sari.