Having worked in the PR industry for 12 years, before moving into a broader marketing communications role, I have come to the conclusion that PR professionals, working within the marketing services part of the industry, should position themselves as the masters of ‘indirect communication'.  The term Public Relations covers far too many skills and service offers.  At the same time the PR industry itself tends to undervalue the role of the marketing PR professional, compared with that of the corporate relations or public affairs consultant.

When Lester Wunderman coined the term ‘direct marketing' he created a whole new discipline.  Maybe by rebranding themselves as indirect marketers, PR professionals working within the marketing services area can command more attention and budget from clients.

As every PR professional knows, messages delivered indirectly, via third parties, such as the media or opinion formers, are invariably more trusted, more powerful and less likely to be avoided by consumers.  By making a science of indirect communication, they might be able to make this argument even more compelling.

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