I’m grateful to Jonathan Hughes, EMEA COO at Edelman, for delivering a deeply thought-provoking masterclass this week

In his masterclass session, 'how to create and lead a PR agency in a constant state of evolution', Hughes explored practical ways PR agency leaders can spearhead innovation in an ever-evolving technological landscape. 

Speaking to PRmoment, Hart said: "It’s both exciting and slightly terrifying to understand clearly from him that AI is driving a hyper-accelerated evolution in the agency world. Many long-standing principles around how we’re set up and how we work are essentially in the bin."

Hughes revealed there is not yet a clear answer to how agencies should operate in the new AI-enhanced landscape, but he highlighted that agencies with the "best cultures" already in place will ultimately thrive. 

Hart added: "Innovation is totally about culture, and overly hierarchical, top-down teams will simply fail. We’re in an era in which people need permission to make mistakes, where messiness is the order of the day and restless, iterative innovation is required.

"Progress matters way more than perfection, but implementation is also key (as long as you’re prepared to quickly admit failure and move on as you experiment)."

Traditional agency structures clearly need to change. Hughes suggested that the emerging new stars in the PR world will be creative generalists. He emphasised that PR professionals and leaders will increasingly need to apply their creativity to essentially limitless client-side challenges, not least because AI tools can educate them at unprecedented pace.

Hart concluded: "The concept of creative generalists encourages me greatly. It’s a smart build on the type of people who have always thrived most in PR agencies, those with limitless intellectual curiosity and who thrive on new challenges. Exciting times ahead for our industry, bring it on." 

PRmoment Leaders is a subscription-based learning programme and community, built by PRmoment specifically for the next generation of PR and comms leaders to learn, network and lead. The two separate packages each contain 11 bespoke learning and networking elements, tailored to those working in-house and agency and contain an educational syllabus to prepare (and retain) key talent for leadership. Find out more below: