Brands need to be more strategic about what they can control and wiser about where they can relinquish it, Tamara Norman said.
Tamara Norman, president of the newly merged Golin Ketchum, has been in the industry for more than 30 years. Before the internet, as she put it.
Throughout the past three decades, the biggest transformation she’s witnessed has been the increased pace of change.
“Our clients expect us to be one step ahead of them, so, for us, we’re always leaning into what’s around the corner,” said Norman.
One thing that’s remained the same throughout her career: the power of human connection.
“That was critical in 1994 when I started in this business, and it’s just as critical now — maybe even more critical because of the world of machines and algorithms that we’re living in,” she added.
Back home from her recent trip to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where Golin Ketchum picked up a handful of awards, Norman spoke to PR Daily about how people are thinking about change and human connection based on her conversations and observations from the south of France.
Where brands should take greater control
One big topic of conversation at Cannes, according to Norman, centered around trust and reputation.
As AI accelerates the creation of mis- and disinformation and social media distributes it to a greater number of people with ever-increasing precision, brands have less time to react.
Norman noted that when she first started in this line of work, brands usually had 24 hours to respond. Now, she said, “it’s down to minutes.”
Brands therefore need to invest in tools to monitor online conversations and spot problems before they begin to gain traction. They also need technology that’s capable of discerning fact from fiction.
“Getting ahead of it as fast as you can is really critical for brands to maintain their reputation,” said Norman.
Robust scenario planning prior to launching a new campaign or initiative is also key. Brands caught flat-footed don’t have the luxury of spending a day to come up with a response. They need to act before a false narrative begins to reshape the public’s perception.
“Things move so fast these days,” said Norman. “You have to make sure you’re prepared, even when you’re doing something to enhance the brand.”
Where brands should let go
As brands tighten their grip on reputation management, they also need to loosen it on certain aspects of the marketing process to become part of culture.
“That means letting go a little bit,” said Norman.
One result of this mindset is that more brands are letting their customers speak on their behalf. They’re making more space for their community to participate as advocates.
As an example, Norman mentioned Dr Pepper’s willingness to turn a viral jingle created by content creator Romeo Bingham into a TV commercial that aired during the College Football Playoff National Championship.
“It’s letting the creator, letting your fans, be part of who you are, part of the creation and cultivation of your brand,” said Norman, who noted there were more creators and influencers at Cannes this year than she’s ever seen before.
@romeosshow @Dr Pepper please get back to me with a proposition we can make thousands together. #drpepper #soda #beverage ♬ original sound – Romeo
That willingness to share creative control also extends to how brands think about media coverage.
Another dominant theme at Cannes this year was the growing power of earned media.
“Earned was a big topic,” said Norman. “It was very prevalent in the work, in the conversations. Earned is having a moment.”
This is partially due to large language models (LLMs) relying on journalism to generate results. But, again, it also involves PR professionals building relationships with reporters and ceding some control to them to tell the story.
All of this, of course, doesn’t mean brands need to surrender control entirely. Rather, they need to identify trusted partners — whether that’s fans, creators or communities — and amplifying them in authentic, yet responsible, ways.
“It means really understanding who your audience is and where they are, but also understanding your brand DNA,” said Norman. “Know what you’re willing to let go of and what you’re not.”
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