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Careers in PR and marketing have never been more popular, but thanks to direct digital communication with consumers and the rise of call-out culture, the skills required to succeed in them are evolving.
Gucci Pre-Fall 2019 campaign | Source: Gucci via Facebook
By
  • BoF Careers Team

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LONDON, United Kingdom — Career opportunities in PR are growing as the digital landscape carves out new avenues of work — and as the need to defend as well as promote public image increases.

In the US, employment for public relations specialists will expand to 282,600 in 2026, up 9 percent from 2016, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the industry is more competitive than ever. Today, there are 6.4 public relations specialists for every news reporter, compared to 1.9 in 1998, according to the 2018 US Census. What’s more, the direct connection between brands and consumers via social media is blurring the distinction between PR and marketing roles.

The rise of an online "call-out" culture, led by the likes of Diet Prada and Estée Laundry, means fashion and beauty brands are now more likely to face PR crises, which can turn one Tweet into global news in just a few hours. In the last six months alone, luxury brands from Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and Burberry have come under fire for racially discriminatory or insensitive designs, sparking an immediate PR backlash. High street or smaller brands also frequently come under fire for copy-cat designs, with some companies resorting to knee-jerk reactions of closing their social media accounts to avoid further criticism. The ability to excel in crisis management, dealing with the increasing speed with which consumers and retailers respond to controversy and the risk of consumer comments going viral online, is now a requirement for individuals seeking to head up PR and marketing functions at leading global businesses.

However, purposefully provocative campaigns can also present strong statements on a brand or company's beliefs — and reap beneficial results at the same time. Following Nike's collab with Colin Kaepernick, a footballer who refused to stand for the US national anthem in 2016 as a protest against police brutality and racism, an online campaign advocated for consumers to boycott the brand via hashtags. However, online sales grew 31 percent in the bank holiday weekend after the advertisement was launched. Gucci's recent beauty line relaunch also adopted a strong creative stance. Fronted by rock musician Dani Miller's gap-toothed grin, the campaign is reflective of Alessandro Michele's celebration of idiosyncratic identities during his tenure as creative director, and generated strong social success, with the campaign's first Instagram post pulling in over 30k likes compared to Gucci Beauty's 4.2k average in the last 30 days — an 86 percent increase.

The American Marketing Association reported a strong growth in marketing jobs in 2018 and noted an increasing desire from employers for marketing knowledge in AI. Between 2017 and 2018, there was an increase of over 500 percent in job postings that referenced AI and machine learning skills within content marketing, product marketing and marketing analyst roles on recruitment site, ZipRecruiter.

Here are the most exciting career opportunities in PR and marketing currently live on BoF Careers:

Europe

Senior Press Manager - Womenswear, Celebrity, & Jewellery, Louis Vuitton — London, United Kingdom

Junior Account Executive, Beauty, Purple — London, United Kingdom

Press and PR Coordinator, Marine Serre — Paris, France

Director, Marketing ManagerZalando — Berlin, Germany

United States

PR Account Director, Fashion, The Communications Store — New York, United States

PR Coordinator (Freelance), Depop — New York, United States

Marketing Manager, 11 Honoré — Los Angeles, United States

PR Internship, Vestiaire Collective — New Orleans, United States

Rest of World

Senior Officer, Digital and Communications, Ralph Lauren — Shanghai, China

Contract Marketing (Event) Assistant, Asia Pacific, Tommy Hilfiger — Hong Kong

Senior Executive, Fashion Office, Marketing, Asia Pacific, PVH — Hong Kong

Marketing Communications Director, Michi — Toronto, Canada

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