A 2025 PR Playbook for an Unpredictable World

RedNote's PR situation, changing media landscape and what to do about it, and crisis comms.

In a spectacular reversal, TikTok is back and has officially become a US-China geopolitical bargaining chip. RedNote emerged as the biggest winner from last week's events, gaining newfound street cred and influx of #tiktokrefugees. I'm fascinated to see how RedNote will rise to the occasion and capitalize on this surge of media interest, if TikTok’s going full MAGA will save it, and how will these companies communicate with their stakeholders: from investors, users, policymakers, and media.

What's the PR playbook for 2025 with a fragmented media landscape and black swan events? Let's start with the challenges, perfectly summarized by Biden's outgoing Communications Director:

1. It's harder than ever before to break through

2. Most Americans under 35 have moved away from traditional news sources.

3. There's a global anti-incumbent, anti-institution wave.

These points deeply resonate with me. I see a widening schism between what serious, top-tier media wants to cover and companies’ expectation of coverage. But when the media interest is there, there is often reluctance to share–this is typically a duel between legal and PR, but also perception of the risks associated with engaging with media. RedNote is probably swimming in media inquiries at this point, yet it has not officially said anything about the scale and impact of the TikTok refugees moving over to its app. Whereas Duolingo has jumped on the trend and driving the conversation.

RedNote’s X account seems to have been taken over by its China PR team, with the rigidly translated “letters to Lihua” phenomenon that the Chinese state media is also promoting across its channels.

But if RedNote has taught us anything, it is that 2025 will be volatile as the public tries to make sense of all the competing narratives around them.

Communications with the public and relevant stakeholders will need to evolve, and that’s the topic of discussion I had with Eddie Tabakman, AKA Eddie the Media Trainer. Below is a summary of our observations and predictions for 2025.

What is Media Relations Anyway?

Building a relationship with the media so you are top of mind—that's how I'd define it. But the core challenge isn't just securing coverage, it's understanding the media ecosystem.

There are some common misconceptions that we both see way too often than not:

Binary thinking: Many founders swing between two extremes—believing media exists either to promote or to tear down their business. The reality is more nuanced: media serves its audience, not companies.

What’s Newsy: There's frequently a disconnect between what companies consider newsworthy and what actually interests journalists. An app update affecting 5,000 users rarely interests publications with millions of readers. However, framing it within broader trends increases coverage chances and builds credibility with reporters.

The relationship myth: This is particularly common among international companies entering the U.S. market—believing media coverage is purely relationship-based and can be "managed" through personal connections. Let's be clear: earned media comes through diligent and relevant pitching; it can't be bought.

Given these misconceptions, let's explore several key trends reshaping the U.S. media landscape:

• Individual journalists leaving legacy media for Substack

• Changing incentive structure as writers need build personal brands to stand out

• Corporate Substacks emerging as an owned communications channel

• Traditional news and social media influence becoming increasingly intertwined

And Eddie and I both agree that it all comes down to audience development. Instead of relying on paid advertising and buying traffic and impressions, building an audience means developing a direct relationship with your readers, which leads to the next point:

How do you stand out in this media environment?

Authenticity is Key

The corporate communications game needs a revamp in 2025. Think about Joe Rogan's raw, marathon conversations crushing it while Meghan Markle's overly polished podcast flopped. People crave authentic dialogue and unfiltered opinions. For companies, this means abandoning PR-speak and finding their authentic voices and positioning.

Speed trumps perfection–forget about taking a week to craft the perfect statement and navigating bureaucratic layers and internal debates. Having the right voice for platform-specific content is essential—what works on TikTok won't in the Wall Street Journal. But the key is you give the reporters what they want when they want it.

How are brands and companies preparing for those unexpected moments when they get pulled into X storms or political debates? Think Donald Trump walking into a McDonald's. How you respond will be how the public remembers you. With journalists building personal followings, editors more and more dictating the direction of coverage, and everyone chasing the next big breaking news with less time, the traditional media playbook has become obsolete.

Owned Channel Strategy

Eddie and I explored the pros and cons of this because going direct is having a moment in the comms world. And here are our thoughts on this:

• Choose platforms aligned with your natural communication style (video, writing, or audio) and maintain consistency, and develop it thoroughly before moving on to a new format.

• Focus on where your target audience genuinely spends time.

• Adopt a hybrid approach combining direct channels with earned media and influencer strategies.

• Recognize platform-specific purposes: discovery (TikTok, Instagram, X) versus relationship-building (Substack, podcasts), and build a strategy around it and stick with it.

Writing about PR after the whirlwind of the RedNote craze is also giving me food for thought about crisis communication.

If anything, the TikTok and RedNote migration exemplifies how black swan events will likely become more frequent, given the volatile news cycle under an administration making swift, significant changes.

Companies need to understand that with social media, a fad could quickly become a movement, and a tweet could be turn up on national news. You're managing multiple audiences simultaneously, and any internal memo could surface on X.

The new rules: assume everything goes public, recognize that influencers operate outside traditional media rules, move quickly while maintaining accuracy, and be prepared to manage crises across all platforms simultaneously.

Saying this again: speed trumps perfection—for reporters, timing is critical. Once the news cycle moves on, a company's power to shape the narrative vanishes.

I do hope RedNote will seize the moment and spin the media interest to its advantage.

Parting words: