In our latest series, we’re focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) in public relations (PR). If you’re just joining us, be sure to check out the first post of this series.
Today, we’re focusing on AI-driven analytics. We’ll dive deeper into the technology and data analysis capabilities that enable more informed decisions in PR campaigns. While the first post in this series highlighted more general concepts and how AI implementation influences PR teams, the second post is intended to help PR teams that specifically work for outdoor brands.
Here is what you need to know about AI-driven analytics and what the ongoing narrative means for your outdoor or travel brand.
The Link Between AI, Analytics, and PR Teams
Many marketing and PR teams already use AI and its applications, enabling these professionals to reimagine how they utilize and communicate with technology.
Microsoft released data from 2024, showcasing the rapid adoption of generative AI among marketing and PR teams. In six months, the use of AI in the workplace doubled, and as a result, 75% of global knowledge workers were using it. The perks of doing so?
- 90% say AI has helped them save time
- 85% say AI helped them focus on their most important work
- 84% say they are more creative because of AI
- 83% enjoy their work more because of AI support
For those in PR, AI tools are becoming invaluable, supporting everything from brainstorming and drafting content to analyzing media coverage. And most PR experts would agree that without data, marketing or PR campaigns can quickly fall short. It is AI that supports the effectiveness of these campaigns, as it enables more accurate and insightful data analysis.
How PR Professionals and Outdoor Brands Can Leverage AI
There are certain outdoor brands, such as REI, Patagonia, YETI, and The North Face, that are recognized for their strong PR teams, which focus on community, sustainability, and innovation. Maintaining a strong brand image is crucial for the ongoing success of these companies, particularly in terms of fostering customer loyalty and trust.
For this reason, among others, these outdoor brands focus on lifestyle-centric storytelling, authenticity, and community-building, all of which are supported by data analytics. The best storytelling tactics today often combine AI automation with human imagination.
Much like these brands, your PR team can leverage AI-powered tools to analyze customer data or, in the case of outdoor hospitality, visitor and guest data. You can pull information from behavior patterns, content interaction trends, and preferences to better understand how your target audience perceives your brand and how they respond to varying campaigns.
Read more: Navigating the Future: The Impact of Emerging Technologies on Travel Advertising
Using AI for Proactive Crisis Management
You can use AI as an algorithm partner, helping you gather and process data for predictive analytics. This tactic is already being employed by Fortune 500 companies to simulate potential crisis scenarios tailored to their specific industry, history, and market conditions.
In response, PR teams can develop response strategies for situations that exhibit high probability markers. Risk detection and monitoring can be achieved through social listening and predictive analytics tools, while AI simulations, automated initial responses, and further data-driven insights support response and preparation strategies.
AI Guides Real-Time Event Adaptation
PR teams can achieve greater success and connect on a more genuine level with customers by using AI during live events or product launches. AI tools can analyze real-time social media responses from the audience to guide the conversation, ensuring that emerging questions and concerns are addressed as they arise.
This benefits customers, as it makes them feel heard — and for PR teams, it benefits them from real-time feedback.
Personalized Pitches
PR firms and in-house PR teams may have certain journalists or news outlets in mind that best align with their core messaging. AI can be used to analyze journalists’ articles, response patterns, and social media engagement to craft a more personalized media pitch.
Based on this analysis, AI provides teams with the best timing, tone, and content angles, increasing success rates without requiring additional manual work.
Next Steps
When introducing new AI-powered tools and strategies into your overall workflow, ensure you select the right tool based on your specific needs. For example, content generation, sentiment analysis, and predictive analytics will all have specialized solutions. You must also remain mindful of compliance concerns related to GDPR and CCPA.
Are you unsure about the best approach, or do you want to expand your current PR and marketing strategies to incorporate more AI-driven solutions? If so, Watauga Group can help your outdoor brand via digital PR services, audience targeting, strategic campaign planning, and more — all of which can benefit from AI tools and in-depth data analysis.
Get in touch with our team to get started today.
