When I first encountered the term Public Relations during my course in Mass Communication, it was crystal clear to me: even in the age of trendy collaborations, PR remains one of the most vital tools for bridging an organization and its public.
It’s a management function that builds and maintains communication, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between brands and their audiences. The process felt structured- formative research to analyze the situation, define goals for strategy building, select tactics to implement plans, and evaluate the execution.
But here’s the thing: it all comes down to strategy. The strategy makes or breaks the magic of public relations.
Over the years, studying research papers, dissecting case studies, and exploring campaigns, I realized that PR is no longer a one-way street. It’s a two-way conversation, and collaboration is the new forward.
Competitions Are Out, Collaborations Are In
Remember when brands avoided each other like rivals in a high school drama? Those days are long gone. Today, brands have figured out that “Don’t Sell, Connect!” is the mantra.
Trendy collaborations help brands connect with each other’s audiences, boosting their reach and making them more relevant.
Remember when Samay Raina roasted Zomato and casually pulled out a Swiggy T-shirt mid-roast? This roast quickly became a hot topic online. It wasn’t about rivalry—it was about blending humor with relatability, creating a moment people would remember and share.
Or how about Blinkit and Zomato’s artistic billboards turn the internet into their stage? One of Blinkit’s boards read, “Doodh mangoge, doodh denge.”, while Zomato responded with, “Kheer mangoge, kheer denge.” The clever idea clicked with people and went viral on social media. Memes, comments, and posts poured in, showing that humor, creativity, relatable content, and smart partnerships are a PR game.
zomato blinkit billboard
How Marketing Has Transformed
PR has changed a lot. Gone are the days of focusing only on selling products. Today, trendy collaborations rule the roost. Marketing isn’t about aggressively pushing products anymore; it’s about starting conversations, telling stories, and becoming part of the culture.
The big shift? Brands are no longer the sole narrators of their stories. Social media which is a great facilitator of quick digital interactions, has given customers a voice. Your brand isn’t just what you say it is; it’s what your audience says about you.
Take, for instance, when Zepto partnered with Manyavar in one of the quirkiest campaigns. A billboard read, “Manyavar chahiye? Manyavar in 10 minutes!- Zepto”.
People loved it- until the comment section turned into a laugh fest. One user jokingly commented, “Manyavar is fine, but how can we get a life partner in 10 minutes?”
Entered Shaadi.com, who jumped into the conversation with a witty response. Their follow-up post read, “Var chahiye? Will take more than 10 minutes.”
The collaboration between Zepto and Shaadi.com broke industry boundaries and turned a simple ad into a trending moment on social media. This campaign wasn’t just smart- it was a perfect example of quick thinking and creativity in PR.
Why Trendy Collaborations Work
Trendy Collaborations blur the lines between traditional and digital spaces, combining creativity and strategy to connect with audiences. They turn brands into conversation starters, tapping into humor, relatability, and relevance.
Remember when brands used to stick to their own lanes? Fast forward to now, and you’ve got brands sharing spotlights like BFFs.
These partnerships bring out the fun side of marketing. They make audiences laugh, think, and, most importantly, feel like they’re part of the story.
The Power of Engagement
The job of a marketer today? Entertain. Engage. Educate. (In that order.) Modern PR isn’t just about pushing out ads; it’s about creating content people want to interact with. It’s about memes, reels, and campaigns that make people stop scrolling.
What PR trends to Expect in 2025?
While engaging and relevant content creation, trendy collaborations, and strategy-making will all carry forward in 2025 as key PR activities, here are a few other initiatives that brands will be increasingly focusing on:
LinkedIn Thought Leadership: With over 700 million users all over the world, LinkedIn is going to be one of the most valuable digital platforms for PR activities in 2025 where you can share insightful content, build and grow your network, and push for trending collaborations.
Micro-influencer Marketing: If it is about trending collaborations then partnerships with micro-influencers are going to be a trend to watch in 2025. Brands can target their audience more effectively now by partnering with niche influencers.
Nykaa is doing this effectively. The leading Indian brand for beauty and personal care has been consistently collaborating with several micro-influencers to promote their range of products.
In-person events: No content can be as engaging as something that comes out of person-to-person interaction. That is why you will see brands will be organizing more in-person events like face-to-face interviews, live sessions, webinars, and conferences in the coming days.
Understanding a subject beyond the surface level and going deep down into it will require direct discussions with the thought leaders.
Use of AI: Messaging that connects – is the key to successful PR! And now with the advent of AI, creating these messages(content creation) becomes so much easier.
The year 2025 will see a rise in the usage of AI tools like chatGPT, Midjourney, Sythesia, Canva, and more that can help PR campaigns in every phase right from ideation to content creation to trendy collaborations to analyzing the effectiveness of these campaigns.
Ethics and social responsibility: People today not only assess the quality of products they also look for a strong social conscience in brands. They expect more authenticity and transparency in their favorite brands and therefore would value more charitable initiatives from them. So a growing CSR is very much on the card in 2025!
The brands we’ll remember are the ones that let their audiences shape the story. The ones brave enough to collaborate, move away from old-school competition, and dive into the wild world of digital culture.
So, the next time you see two brands teaming up for a campaign, think about how much Public Relations has evolved. From rigid strategies to Instagram trends, it’s a whole new world. And we’re just getting started.
Are you a brand hungry for a broader outreach but PR is not your game? We invite you to book a free one-on-one session with us and we’ll see how we can effectively connect your brand to a wider audience.
