Reactive vs proactive PR: Why the best strategies involve both

Reactive and proactive PR are very different approaches to public relations: reactive PR can be defined by spontaneously responding to events as they happen, while proactive PR shapes perception and takes control of the narrative and positioning of the brand with purposeful planning. 

Both forms of PR offer equally impactful opportunities to position a brand in the media, but in entirely different ways. The most effective PR strategies use both avenues, using reactive PR to respond to unexpected world events, a crisis, or trends, while proactive PR offers more control over the narrative – involving much planning and storytelling. 

It’s not a case of “if one fails, we have the other”, because they both add much value in their own right, but it does offer more opportunities for brands as reactive tests how prepared a brand is to comment on unexpected media attention, and proactive is a long-term building of trust and credibility, and brand awareness, over time. 

Let’s get into what exactly defines the two, and the strengths and limitations of each: 

Reactive PR

What is reactive PR? It’s immediate responses to journalist enquiries requesting expert commentary, current events, or trending topics to gain instant media coverage. It’s leveraging the news cycle and trends to respond quickly and stay relevant, and in the case of Digital PR (as opposed to traditional), with the aim of gaining high-authority backlinks to boost SEO performance. 

It’s an agile approach to position your brand in front of the right audience. Reactive PR can look like: 

• Crisis communications – responding quickly to an unforeseen crisis quickly and effectively to ‘save face’ with a brand’s reputation.
• Jumping on trending news topics or trending stories.
• Leveraging trends that have peaked in popularity (Autistic Barbie was a great example of this). 
• Offering products for placement in response to journalist requests. 
• Writing reactive comments on topical conversations to outreach proactively to journalists. 

Proactive PR

What is proactive PR? Proactive PR takes full control of the narrative. While reactive PR comments can occasionally be spun by the journalist – as they’re not bound to offer context of the full piece of coverage they’re positioning the comments within – whereas proactive PR gives the opportunity to shape your own storytelling. 

Proactive PR is mapped out from start to finish, from the research and ideation stage all the way through to specific outreach. It’s a planned approach, and rather than offering expert comments for quick wins like reactive, it shapes the narrative in a controlled way. 

Proactive PR can look like:

• Writing press releases with expert commentary to outreach to the press. 
• Thought leadership articles to outreach to the press. 
• On-page content to sit on the client’s website and build press releases around to outreach to the press. 
• Campaign and product launches. 
• Brand-focussed proactive PR – announcing any business developments, awards, or event attendance to foster a strong reputation and trust. 
• Events and partnerships with the aim of inviting journalists and including them in the journey.

When done well, proactive PR is a long-term strategy to build trust, credibility and brand awareness, considered a marathon not a sprint, it takes time and consistency to build.

The strengths and limitations of each

Proactive PR gives control over the narrative, allowing you to shape the conversation in a much more considered way, but it can’t predict the unexpected conversations that arise. 

Proactive PR also takes time. In the first weeks and months of onboarding a client, the initial stages should be warming up the brand to the press, like an introduction, and considered planning for outreach and the journalists and publications that will be approached to align with the brand. 

Reactive PR is adaptable and works in real-time, thriving off speed and reliability. There’s elements of control in reactive PR off the back of building solid, trusting relationships with journalists, where they trust the PR to provide quick, accurate comments, and the PR trusts the journalist to position their brand in a positive light. 

Reactive PR offers limitations though, in that quick wins of coverage across topics that don’t follow a specific journey or narrative can make the brand appear inconsistent or lacking direction. 

Both avenues offer their own individual limitations, which is why they fit together like two puzzle pieces. What proactive lacks, like quick wins, reactive fills, and what reactive lacks, like long-term authority-building, proactive fills. 

Why the best strategies involve both

“Do you want… to form… an alliance… with me?” – Reactive and proactive are better together, reactives provides adaptability and opportunity to newsjack trending topics and be part of ongoing conversations, and proactive starts the conversation and continues it long-term. 

Together, they provide two avenues, creating a system that is both stable and flexible.

How to combine reactive and proactive PR

Proactive PR strengthens reactive PR:

A brand that invests time into proactive PR can ensure clear messaging, defined values, and strong media relationships, making the brand far better equipped to provide comments and opinions in response to unexpected events. Without an established tone of voice, knowledge of areas to push and areas to avoid, and brand values, the brand risks not landing well in the media and appearing rushed or inconsistent. 

Reactive moments can fuel proactive PR:

Reactive moments cover an array of areas including trends, industry news, real-time data, and trending social media topics, offering the opportunity to position a brand intentionally and meaningfully. 

Once brands build coverage in top-tier publications from reactive PR, they establish a trusted presence with the audience and the journalist, making them much more likely to be featured through proactive avenues. 

Consistency builds trust:

Brands must be consistent, and the reactive and proactive combination ensures you’re in the media long enough to make true brand impact and build trust, rather than momentarily.

Key takeaways for a combined PR strategy

Have clear messaging and brand values already established, this will give an anchor for reactive PR to ensure comments always align with the brand – even when you need to respond efficiently.

Monitor for reactive opportunities: always be on the lookout for any opportunities where a brand could be part of the conversation, but ensure it’s perfectly aligned with the brand messaging and values. This needs to be timely before it risks becoming ‘yesterday’s news’. Monitor industry trends, media coverage and public sentiment to respond intelligently.

Be mindful, not every viral moment requires a response from a brand, it needs to be aligned and highly relevant, but when it does, speed and accuracy matter. Be prepared to act fast and avoid necessary delays – let the journalist know the comments are on their way (but only if you can guarantee this), and prepare the client accordingly.

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