Here is something worth understanding about public relations in 2006: it was almost entirely media relations. You pitched stories. You built press lists. You cultivated relationships with journalists. That was the job.

There was no social media strategy. Content creation was not a service category. Ad buys belonged to the ad agencies, full stop.

Then everything changed.

When we invested to bring video production in-house, we were well ahead of where the industry was heading. When social media emerged as a communications channel, we didn’t wait to see how it would shake out — we committed to it early and built real expertise. Content creation, influencer partnerships, digital storytelling — these have grown from new experiments into some of the strongest drivers of our business today.

And then — as it so often does — the wheel turned again.

Media relations, the discipline that was always at the core of what we do, is experiencing a genuine resurgence. As AI-driven search reshapes the way people discover and evaluate information, earned media has taken on new weight. A credible third-party story, a bylined article, a journalist’s endorsement — these carry authority that algorithms recognize and reward. We always believed in the power of earned media. It was in our DNA from the beginning. It’s gratifying to see its resurgence in new and exciting ways. Not to mention how critical journalism is to our society as a whole.

Today, effective public relations lives across three pillars: Earned media, Owned media, and Paid media. The agencies that thrive are the ones that understand not just each pillar, but how they reinforce one another. That integrated thinking has been central to how Maroon PR operates, and it is a big part of why we are positioned well for what comes next.