PR’s Golden Age will belong to those who understand people, not just platforms

We are living through an interesting contradiction. We have never had more ways to communicate, yet it has arguably never been harder to genuinely connect.
Lebogang MashangoaneBy Lebogang Mashangoane
31 Jul 2026
Lebogang Mashangoane, account director at Riverbed PR says PR’s Golden Age will belong to those who understand people (Image supplied)
Lebogang Mashangoane, account director at Riverbed PR says PR’s Golden Age will belong to those who understand people (Image supplied)

Brands can reach millions of people in seconds, audiences can access more content than they could ever consume, creators have built communities around shared interests and experiences and artificial intelligence can help produce content at extraordinary speed.

Yet the messages that often stay with us are not necessarily the biggest, loudest or most technologically advanced. They are the ones that make us feel seen.

This, to me, is where the opportunity for strategic PR lies not necessarily in reaching more people, but in understanding people better.

The end of the general public

For decades, communication was built around mass reach: one message, distributed through a few powerful channels, to as many people as possible. But the audience is no longer one audience.

We speak about “the public”, “consumers” or “young people” as though these are homogenous groups.

They are not. People are shaped by culture, language, geography, history, family, community and lived experience. A message that resonates with one audience may be completely irrelevant to another.

South Africa had 26.7 million social media user identities at the beginning of 2025.

But the growth of digital platforms has not created one larger audience. It has created thousands of smaller, more connected communities.

This is why cultural intelligence is becoming increasingly important to communications. It is not enough to know who an audience is.

We need to understand what matters to them: what they remember, what they are proud of, what they find funny, what they reject and what they recognise instantly because it reflects something from their own lives.

The ability to translate complexity into something simple, relevant and human is becoming one of the most valuable skills in communication.

Relevance is the new reach

We have traditionally asked: “How many people did we reach?”Of course, reach still matters.

But perhaps we need to ask better questions.

  • Did the message mean something to them?
  • Did they see themselves in it?
  • Did it make them feel something?
  • Did they want to share it with someone else?

That is so me

The most powerful communication is often not the message that tells people something completely new. It is the message that makes them think: That is so me.

We saw a powerful example of this in the recent Vaseline Mntana ka Gogo campaign by VML South Africa. The work centred on a simple, deeply familiar ritual: a grandmother or caregiver applying Vaseline to a child’s face.

Through a culturally specific insight and vernacular storytelling, the campaign tapped into a shared South African memory of care and preparation

.It did not need to explain the cultural meaning of the moment. Many people already understood it. They had lived it.

That is the power of cultural relevance. A story can be deeply local and still travel widely when the human truth at its centre is authentic.

Creators are cultural translators

The rise of creators has also changed the communications landscape. The best creators understand the communities they speak to their language, humour, references and nuances.

They are not simply media channels; they are cultural translators.

The strategic question should therefore not simply be: “Who has the biggest following?”It should be: “Who already has the relationship we are trying to build?”

That requires a different approach to partnerships. A creator is not simply a person to whom a brand hands a script. The most effective collaborations are built on understanding why that creator has influence within a particular community and giving them the space to communicate naturally.

Audiences are increasingly sophisticated. They know when a brand is forcing its way into a conversation or trying too hard to be relevant. They are quick to ask: Why are you here?

Human relationships more valuable

In an increasingly digital world, human relationships are becoming more valuable, not less. A journalist is not simply a contact in a database. A creator is not simply a media placement. A stakeholder is not simply a name on a distribution list.

Communication is built on relationships, context and understanding. You cannot manufacture cultural relevance, you cannot force authenticity and you cannot enter a conversation simply because it is trending and expect people to be welcomed.

Relevance is earned through understanding.

Listening before speaking

I believe the golden age of strategic PR will not be defined by how much content organisations can produce.

There is already more content than any of us can consume. It will be defined by how well organisations understand the people they are trying to reach.

In a world where everyone can publish, publishing is no longer the advantage. In a world where everyone can create content, content alone is no longer the differentiator.

The advantage lies in listening before speaking, translating complexity into clarity and recognising the cultural detail that turns a message into a memory.

Perhaps this is the opportunity in front of PR: to stop asking how we can be everywhere and start asking where we can be meaningful.

Because the future of communication may not belong to the loudest voice in the room.It may belong to the one that understands the room.

About Lebogang Mashangoane

Lebogang Mashianoke Mashangoane (#NgwanaDiTlou) is an award-winning PR and communications specialist with over nine years of experience helping corporate and consumer brands build relevance, earn trust and create meaningful connections through culture, creativity and strategic communication.
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