As 360PR+ celebrates its 20th birthday, CEO Laura Tomasetti shares the secrets to the firm's success, as well as how it's dealing with a rapidly changing communications landscape, on the latest "PR's Top Pros Talk" video interview with Doug Simon.

Tomasetti's career covers a range that goes from consumer brand markeing to corporate communications, and includes experince on both the agency and in-house sides of the PR fence.

One of the keys to her success has been keeping up with the rapid changes in the communications world. A big change that Tomasetti sees taking place now is a deeper level of storytelling across the industry. "Brands are really diving deep," she tells Simon, and "are really focused on the convergence of brand marketing and corporate reputation."

That trend comes hand in hand with an increased focus on content. "We've certainly moved away from 30-second spots and just straight-up advertising," she says "People know what advertising looks like and they click out of it."

Another shift centers around the increased role CEOs are playing in communications. "We're seeing CEOs really step forward and enjoy that role as not just advocating around expected events like earnings, but really being central to brand storytelling, so that deeper storytelling is coming from the top with the help of PR people."

In addition to going deeper, Tomasetti says, communicators have to widen the scope of their messages. "Brands have an opportunity to play against a much larger backdrop today."

The conversation also addresses how the industry can attract Gen Zers into its ranks. "We'd be crazy not to create a pathway to the PR industry with this new generation of talent," she says, telling Simon about a 360PR+ summer program that brought in both high school and college students, giving them a view of PR, while also letting the agency learn about them.

"I think that this generation is really, really different from past generations," Tomasetti says. "They are multitasking, they are super capable. And so, I think they're moving very seamlessly from making those connections online to being back in-person and really celebrating those opportunities."

View all of the interviews in the “PR's Top Pros Talk” series. Subscribe to get notified when new episodes are available.

Interested in taking part? Contact Doug Simon at dougs@dssimonmedia.com

D S Simon Media helps clients get their stories on television through satellite media tours and by producing and distributing content to the media. The company also produces live social media events.