Is Brittany Broski the Perfect PR Pro?
Like over 2.5 million people worldwide, I was immediately captivated by YouTuber and media personality Brittany Broski, first as a form of entertainment and then as a prime example of perfect PR. She isn’t a nepo baby, she doesn’t shy away from personal and raw storytelling, and she seems to be everywhere you turn. In today’s media market, her personal branding is what propelled her to stardom, and PR pros can learn a lot from her career path.
Authenticity
Ask any fan and they will tell you that Brittant Broski isn’t afraid to speak her mind. A viral moment from her podcast, The Broski Report, shows her fawning over a Call of Duty cosplayer, followed immediately by an emotional recount of her relationship with religion. Fans notice that her brand doesn’t rest on a cultivated image of perfection, or even a selective idea of authenticity–but on the laurels of speaking on what she believes in and combining personal experience with extensive research. She creates a brand that invites people to express themselves in a way that doesn’t shy away from conventional media personalities, and while she didn’t invent authentic branding, she certainly became the poster child for it.
It seems like everywhere we turn, brands are vying for our attention: they want us to buy their products, people want us to watch their content, and services are offered that will “change our lives.” More and more, authenticity in branding is standing out amongst the thousands of factors that make a consumer choose what to buy into and what to skip out on. People are tired of brands’ exaggerated perfection. Instead, they want someone that understands what they need at a deeper level. A recent study shows that “90% of millennials agree that brand authenticity is key” when making these choices. By taking a page out of Brittany’s book, PR pros can understand not only the need for realness, but how to do it in a way that doesn’t flag the audience as performative.
Staying True To The Brand
Sometimes the small things make all the difference. A key piece of a content creator’s career is brand deals, and Brittany has hit the nail on the head. However, brand deals often seem misplaced: ever notice most YouTubers become suddenly passionate about VPNs? But Brittany has aligned herself with brands that either she truly uses or that align with an interest of hers. Frequent sponsors include SeekGeek, as a self-proclaimed concert addict, and RedBull, which was a brand deal she had begged for for years.
Authenticity is key, as I stated above, but another area where brands misstep involves their alignment with CSR initiatives. We have this drilled into our heads in every PR class, but after getting into the field, it’s easy to try to align your brand with whatever is the cheapest, most relevant, or convenient. Who you align with might not seem to be as big of a deal on the surface, but factoring in not only obvious thematic connections but also workplace culture, stakeholder interest, and geographical importance can not only increase positive sentiment, but help your brand be a true champion of the issue.
Diversification
Today, there are a million ways to get entertainment. From long-form YouTube content, to short-form TikTok content, all the way to the ever-rising medium of podcasting, creators have reached massive fame from one and often dabble in others. But never have I seen anyone utilize content diversification while maintaining a large and similar audience on each platform. On YouTube, Brittany creates videos about makeup, reactions, gameplay, art, cooking, and, most recently, celebrity interviews. Most media personalities keep a fairly strict lane, and if not, are known for one lane nevertheless. However, Brittany’s channel serves as a grab-bag of content that is different from each other, yet carries her branding through each video. No video seems out of character. Her TikTok reveals raw footage of “random” thoughts she has, akin to videos I have saved in my drafts that will never see the light of day. These are unstructured and sporadic, often prompting the complimentary responses of “are you okay” and “realest thing I’ve seen all week”. Her podcast bridges these two mediums, keeping a more scripted slate of talking points while introducing off-script tangents.
Personally, I think a lot of brands could learn a thing or two from Brittany’s diversification. More often than not, brands have a hard time perfecting each medium in a way that truly complements each platform. Brands either step out of the ordinary on one app and carry that sentiment across all platforms, or post the same content on all platforms with only minor tweaks. I would argue that there’s a way to conform to an app's standards while creating a brand voice that pushes the boundaries of conventional communications and weaves through each message. I would even go as far as to say that an audience would become more invested in a brand that showcases different facets of itself than a tired message that doesn’t fit the platform and create something new.
I’m not saying that you need to be Brittany Broski to be good at PR. Instead, I’m saying that the point is that no one should even attempt to replicate her, or any other brand. What PR needs is fresh eyes on the industry, ones that the next generation of professionals can begin to cultivate now and continue to use their knowledge to make the industry the diverse, rich, and creative field that it is.
Lauren Brasher is a junior at Grand Valley State University studying Advertising and Public Relations, with a minor in Digital Studies and Writing. She currently serves as VP of Professional Development on the PRSSA E-Board and is on the PRSSA Outreach Committee. Next semester, she will be a part of GrandPR as an Account Executive. In the future, Lauren hopes to get more involved with both organizations and keep learning about the world of PR!