“Back to the Future” Day: 5 PR Lessons

Everywhere throughout my social media content, I have found one commonality in content. Today is October 21st, 2015. What’s the significance? “Back to the Future” Day, of course. Today’s date is the day the time travelers in the popular eighties movie traveled to. When the movie was originally released, viewers were in awe at the futuristic imaginative ideas such as the hover board, that they paid no attention to the date. Now that it has finally arrived, everyone gets interested.

Yonaton Sredni, a contributor to Ragan’s PR Daily, shares five PR lessons that the popular movie has taught him throughout the years. Check out his post here!

In no particular order, here they are:

1. Don’t go overboard.
   Marty may get a little carried away in chasing his dream, and it sometimes got in his way. While ambition is valuable, keep it simple. Simplicity is often much more appealing than overbearing content.
2. Don’t forget who your friends are.
   Doc and Marty have a strong friendship. Their personal and professional relationship allows them to achieve something great. This is a somewhat relevant example of networking. Working with clients, customers, management, and other professionals is key in being a relevant public relations professional.
3. “Don’t be a slacker”
   These are the words Marty’s father says to him more than once. It just so happens that he gives some very good advice here. It may be obvious, but hard work is one of the most important elements in not only public relations, but life in general.
4. “Nobody calls me chicken”
   Marty’s response to some criticism gets a little heated here, showing us what not to do. In times of criticism or pressuring, harsh review, it can be easy to let emotions take over. But remember, keep it cool, calm, and professional.
5. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to.
   Apparently even crazy/impossible feats such as time travel.