In this op-ed, Sharon Zeev Poole, founder and executive director of Agent99 Public Relations, argued that the “Women in SPAM” trend, while well-intentioned, risks undoing decades of work to position communications as a strategic discipline.
When I first started my career in communications decades ago, very few people viewed our profession as a key aspect of business strategy. Communications teams were often brought in once decisions had already been made. We were expected to support the strategy but not be involved in shaping it. The work was frequently dismissed as simply creative or tactical, even though reputation, stakeholder trust and public perception were often determining the success of an organisation.
Over the course of my career, I’ve watched the shift and have seen communications leaders become trusted advisers to CEOs and seeing the function become a critical driver of commercial growth. I’ve also seen countless talented women work incredibly hard to ensure our industry is recognised as a discipline built on strategy, business acumen and influence.
That’s why I’ve found myself reflecting on the recent rise of the “Women in SPAM” trend.
If you’ve somehow missed it on your socials, SPAM stands for Social Media, Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing, and the term has quickly gained traction across TikTok and LinkedIn. Young women are proudly embracing the label, sharing their careers, documenting agency life and building communities around their experiences in the industry. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand the appeal.
Every generation wants to find their community and network. With every generation, a new vernacular develops and, in many ways, it is encouraging to see young women excited about building careers in communications.
But if I’m honest, the trend makes me uneasy.
Not because I don’t appreciate humour or because I don’t think young professionals should build their personal brands.
It makes me uneasy because after spending years helping to elevate the perception of our profession, I worry we’re starting to package ourselves in ways that diminish the very value we’ve fought so hard to establish. The connotations with the term alone, inspires visceral reactions of a hatred for spam emails and calls. A detriment to the strategic work communications professionals strive to achieve.
For years, the industry has battled outdated assumptions that our jobs are somehow less influential than other roles within businesses. Many women in leadership positions today have spent a significant portion of their careers proving that what we do is not about parties, press releases and pretty social posts. It’s about influencing behaviour, managing risk, and protecting reputations to move the dial for brands.
So, when I see terms like “Women in SPAM” or “PR girlie” becoming part of the professional lexicon, I can’t help but wonder whether we’re unintentionally reinforcing some of the stereotypes we’ve spent years trying to undo.
The more I’ve thought about this trend, the more I’ve realised that the trend itself isn’t the heart of this story.
Because I don’t think this movement is really about acronyms at all. I think it’s a reflection of something much bigger happening in our industry. For the first time in decades, the traditional pathway into the communications industry is being disrupted by AI technology.
When I started out, you learned your craft through the work. You wrote media releases, built relationships with journalists, and spent hours honing your craft and learning how to communicate effectively. Whilst those tasks weren’t always glamorous, they taught you how to think creatively and strategically.
Today, many of those same tasks can be completed in a matter of minutes thanks to the arrival of new platforms. As a business owner, I see both the opportunities and challenges this creates. AI is helping our industry become faster but it’s also changing how emerging talent develops expertise and demonstrates value.
With the growth of AI, naturally young professionals are looking elsewhere to differentiate themselves. For many, that means building a personal brand, the true challenge is that visibility and value are not the same thing.
As AI continues to automate technical tasks, human capabilities become even more imperative and skills such as judgement, commercial awareness, and relationship building are what actually differentiate each individual.
These are the talents that are going to be the foundation for building careers. They are the inherently human touches that no trend, algorithm or platform can replicate effectively.
If I were starting my career today, I would be asking what I can do to be a more valuable and a uniquely individual member of my team, as that’s what will create opportunities and influence long after social media trends disappear into the depths of the internet.
My hope is that we continue encouraging young women to build communities, support one another and celebrate their careers, but also continue to remind them that their greatest professional asset isn’t a personal brand, a trend or a catchy acronym.
Instead, it’s their ability to think strategically, build trust and create value in ways technology never will. That’s what earned communications its seat at the table and what will keep it there long into the future.
