5 PR lessons from ’80s and ’90s hairstyles

If you were a teenage girl in the late ’80s and early ’90s, you know a thing or two about big hair. Whether you were genetically blessed with a thick mane or you had hair so fine you could see through it, perfecting the “in” hair for girls of that era was not a minor undertaking.

Reflecting back on the hours I spent each day sculpting my own hair-tastic style, I see now that the process of building that mountainous lion’s mane is similar being successful in today’s public relations environment. Here’s how:

1. Tools of the trade are both varied and plentiful. Aqua Net, a teasing pick, an inferno-inducing heat setting on my hair dryer: These are the things that made for incredibly big hair in the ’90s. The tools of our trade are equally abundant, be they traditional press releases, press kits and well-crafted pitches, or today’s social content, videos, infographics and listicles.

2. Bigger is better. Just as volume was an absolute must-have for hair back then, stories with substance are still in style today.