Except for mega-corporations, heads of state, and A-List celebrities, public relations used to be a pretty parochial profession in which reputations, public personas, and political stances were little known to outsiders. But, the Internet and 24/7 media news cycle changed all that. Today, we're all operating on a worldwide stage.
Thank goodness the Annenberg Center for Public Relations helps keep us up to date on what's happening in our profession. Its Annual Global Communication Report is an invaluable tool for keeping us on top of what's already happened and prepared to cope with what's coming. If you're not reading it carefully each year, you should be!
The announcement for the latest edition points out: "Past research has predicted the future of corporate activism ... assessed how to engage with activist organizations, reviewed the convergence of marketing and public relations, ... and examined the industry's evolution of ethics and its use of technology and artificial intelligence."
This year's Global Communication Report, The Balancing Act, reports how "companies are increasingly expected to engage with social issues beyond their immediate business interests and discusses the growing influence of stakeholder expectations amidst a highly polarized political climate." And, it doesn't ignore the potentially disastrous worldwide impact of the United States' 2024 Presidential election.
Perhaps the most telling finding it reported was a study by Yale University that revealed more than 180 U.S. companies have issued formal statements about the Israel/Hamas conflict. This clearly reflects a "dramatic upswing in corporate activism" that cannot be traced to one special interest or one root cause. There is, however, "a prevailing sense that government has not fulfilled its role in society" and an equally widespread belief that some large corporations have "the resources and expertise to solve some of these major problems."
The most depressing finding was: "Less than half of Americans believe that any group is meeting their expectations in addressing social challenges. Consumers and employees give the most credit to nonprofit groups and the least to major corporations." Conversely, "Investors, business leaders and PR professionals rank the role played by big business at the top of their lists." — That's pretty hypocritical, but not surprising, if you ask me.
The report concludes with "an in-your-face" challenge. "How will this saga end for the PR profession? Will we be the cautious ones, who are hesitant to stand up for what we believed? Will we be the wise ones, who provided sage counsel to protect our reputations? Or will we be the bold ones, who did what was right, regardless of the consequences?"
Read the report, then honestly answer that question.
