Communications professionals may not have mystical powers of prediction, but we must adjust our communications approaches to stay relevant in today’s fragmented, story saturated and data-driven world.
THE WORLD – AND, INDEED, OUR REGION –NEEDS STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS
MORE THAN EVER BEFORE
From Brexit to Trumpism to the protests in Lebanon, political upheaval dominates global headlines. A decent study revealed 75 per cent of Gen Z-ers in the US, UK, Germany, India, China, Brazil and South Africa said being politically or socially engaged is very important to their identity.
But it’s not just Gen Z; employee activism is rising across the board. With almost three quarters of the global population now using mobile phones, championing issues on the public stage has never been easier, with the potential to spark huge movements. This can be positive, but it can also mean misinformation and negative sentiment, testing the reputation of many high-profile brands.
THIS REGION WILL CONTINUE MAKING GLOBAL HEADLINES
Google ‘Lebanon Baby Shark’ and watch the video of a mum in traffic with her frightened baby, pacified by male protestors singing Baby Shark. It went viral after being shared on WhatsApp, with the likes of Inside Edition, the BBC, CNN and Trevor Noah picking it up. Who knew a passerby’s video could help us narrate our story?
Or look at Saudi Arabia’s massive social, tourism and economic reform since the first woman driving broke the internet. While it’s positioned as part of the kingdom’s efforts to promote tolerance and attract foreigners, sadly it’s still making negative headlines amidst continuing cynicism.
The UAE breaks world records, hosts Expo 2020, and searches for a new nation brand. UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum explained he wanted a brand that would “narrate our story and journey of development to the entire world”.
In 2020, communicators need to find solutions to both business and societal challenges.
Our opportunity in 2020 is to re-frame communications as a solution that goes much deeper than awareness and profiling. Sure, the traditional PR toolbox still exists, but strategic communications will play a pivotal role in garnering attention and growing the bottom line. At Weber Shandwick we now provide solutions that solve communications and business challenges through bold ideas, innovative technologies and great vision.
With this comes a big responsibility. To develop meaningful solutions that drive business results or behavioural change, communications needs a seat at the table as a partner from the outset, rather than being called in as “fixers” at the 11th hour. In 2020 we must elevate the role of communications and make a positive contribution.
Rachel Dunn, Deputy Managing Director, Dubai & Noura Al-Sarraj, Deputy Managing Director, Abu Dhabi from Weber Shandwick MENAT talk on PR Predictions for 2020 at Campaign’s Marcomms360 conference on Predictions2020.
FOUR MAIN THINGS WE EXPECT TO SEE IN 2020…
1. Brand purpose earns you loyal fans…without all the BS
Brand purpose is often articulated through creative campaigns, while in communications it’s thought of as some CSR – planting a tree, donating money – just to get some media coverage. We’re now seeing purpose trickle into communications more, helping to drive conversations across communities.
Audiences want to engage with brands that have shared values they can relate to. Take Nike, which isn’t afraid to tackle social issues with powerful narratives while launching the first sports hijab or working with protesting quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Who could imagine the “Dream Crazy” ad garnering $163m in earned media, a $6bn brand value increase and a 31 per cent boost in sales?
Such campaigns stand out because brands stick to what they believe in. In 2020 we should build our customers’ trust by weaving brand values through all communications and channels, using transparent content to activate advocates.
Communications in 2020 must bring to life and articulate brand purpose. Otherwise, it’s just PR-ing a campaign or achieving earned media with little or – worse – no impact.
2. People as the ultimate multifaceted resources
In 2020, finding the right people will be as vital to communications as it is to the wider marcomms industry. We will need to expand and upskill our talent in a way we haven’t done since the rise of social media.
Comms must now look much further afield to find people with the right combination of technical skills and behaviours to meet the growing demand for communications that can solve business challenges.
In-house communications departments in the region are changing. We’ve seen teams expand with content creators, influencer, social media, digital and data/analytics specialists. We’ve seen down-sizing and further integration into the wider marketing function.
Agencies, meanwhile, have been adapting and will continue to adapt their structures. Both boutiques and large global firms are bringing in more creatives, content strategists, planners and subject matter experts to meet the demand for strategic consultancy with data-driven insights. But it’s not just technical skills we’re after; with our new role as “chief problem solvers” comes the challenge of creating teams from different disciplines, cultures and backgrounds, to successfully collaborate with agencies, client organisations and other stakeholders.
It’s also about giving people the right tools to succeed. We expect to see more companies adopting project management, collaboration and traffic management tools along with smarter utilisation of tech (including automation) to improve efficiencies and turnaround times.
Finally, more companies will offer flexible working arrangements and use freelance resources that can be dialed up or down as needed.
3. Correlating communications outputs with business outcomes
So, if communications is solving business challenges, surely 2020 will reveal a revolutionary new way of measurement?
Well, not quite. We still have a long way to go. We know measuring number of media clips, reach and advertising value equivalent (AVE) is not going to cut it, and as an industry we have to move from measuring output to measuring impact.
We are seeing a glimmer of hope. Clients and agencies are investing in more tools to better assess the quality of exposure, and we now have more access to data that can correlate comms to brand-tracking studies and hard business results such as sales and footfall.
It will take time, but there are also new tech solutions for measuring the effectiveness of comms. According to regional media intelligence giant Carma, as we move away from assessing quantity to measuring quality, semantic engines will elevate our ability to extract key messages and improve how we can examine favourability and other reputational drivers. Cloud computing advances also mean that we have access to larger data sets capturing content and conversations across multiple channels.
We also expect to see an increased use of reporting frameworks and project management methodologies such as the balanced scorecard and dashboards that incorporate broader communications, marketing and business metrics to show impact.
4. Adapting to and hacking the ever-changing media landscape
Did you know that for every 10 people reading a headline, only two will read the article? The media landscape is changing so rapidly that we must get more creative with how we package our stories. There’s a hunger for digital audio and visual. Historically, a traditional press kit with some B-roll footage would cut it. In 2020, comms needs to think more multi-media – in addition to a press release and video, we need soundbites, podcasts and WhatsApp-able content.
We’ll also see a rise in digital editorial teams, hired specifi cally to curate content for digital channels instead of just repurposing it from print.
In 2020, the popularity of Arabic content will continue to rise and see us focus on brand integration and partnership opportunities. With new Arabic content on platforms like Netflix and Starz Play, there’s an opportunity for local brands to inject themselves into the regional narrative in more innovative ways than ever before.
