2020年传播报告（英文版）.pdf

MEASURING UP TO THE MOMENT 2020 COMMS REPORT In a year like no other, this fourth annual Comms Report from Cision and PRWeek tells the story of an industry that is confidently confronting old and new challenges by bolstering its C-suite influence, amplifying its real- time data capabilities and advancing its social media prowess. 2 CHALLENGE: ACCEPTED AND CONFRONTED In the face of uncertainty, comms is making strides to progress against many longstanding obstacles 5 UP TO THE TASK Exclusive data highlights specific challenges and how PR is navigating them 7 COMMS AMID COVID-19 A deep dive into how PR is adjusting to the new reality 8 CHANNEL YOUR EFFORTS Taking stock of the social platforms that are most vital to content strategies 9 INSIGHTS ON INFLUENCE Revealing the voices that most impact consumer behavior 10 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES Comparing agency and in-house responses to various survey questions2020 Comms Report: Measuring Up To The Moment 2 T here comes a time when a corporate discipline needs to step up for the health and future of not only itself, but also the organization and sector it represents. Perhaps more than ever, that moment for comms is now. PR is being asked to rise to that challenge and is doing so, suggest the findings of the fourth annual Comms Report from PRWeek and software and services company Cision. Entering 2020, PR had already established itself as a trusted adviser to top management. That status, however, is reaching a new level this year. Of the 314 survey respondents, all U.S.-based PR and marketing professionals, 85% said the C-suite sought the counsel of comms even more after COVID-19 hit our country. The challenges are formidable. The novel coronavirus has left employees anxious about how to safely do their jobs (not to men- tion whether they will continue to even have those jobs). Meanwhile, consumers are worried about how to conduct themselves as the pandemic stretches on. Counsel increasingly sought “I dont know if the pandemic has changed the mandate of comms, but it certainly has highlighted its relevance,” says Alberto Canal, VP of strategic comms at Panasonic North America. “Priorities have had to be rebalanced. There has been a shift to new strate- gic imperatives.” “More than ever, PR has been connecting with so many other parts of the business, from HR and sales to IR and marketing,” he adds. “This is one of those incredibly challenging times in history where we have been given a platform to show our value and the ways in which we can support the organization.” Marisa Bradley, internal comms director at Ford Motor Co., agrees. “As we have had to grapple with so many unknowns, the role of communications has been elevated, in particular internal comms,” she explains. “It has underscored our need for really integrated partnerships, including with the C-suite and HR teams. Only if we are united can we deliver a clarity and consistency of message, which is so critical right now.” And the survey data indicates comms has answered that call Numerous obstacles comms has long faced such as tech adoption and proving ROI have only been heightened by the perpetual uncertainty of 2020. As evidenced by this fourth an- nual PRWeek/Cision Comms Report, PR is up to the task and others are recognizing it. Words Chris Daniels CHALLENGE: ACCEPTED AND CONFRONTED Talent assessment Whether through new hires or training of current employees, is your team better staffed to take advantage of the latest technology and analytics tools as compared to three years ago? How would you rate your overall staff in terms of its ability to fully take advantage of the latest technology and analytics tools? Key takeaway: There is still room for comms to get better in terms of most effectively using the latest tech and analytics tools, say nearly 90% of respondents. 50% Somewhat 61.5 % 25.8 % 24.2% Very much 10.8 % 6.7% Not at All 19.1 % Not very much Very strong Very poor Strong, but could still improve Below average, much improvement needed 1.9 2020 Comms Report: Measuring Up To The Moment 3 from above. More than 95% of respondents said their relationship with the CEO is positive, which is surely a testament to how comms has stepped up. It is equally a recognition of the more powerful force it has become internally. This advancement is not relegated to in-house departments. Agency pros have gained more access to the C-suite, too. “We are certainly being elevated to a level within the clients business beyond the marketing and comms team, with whom we typically interact,” notes James Wright, global chairman of Havas PR Collective and CEO of Red Havas U.S. “Now, we are talking to the C-suite more often. Thats because the issues we are being brought into address and help communicate about such as business continuity and transformation play a big role across organizations. Intelligence right now In a constantly changing world, intelligence is not only needed, but its also needed in real time. Only then can actions be well informed, decisive and impactful. The survey results highlight this, as 38% of respondents identified “real-time alerts from high-priority messaging” as their clear top earned media monitoring goal. (No other option was chosen by even 25% of the survey pool.) This is made more noteworthy by the fact that “real-time alerts” ranked fourth in last years report behind options such as “We want to compare coverage for our brands and our competitors” and “We want to ensure we never miss an external mention of our brand.” Canal says “one of the first things we did” when he joined Pana- sonic from IBM in 2018 was to start real-time alerts. 34% “It is critical to being able to identify issues early and to know what to focus on,” he notes. “This is especially true for a company such as ours that services so many industries including food, retail, automotive and immersive entertainment and supplies computing devices to frontline workers and in other critical envi- ronments.” The comms function curates the alerts to various internal stake- holders based on what they need to know “in as much real time as possible” to do their jobs, continues Canal. This includes the C-suite. For example, he says real-time alerts informed Panasonic to “move quicker” on the development of their smart locker and mobile payment retail solutions. It matters to multiple audiences Fords Bradley shares another important reason “real-time alerts for high-priority mentions” are so important. She says while Ford has significantly ramped up internal comms channels, employees still consume mainstream media. “We are followed and covered closely by mainstream and auto- motive media,” explains Bradley. “Sometimes our employees get information about what were doing from media first. So real-time monitoring becomes very important for us to ensure accuracy and that we are getting our messaging out. We also want real-time conversations happening with our media contacts.” Sticking with information consumption, the survey also reveals that online features are deemed the most effective at influencing consumer purchasing behavior. (Online features scored higher than seven other options including social media posts, broadcast features and brand videos.) Team structure Stronger proof Is your comms department part of the marketing function or does it operate independently from marketing? (Only asked of non-agency respondents.) Respondents were asked whether or not they agreed that the comms industry effectively measures and proves the impact of its work on business objectives. Key takeaway: The year-on-year numbers signify comms rise to be more on par with marketing in the eyes of leaders across the business. Key takeaway: While the industry still has a long way to go on this front, year-on-year improvement is evident and encouraging. 2020 2019 2020 2019 Part of the marketing function Independent of marketing 66% 34% Very much 13.1 % 10 % Somewhat 52.9% 50.5 % Not very much 29.5% 33.5 % Not at all 4.5% 6 % 56.5% 43.5 2020 Comms Report: Measuring Up To The Moment 4 Bradley notes that Ford has embraced online features as a way for its vehicles to be promoted (including two new models launched this summer), especially given how pandemic restrictions have curtailed traditional media test drives and auto shows. “We are looking at creative tactics to keep the business going and our story told in the media,” she says. Helen Shelton, senior partner at Finn Partners, believes consum- ers today are looking for richer, deeper content online. “There is a place for all content, especially now with people having more time to discover things on the internet,” she suggests. “Every piece of content has the same potential to be shared.” Online features can originate from mainstream media, but Shelton says it can also be owned media, such as a blog or LinkedIn post. “It is incumbent on us to give it the same level of critique and analysis, approvals and all that, as we would for a main- stream media article,” she advises. “Audiences arent as forgiving about mistakes.” Above all else, the industry leaders who took this survey agree on the importance of cohesiveness between brands earned, owned and paid media strategies. Maximum impact including the po- tential to influence consumer behavior demands that balance. Staff up, stars down When it comes to the type of influencer who has the most impact on consumer purchasing behavior, the mainstream journalist ranked at the very top, just as it did last year. The big change this year is how employees catapulted up the list, while celebrities, who at one point ranked high on the survey, continued to dip. Red Havas Wright attributes that to the thirst for authenticity. Employees bring a high level of it to their comments, he says, while “there were just too many celebrities out there trying to push messages across that were essentially fluff. There is a role for fluff and distraction, but that is not what people want to hear about right now.” With the “right influencers” seeming to change all the time, a key challenge for communicators is identifying them in tandem with cultural trends and consumer sentiments. And the metrics by which to evaluate influencers have changed, reports Shelton. In fact, they have become so advanced that it allows brands to identify celebrities who possess the unquestioned au- thenticity consumers now demand. She points to a trilogy of music video PSAs her agency launched for Hip Hop Public Health featuring R&B singer Raheem DeVaughn and rappers Doug E. Fresh and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels. The spots encouraged urban African-Americans and Latinx individuals to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in their communities, especially as research indicates these groups are disproportionately impacted by the disease. “Consumers want to feel a sense of trust and a shared common- ality as we face the pandemic and extraordinary social unrest,” she concludes. “So, while influencers and celebrities still play an im- portant role in brand storytelling and in engagement strategies, its their appeal to things such as a deep love for cultural heritage, family, and community that matters. Its their authentic commu- nity ties and proven track records of serving the interests of every- day people.” In the budget How much of your media budget is allocated to the following? How much of your companys annual budget is devoted to measuring/monitoring/understanding the impact of comms programs? Is paying influencers an important part of your influencer strategy? 0% Up to 9.9% 10%-19.9% 20%-29.9% 30% or more Earned Owned Paid 2020 42.3 % 29.7% 28% 2019 39% 30% 31 % 12 % 54 % 24 % 8 % 2 % 8.9 % 59.9 % 22% 6.4 % 2.8 % 2020 2019 2020 Very much Somewhat Not very much Not at all 11.8 % 25.2 % 21.3 % 41.7 % 2019 17 % 24% 27.5 % 31.5 % About the comms report: Since 2017, Cision and PRWeek inspired by the continuing evolution in how PR is both practiced and perceived have joined forces on an initiative to clearly identify and more deeply understand the challenges and oppor- tunities communicators have in terms of their use of/interaction with technology, data, measurement, content and influencers. This year, of course, the survey was conducted and its findings being presented as we still confront a global pandemic. Many of the observations within underscore the impact COVID-19 is having and will have on the industry and the practice of communications. A constant, however, is this studys helpful role in bringing clarity to the areas in which PR is making real progress, as well as where it needs to make more2020 Comms Report: Measuring Up To The Moment 5 From tightening budgets to tech adoption, comms teams face numerous challenges as they continually seek optimal performance. To tackle such obstacles, you first must realize what they are. The single most difficult challenge comms pros face Level of agreement with this statement: We have adequate financial resources to ensure that our agency/department has the latest and best comms measurement technology Identify the single most difficult challenge related to comms measurement Of these four earned media monitoring goals, identify the one that is most important The single most important PR task (among eight provided) Content creation Attribution and ROI Analytics and reporting Note: Last year, 14% indicated they didnt really have any earned media monitoring goals. That response was not an option available to them this year. Media monitoring Media outreach Social listening and engagement Media database and influencer management Press release distribution Aligning metrics to revenue or vital business KPIs: 39% (38%) Proving/validating PRs impact to the C-suite: 19% (21%) Converting data into actionable insights: 18% (16%) Identifying the best tools to measure most effectively: 15% (10%) Continued overreliance on media impressions: 9% (15%) We want real-time alerts for high-priority mentions: 37.6% (12%) We want to compare coverage for our brands and our competitors: 24.8% (29%) We want to ensure we never miss an external mention of our brand: 21% (18%) We want to track earned media and social media side-by-side: 16.6% (27%) 27% (29% ) 7% ( 9 %) 6% ( 4 %) 1% (0%) 41% (37%) 11% (11%) 6% ( 8 %) 1% ( 2 %) 28% (17%) 49% (53%) 25% (27%) 14% (11%) 12% (12%) 9% (11%) 7% (11%) 5% (11%) Tightening budgets Somewhat Inability to measure impact effectively Better alignment with other functions: Talent recruitment and retention The 24-7 chatter about your brand among external sources Competing with paid media for budget Buy-in from the C-suite 25% (20%) Not very much 9% (6%) 17% (21%) Not at all Very much UP TO THE TASK (Part 1) THE BIGGEST ISSUES *Numbers in parentheses indicate last years responses2020 Comms Report: Measuring Up To The Moment 6 From consumer activity spurred by content to understanding the profiles of those who consume it, this page highlights additional challenges many comms pros face. Peop