PR’s Top Pros Talk: Radina Russell

Are you ready for the changing corporate communications landscape? Radina Russell, U.S. Chair, Corporate Affairs Advisory & General Manager, Atlanta Southeast Market, ⁠Edelman⁠, dives into the key findings of Edelman’s 2023 Future of Corporate Communications Study. She explains what business areas CCOs should focus on and the traits they should lead with. Radina also shares how CCOs can get the most value out of collecting and analyzing data.

To download the study, click here: ⁠https://www.edelman.com/2023-future-of-corporate-comms#download

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TRANSCRIPT:

DOUG: What was the most surprising finding of the 2023 Corporate Communications Survey from Edelman? We’ve got the person who can give us that answer. Radina, tell us, what do you think?

RADINA: This was actually the second survey that we’ve done. The first one was two years ago, but it was really interesting doing this survey coming out of Covid and having that in the rearview mirror. The reason being is that what we noticed is that a lot of the trends that we started to see in 2021, when we initially did the survey, they were sticky. So, what we’re now seeing is an environment where communications leaders are increasingly informing and advising the enterprise on strategy. And let me just put that into numbers for you. Pre-COVID, about one third of communications leaders would say that they were viewed as a strategic advisor or a strategic partner to the enterprise. Today, that number has jumped to about 50% of communications leaders that we polled, holding this perspective. So, you really seen this shift from, you know, tactical execution to strategic advisors. And that was really surprising and pleasing for us to see.

DOUG: Yeah, and that obviously bodes well for the agency side of the business as well as in-house corporate communications, because it’s increasingly valued. Not super surprising given that during Covid there are way more challenging issues that were coming up on an instant basis. Was there anything else that caught your eye in this study?

RADINA: Well, you mentioned some of the challenging issues that came up during Covid, and that was one of the things that, really you know, we think drove this change. Another kind of really interesting data point that came out is that about 20% of a corporate communication leader’s current workload is actually on matters that are not related to communications. So, when you think about things that are like dealing with the supply chain, you know, some sorts of social issues navigation, another area that came up were employee concerns. And actually, as a result of this study, employee concerns have catapulted to the front of mind for a lot of communications leaders. So really starting to think differently about what the role is, what the function is, and how they are integrating with the broader C-suite.

DOUG: Yeah, and that really aligns with what we’re seeing in our satellite media tour business. Significant part of it is increasingly this year, 83% of our SMT spokespeople have actually worked inside the company. That exterior communications material is now being used for internal communications, and it is a higher degree of trust. So, with what you’re finding, is this sort of changing what the budget’s going to be for the chief communication officer, is that going to give more resources since the function is becoming so much more important?

RADINA: That is a great question and the way that I would answer it in terms of what we’ve seen in the study, is that communications leaders are still being asked to do more with less, but they have an opportunity to rethink ROI and how the function itself is being measured. So, when you think about, you know, in the past it was all about kind of media engagement and sentiment and reach. Today we’re looking at a whole host of new measures that comms leaders can actually bring to the table to show the value that the function is providing. And, actually you know, drive some of that budget increase that they’re looking for. And this really comes down to tying the communications outcomes to the business outcomes. So, as you have communications leaders that are sitting more and more frequently at the table in the C-suite, they have the ability to tie those outcomes together so that you can really see the ROI and the value that the function is providing.

DOUG: So does this mean that communicators say, who were more previously known to be in the PR space, are really more engaged on the marketing side that the silos have to break down because you want to have somewhat of a measurable outcome from your public relations and corporate communications work.

RADINA: Absolutely. And it’s not just on the marketing side, it’s on the HR side. It’s on the corporate affairs side. It’s on the ESG side. If you think about it, and let me give you an example that came to light in the study. Communications leaders are being asked to help retain and recruit talent. And what role can the communications function play in that? And so really thinking about all of the communications that are going out internally, those are also looked at externally, looked at how the company is positioned, what the reputation of the corporate brand is. All of that goes into talent retention and recruitment. So being a partner to the CHRO and the talent and acquisition team, all of this is coming to the forefront now. When you look at the CCO or the communications leader as a strategic partner to the enterprise.

DOUG: So is this can also change sort of the traits that corporate communicators will need going forward into the future. And if it does, I’m guessing you might say yes to this one. Now the hard part, what are some of those things that have to change?

RADINA: When we think about this post-pandemic environment and the function itself? You know, what we’ve seen is that collaboration and partnership are the keys to success. So, this means collaborating more regularly with government affairs and corporate affairs. Some communications leaders today are actually wearing multiple hats. HR like I talked about. Another area that’s really kind of increasing in importance is the ESG or sustainability function. Societal issues, you know, depending on the organization that can sit in a lot of areas. But, one of the qualities that a communications leader needs to have today is being able to understand the organizational values, plan for worst case scenarios, establish a process to analyze and determine when to act or will not or not to act. Understanding who your employees are listening to, who’s influencing them. So, all of this, in terms of collaboration, partnership, listening, these are all skills that a successful leader needs to have.

DOUG: Yeah. Now, your report obviously provides tremendous data that can be used to benefit many organizations and their planning. And where they’re placing the emphasis, did it shed any light on the types of data that might be most helpful for corporate communicators? Because, right, you can get this onslaught of information that comes in, but what’s the stuff that’s sort of most important? And maybe you’ve got this from the survey, or maybe you’ve just got this from your smarts from working in this area for so long.

RADINA: What I would say is that communications today is data. 44% of the over 200 survey respondents that we had said that they are investing more heavily in communications technology than they even did a year ago. But most of the survey respondents recognized that the value of data and communications is only as powerful as the interpretation and application of that data. So, it’s not good enough just to have data or big data. What’s important is actionable data. Data that can be used to inform decisions and not just capture, you know, impressions. Another thing I would note is that, uh, executives have come to expect consumer grade data and analysis and what is being brought to them. They’re looking for insight pulses. They are looking for information and data that, kind of echoes the real time sophistication of areas like political polling. They’re looking for message testing. So, when you again think about data and start to be comfortable with data, it’s important to align with the C-suite and other functional leaders to make sure that you have the right information that can, again, help drive business outcomes. And the last point I would make about data, it’s important to create a baseline so that you can have accurate measurement going forward. And again, to report out. And this goes back to ROI and budgeting to the senior leadership team. How you’re performing against that baseline over time.

DOUG: Did those sort of dreaded two letters that seem to be showing up everywhere come up in your study? And of course, I’m referring to AI.

RADINA: Absolutely AI came up and here’s what’s interesting. Most of the survey respondents have indicated an interest in seeing how AI will shape the future of communications, and most believe it will. Where we see the most uptake in AI right now is actually in areas and in industries where there’s already AI at play. So, you think about, uh, certain retail and consumer industries where AI is already used for, for instance, customer service. You can think about financial services, where AI and different kinds of machine learning are being used in, know your customer and fraud detection, those areas, because they’ve already kind of, you know, crossed a lot of the hurdles in terms of, you know, security and other issues. We’re seeing the comms functions bring AI on a little bit more quickly. In the areas where it’s being used, you know, areas like looking at, social media. And if I have 12 executives that I support, how can I, you know, have enough hands on the ground to be able to create, you know, draft social media posts for all of them to review. So, thinking about ways to, you know, do communications at scale. That’s how comms leaders are looking at AI today.

DOUG: AI can be really used well for sales. So, we can look at what types of organizations are gravitating towards us. What types of stations are doing those kinds of stories? And then look at, well, geez, let’s find more stations like them, or let’s find more potential clients or prospects who are like them, which you can press a couple of keys and suddenly you’ve got 20 new client leads, which would have taken you hours upon hours to do so. I would argue and just, you know, I’m an optocynic, so I’m looking at the bright side of things before I get cynical about it. That would even lead to more people being hired, because if we can get more clients, we need more people to do the work. Did you retain optimism from this study? Is it making you feel more optimistic about the future of communications?

RADINA: I did feel optimistic, you know, coming out of this study. And part of the reason is because we had the opportunity, in addition to surveying 218 comms leaders, we had the opportunity to have one on one conversations with, nearly 25, global comms leaders. And they, while recognizing the challenges that we have today from, you know, everything from geopolitics to social issues, they do feel that the move, the direction of the communications function, getting closer to, boardroom, having a seat at the table. They do feel that the move is headed in the right direction. And their ability to control what they can control, uh, is growing. So that that leaves me with optimism that we are moving in the right direction.

DOUG: And Radina, it’s just worth pointing out how valuable the research is that Edelman has provided to us. We’ve happened to have a number of people from your team on as you release different information, and it’s always really insightful and really valuable for the people who watch the program. So, we appreciate that as well.

RADINA: Thank you so much. We are excited to bring this research to the market and, hope it’s informative and helpful for comms leaders around the world.