2025 Forecast: Eight Issues That Will Define The Year Ahead (Maybe)

(MENAFN- PRovoke) We won't tell you we can see around corners. We won't even tell you that visibility is clear as 2025 comes into sight. Indeed, the year ahead promises nothing beyond unpredictability and turmoil.

But our editors-Camillia Dass, Diana Marszalek, Maja Pawinska Sims and Paul Holmes-nevertheless have some thoughts about the challenges public relations people will face in the year ahead.

Finding the Right Tone for Tumultuous Times

The burden on the shoulders of corporate affairs leaders and their comms advisors will remain heavy this year, given the continuing convergence of politics, geopolitics and societal issues.

The backlash against DEI and ESG initiatives, as well as the requirement to take a more nuanced approach to speaking out on geopolitical events and issues exemplifies this trend. Brands such as Meta, McDonalds and Amazon have recently announced they are scaling back on DEI programs, whether following activist pressure or for other reasons, and companies are understandably having to carefully weigh up the implications of speaking out on developments from the new US president to the conflict in the Middle East.

This evolving landscape necessitates a nuanced approach to corporate activism and the tone of the corporate voice. While previous years have seen companies taking bold stances on social issues, and demonstrably and vocally putting people before profit – including the mass withdrawal from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine – the current landscape demands a more balanced strategy.

Blindly pursuing or abandoning commitments can expose organisations to reputational risks, so aligning initiatives and messages with core corporate values and purpose is more essential than ever. Strategic comms advisory services have been outperforming the rest of the PR sector since Covid hit in 2020, and this year, reputation and risk analysis, alongside crisis planning, will remain paramount.

In this era of heightened scrutiny, companies must assess long-term exposure, understand multiple stakeholder expectations (while weighing up which stakeholders they care most or least about, because they won't be able to please everyone), engage in open dialogue while carefully considering their social media platform
usage and messaging, and navigate the complexities of our politically polarized world. Completely opting out of these conversations is not really a viable option. Instead, companies will likely be adopting a more measured approach. It's a lot.-Maja Pawinska Sims

Don't be (Totally) Distracted by
a Single Stakeholder

When the Business Roundtable revised its“statement on the purpose of the corporation” in 2019, 181 member CEOs signed on to the idea that“While each of our individual companies serves its own corporate purpose, we share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders.”

The new statement marked at least a theoretical shift away from the decades-old focus on shareholders as either the first among equals or the exclusive focus on corporate decision-making, and toward a recognition that an organization needs to maintain strong relationships with all of its key stakeholders in order to build sustained, long-term success.

This embrace of“stakeholder management” principles was a boon to public relations, which when it operates properly serves as a bridge between management and all of its key stakeholders. One top 10 public relations firm positioned itself as“a consultancy built for the stakeholder economy” and in the process became perhaps the world's most valuable PR firm.

But changes in the American political landscape will challenge the idea that companies must balance the needs of all their stakeholders. Since the election, we have seen several companies-particularly in the media and technology space-acting as if they need to focus all of their energies on a single stakeholder: the incoming president.

Donald Trump has made it clear that he is willing to single out for punishment individual companies that displease him. With plans to replace public servants with cronies, he will likely have unprecedented influence on government contracts. With an economic agenda built on tariffs, he will have the ability to target or exempt sectors and companies. He had indicated that he expects his Department of Justice is likely to serve as an instrument of his personal wrath.

As a result we have seen companies abandoning long-held policies and making generous cash donations to curry favor with the incoming administration. It is hard to interpret Disney's payment to settle a clearly frivolous lawsuit or Amazon's funding of a hagiography of Trump's current wife as anything other than unartfully-concealed bribes-driven by a clear understanding of the realpolitik this unprecedented moment in American history demands.

As dispiriting as all of this is, it does present a challenge for public relations professionals, and I would suggest that it's the same challenge our profession has always faced: how do we balance the short-term necessity of satisfying a powerful stakeholder with the long-term importance of maintaining sustainable, muturally-beneficial relatiosnhips with other important audiences.

In this case, ironically, policies that benefit shareholders as much as consumers, employees and communities are being sacrificed-critical business practices such as DEI and ESG are suddenly vulnerable-for political reasons.

But as always, the challenge is balancing the short-term with the long. And as always, PR people will need to use good judgment, a genuine understanding of business realities, and all their persuasive skills to find the right balance.-Paul Holmes

More CEO Self Awareness, Please


It's pretty much a given that CEOs make a pretty penny and, given the pressures of the job, it's also fair to say the successful ones earn their keep.

But chief executives didn't do themselves any favors in 2024, when moves like Starbucks' Brian Niccol commuting by private jet and Microsoft's Satya Nadella taking a $30 million raise amidst big layoffs begged the question: what were they thinking, particularly at a time with anti-elitism running rampant?

They must not have been, as more self-aware types (or at least their handlers)
would have reined in their perks rather than so flagrantly disregard the rise in populist sentiment.

On top of that, Niccol's weekly SoCal to Seattle commute also ticked off environmentalists, who see private jet-setting as an affront to the coffee giant's eco-friendly image.

Niccol and Nadella may have tarnished their reputations (either unwittingly or the perks outweighed the risks), and there's no apparent reason to believe such acts put their safety at risk.

Let's hope that the December murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson - the one that left legions of consumers rooting for the shooter - has given business leaders the wherewithal to take the high life back a notch, and realize that understanding the atmosphere they are operating in matters. Regardless, it's critical that the PR industry - replete with executive comms expertise - makes sure that happens.-Diana Marszalek

“Earned First” but Without Earned Media?

The first time we wrote about the“earned first” approach to brand-building was eight years ago, quoting Ellen Ryan Mardiks of Golin, and reporting on a panel at USC's Annenberg School. Since then,“earned first” has dominated conversations about Cannes-a few months after that article,“Fearless Girl” was the big Grand Prix winner -and has become a mantra for PR people who sensed (or perhaps hoped) that the marketing pendulum was swinging in their direction.

But trust in traditional media in the US has been declining for some time , initially and most dramatically among Republicans-a trend that can be traced back to the launch of Fos News in the late 90s-and more recently among Democrats in the run up to and aftermath of the recent election, which saw a quarter of a million people cancel Washington Post subscriptions and audiences for CNN and MSNBC cut in half .

Not surprisingly, the decline of mainstream media has created some anxiety among public relations professionals: what does it mean, some are asking, to be“earned first” in a world where trust in earned media is evaporating, and many people are no longer engaging with traditional outlets?

The answer, I think, depends on how one views public relations: Do we see PR as shorthand for media relations, or do we take the words seriously, and view PR as the discipline that manages relationships between organizations and the public? And do we see“earned first” as a media strategy or as a mindset?

It it's the former, if“earned first” means creating campaigns that emphasize traditional earned media-newspapers, magazines, television channels-then there are genuine reasons for concern. But if it's the latter, and we view“earned first” as an approach that emphasizes earning people's attention, earning their trust, and ultimately earning their support and loyalty, then the focus on specific channels seems trivial.

Many public relations professionals have already made this shift, of course. They embrace the new channels-from social media platforms to podcasts to individual writers on Substack and elsewhere-which have audiences that do trust them (increasingly often, audiences that rival or exceed traditional outlets in terms of reach). They also understand that other tools can be useful in earning trust-there is nothing in this definition of“earned” that precludes paid advertising, for example.-PH

AI v2.0

We've all been talking about the potential of artificial intelligence for the past two years, but tangible impacts remain elusive. This is the year that communicators must transcend the use of generative AI for efficiency, creative brainstorming, churning out press releases and optimising content.

PR is a broad church, but the future of the industry will likely belong to those who invest time and money this year in harnessing cognitive AI: systems that mimic human thought processes, enabling more profound understanding and decision-making. Cognitive AI can analyse vast datasets to understand cultural nuances and consumer behaviours, providing PR professionals with the ability to craft personalised messages that resonate on a deeply personal level.

This shift could revolutionise client engagement by offering hyper-personalised strategies, real-time sentiment analysis, and predictive insights that foresee crises before they materialise.

Despite the AI hype, it's interesting that we haven't yet seen any award-winning PR campaigns that use AI in significant ways. The real test will come when the Cannes Lions, PRovoke Media SABREs, and other industry awards this year reveal whether AI-driven innovation has really taken root.

The global comms market remains tough, but AI is moving too fast to stay on the 'must deal with soon' pile. As PRophet's Aaron Kwittken has remarked, talking to PR teams over the past few years about cognitive AI has been like“chewing glass”. Let's take him out of his misery: it's time to move beyond the rhetoric and embrace the new era of AI, not only to remain competitive but to move towards new industry standards. For PR professionals, 2025 will be the year that investing in sophisticated AI tools is no longer a luxury – it's a necessity.-MPS

The Rise of Gen Alpha

Having obsessed over Gen Z ad nauseum, the PR industry is ramping up its focus on its next target: Gen Alpha, the oldest of whom are barely in their teens.

Born after 2010 (2026 will usher in the unfortunately named Gen Beta ), Gen Alpha is the first generation that's been wired from the get-go - the stroller-bound babies holding iPads, young kids who are natural content creators and tweens getting makeup tips from You Tubers. They are keen experimenters, favor You Tube and Tik Tok, and are influencing purchasing decisions, both for themselves and their families. Mom and dad often help manage their digital lives.

As we discussed in a podcast with Day One Agency , which has led research into these“kidfluencers,” brands aren't wasting time in trying to figure out how to best engage with this cohort, although there's no blanket answer to that considering there are members of Gen Alpha who are yet to be born.

And they are multidimensional. Despite their predilection for technology, members of Gen Alpha like to get their hands dirty (refreshing for kids who lost serious socialization to Covid), meaning brands will need to crank up in-real-life efforts like in-store experiences and meet-ups to make really big impressions.

However, members of this group, still at tender age, are also vulnerable to unsavory digital actors and being swayed by the likes of well-disguised ads.
Given their combo of digital prowess and age-appropriate naivete, communicating with these kids could be complicated.-DM

With Technology Rising, Remember the Human

The communications and PR industry is about and run by people. With artificial intelligence on the rise, in 2025 agencies will need to recognise that while technology can provide a base, the industry will always need people to ensure a human touch and a sense check as well as to weed out misinformation.

This is especially important considering that more social media sites such as Meta are doing away with fact-checking and content moderation ahead of a second Donald Trump presidency.

As a result, 2025 will be a real test as to how businesses treat their employees particularly as burnout and conversations around work-life balance continue to rise. Agencies will need to step up as they look into retaining talent and keeping them motivated.

According to Charu Srivastava, co-founder of TriOn & Co, holistic health and physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing has become firmly part of the business discourse, whether we choose to accept it or not. Employees, regardless of generation, are increasingly asking for work benefits that meet their wellbeing needs, she said. As a result, this requires a change and shift in thinking by employers on how they view employees - as people more than as mere assets.

“Leave is a good example of how what was traditionally being offered needs to change with the changing times. For instance, the concept of paternal leave remains an elusive perk even though it is an essential requirement. For that matter, extending paternal leave to cover same-sex partners as well. Bereavement leave is another one that needs to be extended to cover partners and pets beyond the traditional married or blood relatives,” Srivastava explained.

She added that while free lunches and sleeping pods are great, they should not be at the expense of impaired work-life boundaries. Similarly, the decision to make working in the office mandatory at the expense of losing employees who have genuine reasons to prefer flexible working arrangements will also be brought into question.

We are already seeing that with WPP employees who are pushing back against the agency's four-day office return mandate.“Concerned WPP employees” have created a petition demanding the agency revoke its mandate.

“In a post-COVID world where many businesses have embraced flexible working styles, WPP's decision seems to be a step backwards in supporting employee wellbeing and work-life balance, citing anecdotal data that either does not exist or has been misrepresented,” read the petition.

2025 will see the reassessment of such perks and more to really understand what it is that actually supports employees rather than merely adding to a checklist of benefits“just because”.-Camillia Dass

Building on the Successes of DEI

The enthusiasm with which many American corporations have embraced the realization that they can go back to discriminating against people of color is as predictable as it is disappointing. While 40 or 50 years of diversity, equity and inclusion talk did not redress the effect of centuries of systemic racism or overcome the unconscious bias that continues to favor straight white men over all other groups, I believe it did move corporations marginally in the direction of meritocracy.

Regardless of what is happening with corporate clients, the majority of public relations firms (so far) remain committed to the goal of equal opportunity, regardless of ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. Hopefully, that commitment will not waver in the face of emboldened racism.

The business case for DEI is as strong as it ever was:

• First, like all companies, public relations will benefit by recruiting from the broadest possible talent pool. Excluding or disadvantaging 40% of Americans (accounting for ethnic diversity only) is a foolish approach to talent management.
• Second, an abundance of research shows that diverse teams are more creative and more innovative and create competitive advantage .
• Third, there is an obvious benefit-particularly in public relations-to having teams that resemble that companies employees, consumers, and communities. Shared experiences increase empathy and enhance trust.
• And finally, while it is now fashionable to deride fundamental fairness as“woke,” the majority of Americans support most DEI measures.

In the PR industry in particular, DEI programs appear to be having positive results. Our North American Best Agencies to Work For research found that“My agency is a welcoming workplace for people of all sexual identities” gets the highest marks of the 42 individual statements we asked respondents to agree or disagree with (9.6 on a scale of one to 10) while“my agency does a good job of empowering women in leadership positions” comes in second (9.45) and“my agency values ethnic and racial diversity” is number seven (9.26).

It may be that the anti-DEI backlash continues to focus on big consumer-facing brands, but it also possible that PR firms (and, more likely, their holding companies) will be asked to pay a price for their commitment to equal opportunity-one can envision the incoming administration denying government contracts to companies with DEI commitments-but hopefully PR agencies will hold the course, and continue to build on the progress the profession has made in recent years.-PH

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