As democracy faces its ‘biggest test’, brands may feel pressure to pick a side: Sefiani’s 2024 PR predictions
Sefiani Communications, part of Clarity Global Group, has today unveiled its PR predictions for 2024, with technological change, societal expectations and building brand trust top of mind, Mumbrella can reveal.
With 2024 likely to be a transformative and risk-rich year for brands and corporates, according to Sefiani, adept communications will be non-negotiable to maintain a strategic advantage.
Amid rapid technological change and market volatility, the comms agency said businesses need to stay attuned to the latest innovations and societal expectations to build trust and brand value.
“2024 is the year we anticipate we’ll see technology and AI impacting and influencing more than ever, the way we convey, measure and predict outcomes of communication. However at the core, the principles of transparency, authenticity and timeliness will remain key,” Robyn Sefiani, founder of the communications agency, told Mumbrella.
“With Australia experiencing cost-of-living pressures and weather upheaval, the country waits to see how government and business leaders will respond and explain their planned action, or indeed their inaction, and how this will impact levels of trust in institutional leadership.”
1. Reputation management will be more important than ever
There is a direct link between brand value, brand strength and reputation health, and organisations who ignore this reality will do so at their peril, according to the agency.
Consumers are constantly scrutinising the morals and ethics of brands, as are investors and employees, which puts companies under the microscope.
According to Sefiani, advances in AI, online data monitoring, sentiment tracking and predictive analysis will empower swift action for companies to address and defuse emerging issues, before they escalate into a crisis and threaten reputations.
The agency also argues that 2024 will bring a heightened focus on the role of a CEO in a crisis.
Former Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin
After several “public fails” in 2023, resulting in brand reputations to suffer and the standing down of CEOs, including Optus’ Kelly Bayer Rosmarin and Qantas’ Alan Joyce, 2024 will see consumers expect brand CEOs to be accountable for their organisations in times of trouble.
2. The AI conversation will evolve, and communications roles will become more fulfilling and high-value
Sefiani also predicts 2024 will see a more pragmatic shift as AI continues to rise – many organisations will integrate the service, using it to seek innovation solutions and develop new business paradigms.
The agency said the ‘productivity vs job loss’ debate will continue – but for communication professionals, AI is likely to transform the sector positively.
Global research conducted by GitHub, a client of Sefiani Communications, found that individual workers, when paired with an ‘AI copilot’, demonstrated a 55% increase in task completion speed and reported higher job satisfaction.
“Organisations are reassessing their hybrid work-from-home policies to retain valued employees, and how, when and where they communicate with stakeholders to build corporate and brand engagement and loyalty,” Sefiani told Mumbrella.
3. As democracy faces its ‘biggest test’, brands may feel pressure to pick a side
Globally, 2024 will see over four billion people vote in upcoming elections.
As democracy becomes increasingly polarised and political discussions grow tenser, Sefiani believes misinformation will continue to exacerbate political divides.
This year, that will be heightened by AI-generated fake news, according to the agency.
Brands may be more pressured to position with an ideological side, driven by employees and consumers seeking an alignment of values – and effectively managing these challenges will elevate communication professionals to strategic decision-making roles.
“Brand rankings in Australia were released last week with much commentary about winners and losers and implications for reputation, while recent crises have been micro-analysed with learnings for the future,” Sefiani told Mumbrella.
“AI is well and truly here and we are all adapting to see how we can turn what initially seemed a threat into opportunities. At a global level, the run-up to the US Presidential election is gaining momentum which has implications for fake news and disinformation.”
4. Sustainability communicators will have to work harder and smarter to build trust
Sefiani also argues that the role that communications plays in advancing sustainability in 2024 will be more challenging – yet critical.
According to the agency, brands rising to the challenge will seize greater opportunities to influence real and lasting positive change, as consumers are increasingly relying on brands to guide them towards sustainable choices.
Despite the heightened awareness of climate change, many corporations still fall short of net-zero and sustainability goals, Sefiani argues. Over the next six years, urgent action is required to accelerate progress towards sustainability, necessitating communicators to steer companies away from greenwashing and motivate the public to contribute to a cleaner, greener, and more equitable society.
Sustainability action is “urgent”
5. Consumers will continue to demand greater transparency and authenticity from brands
Whether a B2B or B2C brand, there will be continued pressure to demonstrate value for audience, while also innovating, according to the agency.
For businesses that may have traditionally had an inward focus on profit and growth, there is now no choice but to look outwards – to listen and be ready to engage quickly, regardless of the communication channel.
Sefiani also argues that measuring the impact of long-term brand building will remain a focus.
6. Slaying the corporate jargon dragon in favour of simpler and more transparent communication
The agency predicts that in 2024, corporate jargon will decline in favour of simple language in the workplace – particularly in internal communications.
The past year has proved that there is a shared sense of exasperation with office buzzwords, according to a 2023 global report from LinkedIn. It found that 40% of workers have had a misunderstanding or made a mistake at work because they didn’t understand the jargon.
The agency argues that while discontent around jargon grows, companies will do well to improve their internal communications – speaking plainly and openly to employees is likely to improve corporate culture, increase trust and avoid the aforementioned misunderstandings.
