Reading tips from the CommTech WG

Digitalization is having a significant impact on internal communication, particularly as a result of the pandemic. Now artificial intelligence is moving into focus, with tools such as ChatGPT or Midjourney dominating discussions about opportunities and risks.

The PR and communications industry is undergoing rapid change, driven by social upheaval and the ongoing development of artificial intelligence.

The seventh Global Comms Report looks at the biggest challenges and opportunities currently facing communications professionals. He emphasizes the increasing relevance of reliable data, improved data access and analysis.

Microsoft’s New Future of Work Report series has been running since 2021 and aims to synthesize new and relevant research on the world of work. This year’s edition focuses on research related to the integration of LLMs.

The Communications Trend Radar has been published annually by the Academic Society for Management & Communication since 2020 and is carried out by teams from the universities of Leipzig and Potsdam. The overarching goal is to prepare communications professionals for trends that will shape their work.

The Edelman report “Trust Barometer 2024” analyzes global trust in institutions such as NGOs, business, government and the media. This year’s report is based on a survey of 32,000 people from 28 countries and reveals a gap between innovation and society that has become a new factor for further polarization.

Produced annually, the World PR Report is an authoritative survey of senior PR executives and directors, providing insights into growth, investment, technology, ethics, mental health, diversity, measurement and social media, with a breakdown by seven geographic regions.

Economic uncertainty is increasing, marketing talent is hard to find, media consumption continues to shift and customer expectations are evolving with the hyper-digitalization of the world.

Astrum, India’s first science-based specialist reputation consultancy, has released a study combining secondary research and views from a diverse panel of Indian and global opinion leaders.

The 2023 AI Media Landscape Report aims to provide an understanding of how traditional media treat the topic of AI, how social media users think and talk about AI and what this says about public perception.

In the online study by ARD and ZDF, 2,000 people were surveyed between March 5 and April 9, 2023. The methodology comprised a random sample according to ADM principles, consisting of a telephone sample (60%) and an online sample (40%).

The USC Center for Public Relations’ annual Relevance Report identifies emerging issues and forecasts topics and trends that will impact society, business and communications in the coming year. The 2024 report contains almost 40 contributions from leading representatives of the PR industry as well as academics and students at USC.

Edelman’s Future of Corporate Communications study examines the current state, evolution and future orientation of corporate communications in today’s multi-stakeholder world. For this, a survey of 218 C-level or senior communications executives at Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 1000 companies was conducted, along with 20 qualitative interviews.

The world has changed dramatically through digital technologies and sustainability efforts, and with it the way we lead, communicate, and design in an interactive and connected way. The international anthology “New Leadership Communication,” edited by Nicole Pfeffermann and Monika Schaller, is for leaders who want to learn more about effective leadership communication, changes in communication, and rethinking the digital age.

The European Communication Monitor 2023 is the 15th and final edition of the annual survey. No new survey was conducted this year; instead, a summary of the most important strategic issues for communications management over the past 15 years is provided.

The question of what impact AI will have on communication as a profession is the subject of much debate in the industry. The eBook by Ana Adi, Professor of Public Relations and Corporate Communications at Quadriga University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, now paints a holistic picture of the subject.

The study “Impact Map 2023: The biggest challenges currently facing communications” by news aktuell and PER Agency explores the following question: What must corporate communications deal with more intensively and in the long term in order to be successful in the future, and what influences the work of communicators in particular?

This year’s annual McKinsey Global Survey on the Current State of AI is based on responses from 1,684 respondents across a range of industries, regions, company sizes, as well as areas of expertise, and was conducted from April 11-21, 2023. The results confirm explosive growth of generative AI tools.

The Special Report “The Collapse of the Purchase Funnel” is based on data from 13,802 respondents surveyed from 01. were collected by May 12, 2023. Among other things, the results show that today’s buying relationships are too dynamic for a linear marketing funnel.

The 13th edition of Adobe’s annual global Digital Trends survey is based on a poll of 9,247 business leaders and professionals worldwide. These are client-side marketing professionals for 58% of respondents, with the remainder being executives from consultancies, agencies, or marketing technology/service providers.

The 8th report, Approaching the Future 2023, was produced by Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership in collaboration with CANVAS Sustainable Strategies & the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management. It is based on responses from more than 1,200 professionals from 53 countries and looks at the top ten trends in reputation and intangibles management that are currently shaping the corporate agenda.

The 12th edition of the Digital News Report is based on data from six continents and 46 markets. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted at the end of January/beginning of February 2023 with approximately 2,000 respondents per market. The report consists of an overall overview, followed by chapters with additional analysis (e.g., attitudes toward algorithms and their impact on news) and contributions on individual countries and markets.

The Global CommTech Report explores how PR & communications professionals around the world think about and use communications technology. For this, an online survey was conducted between December 2022 and March 2023 with 329 PR & communications professionals from Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North America and Latin America.

PR report from HubSpot and Mynewsdesk analyzes trends and opportunities for 2023. More togetherness and quality instead of quantity characterize efficient and trustworthy PR and communication.

Internal communication in the new-work transition: opportunities, challenges and practicality. The Hybrid IC 2023 trend monitor provides exciting insights.

Capgemini’s study “Data-Driven Organizations” focuses on data-driven change management and the resulting added value for organizations. It will look at the current state of organizations in terms of data-driven action, its application in change management, and its impact on change success.

Deloitte’s 14th Annual Tech Trends Report examines the impact of emerging technology opportunities across sectors and geographies. It also highlights new approaches and technologies that could become the norm in the next 18 to 24 months and forecasts where trends could go in the next few decades.

The Business Continuity Institute has released the seventh edition of its “Emergency and Crisis Communications Report.” This is intended to help companies compare their tools, plans and processes, but also to stimulate discussion. It also provides best practices for designing and implementing crisis management plans.

Since 2018, the research project “Communication in the Digital Transformation”, designed as a trend study, has been conducted every two years by a ZHAW research team at the IAM Institute of Applied Media Sciences.

Do communicators really know their target group on the Internet? This is the holy grail of online communication. The Social Media Atlas 2022 by communications consultancy Faktenkontor and market researcher Toluna provides answers to questions such as who uses social media for what purposes, what information is sought on which channels, and what activities users pursue.

Based on a survey of 303 executives in 53 countries, the Digital News Project provides insight into trends and forecasts for journalism, media and technology in 2023. Here, it appears that 2023 will be the breakthrough year for AI and its application in journalism.

CIPR’s report provides the most comprehensive overview to date of the use of AI in the PR industry. It shows that there are now 5,800 technological tools with potential applications in PR – whether in the areas of planning, measurement, reporting or management.

Based on data from 15,000 respondents across 15 markets in September 2022, the “Trust in Technology” Special Report analyzes how trust in the technology sector has changed. As a result, while product innovation and competence have ensured a high level of trust in recent years, this is now being jeopardized by various forces.

In an increasingly complex and unpredictable world, the importance of trusted PR and communications has never been more important. Therefore, mynewdesk’s annual report “State of Nordic PR & Communication” deals with the most important and critical topics for communication managers.

“When a story is relevant, people listen. When content is relevant, people share. When an issue is relevant, people act. When a brand’s relevant, people buy.” – Fred Cook The USC Center for Public Relations’ annual Relevance Report identifies emerging issues and forecasts topics and trends that will impact society, business and communications in the coming year.

Deutsche Telekom has carried out an interdisciplinary study on the subject of communication that highlights important trends from society, media and technology. What trends are shaping tomorrow’s communication? Which principles become success factors?

MIT researchers Stephanie Woerner, Peter Weill, and Ina Sebastian have found in their years of work with executives around the world that while they knew they needed to transform their organizations, they lacked a coherent framework and common language.

In cooperation with the Nordic Alliance for Communication and Management (NORA), national communication associations in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, and the European Communication Monitor series, the second Nordic Communication Reporter has been published.

Who actually bears the responsibility when AI makes the decision? Kienbaum and ada answer these and other questions in their study on leadership and artificial intelligence. To do this, they surveyed both executives and professionals who have to deal with technology-assisted decision making – more than 500 people in all.

As part of the 13th State of the Media Report, Cision surveyed more than 3,800 journalists from over 2,000 newsrooms worldwide. Here, 600 of the respondents were from Germany. The study provides valuable information about the current challenges, wishes and needs of journalists and the impact of these on the cooperation with PR professionals.

AI and Big Data are increasingly integrated into our modern working lives. But how aware are PR practitioners of this development, how much knowledge do they already have and how are they facing the change? These are the questions answered by CIPR’s AI and Big Data Readiness Report. This clearly shows that PR is not as well prepared as it should be for the age of AI and Big Data, in order to take advantage of the resulting opportunities and protect itself from potential threats.

The 12th edition of the study ‘Social Media in B2B Communication’ provides answers to how last year’s social media trends have developed and what future developments are on the horizon.

The Reuters Institute’s 11th Digital News Report includes new insights on digital news consumption from more than 93,000 online news consumers in 46 markets on 6 continents. It documents how the relationship between journalism and the public is changing.

The School for Communication and Management (SCM) and MPM Corporate Commucation Solutions are investigating the progress of digitalization in IC, the resulting opportunities and risks, and the effects on everyday work as part of the digital internal communication (IC) trend monitor.

The Social Media Trends Study by Hubspot and Talkwalker defines ten trends for the year 2022. One key insight: customers (still) call the shots. To survive as a brand, it is therefore essential to listen carefully and respond to the respective needs.

This year’s European Communication Monitor deals, among other things, with strategic issues, characteristics of excellent communication departments and, once again, the topic of CommTech. For this, 1,672 communications professionals from a wide variety of types of organizations in 43 countries were surveyed.

Already published in 2020 and just under 50 pages long, the paper is a good resource and inspiration for the advancement of the profession for many reasons. Thus, it insightfully traces the changing demands on communication that go far beyond the application of AI in corporate communications.

Brent Dykes is considered the “king” of data storytelling. With his book “Effective Data-Storytelling, published in English by Wiley in 2020, he confirms the reputation. Data storytelling only works if the ingredients: Data, narrative and visualization work neatly together.

eading companies see social, economic and technological upheavals as an opportunity to change themselves. Be it by driving innovation, simplifying processes or accelerating growth. Transformation is no longer seen as a discrete reaction to individual events.

Collecting clippings and monitoring social media have long been part of the everyday work of communications experts. But to communicate successfully in the future, this is no longer enough – a solid database is necessary. Modern technologies in the field of media analysis make it possible to compile and evaluate company and brand data across the board.

What is the status quo? Which trends and technologies are currently playing an important role? What are the goals of companies and what are the success factors to consider? These questions about content marketing are answered by the Trend Study 2022, which Statista conducted together with the Content Marketing Forum e.V. and the Content Marketing Conference.

The Tech and Science Trends Report by futurist Amy Webb is eagerly awaited each year. Based on scientific methods, it informs about possible scenarios of technological developments and explains the societal implications. This year’s report is dedicated to the topic of ‘Re-Perception’ – the ability to filter something new out of existing information.

The newsroom concept plays an important role in many companies when it comes to organizing communication in the best possible and most efficient way. But how should the way of working within the newsroom be organized? Marie-Christine Schindler provides a possible answer to this in her latest blog post. Based on her exchange with Alice Chalupny from the Swiss Mobiliar insurance company, she describes why hierarchical structures in newsrooms reach their limits and how the change towards a role-based organization can look like.

The Digital Report is something like the bible of the digital world and provides a precise look at the development of Internet, social, e-commerce usage. The 2022 edition has just been published. For communications managers, it is an almost indispensable tool for determining the relevance of digital channels and identifying trends. The 2022 Report is a comprehensive set of numbers.

The Corona pandemic has accelerated or amplified changes in many sectors of society. This creates new opportunities, but also dangers for corporate communications. But which topics are really important?

Although the study was published as early as September 2021, it has so far attracted little attention in Germany. First, 10 drivers of comms change are identified and backed up with a “playbook” of what communicators* can do to respond. This makes the study valuable because it also helps translate the findings into practice.

Those faced with the task of procuring a newsroom planning tool easily get lost. This is due to the large number of different tools, their different focal points in the value chain and thus a broad feature set. You can only be really sure once the tool has been put through its paces in an intensive test in an operational system (not a test environment). Usability as well as performance factors play a major role. For time reasons alone, a good pre-selection is important.