WEBINAR: New Research on Brand Influence from the Public Relations Global Network

Adrian McIntyre: 0:00:04

Regardless of the business you’re in, whether you’re a government agency or a nonprofit, a small business or a big corporation, influence is a central part of how you do the work that you do. It’s what allows you to share your message in a compelling way. It’s what allows you to build a base of support for your products or your services, build a loyal following. And influence is kind of what it’s always been, but it’s also changing. Abbie, PRGN has done a significant piece of research on this very topic. What do we have to look forward to here?

Abbie Fink: 0:00:41

Right, so the Public Relations Global Network is a network of independently owned PR agencies around the world. And we commissioned a study by Researchscape International that helped us take a look at the impact that influence has on brands. We did our first survey last year. This is survey number two with a really amazing cross section of being able to look at the data from the first survey and how that has changed over time.

Abbie Fink: 0:01:10

And in a lot of ways, what is remaining the same as it relates to influence and what we’re finding in this research is that we have more opportunity, we have a broader set of stakeholders that potentially can shape influence and that there is still a need to discuss the role of influence and who within an organization needs to own that responsibility. And we will be discussing the findings of that survey and really the implications of what this data means for those of us in communications and marketing during a webinar that’s being held on Wednesday, May 13.

Abbie Fink: 0:01:55

We’re doing two sessions. So depending on what time zone you are in, you’ll have an opportunity to listen in on a review of the data, how it was gathered and what the implications of that information will be and how to take this knowledge and use it to inform your communication strategies and how you are using influence to impact your brand and how it is seen amongst your competition and amongst the various and growing mix of channels that’s available to us.

Adrian McIntyre: 0:02:26

I’m really looking forward to the publication of these results. The reach that the Public Relations Global Network has is part of what makes this so compelling. I mean, the fact that there are over 50 member agencies in 48 countries across the world allowed the data gathering to really reach into pockets of global markets that are not commonly tapped for this kind of thing. So it’s really going to be a useful guide, I believe.

Adrian McIntyre: 0:02:56

Certainly last year’s study gave a lot of interesting insights and I think the refinement and the methodology, all of which will be discussed in detail on the webinar, will help people who are leading brands or agencies or in house at variety of different communication roles really understand some of these dynamics. You know, as we said, a lot of human behavior and what influences people hasn’t changed but how you reach those people, the mix of channels and audience and what is AI doing in in the midst of all of this? How does that affect things like trust, reputation and so on? There’s really a rich set of topics here. Now, if you can’t attend the webinar live or if you’re hearing this after the fact, Abbie, they’ll be able to also watch the replay and download the report and get all the details, is that right?

Abbie Fink: 0:03:53

That is correct. We will have all of that information available on PRGN’s website at prgn.com. The webinar will be recorded and available afterwards, as will a comprehensive white paper and the research data itself for anyone that is interested in taking a look at that. And you know, the comment you made in terms of the global reach of this study. You know, 48 countries participated. It really will provide an interesting set of data for review and for consideration as you’re making decisions, whether you are the responsible party for how your organization is represented and how your brand impacts influence and what is impacting your brand as it relates to influence.

Abbie Fink: 0:04:41

And I think the conversation during the webinars and the availability of that data post-launch will really be an opportunity to influence decisions and we look forward as a network of independently owned PR agencies in sharing that information with marketing communications professionals around the world. So join us for the webinar on Wednesday, May 13. Again, there will be the registration links in the show notes and there will be two sessions live and then that will be available for replay at any time that you might be interested in listening to it again. And I look forward to this discussion with our research partner at Researchscape and really taking a deep dive into this data.

Adrian McIntyre: 0:05:29

Thanks for listening to this episode of Copper State of Mind. If you enjoyed the conversation, please share it with a colleague who might also find this podcast valuable. It’s easy to do: just click the “Share” button in the app you’re listening to now to pass it along. You can also follow Copper State of Mind in Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcast app. We publish new episodes every other Friday.

Adrian McIntyre: 0:05:54

Copper State of Mind is brought to you by HMA Public Relations, the oldest continuously operating PR firm in Arizona. The show is recorded and produced by the team at Speed of Story, a B2B communications firm in Phoenix, and distributed by PHX.FM, the leading independent B2B podcast network in Arizona. For all of us here at Speed of Story and PHX.FM, I’m Adrian McIntyre. Thanks for listening and for sharing the show with others, if you choose to do so. We hope you’ll join us again for another episode of Copper State of Mind.