Chap. 14 – Emerging Trends
Global Public Relations
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Overarching Trends
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Trends that spawned PR continue apace
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Democracy, in various forms, spreading
globally
Technological advances, including in
communication, accelerating
Higher expectations for social responsibility by
all organizations
2
Newer Trends
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Rise in multiculturalism complicates public
relations activities
Backlash in opposition to globalism and
perceived western cultural dominance
Spread of virtual communities; information
overload; message clutter
WOM and viral campaigns
3
Global Complexity

Immigration and “cultural fusion”
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Results vary in U.S., Europe, elsewhere
E.g., Hispanic population in U.S.; Middle
Eastern population expanding in Europe
Campaigns seek common ground among
widely diverse cultures
Key is localization, relationship building,
sensitivity to cultural differences
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Points to Consider
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92% of world’s 5.9 billion consumers do
not speak or read English; perhaps
western PR models are inappropriate as
well
Vastly multiplied media sources available;
not all are viewed with equal trust
Consumer and investor decisions
increasingly based on perception of CSR
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PR’s Potential Role in Public
Diplomacy

Private Sector Summit, 2007
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Public diplomacy as a component of business
practice
Collaborative effort involving corporations,
nonprofits, governments
Summit focused on U.S., but could project
to global effort
6
Activism On the Rise
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40,000 NGOs internationally
Technical communication tools multiply
effects and permit unmediated message
distribution
Crucial to engage groups
7
Spectrum of New Media
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Corporate presence seen on YouTube,
Facebook, similar sites
Product placement in video games
Cell phones supplying news video
Multimedia news releases (MNRs)
Impact on crisis dynamics and crisis
management
Raise new issues with PR ethics
8
Challenges to the Profession
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Pursuing gender and ethnic diversity
Demonstrating PR’s value to organizations
and societies
Improving measurement and evaluation
Continual review of university curricula
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