The PR industry in light of the ICCO World PR Report 2024-2025 - comments from PSPR experts

The ICCO World PR Report 2024-2025, an annual report summarising global trends in the public relations industry, has just been released. This year's report highlights several key areas: the growing importance of strategic consulting and public affairs, the need to measure the impact of PR activities accurately, and the challenges of attracting and retaining talent. It also points to the huge role of artificial intelligence and its impact on everyday communications practice.

PSPR members Rozalia Derewenda-Zasłona, Maciej Kikta, Kinga Kruczek, Małgorzata Morańska, Anna Miotk, Joanna Neumann, Roksana Obuchowska, Żaneta Przybylska, Izabela Wejcht comment on the report's conclusions.

What was surprising about the ICCO report?

Żaneta Przybylska, spokesperson for Qemetika

The notion expressed in the ICCO report that there is value in inviting talent from other, sometimes distant fields, such as medicine, can be inspiring for the PR industry as a whole. How do we effectively attract professionals from outside our profession? I firmly believe in the power of training and sharing knowledge with newcomers, as the chart on key competencies of the future, such as proficiency in AI-based tools, confirms. It's a shame that there is little in the report about the sense of simply building lasting relationships, without which PR does not exist.

Kinga Kruczek, freelance PR advisor

73% of PR industry representatives (globally) declare to have rejected a client for ethical reasons, 38% of them declared as a challenge in the area of ethics the lack of consequences for agencies acting unethically. Given the high competition in the agency market, the ever-growing but still insufficient awareness of the role of PR, and the regulatory system for financial obligations (concerning the market and business in general), in which it is much more surprising to pay an invoice on time than to be overdue, I wonder what the results would look like for the Polish market alone.

Comparing the data from last year's and this year's editions of the report, a rather interesting observation emerges - as the economic challenges increase, we are more willing to declare our adherence to ethical values. In last year's edition of the report, as many as 78% of respondents declared that they refused to work with a client for ethical reasons, while this year it was 73%. At the same time, last year's edition indicated that the industry's biggest challenges were clients who do not commit enough resources and general economic conditions (42% of indications each). This year, the first aspect was indicated by 37% of respondents and the second by 34%.

Strategic consultancy and public affairs on the rise

The ICCO report shows that organisations increasingly see PR as supporting reputation management and adapting to the changing regulatory environment. The growing importance of public affairs points to a greater role for PR in shaping public debates and building relationships with stakeholders at a political and economic level.

Rozalia Derewenda-Zasłona, Head of the Communication and Sponsorship Team, PZU Zdrowie

The rise of strategic consulting and public affairs is presumably linked to the ESG theme that has dominated corporate communications in recent years. In many companies, sustainability has been incorporated into PR departments, and this misplaced equation has forced a revision of corporate image strategies. At the same time, in the Polish business reality, the field of public relations still shares many functions with marketing, which seems to be confirmed by the expected directions of PR investments in our region (multimedia or influencer communication).

Also noteworthy is the position of the health industry, perceived as the second most promising globally and third in Eastern Europe, and mental well-being, which clients indicate among their priority issues. Demographic trends and growing social awareness mean that health will become increasingly attractive, both as an aspect of corporate responsibility and as a commercial activity

Izabela Wejcht, Managing Director of WeCom PR

The ICCO report highlights the global growth in the importance of strategic consultancy and public affairs. Similar trends are also observed on the Polish PR market.

Organisations increasingly expect a comprehensive approach to communication, combining public relations with public affairs. Traditional tasks of a PR specialist, such as maintaining relations with the media and running a press office, are complemented by data analysis and interpretation, stakeholder mapping, communication with decision-makers at local, regional and national levels, conducting social dialogue, or communication support in the context of regulatory changes.

It is crucial for companies' communication activities to take into account a broad social, political and economic perspective in order to effectively manage risks and minimise potential crises. A high degree of insight into current topics, keeping abreast of decision-makers' discussions and keeping a finger on the pulse of public sentiment is already required of PR professionals today. I definitely see the future of the industry in the strengthening of its consultative nature and in the growth of PR's interdisciplinarity. This is certainly a challenge, but also a huge opportunity.

Measuring the effects of PR - standard or still theory?

One of the key findings of the ICCO report is the growing importance of measuring the effectiveness of PR activities. Clients increasingly expect hard data to justify the strategies they undertake, but the global industry still struggles with the lack of uniform standards and methodologies to assess PR effectiveness.

Roksana Obuchowska, Senior Global Communications Expert

The need to measure our activities is a reality. Our clients (including internal ones) increasingly start the conversation about them by asking how we measure them. In doing so, they are trying to verify the validity and genesis of the decisions we make. This is particularly evident in the corporate world, where numbers and KPIs determine the way forward. It is no longer enough to know that something should be done in a particular way - if this knowledge is not backed up by figures, it is worth little.

Małgorzata Morańska, Head of the Corporate Communications Team and spokesperson at Unum Życie TUiR

In today's dynamic world, data and statistics play a key role in assessing the effectiveness of PR strategies. Media indicators, sentiment analysis or audience engagement levels help to accurately assess what is working and what needs to be adjusted. However, despite the growing emphasis on measurability, it must not be forgotten that PR is not just about numbers. The real power of PR activities is building relationships, understanding emotions and the context in which our stakeholders operate. It is this soft dimension - based on trust, genuine dialogue and empathy - that determines the long-term success of communication.

PR activities cannot be reduced to just monetised indicators or Excel tables, because we have a human being on the other side. Therefore, the key to an effective PR strategy is the balance between hard data and the ability to listen to and understand the audience. This is achieved not only through traditional PR metrics, but also through customer research, their satisfaction, the quality of the relationship with them and their propensity to recommend the brand. Collaborating PR with areas that are at the front line of stakeholder contact brings a wealth of knowledge. Measuring results is essential to improve tactics, plan effective actions and achieve business goals, but equally important is nurturing authentic relationships and nurturing a reputation that cannot be measured by numbers alone. It is this synergy that allows for effective and sustainable trust building, which is the most valuable currency in the current times.

Anna Miotk, Communications Director, PBI, Assistant Professor, University of Warsaw

The results of the report show changes in four areas related to measurement. For large corporations, measuring reputation is becoming a priority, for which measurement is increasingly used at all stages of strategic planning, and good practices recommended by AMEC are spreading. This is indicative of a serious approach to measurement. 

As for artificial intelligence - here we may be dealing with unrealistic hopes (typical when a new technology is emerging). Yes, AI can make it easier to analyse large data sets or combine data from different sources. But I am not counting on a breakthrough here for indicator types. Everything we measure relates in some way to audience reach and engagement, message reception and actions taken by the audience, or characteristics of the audience itself.

However, we still have a problem with constructing measurable strategies and selecting indicators for them, as the applications to industry competitions and the descriptions of winning campaigns show. Campaign descriptions are not consistent and advertising equivalents are used as proof of effectiveness. By the way, this is how I recognise a poorly written competition application. Our work is not about buying space and putting persuasive messages on it, so why are we still trying to compare ourselves with advertising?

How do we effectively attract and retain talent in PR?

The ICCO World PR Report 2024-2025 indicates that most of the industry recognises talent retention as one of its biggest challenges. Younger generations expect not only flexible working arrangements, but also real growth opportunities and clear career paths.

Maciej Kikta, Public Relations Manager, Expander Advisors

Although the Polish market of public relations agencies is dynamically professionalising and companies care about the high quality of services, transparency and good working conditions, talent retention in organisations remains a growing challenge. The ICCO World PR Report 2023-2024 shows that as many as 60% of industry leaders consider employee retention to be a key issue.

Despite efforts to build loyalty and engagement, an analysis of job listings published on major recruitment portals shows that organisations hiring PR professionals internally are losing competitiveness to specialist agencies.

One of the main problems is the imprecise definition of the PR role in the organisational structure. In many companies, due to limited resources, small PR teams are responsible for a wide range of tasks - from copywriting and media relations to public affairs, market analysis, event management and social media. The lack of a clear division of responsibilities means that PR professionals are additionally burdened with tasks not directly related to their competences, leading to overload and a decrease in motivation.At the same time, transparent career paths, a culture of feedback and competitive salaries are still not the norm in PR departments in many sectors, including the rapidly growing FinTech sector in Poland. Meanwhile, clearly defined roles, specialisation, transparent organisational structures, support from HR & Culture teams and attractive employment conditions are the foundations of effective talent retention.As long as HR departments do not include these aspects in their PR team management strategy, they will have to face constant rotation and the need to launch new recruitment processes.

Joanna Neumann, Owner of No Future Team

Artificial intelligence is changing communication and PR, enabling faster detection of fake news and precise data analysis, but according to the ICCO report ‘World PR Report 2024-2025’, many organisations are still unable to effectively integrate AI into their strategies. Skill gaps are emerging, affecting both experienced professionals and those just entering the profession.

It is the proper use of AI that can become a factor attracting new talent to PR. However, it will be crucial to create an environment that provides employees not only with access to modern technologies, but also with space for learning and clear development paths. Younger generations in particular bring digital fluency and a willingness to experiment to teams, but without the support of experienced experts – especially in ethical and relational matters – mastering the technology alone is not enough.

Today, when automation is changing everything, we must not forget the foundations of PR – building trust and relationships based on communication characterised by human intuition, empathy and ethical actions. Without proper supervision, even the most advanced tools can become a source of misinformation instead of counteracting it. Therefore, attracting and retaining the best talent is not only about innovative tools, but also about a well-thought-out organisational culture – based on intergenerational cooperation, fair rules and development opportunities.

It is in such an atmosphere that AI becomes an ‘intelligent assistant’ rather than a substitute for humans, and PR a place where it is worth building a career.

The full version of the ICCO World PR Report 2024-2025 is available for download at www.iccopr.com.