How AI, Gen Z, and business goals are reshaping India’s communication landscape – Brand Wagon News

By Deeptie Sethi 

The Indian public relations industry continues to grow in significance, reflecting the country’s expanding economic landscape, and PRCAI’s SPRINT 2024-25—Study of Public Relations Insights, Nuggets, and Trends— paints a compelling portrait of a sector and space in the throes of significant transformation. Indian PR grew more than three times compared to global PR, reaching ₹2,500 crores in revenues in 2023. Its share in the Asia-Pacific market increased from 15.4% in 2022 to 17% in 2023. While publicly available data shows advertising grew 7%, PR clocked 11%—a sign of a shifting communication landscape.

The shift that we are constantly witnessing, and more so in recent years include:

Impact Over Quantity

Many trends uncovered in the study present a newer outlook. The PR value is shifting towards business impact, rather than the common measurable yardsticks of media quantity. For instance, in the quantitative study, an overwhelming 90% of respondents from the corporate communicators set prioritized tangible business impact with PR, highlighting a shift towards outcome-driven PR. The study highlighted that, with a 46% share, private corporates remain the largest revenue contributors; but start-ups are quickly rising, now accounting for 22% revenue share, while NGOs have grown to a 11% share, showcasing the growth of purpose-driven PR.

In today’s VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world, the role, planning and execution of communications has evolved dramatically. Brands aim to connect with audiences in relatable, purposeful ways. They want to reach their audiences where they are, and communicate with them differently. This shift is seen in the rise of regional PR, influencer marketing, public affairs and social media trends, all of which emphasize a move away from commoditized media relations.

For example, in the PR study, 88% of professionals believe that cultural sensitivities are critical in regional storytelling and PR. Further, while influencer marketing is rising, 88% respondents feel it needs accountability for business outcomes, and 73% respondents stress the need for fresh storytelling approaches by going hyperlocal. Purpose-driven PR is gaining traction, with key sectors like social impact and NGOs, energy and environment, healthcare and pharma, consumer goods and retail, and technology are prioritizing their narrative alignment with brand philosophy and values, tied to the trend of value shift in PR.

Global Signals

Some findings are riding on the global trends that promise to reshape the PR industry. Like, artificial intelligence (AI) will fuel the growth of the communication industry, and also present it with new challenges to manage. The study notes that the top two applications of AI in the Indian PR industry will be research and strategy (82% of respondents) and conversational AI (77%). At the same time, respondents also flag risks of AI: while 90% of respondents believe AI and big data will propel PR, an identical percentage warns of threats and reputational risks of AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes. As AI adoption grows, maintaining strategic differentiation will be a key challenge due to the widespread accessibility of similar data insights.

The 11% revenue growth of Indian PR in FY 2024 (incremental revenues of ₹400 crore) means this is the eighth year of double-digit growth in the last 10 years. Still, it is below the past decade’s CAGR of 12.5%. The industry is realigning from only soft growth, and challenges persist, particularly in talent management and quality of work. One in six corporate communicators expects that specialization will boost the quality of work and fuel growth, but it will also increase costs for consultancies as the industry is seeing some firms establish regional offices, expand video production or tailor creative AI solutions. But client PR budgets are not necessarily keeping pace with this greater value provided, and the costs it entails? Navigating this balance will be important for this dynamic industry.

Managing Talent

Another significant headwind is the whirlpool of talent. The PR industry added 1,300 professionals in FY 2023 (and 4,700 over five years), but it averages an attrition of 16%. Among consultancy staff, work-life balance (64% of respondents) and poor work culture (54%) are some of the major causes of dissatisfaction besides compensation (61%). With low entry barriers in the profession, continuous upskilling and training-on-the-job will be vital. PRCAI remains committed to this through learning and development initiatives such as the Writing Pen, accreditation of PR professionals, AcademiaConnect, and several aspirational thought leadership and knowledge exchange initiatives such as PRologue, PRana and PRCAI Dialogues.

The SPRINT study, for the first time, deep-dived into Gen Z perspectives. It found many struggles with established work cultures, the notion of flexibility and peer-level treatment. Leaders must adapt to foster a more inclusive and collaborative environment to retain this dynamic talent pool. Gen Z is rapidly changing the employee mix of most PR firms, which will shape future work environments. For instance, the attrition challenge may still have a long tail as all respondents believe that Gen Z’s curiosity and eagerness to explore often result in frequent job changes, and 93% feel that recognizing and rewarding Gen Z talent can boost their morale and retention.

SPRINT 2024-25 underscores the rising influence of Indian PR. The voice of the Global South will be become more significant and public relation’s evolving role in boardrooms will solidify its strategic value in the 21st-century communication landscape. So, let’s buckle up for a strong ride.

The author is Chief Executive Officer, PRCAI.( Views expressed are the author’s own and not necessarily those of financialexpress.com)

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