The year 2023 was revolutionary in many ways and for many industries. As predicted, new technologies, especially AI, impacted our industry. Companies also widely embraced the ESG path. Meanwhile, the parliamentary elections triggered personnel reshuffles across the entire media market (and beyond).
Artificial intelligence, you fool!
The phrase “artificial intelligence” was declined in all cases over the past year. It appeared in discussions about the threats related to the “dehumanization” of communication and warnings that AI might replace the work of PR professionals, and even the entire creative industry in the future.
Once the emotions settled and the industry took a few deep breaths, it turned out that AI not only does not threaten our jobs but can even improve daily work in a PR agency. This mainly concerns the huge time savings previously spent on activities such as creating and analyzing databases, preparing short texts, or research. Going a step further, this gave PR professionals more space for creative, conceptual, and strategic work.
Hot discussions and the widespread use of AI recently made many of us realize that at the end of the day, the heart and strength of our industry remain soft skills, which are key to building relationships on many levels.
Post-election personnel revolution
In the autumn of 2023, we witnessed historic parliamentary elections, ending with record turnout. Massive social mobilization and political upheaval are, among other things, the result of intense work by PR professionals and many pro-turnout campaigns. Kudos especially go to the organizers of actions like “#SupportingWomen’sSuccess” and “It’s Your Choice.”
The aftermath of the elections and the normalization of public media work sparked a personnel revolution in many newsrooms, which continues to this day. Transfers to public media create new vacancies in commercial media. For us PR professionals, this means a new mapping of key contacts in the media landscape.
The new political scene also means the announcement of further tenders for PR services in state and government units. In this context, we expect quality tenders—not like the infamous one announced last year by the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Finally, the new post-election arrangement also brings changes for Public Affairs experts. They too must reorganize their contact networks and update their action strategies. Moreover, spring local elections are around the corner, which will likely bring further changes.
The year marked by ESG
The topic of ESG is experiencing a real boom. The reporting obligation has motivated companies and set in motion a machine of topics and activities related to the environment, social issues, and corporate governance.
Organizations have started creating entire ESG departments or positions dedicated to this area within communication departments. Numerous tenders specifically for handling this area have been launched. In our Agency, we also observe an increasing number of clients for whom ESG is becoming a strategic direction.
Looking at the past year, we conclude that the topic of ESG is still paving the way. A good sign is that companies are focusing on increasingly holistic, well-thought-out actions, although unfortunately there are entities acting somewhat ad hoc, losing credibility in the process. In this context, many campaigns arise that bear hallmarks of greenwashing or pinkwashing. That is why it is so important that the ESG strategy aligns with the company’s DNA and is framed in a long-term perspective.
The coming months will surely bring greater awareness regarding ESG, and consequently, many interesting initiatives that we are all looking forward to. After all, the important aspect of ESG efforts is the goal itself, which is to bring concrete, significant, and positive changes across many dimensions.
