<div><span style="font-size: 16.0px;letter-spacing: -0.32px;"><i>The article was published on January 20, 2023</i></span></div> <ul class="p-list"> <li><span class="p-body"><b>Does PR have a PR problem?</b></span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b>Are PR professionals too progressive for their target audiences?</b></span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b>Are PR professionals valued in the C-suite?</b></span></li> </ul> <p><span class="p-body">In the 2022 NYU School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS)/<i>PRWeek</i> Attitudinal Survey of PR Professionals revealed that today’s public relations (PR) practitioners rate themselves consistently more “progressive” on political, economic, social, and safety issues than the general US population.</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">The joint survey, which was designed to learn more about the value and motivations of PR professionals, together with their perspectives on the profession and its practitioners, provided a key number of insights and findings about the profession, including:</span></p> <ul class="p-list"> <li><span class="p-body"><b>Are PR professionals too progressive for their target audiences? – </b>PR professionals are significantly more likely to self-identify as politically “progressive” (68%) than the US population (26%), a characteristic which also remains true across economic, public safety, and societal issues.</span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b>Does PR have a PR problem?</b> – PR practitioners believe people have a largely negative view of the profession in terms of its value, its ethics, and respect for PR professionals.</span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b>The PR profession demands both creativity and business acumen –</b> PR practitioners feel that “creativity” and “storytelling ability” are the profession’s most valuable skills. However, these are closely followed by “the ability to work with others” and “client management skills.”</span></li> <li><span class="p-body"><b>Are PR professionals valued in the C-Suite </b>– Surveyed PR professionals believe they bring significant and unique strategic value, especially at the executive level.</span></li> </ul>

<p><span class="p-body">This year’s survey also provided a unique perspective on what motivates someone to choose PR,” said Jennifer Scott, former NYU IMC clinical assistant professor. “For example, in a profession strongly associated with networking and influence, many PR practitioners said they were motivated to join the profession more for the opportunity to be strategic, than for the chance to work on social media and with celebrities and influencers.</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">&quot;We are living and working in a purpose-driven world where the needs of business and society can’t be merely aligned; they need to be integrated into all our communications,” said Ken Kerrigan, senior vice president at the integrated communications agency, The Bliss Group, and NYU SPS faculty member. &quot;Getting that right requires an organization, led by the public relations function, to actively listen to and engage with stakeholders across multiple communications channels. It is also encouraging to see from this study the importance the next generation of PR professionals places on ethics and purpose, while continuing to help drive an organization’s strategy and elevating the perception of our professional,” added Kerrigan.</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">For the 2022 Attitudinal Survey, the data was gathered using two quantitative online surveys. One was a custom questionnaire distributed among PR professionals and PR graduate students aged 20+ to capture their impressions of the industry, including social value dimensions, motivators, ethics, tactics, the role and performance of PR, and needed skills. The second survey was distributed to a representative sample of 2,500 US residents aged 18+ not involved in the PR profession.</span></p>

<ul class='p-list'> <li><span class="p-body">PR professionals are significantly more “progressive” than the US population–including when it comes to issues relating to politics, economics, public safety, and society.</span></li> <li><span class="p-body">PR practitioners believe people have a largely negative view of the profession in terms of its value, its ethics and respect for PR professionals.</span></li> <li><span class="p-body">PR practitioners think that “creativity” and “storytelling ability” are the profession’s most valuable skills. However, these are closely followed by “the ability to work with others” and “client management skills.”</span></li> <li><span class="p-body">PR professionals believe they bring significant and unique strategic value, especially for executive-level clients.</span></li> </ul>