MS. Etsuko Tsugihara, the new IPRA global president, shared her vision on PR in the new endemic during the Ipra Communitalks webinar on January 28 this year. In her talk, she emphasized how Covid-19 made us reevaluate what is more important to us and society. She highlighted key social shifts that raised greater consciousness of the importance of human life, environmental issues, inclusive growth, alternative work arrangements and commercial transactions, and sustainable development goals. She attributes these shifts to the increasing influence of Gen Z, those digital natives born between 1996 and 2010, who now make up 13.6 percent of the Japanese population, 19.4 percent of the USA, and 28.6 percent of the Philippines.
Of the many interesting items Ms. Etsuko raised, I would like to react to three points:
1.Gen Z has it.
2.PR is personal. It is also increasingly technological.
3.VUCA times call for VUCA leaders and PR teams.
1.Gen Z has it.
From the presentation it was clear that the millennials constitute a significant portion of Philippine demographics. Compared to Japan you can say we have a really fat bottom! We need to know that Gen Z preferences today have the power to boost product sales, close down restaurants or clothing brands, even determine the next president of the country. We all need to understand them and how they think, to speak to them using their language, to engage them on the platforms and styles they favor. Ignore them and you become cliched, vintage or irrelevant.
Our DOST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña on August 22, 2016, at his very first Mancom meeting, asked what is hugot. He could not understand it nor relate to it. As the new director of DOST STII myself at the time, that was a clear indicator for where I should start to architect our science communication plan. It was a gargantuan task. We did not even have an indicator of the national level of awareness on science and technology. Today we know that we have moved from 6 percent in 2017 to 24.5 percent in 2021, more than a four-fold increase in 5 years. We still have a lot more work to do but all our officials now have active social media pages, up from just 50 percent in 2016. We launched the tagline #ScienceForThePeople and more than 12,000 FB users have used it to promote science communication in the country.
Engaging millennials is key to increasing awareness and fomenting a culture of science in the country. It is a good strategy to also employ millennials to focus on and address this communication gap. Hugot has to be part of our arsenal of communication!
2.PR is personal. It is also increasingly technological.
I really like the name of the PR company that Etsuko-san founded in Japan: Sunny Side Up. Any client would want to work with those who are bubbly, positive, articulate, have a wide network and can get things done. Today, effective PR cannot rest on the strength of personality or sociality alone. It has to be techno-savvy as well. Philip Borremans, past IPRA president, showed us that it is entirely possible to run a series of global webinars, from marketing to assessment, by his lonesome and on his laptop anywhere in the world. And who has not heard about the digital capabilities of Cambridge Analytica to influence elections in America and even in the Philippines? Even in the use of technology, we need to let the younger ones, the digital natives, show us the way.
3. VUCA times call for VUCA leaders and PR teams.
First used in 1987 and based on the leadership theories of Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. At no better time was this leadership paradigm tested than during the year 2020, also known as the year of the great reset. It is so unique, so radically impactful and it is the only year you have to pronounce two times: 2020. Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity became day-to-day realities.
In the toughest of times, we need leaders and PR professionals who can lead us from Volatility to Vision, who can paint a picture of the future we want and forge internal and external identity and effectiveness. We need people who will transition us from Uncertainty to Understanding, who can harmonize skills and convert anxiety and resistance into productive energy. We need leaders and PR teams who can bring us from Complexity to Clarity, who can simplify things and help us to focus on what counts and what really matters. They build trust, transparent connections and processes and apply energy and force exactly where they will be most effective. Lastly, we need leaders and PR teams who will transform Ambiguity to Agility, who have the flexibility and the ability to facilitate innovation and build up resilience.
Tough times never last. Tough people do. We can survive and thrive through VUCA times. We just have to do things right and get things done to protect our assets and reputation. The bright future we want is achievable if we choose the right leaders and PR teams to assist us with the right stance, story and speed.
What I truly appreciated about the Communitalks event was that two young communications students were part of the panel and also articulated their perspectives and experiences.
Because technology allows us to instantaneously capture participants’ feedback, here are some comments (names withheld) in the chat box that we can also consider as part of the lively conversation among the 371 in the audience and the 6 panelists, or maybe become the springboard for determining the next Communitalks topics:
- Thank you to everyone! Learned so much this afternoon!
- Thank you everyone from IPRA Philippines! LOVE from TOKYO 🙂
- Good afternoon can we request for copies of the presentations pls? Very helpful for us. Thank you from the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines.
- Refreshing to hear students’ POV in a professional association webinar. Great panel. Thank you, Ipra. (From a representative of Jollibee)
- Good afternoon. Echoing the request for access to the presentations for our reference. Kudos to the organizers for this productive learning session. Thank you to all the reactors. Your inputs are much appreciated. (from a representative of Mang Inasal)
- Hi Tats! What a nice surprise to hear you speak in this forum. Regards from FEU Manila! Excellent presentation IPRA! Well done!
- Wow, what a star-studded event. Richard Burgos, Kane Choa, Ritzi Ronquillo, boundary na!
- Jonathan is right, we must pursue facts-based information dissemination that can be understood by common people in adherence to ethics and industry standards. Like our national hero says, “Kabataan ang Pag-asa ng bayan,” so it is important for the youth and other people to have representation, even in the PR industry
- Great job pointing out, Jonathan, the limitation of Tiktok, from our end as PR practitioners and marketers.
- The media platforms today are indeed a double-edged sword. Like the given example—Tiktok; yes it can be used for immediate and efficient information yet misinformation and falsification of facts are also highly prevalent in such platform
- Great remark by Margarita; read as much as possible information you can get. Agree Jonathan, be inclusive; involve GenZ by default like you. Also involve other groups.
- Thank you for this Webinar. Congratulations to the organizers, and to all speakers and panelists. Keep safe everyone.
- Amazing and eye opening webinar! Thank you so much.
- Thank you for this informative webinar IPRA! 💕
- Thank you so much, IPRA Philippines! Kudos to the team, well-rounded topics and insights as well! Sending love from UST-CASA!
- In the research study, Architects of Networked Disinformation (in the Philippines), the chief architects of networked disinformation come from the advertising and PR industry. What can professional organizations like IPRA do to address this finding that casts a bad light to the practice and profession of PR? Read here: https://newtontechfordev.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ARCHITECTS-OF-NETWORKED-DISINFORMATION-FULL-REPORT.pdf
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the UK-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Richard P. Burgos is the director of the Science and Technology Information Institute of the Department of Science and Technology. A seasoned communicator, he has helped build some of the biggest brands in the information technology industry such as IBM, HP and Sun Microsystems.
PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.