Regardless of the trends, public relations (PR) must remain relevant and agile, understand its audience, be willing to listen, and always uphold ethics in communication. According to the United Nations Foundation, on December 20, 2022, five topics were projected to be prominent in 2023 on the global stage. These include Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the climate crisis, managing the long-term impacts of COVID-19, humanitarian conflicts due to geopolitical tensions, economic recessions, and building inclusive systems for international cooperation. 

Additionally, as cited from kominfo.go.id on November 10, 2022, Indonesia, as the President of the G20 Summit in 2022, has three main issues on its agenda: sustainable energy transition, digital transformation, and global health architecture.

These notes also influence the direction of organizational communication in Indonesia in the coming year. Moreover, the homeland is entering a political year and facing dynamic developments in the digital world. According to Infobip’s report, as cited from infokomputer.grid.id on January 30, 2023, five top trends influence customer experience and omnichannel communication throughout the year. These include composable technology, hyper-automation and intelligent bots like ChatGPT, highly personalized end-to-end customer experiences enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics, hybrid “phygital” experiences blending digital and physical immersion, and more conversational customer experiences. For example, AI-powered chatbots allow customers to book Uber services through WhatsApp. These should concern PR practitioners worldwide in determining future strategies and adapting to all changes.

Polarization 

Meanwhile, based on research by the Indonesian Public Relations Association (Iprahumas), they recommended the “Top 10 Public Communication Issues for Strengthening the Role of Government Public Relations in 2023”. Iprahumas divided these into two issues: the political year and the Chairmanship of the ASEAN Summit. 

On the one hand, the research team also gathered nine findings that should be a collective concern, especially for government public relations. One of them is that only two ministry agencies prepared for the political year issues and the ASEAN Summit Chairmanship, and not all government agency websites have dedicated press release channels. According to Deputy Chairman of Iprahumas, Dyah Rachmawati Sugiyanto, communication strategies have yet to be massively integrated into public relations strategies. According to data compiled by media monitoring company NoLimit Indonesia, political issues dominated in 2022, with presidential election issues comprising 3 million conversation data and the New Capital City (IKN) issue comprising 4 million conversation data. Other dominant issues included the G20 forum and the Kanjuruhan tragedy, each with 1.1 million data. Another issue in the top five was MotoGP, with 700 thousands of conversation data. 

Considering this situation, co-founder and CEO of NoLimit Indonesia, Aqsath Rasyid, advised PR practitioners, especially government public relations, to be extra cautious in making statements, postings, and content packaging. “Affiliating a brand with a presidential candidate even once is not only dangerous but can have lasting effects,” he said. “PR must ensure that all stakeholders within the company, from directors to the lowest level, remain neutral,” he added. 

Interestingly, although the Edelman Trust Barometer 2023 emphasized an increasing trend of polarization, businesses remain the most trusted institutions, while trust in governments and media remains low. However, the same results did not occur in Indonesia. Indonesia falls into the category of countries with little or low polarization, along with countries like Singapore. Likewise, trust in both business institutions and the government remains relatively high in Indonesia, with business institutions reaching 83% and the government reaching 76%.

Collaboration 

Regardless of research findings, Usman Kansong, Director-General of Information and Public Communication at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics in Bandung, on Saturday (December 17, 2022), said that based on experiences facing the pandemic and hosting the G20, the key to success in overcoming various obstacles is collaboration. According to the direction of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the second keyword is to turn every challenge into an opportunity. Moreover, this year, Indonesia will again be entrusted to host international forums. He emphasized that all civil servants (ASNs) should remain neutral regarding the political year. “If unsure, it’s better to remain silent,” he said. 

On the other hand, according to Sari Soegondo, Vice Chairman of the Indonesian Public Relations Companies Association (APPRI), besides increasing awareness to uphold environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, this co-founder and Executive Director of ID COMM invites PR to be more empathetic and inclusive. Always maintaining awareness and continuously sharpening sensitivity while adapting to the needs and aspirations of the audience. Equally important, PR should not forsake ethics. According to her, the onslaught of messages produced, manipulated, and commercialized can lower societal ethical awareness. This condition needs to be balanced by PR’s awareness to educate and bring about goodness according to the philosophy of communication. 

Agung Laksamana, Chairman of the Public Affairs Forum Indonesia (PAFI), emphasized the importance of PR in managing power within the organization and advocating narratives of optimism and resilience. “PR often overlooks the narrative about the organization’s greatest asset, which is all the people within it,” he said. Yet, referring to the results of the Edelman Trust Barometer 2023, the most trusted public information source is not CEOs or public relations but employees. 

Communication lecturer from the University of Pembangunan Jaya, Fathiya Nur Rahmi, also emphasized one of the often forgotten functions of PR, namely advocacy. This function is essential for PR to gather public support using storytelling methods. “Amidst the noise of new brands and the loudness of information, PR’s ability to tell stories is crucial to capture the audience’s attention,” she added. Director of Corporate Communications at APRIL Group, Anita Bernardus, noted at least three critical things PR practitioners can learn throughout 2022. These include agility in responding to change, training in listening to audiences, embracing the principle of “less is more,” selecting the most essential and strategic messages, and being able to think critically. 

Meanwhile, the key to Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) in facing various challenges and trends remains the same. That is, finding relevance within PR functions, both internally and externally, in constantly dynamic situations. One way is through research. “We also realize that we cannot answer these various challenges alone. Collaboration is needed to provide more impactful results,” said Steve Saerang, SVP of Corporate Communications at IOH. 

Research also caught the attention of Elvera N. Makki, founder and CEO of VMCS Advisory Indonesia. From this research, PR can understand the target audience. PR must prioritize audience-centricity and empathy, be able to capture issues and help solve them through communication.

Author: Ratna Kartika Source: PR Indonesia, “PR Trends 2023: From ESG to Political Year”, Edition 94 | Volume VIII | January 2023.