World Communication Week 2024: Navigating the Digital Age

Back in 1988 – when digital tech was in its infancy – November 1-7 was established as World Communication Week by the International Association of Business Communicators. Since then, this week has become increasingly important, given the rise of social media and other forms of digital communication. Even when your organization is closed for the night or for a holiday, your brand continues to be seen by consumers online. In this 24/7 digital landscape, it is important to ensure your brand is available at all times, a unique challenge brought on by the advancing digital landscape.

 

World Communication Week has evolved into an opportunity to reflect on how we can enhance our communication skills in various facets of our lives.

 

Precision in the Digital Age

As communication becomes increasingly complex through digital mediums, the need for clear, precise messaging is vital. The shift to these mediums hinders the ability to express body language and tone, making precision all the more important for effectively communicating.

In response to these challenges, many organizations are turning to public relations to help ensure that their brand’s image is portrayed accurately. And, that their messages are clear and compelling. These challenges have prompted shifts in how we communicate, leading to notable trends that reflect the changes in the field.

 

Trends and the Rise of Short-Form Content

Trends in communication are also affected by these mediums and their limitations. It isn’t a secret that the attention span of the average consumer is lower than it was when World Communication Week was established. The rise of short form content across all platforms reflects those consumer preferences.

Visual storytelling on platforms like TikTok and YouTube are only part of it. Short messages are not only shared, but required. Due to character limits on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, etc. This week should be used as a chance to consider how you are adapting. And, to make sure that your team is aligned on how you are approaching the task.

 

The Role of Public Relations in Digital Communication

As communication technology continues to evolve, the ability for organizations to communicate with confidence and clarity is more important than ever.

Public relations practitioners play a crucial role in optimizing communication for today’s digital world. They help organizations establish trust while limiting miscommunications.

 

About the author:

Justin Picciuto is a fall 2024 intern at SCG Advertising and PR. He is currently a senior Communication and Media Studies major at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ.

 

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Back to the Classics: A Suggested Reading List

I’m a public relations practitioner, and my profession’s core is communication– the development and expression of ideas and information. I’ve been at it for a long while, but I still find it beneficial to periodically return to the artistic classics of communicating, whether in the form of music, film, or literature. These provide us with a standard of excellence, while reminding us what true clarity of thought looks like.

 

With all this in mind– and also for fun– I’ve compiled a chronological list of seven classic novels (complete with general remarks) I enthusiastically recommend to anyone who’s ready to take a break from the here and now and gaze back upon the exceptional.

 

Wuthering Heights (1847), by Emily Brontë

Fabulously atmospheric, it’s a darkly troubling love story featuring multiple narrators and a series of flashbacks. The fact that this was Brontë’s only novel (she died in 1848, at age 30) is a tragedy for all readers.

 

Dracula (1897), by Bram Stoker

Thrilling, harrowing, and terrifying– this is the gothic novel that laid the foundation for modern horror. Dracula is about the vision of pure, ancient evil, and the circle of friends who dare to defy it.

 

Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sherlock Holmes canon is composed of 56 short stories and four longer works. Collectively, they’re the origin of modern detective fiction, and this novel is the best of them. Also worth noting, Conan Doyle is a vastly underrated writer.

 

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), by James Joyce

To me, Irishman James Joyce is the greatest writer of modern English– and this is his most accessible novel. It’s a coming-of-age tale, and though set in late nineteenth-century Dublin, it remains stunningly modern.

 

The Great Gatsby (1925), by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Considered by many to be America’s finest novel, it’s a window into a very different time– but with characters and themes that remain entirely relevant. Speaking of those characters, they’re detailed, layered, and brimming with intrigue.

 

Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), by J.R.R. Tolkien

This series is one epic fantasy tale divided into three volumes. Tolkien draws upon the root myths and legends of northern Europe to weave what I consider the most powerfully magical novel in the English language.

 

Watership Down (1972), by Richard Adams

All the main characters are rabbits. Really. It’s a mesmerizing, edge-of-your-seat story with marvelous heroes and one of literature’s most wicked villains. Also– its author didn’t begin writing until he was 46 years old.

 

Kurt Praschak

Vice President, Public Relations

SCG Advertising & PR

A Poet on National Poetry Month

Since way back in 1987, I’ve earned a living as a public relations professional. I was a reporter before then, and wrote upward of a thousand newspaper articles. I’ve been an absolute Facebook addict for the past 13 years, and I’ve penned a few freelance magazine pieces. I’ve dabbled in writing fiction, with an emphasis on novels and screenplays, I’ve been known to occasionally slap acrylics on a canvas, and I’m an inveterate consumer of podcasts.

In essence, I’m a communicator. I’m naturally inclined to convey and consume information, whether in the form of facts or feelings. It’s what I do for a career and it’s how I prefer to spend my spare time.

This said, I’ve long been convinced that the purest, most potent form of written communication is poetry. It’s this perspective that makes me an appropriate author for our agency’s latest blog, since April happens to be National Poetry Month.

Both as a reader and writer, I’ve been invested in poems since I was quite young. And in the time necessary for me to transform from student to practitioner of the art, my personal style took shape. I dispensed almost completely with rhymes, but embraced alliteration. Never comfortable with lines, and less so with stanzas, I’ve come to employ a breathless, stream-of-consciousness style that to an inflexible English professor might seem suspiciously like a run-on sentence.

Over time, I’ve enjoyed some entirely non-financial success, with my poetry selected for inclusion in a variety of literary publications. One of these (“Concordance of Color,” from the spring 2015 edition of Miller’s Pond Poetry Magazine) follows here, because it seems awkward to discuss creating poems without also sharing a sample.

As if God spent an hour fingerpainting with white and black tempera, streaking November’s sky in unsettled grays, mostly dull, with a whisper of threat, and walking below I watch the drab shades run, seeping down on trees, across lawns, transforming unremarkable structures into mansions of film noir moodiness, absent all hues, save for you — solely immune to this visual desolation — sauntering in a concordance of color, of crimsons, blues, yellows, drifting along, and I’m induced to follow, enthralled by your conspicuous magic.

There’s a kinship between writing poetry and crafting fine furniture, sculpting with clay, or tinkering with an engine. For me, words are the wood or clay; punctuation the wrench set or lathe. And with any of these creative endeavors, nuance determines excellence. Many a word may be suitable to convey meaning, just as any board can become a shelf. But whether with word or board, there’s only one perfect fit.

What captivates me is the pursuit of the ideal word or phrase – the delicate, precise construction that can stir darkness or light in a reader’s heart. Communication is my compulsion, and there are things only poetry can express.

It’s Not Whether We Communicate, But How Effectively We Communicate

 

 

It is unlikely anyone would challenge the belief that strong and open communication is essential in building a client-agency relationship. And, if done artfully and regularly, great communication can yield many benefits. Here are a few that are top of mind:

  • Gives Direction
  • Reduces uncertainty
  • Builds relationships
  • Creates meaning
  • Increases collaboration

That is a powerful list of benefits. And with the unending stream of improvements offered by technology your opportunity to become a master communicator is more accessible than ever before.

 

There was a time when client relationships were built on the phone, in face-to-face business meetings, and through the mail. Now, each of these communication options are faster, more efficient, and less expensive than in decades gone by.

 

Of course, there are a plethora of tools out there that had not even been dreamed of decades ago which are now mainstream. Just think of a business world without:

  • E-mail
  • Text
  • Chat
  • Online Collaboration
  • Virtual Meetings

So many choices!! However, no matter what tools you choose as appropriate for developing each individual agency/client relationship remember to mix your methods of communication. There are times where a well-timed phone call can clear up misunderstandings that crop up in e-mail. Also, you must communicate regularly and be responsive to messages that you receive.

 

Let’s start communicating today. For clients, our focus is always on navigating the entire P.E.S.O. (Paid /Earned / Shared / Owned) media spectrum. We create and direct programs and campaigns with a truly 360-degree perspective, helping organizations break down internal silos and strategically improve engagement and relationships – all with a goal of achieving your objectives.

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