August 14, 2025 • 32 mins
In our final episode on PRGN's 2025 Influence Insights research, Andy See reflects on the survey results from an APAC perspective, highlighting the distinct challenges and opportunities for brands in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
Andy, Bill, and Adrian talk about how cultural, regulatory, and market dynamics impact brand strategy and communication approaches in APAC and beyond. Their discussion underscores the importance of adapting strategies to local contexts and cultural nuances.
Download PRGN's whitepaper on insights from the 2025 global survey on Brand Influence.
Key Takeaways
- The PRGN survey offers vital insights into brand influence across diverse global markets, reaffirming the need for customized communication strategies.
- The Asian market is evolving, with growing emphasis on establishing trust and reputation among local brands.
- Consumer expectations are evolving, merging traditional PR objectives with immediate sales goals.
- Cultural differences shape perceptions of technological innovation and emotional connections in various markets.
- Thought leadership in the APAC region faces challenges due to cultural norms favoring discretion over public exposure.
- Collaboration with local experts is crucial for crafting effective strategies and navigating the complexities of market penetration in diverse contexts.
About the Guests
Andy See Teong Leng is Principal Partner and Managing Director of Perspective Strategies, a strategic communications and issues management firm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Andy founded the firm in 2006 after working with multinational and local consultancies including The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Edelman for more than a decade. Perspective Strategies has built a solid reputation for quality strategic counsel and is one of the leading PR and Strategic Communications consultancies in Malaysia. Andy adopts a hands-on approach to his work and the business. Besides managing the firm, he leads strategic client relationships and coach corporate spokespersons in their media and stakeholder engagements. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Media and Communication, Taylor’s University and a past president of the Public Relations and Communications Association of Malaysia (PRCA Malaysia). He speaks regularly at industry events and contributes thought leadership articles on PR, Leadership, Strategy, Sustainability and Communications.
Bill Southard is founder and CEO of Southard Communications in New York. He also serves as Marketing Committee Chair for PRGN. Bill launched Southard Communications in 1994 and has since experienced consistent and considerable growth and today represents a broad range of clients across a myriad of industries. In his day-to-day role at the agency, Bill drives the creative process, provides ongoing strategic counsel and manages all crisis communications on behalf of agency clients. With more than 35 years of communications experience, Bill has counseled some of the country's leading Fortune 500 firms. Prior to founding Southard Communications, he was president of Earle Palmer Brown Public Relations and previous to that General Manager with Dorf & Stanton Communications.
About the Host
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
From the Public RelationsGlobal Network, this is PRGN Presents.
I'm Adrian McIntyre.
And I'm Abbie Fink, Presidentof HMA Public Relations in Phoenix,
Arizona and a founding memberof PRGN. With public relations leaders
embedded into the fabric ofthe communities we serve, clients
hire our agencies for thelocal knowledge, expertise and connections
(00:24):
in markets spanning sixcontinents across the world.
Our guests on this biweeklypodcast series are all members of
the Public Relations GlobalNetwork. They will discuss such topics
as workplace culture, creativecompensation and succession planning,
the importance ofsustainability and environmental,
social and governanceprograms, crisis communications and
(00:45):
outside of the box thinkingfor growing your business.
For more information aboutPRGN and our members, please visit
prgn.com. And now let's meetour guests for this episode.
Hi, I'm Andy See fromPerspective Strategies. We're a public
relations and issuesmanagement consultancy based in Kuala
(01:05):
Lumpur, Malaysia. Proud to behere representing my colleagues from
PRGN all over Asia to speakabout our PRGN's recent insights.
Hi, I'm Bill Southard fromSouthard Communications. I'm the
founder and CEO, an agencythat I founded 31 years ago. We do
(01:26):
public relations, digitalmarketing, social media management,
crisis communications, andproud to say that I'm chair of the
marketing committee for thePublic Relations Global Network.
Thank you both for joining usas we're recording this. Bill, it's
late at night for you. It'searly morning for you. Andy, thank
you for making time to behere. This truly is one of the joys
(01:48):
but also challenges of being aglobal network network of agencies.
'dloveto startthisoff.Bill,you'vegivenanintroductiontothissurvey this
survey several times. In fact,I invite tothemost recentepisodestohearsomecontextaboutthesurvey.
WhyPublicRelationsGlobalNetworkhasdonethissurvey.ButBill, Network
(02:11):
has done this survey. ButBill, if the primarygoalofthis research?Whatisitintendedtoaccomplish?
You know, I think it'sintended to accomplish is real time
insight in terms of brandinfluence ndhowdoesthatimpacteachofourrespectiveagencieswhoarepart
ofPRGN? part of PRGN? Andprobably most importantly, how behalfofclients,whetherthey'rein
(02:36):
theB2Cspace,theB2Bspace,thepublicaffairs, the issuesmanagement,theworldasweallknow,hasbeenchanging.
The channels in all know, hasbeen changing. The channels in which
we're communicating to thoseexternal audiences is changing. So
we thought itinfluence.Notonlyhere,NewYork, whereI'mat,butacrosstheentireGlobe.g
(02:59):
Andy, we'll get into thenuance and the details of some of
the significance of thesefindings in the Asia-Pacific region.
But I'd love to ask you thesame question I asked Joaquín Fernández
in Spain at the beginning ofour last episode, which is this:
when you first saw thesesurvey results, what was your gut
(03:19):
level reaction? Did thefindings confirm what you're seeing
on the ground? Were there anymajor surprises for you? What was
your initial take?
I think my initial take isthat, I think first of all is that,
I mean, it reaffirms or sortof validates some of the thoughts
or thinking that among PRGNmember agencies have been having
(03:44):
conversations about how ourindividual markets operate. What
are differences,youknow, howwecouldapproachdifferentmarketswithdifferentsolutionsand theinferenceinsightsprovidedthatdata
tosortof reaffirmsomeofthegutfeelsthatwe'vehad,youknow,basedonourmarketexperience.But right
(04:04):
nowwehavesomedatathatcomesfrompeopleinthemarket themselvesgivingusthiskindofinputto
showcasethat,youknow,whatwe're thinking, whatwe'vethoughtaboutinthe
past,youknow,thatthere'sactuallydatatoshowthat,youknow, it
makessense.Thisiswhat,howwe'regoingtoapproachitandhow, that
it makes sense. This isdifferencesreallyimpacts influenceglobally.
(04:26):
Andy, just a follow upquestion for you. One of the things
the data shows here is that,while brand influence, the key focus
of the survey, is just asimportant in APAC as it is anywhere,
your region had the lowestpercentage of companies that have
recently changed theirstrategic approach. In other words,
(04:48):
they're continuing on in asimilar vein as they have in the
past. How do you account for that?
I think we need to look at itfrom a historical perspective as
well. The Asian consumersgenerally consume a lot of global
brands that are primarily fromUS and Europe. In the past, obviously
(05:10):
in the last decade or so,there have been a lot of much stronger
or emerging brands from Asia,particularly from China, Korea, Japan,
for example. Having said that,a lot of our respondents, particularly
from our client pool inSoutheast Asia, many of them are
B2B, because they've beensupporting the whole value chain,
(05:33):
particularly from big brandsfrom the US and the Europe. Now being
B2B, obviously, you know, theyfocus more on getting hehousein order,gettingthevalue
chain chain right. Brandingthenext step.Butobviously utobviouslythisischangingalot.
a lot. And I would expect thatthis, if we're ever to do this study
(05:55):
in, you know, next year andthe year moving forward, we will
see this phenomenonprogressing to a different aspect
where we can see now moreAsian brands are fromthatperspective,that'swhy
levels, their reputation, butit will take time. So from that perspective,
(06:15):
that's why you can see thatthe pace of change is much slower
as compared to the US andEurope. But that's changing. And
inyourownmarketplaceaswell,wheretheSamsungsoftheworld,youknow,they'realreadythere,verystrong,youknow,Toyotas,but,youknow,more,moreandmorebrandsarecomingintothepicture. .
(06:38):
Yeah, it's a really greatpoint, and I reflected myself personally
that these results could beinterpreted two different ways depending
on one's preexisting idea.What one person might view as slow,
another person might view assteadfast, staying the course. And
(06:58):
it's just as we say, thenumbers themselves are a data point.
The interpretation is a wholeother thing. Bill, I'd love to get
your thoughts on this.Southard Communications does ofworkwithB2C
with B2C companies,e-commerce, direct to consumer thatnature.Andy'spointingtohowB2Bmightchangethedynamicsa
(07:19):
littlebit.Fromyourpointof view,whatareyourthoughtsonthat?
Yeah, I think it's reflectiveof a trend, and I've spoken about
this on the previous podcasts.On the consumer side, you're seeing
much more direct to consumer,online e-commerce versus traditionally
you would go to retail, right?And the issue there for agencies
(07:39):
is that client expectationshave changed dramatically. Where
traditional PR earned mediawas all about awareness and credibility
and generating substancearound the brand. What clients here
are looking at is, yeah, Ithink awareness is important. Yeah,I
(08:00):
think trust and building myreputation is important. But the
single most important thingfor me is to generate eyeballs, to
drive them to my site and togenerate sales. So there is intense
pressure from consumer brandsand CPG brands here in the United
States to generate sales. Sowhadoesthatsay?That says that wehavetoshifttacticallyandstrategicallyhowweapproachtheir
(08:25):
approach their business.Earned media, I believe, is still
very important becausethattrustandhittingthat consumer
six,seven,eighttimesbeforetheymakeadecision isstillimportant.ButmanyofthePRGNagencieshavenow
digitalcapabilities.We'redoingsocialmediamanagement,we're capabilities.
We're doing social mediamanagement, we're thatisprettyreflective.Inthestudy,particularlyinNorthAmerica.And
(08:54):
that is pretty reflective inthe study, particularly in North
America. And I think it'sbecause of these changing client
expectations. I think theywill continue to accelerate as in
traditionalpr.The,theconcernthat on
more than one occasion asbeing a guy who's been spent the
(09:15):
last four years in traditionalPR. The concern that I have, particularly
inmyopinion,criticallyimportanttocreatingandestablishinga bildingyourbrandand
usinglastmorethanacoupleofyears.
That's a really good point.We've become so enamored of those
short term sales metrics andjust, you know, driving conversion
(09:39):
at the point of sale that wehave in some cases lost sight of
what this is all about. And Ithink the theme of the survey is
useful in pointing us back atbrand influence as a key driver of
consumer behavior. Now, Andy,there is what seems to me to be a
fascinating paradox in theresults as they pertain to the Asia-Pacific
(10:03):
region. On the one hand,technological innovation is valued
higher, much higher than theglobal average, 82% in APAC versus
68% globally. But on the otherhand, a digital presence is lower,
60% in APAC versus 78%globally. And creating an emotional
(10:25):
connection is much lower, 56%in APAC versus 77% globally. So how
can a brand be perceived astechnologically innovative without
a strong digital presence oran emotional connection with its
audience? What are thesenumbers telling us?
I think we need to look at itfrom a cultural point of view as
(10:46):
well. I mean, if you haveattended global meetings or global
conferences, you will see evenrepresentatives or executives from
top Asian companies tend to bethe last one to come on the stage
or the person that's going toraise the hand to raise a point.
Asiancompanies focus on doingrather than talking a lot. So then
(11:09):
that's where you will see thatthey are very proud of being the
first to produce a newtechnology or product enhancement.
But generally they don't do asmuch as they should be about building
that emotional connection withconsumers with their target audience.
They often take the moreconservative approach. They would
(11:32):
probably say, let's get ourstuff out there first, see how the
market react before we go outthere and talk more about it. So
in that regard, they are moreconservative. There's still hesitation
to stand or speak withvulnerability, you know, that creates
a gap between how consumersconnect emotionally with these Asian
(11:54):
brands, for example.
Yeah, that's a really greatpoint. And following on that, thought
leadership has the lowestimpact of any region at only 51%.
Now in our last episode, ourguest Joaquín, speaking about the
European context, said thatauthenticity from leadership was
key. Is the concept of apublic facing opinionated executive
(12:19):
simply not acceptable or noteffective in the business cultures
of the APAC region?
So obviously, I think firstpoint I need to highlight, Adrian,
is that obviously APAC is nothomogeneous. You know, it's a huge
market, you know, I could begoing to the neighboring country
and it's a total differentlegal system, different language,
(12:40):
different religious andeducation system. So it's going to
be very different. Forexample, Malaysia, where I'm based,
Kuala Lumpur, is so differentfrom our neighbor Thailand, which
is just next door because ofthe language we speak, you know,
the legal systems that weinherit, one being a former British
colony, obviously have somecommon law, etc. And British influence.
(13:04):
But in Thailand, they've neverbeen colonized. So it's very different.
And if you go a little bitfurther, it's, itsreallydifferentinEast
Asia andsoforth. forth. Butgenerally, from my experience, it's
even a huge challenge lot ofmy CEOclients to, of my CEO clients
to pen down great thoughtleadership pieces. andmorearecoming
(13:29):
totheforefronttoortospearheadthisarea.Butit'snoteasyto convince
becausemanyofthem,numberone,isthatwhiletheythinktheyknowhowimportantthoughtleadershipis,they would
ratherstayinsafezoneswhereyoudon'tchallengethestatus quo
insomeofyourconversationspublicly.It'squiteironicbecauseAPAChassomeofthe world'smost
(13:55):
activesocialmediausers,butmanyofthem arekeyboardwarriors.
They don'treally puttheirnameout there. social media
users, but many of them arekeyboard warriors. They don't really
put their name out there. It'sdifferent for people with established
organizations and positions oflinkedcompanies.Youknow,thelastthingtheywanttobe,youknow,theyeventhink about,wow,wouldthisoutshinemy
(14:26):
by state owned enterprises orgovernment linked companies. The
last thing they want to be,you know, they even think about,
wow, would this outshine myboard members, my investors. Because
know,theseareallconsiderationsthat's,that'sculturally inbuiltina
(14:51):
inbuilt in a lot of Asiansbecause we tend to be more hierarchical.
For junior staff, they wouldtry not to be, particularly in East
Asia where they feel that ifthey spoke up too much it may upset
their supervisors. So theseare all various cultural considerations
(15:14):
that need to be put in place.But having said that, I think that's
a huge change right now,particularly amongst the Gen Zs.
You know, they are much moreinfluenced by what's happening around
the world. They are very savvydigital natives. T
(15:36):
Two quick thoughts here andthen Bill, I'd love to get your input.
First of all, as a culturalanthropologist, I couldn't agree
more with what you're pointingto. And it raises a really interesting,
somewhat problematic issuewhich is on the one hand, these representations
you're making about so-called"Asian culture" are accurate in that
(16:00):
there really is a distinctdifference between many different
Asian traditions and theircounterparts in North America, for
example. On the other hand, asyou rightly pointed out earlier Andy,
this region is by no meansomogenous.Itis incrediblydiverseandoneof
the axesofdiversityisage.Andso age. And so
(16:23):
I'm thefuturewehaveresultsthatmightbedisaggregatedbyage cohortbecauseIdo
believethere'salotofreallyinterestingstuffthat'smaskedinthewayweare,atleast inthis
conversation,combiningtheresultstogether. Bill,whatareyourthoughtsonthis?There'salotinit,butthisissueofgenerationand
(16:44):
alsoculturaldifference andallthe rest.
Yeah, I mean, listen, if you,if, and you know this Adrian, and
I'm sure Andy sees this aswell. I mean, LinkedIn has become
a platform for which everybodybrags. It's the exact opposite of
what Andy's saying. I mean,you know, nine out of 10 posts are
how great somebody did, whythey're, you know, I mean it, it
(17:06):
is, it has become a platformand I, you know, personally I get
turned off when I see somebodyconstantly bragging about what they're
doing, whatever. It's notabout sharing insights, sharing best
practices, sharinginformation. You know, it's become
a platform here I think in theUnited States where you just get
overloaded on people justtelling everybody else how great
(17:27):
they are. And to Andy's point,that is a direct contradiction to
how the Asian culture and theAsian community approaches how they
present themselves to the public.
Let's make this a little morepractical because honestly framing
the question this way almostbegs that kind of essentialism, which
is not really accurate at theend of the day, although like many
(17:52):
stereotypes, there's truth init. ndy,fromapracticalpointofview,youoperateanagencyinan
agency in an incrediblydiverse region. As you said, political
systems, economic systems,histories -- colonial, non-colonial,
post-colonial -- languages,religions, all of it. How do you
(18:13):
andAndasyouserveclientsbothbased inthe
issues? And as youcompaniesdoingbusinessin theregion,how
doyouhelpthemnavigatesomeofthesecoredifferencesinstrategy, in
toneandthings ofthatnature?
Yeah, I think that, that's,that's where I think PRGN being a
(18:36):
global network, but we alloperate as local, independent agencies
where we provide that localinsights and truly understanding
how each of our local marketswork. And this is where it's very
important for us to give theright counsel to the clients that
you cannot view each market ina very homogeneous manner, particularly
(18:58):
global brands rolling outvarious initiatives, global campaigns.
We really need to customizeand, and see how different markets
work. For example, inMalaysia, while we're a small little
country, from a globalperspective, our market is again
(19:19):
fragmented into differentethnic groups. We are a multiracial,
multi religious country. Evenlanguages are different, for example.
And many times some evenglobal brands use Malaysia as a test
case before they move on toother markets. Because we have a
(19:39):
huge Indian community, we havea huge overseas Chinese community,
as well as the ethnic Malay,which is majority. So therefore it
helps for them to even test itbefore going to the larger market
for all these differentcultures and different languages.
(20:00):
So for example, in Malaysia,it's not one single language. You
know, we use English, we useMalay, the national language, we
use Chinese or Mandarin, weuse Tamil, we use, you know, various
languages. So again, it alsoallows us to experiment and it's
therefore it's very importantto understand these issues even for
(20:21):
big larger global issues.What's happening right now, geopolitical
issues, you know, what'shappening, for example, the global
tariff issue, how we approachit, you know, the controversies surrounding
what's happening in the Middleeast, these are all very sensitive
(20:43):
topics. And it's like apolitical minefield, you know, or
economic minefield, having tounderstand. And this is where I think
we need to come in terms ofproviding the right understanding
for clients, particularlythose who are unfamiliar with the
Asian market, and to see howwe can segment these and target our
(21:06):
communication to the varioussegments of the market.
Yeah, and it certainlyreinforces what Bill was pointing
to just a few minutes ago ofthe importance of agencies positioning
themselves as strategicadvisors, providing this kind of
counsel, not just tacticalexecution of campaigns. Let's turn
(21:27):
here in our final moments to anumber of vectors of trust. This
is also very interesting tome. There's a huge difference again
at this course level betweenthe Asia Pacific region and the global
aggregate. In the surveyresults, for example, trust in the
(21:48):
political leaders is muchhigher. 28% in APAC versus 6% in
the United States and 16% inEurope. So there's that. Trust in
the mainstream media is alsonearly double. 45% in APAC versus
(22:08):
29% in North America. Okay,that's not nearly double, but it's
close. A big gap in any case.And finally, an inverse: the trust
in employees as brandadvocates, much, much lower. 43%
in APAC, well, it's averaging66% in the global aggregate of all
(22:29):
the other regions. So, Andy,there's a number of issushereon on
the table. Clearly you haveexperience working with the mainstream
media. You have to navigatethe political landscape. And there's
ofemployeeadvocacyandwhat thatmeansforinternalcommunicationandwho'sseenasa,asabrandambassador,ifyouwill.There'salothere.Whatareyourthoughtsaboutthat?
(22:54):
Right, so, so I'll break itdown one by one. So maybe let's start
with, you know, why I think inAPAC, for example, when you talk
about political figures,government still play a bigger role
in the economy and nationaldevelopment. Many brands are actually
owned by state ownedenterprises or government agencies
(23:17):
and sovereign wealth fund playa very important role in investing
in many large companies. So inthat sense, political figures often
double up even as economicinfluences. You know, whether it's
policy, infrastructure or evendirection in terms of investment
in technology and so forth.Typically it's in alignment with
(23:40):
national agendas. So politicalendorsement carries a lot more weight
here than, you know, moredeveloped markets like in Europe
or in the US. So there's a lotmore government involvement. And
therefore, you know, whatpolitical leaders say do play a very
important role in shaping, youknow, what brands and corporations
(24:04):
do. As for mainstream media, Ithink generally, while the delivery
has changed tremendously, forexample, in the past people pick
up physical newspapers, buttoday most of the delivery is done
through digital platforms.Most of these mainstream brands,
while they've changed theirdelivery methods, the brand itself
(24:27):
is still largely trusted. Manyof these are seen as state institutions.
So therefore a lot of trust isstill there in terms of getting accurate
information. Again, it'sbecause there's an overflow of information.
Asians are very sociallyconnected digitally. I mean, social
(24:49):
media is very active. Buthaving said that, there's also a
lot of fake news, a lot ofinformation that's not validated.
So the mainstream media sortof, when they release something,
you know, that's a trustedinformation. Of course there's also
a lot of regulation. I thinkAsian markets are still highly regulated
in terms of making sure theinformation out there is validated
(25:12):
because most mainstream mediascontinue to be licensed. So therefore,
when they release informationout there to the market, it's typically,
you know, it's accurate.Right. So these are two aspects with
regards to employee brandingor employee advocacy. I think it's
changing slowly with more andmore Gen Z and then the younger workforce
(25:37):
coming into the picture. Butin many Asian cultures, I think influence
is still hierarchical. As Imentioned earlier, many decisions
and many communication stillflows from the top. So the idea of
giving employees orambassadors of the company staff,
particularly junior ones, tospeak on behalf of the brand feels
(26:00):
risky. Many senior managementstill is reluctant to let go the
full control of the narrativeto younger executives. Even if it's
done, a lot of it's veryscripted. So sometimes for the younger
generation, when it'sscripted, they feel it's not that
authentic. So these are thebalance that you need to probably
(26:23):
find. But I think it'schanging. We can see more progressive
companies investing intoemployee advocacy, making sure that
the younger employees aregiven a platform to voice. You know,
what does companies stand for?The value, particularly in the technology
sector and all that. They'revery progressive. They, they are
(26:43):
aware that they need to catchup. But maybe in the older sectors,
I mean, the more traditionalsectors, there's still a lot of catch
up to do.
Let's conclude with this. Ihave a final question and I'd love
each of you to share youranswer. Bill, I'll have you go last
in this case, as kind of tyingtogether all of the episodes that
we've done and all of thecommentary that you've provided on
(27:05):
this survey that you helpedbring to life. o,Andy,thefirst,firststabatthis
is foryou. for you. Looking atwhat's onefindingin the surveyresultsthatyouthinkismostcriticalforcommunicationprofessionalstounderstandandactoninthe
(27:25):
yearahead?
I think, I mean, there's noone specific statistic or data, but
the overall gaps that wetalked about just now in terms of
Asian brands tend to focus onthe hard number. I mean, the hard
innovation, hard products. Ithink there's a hug opportunity
because APAC brands, forexample, have already built strong
(27:50):
thatthere'snoquestionaboutthequality ofproductsandservicesthatcomesfromAsia
becausethere'salotofworkbeinginvestedinto producing.You
know,we'rebasicallythemanufacturingor the productionhuboftheworldrightnow.Sowhere
theopportunityliesisthere'sanopportunity forAPACbrandstonow
(28:10):
takeonthemorerelatable,valuedriven,Imean,connecting withtheir
customersandstakeholders.Ithink thisiswherethat
mindsetneedstochange. Inthepast,many Asianbrandstendto think,oh,weconnectwithourstakeholdersbyshowingthemgoodwork.
ButIthinktheyforgetthat goodworkneeds tobecommunicatedaswellsothatourstakeholdersunderstandwhat
(28:36):
work. But Iandwhywearedoingit.SoI thinkthere'salotof
opportunity.ThisdataonlyshowsthatbigroomorhugeopportunityforAsianbrands toreallytakethis
opportunitytoassertitspresence, build emotionalconnectionwithits
stakeholdersandbeproudandshowcasealittlebit more.Ithinkwe're
(28:58):
intheotherextremeofbrandsthattalk bigbut
don'treallydeliver.Butontheotherhand,we'redoinga lotofgoodwork.Whyarewenot
tellingtheworld?Right.Sothere's a
lotofopportunityhere.Andthat'swhat tome,thisresearchhas
but don't really deliver. Buton the other hand, we're doing a
(29:18):
lot of good work. Why are we n
That's really insightful.Thank you. Bill, you are the closing
bookend on a whole series ofepisodes that we've done here.
Thank you.
Now reflecting sort ofglobally, because that's the lens
... you've looked at this datafrom every perspective possible.
What is one takeaway, onething you think is most critical
(29:42):
for communicationprofessionals to understand and act
on, no matter where they arein the world?
Yeah, you know what? And I'vespoken about some of the specifics,
but in looking this, theuniverse of data and stuff, no two
regions are alike. Andtherefore you have to -- and Andy's
kind of touched upon this --you have to approach each region
(30:04):
based upon their culturalopportunities, their societal opportunities,
how they perceive differentaudiences and such. And I think that
it's why PRGN exists, right?It's so that we do a lot of collaboration
across countries and, youknow, if members of APAC come to
an agency in North America andthey say, here's what we're trying
(30:26):
to accomplish, the strategymay be completely different and the
approach than what would be inAPAC because of those differences.
And I think when you look atthis as a whole There's a lot of
similarities about theimportance of brand influence and
how it's changing, et cetera.And there's some differences across
the regions. But to me, itpoints out no two regions are alike.
(30:49):
Whether you're a brand in APACor Europe or North America, and you
want to enter a new market,rely on those local experts because
they understand what it'sgoing to take to be successful. So
I think at the end of the day,I kind of tie it together and it
really supports really whyPRGN is in existence. And on a final
(31:11):
note, Adrian, I have to saythis. I want to really thank you
and Abbie. I mean, you guyshave done a phenomenal job. You know,
we've interviewed all theregional leadership and Natacha,
who's the president of PRGN,and I youforhelping topromote alotofworkwentintothissurveythroughall
(31:33):
theagenciesthatarepartofprgn.We'regoingtodoitagain,so look
are part of PRGN. We're goingto do it again, so look forward to
another series nexttherighttypes and Abbie have just
done platformtopromotethefindings.
Thank you. It's been ourpleasure to do so. Thanks for listening
to this episode of PRGNPresents, brought to you by the Public
(31:55):
Relations Global Network.
We publish new episodes everyother week, so subscribe now in your
favorite podcast app. Episodesare also available on our website,
along with more informationabout PRGN and our members at prgn.com.
From the Public RelationsGlobal Network, this is PRGN Presents.
I'm Adrian McIntyre.
And I'm Abbie Fink, Presidentof HMA Public Relations in Phoenix,
Arizona and a founding memberof PRGN. With public relations leaders
embedded into the fabric ofthe communities we serve, clients
hire our agencies for thelocal knowledge, expertise and connections
(00:24):
in markets spanning sixcontinents across the world.
Our guests on this biweeklypodcast series are all members of
the Public Relations GlobalNetwork. They will discuss such topics
as workplace culture, creativecompensation and succession planning,
the importance ofsustainability and environmental,
social and governanceprograms, crisis communications and
(00:45):
outside of the box thinkingfor growing your business.
For more information aboutPRGN and our members, please visit
prgn.com. And now let's meetour guests for this episode.
Hi, I'm Andy See fromPerspective Strategies. We're a public
relations and issuesmanagement consultancy based in Kuala
(01:05):
Lumpur, Malaysia. Proud to behere representing my colleagues from
PRGN all over Asia to speakabout our PRGN's recent insights.
Hi, I'm Bill Southard fromSouthard Communications. I'm the
founder and CEO, an agencythat I founded 31 years ago. We do
(01:26):
public relations, digitalmarketing, social media management,
crisis communications, andproud to say that I'm chair of the
marketing committee for thePublic Relations Global Network.
Thank you both for joining usas we're recording this. Bill, it's
late at night for you. It'searly morning for you. Andy, thank
you for making time to behere. This truly is one of the joys
(01:48):
but also challenges of being aglobal network network of agencies.
'dloveto startthisoff.Bill,you'vegivenanintroductiontothissurvey this
survey several times. In fact,I invite tothemost recentepisodestohearsomecontextaboutthesurvey.
WhyPublicRelationsGlobalNetworkhasdonethissurvey.ButBill, Network
(02:11):
has done this survey. ButBill, if the primarygoalofthis research?Whatisitintendedtoaccomplish?
You know, I think it'sintended to accomplish is real time
insight in terms of brandinfluence ndhowdoesthatimpacteachofourrespectiveagencieswhoarepart
ofPRGN? part of PRGN? Andprobably most importantly, how behalfofclients,whetherthey'rein
(02:36):
theB2Cspace,theB2Bspace,thepublicaffairs, the issuesmanagement,theworldasweallknow,hasbeenchanging.
The channels in all know, hasbeen changing. The channels in which
we're communicating to thoseexternal audiences is changing. So
we thought itinfluence.Notonlyhere,NewYork, whereI'mat,butacrosstheentireGlobe.g
(02:59):
Andy, we'll get into thenuance and the details of some of
the significance of thesefindings in the Asia-Pacific region.
But I'd love to ask you thesame question I asked Joaquín Fernández
in Spain at the beginning ofour last episode, which is this:
when you first saw thesesurvey results, what was your gut
(03:19):
level reaction? Did thefindings confirm what you're seeing
on the ground? Were there anymajor surprises for you? What was
your initial take?
I think my initial take isthat, I think first of all is that,
I mean, it reaffirms or sortof validates some of the thoughts
or thinking that among PRGNmember agencies have been having
(03:44):
conversations about how ourindividual markets operate. What
are differences,youknow, howwecouldapproachdifferentmarketswithdifferentsolutionsand theinferenceinsightsprovidedthatdata
tosortof reaffirmsomeofthegutfeelsthatwe'vehad,youknow,basedonourmarketexperience.But right
(04:04):
nowwehavesomedatathatcomesfrompeopleinthemarket themselvesgivingusthiskindofinputto
showcasethat,youknow,whatwe're thinking, whatwe'vethoughtaboutinthe
past,youknow,thatthere'sactuallydatatoshowthat,youknow, it
makessense.Thisiswhat,howwe'regoingtoapproachitandhow, that
it makes sense. This isdifferencesreallyimpacts influenceglobally.
(04:26):
Andy, just a follow upquestion for you. One of the things
the data shows here is that,while brand influence, the key focus
of the survey, is just asimportant in APAC as it is anywhere,
your region had the lowestpercentage of companies that have
recently changed theirstrategic approach. In other words,
(04:48):
they're continuing on in asimilar vein as they have in the
past. How do you account for that?
I think we need to look at itfrom a historical perspective as
well. The Asian consumersgenerally consume a lot of global
brands that are primarily fromUS and Europe. In the past, obviously
(05:10):
in the last decade or so,there have been a lot of much stronger
or emerging brands from Asia,particularly from China, Korea, Japan,
for example. Having said that,a lot of our respondents, particularly
from our client pool inSoutheast Asia, many of them are
B2B, because they've beensupporting the whole value chain,
(05:33):
particularly from big brandsfrom the US and the Europe. Now being
B2B, obviously, you know, theyfocus more on getting hehousein order,gettingthevalue
chain chain right. Brandingthenext step.Butobviously utobviouslythisischangingalot.
a lot. And I would expect thatthis, if we're ever to do this study
(05:55):
in, you know, next year andthe year moving forward, we will
see this phenomenonprogressing to a different aspect
where we can see now moreAsian brands are fromthatperspective,that'swhy
levels, their reputation, butit will take time. So from that perspective,
(06:15):
that's why you can see thatthe pace of change is much slower
as compared to the US andEurope. But that's changing. And
inyourownmarketplaceaswell,wheretheSamsungsoftheworld,youknow,they'realreadythere,verystrong,youknow,Toyotas,but,youknow,more,moreandmorebrandsarecomingintothepicture. .
(06:38):
Yeah, it's a really greatpoint, and I reflected myself personally
that these results could beinterpreted two different ways depending
on one's preexisting idea.What one person might view as slow,
another person might view assteadfast, staying the course. And
(06:58):
it's just as we say, thenumbers themselves are a data point.
The interpretation is a wholeother thing. Bill, I'd love to get
your thoughts on this.Southard Communications does ofworkwithB2C
with B2C companies,e-commerce, direct to consumer thatnature.Andy'spointingtohowB2Bmightchangethedynamicsa
(07:19):
littlebit.Fromyourpointof view,whatareyourthoughtsonthat?
Yeah, I think it's reflectiveof a trend, and I've spoken about
this on the previous podcasts.On the consumer side, you're seeing
much more direct to consumer,online e-commerce versus traditionally
you would go to retail, right?And the issue there for agencies
(07:39):
is that client expectationshave changed dramatically. Where
traditional PR earned mediawas all about awareness and credibility
and generating substancearound the brand. What clients here
are looking at is, yeah, Ithink awareness is important. Yeah,I
(08:00):
think trust and building myreputation is important. But the
single most important thingfor me is to generate eyeballs, to
drive them to my site and togenerate sales. So there is intense
pressure from consumer brandsand CPG brands here in the United
States to generate sales. Sowhadoesthatsay?That says that wehavetoshifttacticallyandstrategicallyhowweapproachtheir
(08:25):
approach their business.Earned media, I believe, is still
very important becausethattrustandhittingthat consumer
six,seven,eighttimesbeforetheymakeadecision isstillimportant.ButmanyofthePRGNagencieshavenow
digitalcapabilities.We'redoingsocialmediamanagement,we're capabilities.
We're doing social mediamanagement, we're thatisprettyreflective.Inthestudy,particularlyinNorthAmerica.And
(08:54):
that is pretty reflective inthe study, particularly in North
America. And I think it'sbecause of these changing client
expectations. I think theywill continue to accelerate as in
traditionalpr.The,theconcernthat on
more than one occasion asbeing a guy who's been spent the
(09:15):
last four years in traditionalPR. The concern that I have, particularly
inmyopinion,criticallyimportanttocreatingandestablishinga bildingyourbrandand
usinglastmorethanacoupleofyears.
That's a really good point.We've become so enamored of those
short term sales metrics andjust, you know, driving conversion
(09:39):
at the point of sale that wehave in some cases lost sight of
what this is all about. And Ithink the theme of the survey is
useful in pointing us back atbrand influence as a key driver of
consumer behavior. Now, Andy,there is what seems to me to be a
fascinating paradox in theresults as they pertain to the Asia-Pacific
(10:03):
region. On the one hand,technological innovation is valued
higher, much higher than theglobal average, 82% in APAC versus
68% globally. But on the otherhand, a digital presence is lower,
60% in APAC versus 78%globally. And creating an emotional
(10:25):
connection is much lower, 56%in APAC versus 77% globally. So how
can a brand be perceived astechnologically innovative without
a strong digital presence oran emotional connection with its
audience? What are thesenumbers telling us?
I think we need to look at itfrom a cultural point of view as
(10:46):
well. I mean, if you haveattended global meetings or global
conferences, you will see evenrepresentatives or executives from
top Asian companies tend to bethe last one to come on the stage
or the person that's going toraise the hand to raise a point.
Asiancompanies focus on doingrather than talking a lot. So then
(11:09):
that's where you will see thatthey are very proud of being the
first to produce a newtechnology or product enhancement.
But generally they don't do asmuch as they should be about building
that emotional connection withconsumers with their target audience.
They often take the moreconservative approach. They would
(11:32):
probably say, let's get ourstuff out there first, see how the
market react before we go outthere and talk more about it. So
in that regard, they are moreconservative. There's still hesitation
to stand or speak withvulnerability, you know, that creates
a gap between how consumersconnect emotionally with these Asian
(11:54):
brands, for example.
Yeah, that's a really greatpoint. And following on that, thought
leadership has the lowestimpact of any region at only 51%.
Now in our last episode, ourguest Joaquín, speaking about the
European context, said thatauthenticity from leadership was
key. Is the concept of apublic facing opinionated executive
(12:19):
simply not acceptable or noteffective in the business cultures
of the APAC region?
So obviously, I think firstpoint I need to highlight, Adrian,
is that obviously APAC is nothomogeneous. You know, it's a huge
market, you know, I could begoing to the neighboring country
and it's a total differentlegal system, different language,
(12:40):
different religious andeducation system. So it's going to
be very different. Forexample, Malaysia, where I'm based,
Kuala Lumpur, is so differentfrom our neighbor Thailand, which
is just next door because ofthe language we speak, you know,
the legal systems that weinherit, one being a former British
colony, obviously have somecommon law, etc. And British influence.
(13:04):
But in Thailand, they've neverbeen colonized. So it's very different.
And if you go a little bitfurther, it's, itsreallydifferentinEast
Asia andsoforth. forth. Butgenerally, from my experience, it's
even a huge challenge lot ofmy CEOclients to, of my CEO clients
to pen down great thoughtleadership pieces. andmorearecoming
(13:29):
totheforefronttoortospearheadthisarea.Butit'snoteasyto convince
becausemanyofthem,numberone,isthatwhiletheythinktheyknowhowimportantthoughtleadershipis,they would
ratherstayinsafezoneswhereyoudon'tchallengethestatus quo
insomeofyourconversationspublicly.It'squiteironicbecauseAPAChassomeofthe world'smost
(13:55):
activesocialmediausers,butmanyofthem arekeyboardwarriors.
They don'treally puttheirnameout there. social media
users, but many of them arekeyboard warriors. They don't really
put their name out there. It'sdifferent for people with established
organizations and positions oflinkedcompanies.Youknow,thelastthingtheywanttobe,youknow,theyeventhink about,wow,wouldthisoutshinemy
(14:26):
by state owned enterprises orgovernment linked companies. The
last thing they want to be,you know, they even think about,
wow, would this outshine myboard members, my investors. Because
know,theseareallconsiderationsthat's,that'sculturally inbuiltina
(14:51):
inbuilt in a lot of Asiansbecause we tend to be more hierarchical.
For junior staff, they wouldtry not to be, particularly in East
Asia where they feel that ifthey spoke up too much it may upset
their supervisors. So theseare all various cultural considerations
(15:14):
that need to be put in place.But having said that, I think that's
a huge change right now,particularly amongst the Gen Zs.
You know, they are much moreinfluenced by what's happening around
the world. They are very savvydigital natives. T
(15:36):
Two quick thoughts here andthen Bill, I'd love to get your input.
First of all, as a culturalanthropologist, I couldn't agree
more with what you're pointingto. And it raises a really interesting,
somewhat problematic issuewhich is on the one hand, these representations
you're making about so-called"Asian culture" are accurate in that
(16:00):
there really is a distinctdifference between many different
Asian traditions and theircounterparts in North America, for
example. On the other hand, asyou rightly pointed out earlier Andy,
this region is by no meansomogenous.Itis incrediblydiverseandoneof
the axesofdiversityisage.Andso age. And so
(16:23):
I'm thefuturewehaveresultsthatmightbedisaggregatedbyage cohortbecauseIdo
believethere'salotofreallyinterestingstuffthat'smaskedinthewayweare,atleast inthis
conversation,combiningtheresultstogether. Bill,whatareyourthoughtsonthis?There'salotinit,butthisissueofgenerationand
(16:44):
alsoculturaldifference andallthe rest.
Yeah, I mean, listen, if you,if, and you know this Adrian, and
I'm sure Andy sees this aswell. I mean, LinkedIn has become
a platform for which everybodybrags. It's the exact opposite of
what Andy's saying. I mean,you know, nine out of 10 posts are
how great somebody did, whythey're, you know, I mean it, it
(17:06):
is, it has become a platformand I, you know, personally I get
turned off when I see somebodyconstantly bragging about what they're
doing, whatever. It's notabout sharing insights, sharing best
practices, sharinginformation. You know, it's become
a platform here I think in theUnited States where you just get
overloaded on people justtelling everybody else how great
(17:27):
they are. And to Andy's point,that is a direct contradiction to
how the Asian culture and theAsian community approaches how they
present themselves to the public.
Let's make this a little morepractical because honestly framing
the question this way almostbegs that kind of essentialism, which
is not really accurate at theend of the day, although like many
(17:52):
stereotypes, there's truth init. ndy,fromapracticalpointofview,youoperateanagencyinan
agency in an incrediblydiverse region. As you said, political
systems, economic systems,histories -- colonial, non-colonial,
post-colonial -- languages,religions, all of it. How do you
(18:13):
andAndasyouserveclientsbothbased inthe
issues? And as youcompaniesdoingbusinessin theregion,how
doyouhelpthemnavigatesomeofthesecoredifferencesinstrategy, in
toneandthings ofthatnature?
Yeah, I think that, that's,that's where I think PRGN being a
(18:36):
global network, but we alloperate as local, independent agencies
where we provide that localinsights and truly understanding
how each of our local marketswork. And this is where it's very
important for us to give theright counsel to the clients that
you cannot view each market ina very homogeneous manner, particularly
(18:58):
global brands rolling outvarious initiatives, global campaigns.
We really need to customizeand, and see how different markets
work. For example, inMalaysia, while we're a small little
country, from a globalperspective, our market is again
(19:19):
fragmented into differentethnic groups. We are a multiracial,
multi religious country. Evenlanguages are different, for example.
And many times some evenglobal brands use Malaysia as a test
case before they move on toother markets. Because we have a
(19:39):
huge Indian community, we havea huge overseas Chinese community,
as well as the ethnic Malay,which is majority. So therefore it
helps for them to even test itbefore going to the larger market
for all these differentcultures and different languages.
(20:00):
So for example, in Malaysia,it's not one single language. You
know, we use English, we useMalay, the national language, we
use Chinese or Mandarin, weuse Tamil, we use, you know, various
languages. So again, it alsoallows us to experiment and it's
therefore it's very importantto understand these issues even for
(20:21):
big larger global issues.What's happening right now, geopolitical
issues, you know, what'shappening, for example, the global
tariff issue, how we approachit, you know, the controversies surrounding
what's happening in the Middleeast, these are all very sensitive
(20:43):
topics. And it's like apolitical minefield, you know, or
economic minefield, having tounderstand. And this is where I think
we need to come in terms ofproviding the right understanding
for clients, particularlythose who are unfamiliar with the
Asian market, and to see howwe can segment these and target our
(21:06):
communication to the varioussegments of the market.
Yeah, and it certainlyreinforces what Bill was pointing
to just a few minutes ago ofthe importance of agencies positioning
themselves as strategicadvisors, providing this kind of
counsel, not just tacticalexecution of campaigns. Let's turn
(21:27):
here in our final moments to anumber of vectors of trust. This
is also very interesting tome. There's a huge difference again
at this course level betweenthe Asia Pacific region and the global
aggregate. In the surveyresults, for example, trust in the
(21:48):
political leaders is muchhigher. 28% in APAC versus 6% in
the United States and 16% inEurope. So there's that. Trust in
the mainstream media is alsonearly double. 45% in APAC versus
(22:08):
29% in North America. Okay,that's not nearly double, but it's
close. A big gap in any case.And finally, an inverse: the trust
in employees as brandadvocates, much, much lower. 43%
in APAC, well, it's averaging66% in the global aggregate of all
(22:29):
the other regions. So, Andy,there's a number of issushereon on
the table. Clearly you haveexperience working with the mainstream
media. You have to navigatethe political landscape. And there's
ofemployeeadvocacyandwhat thatmeansforinternalcommunicationandwho'sseenasa,asabrandambassador,ifyouwill.There'salothere.Whatareyourthoughtsaboutthat?
(22:54):
Right, so, so I'll break itdown one by one. So maybe let's start
with, you know, why I think inAPAC, for example, when you talk
about political figures,government still play a bigger role
in the economy and nationaldevelopment. Many brands are actually
owned by state ownedenterprises or government agencies
(23:17):
and sovereign wealth fund playa very important role in investing
in many large companies. So inthat sense, political figures often
double up even as economicinfluences. You know, whether it's
policy, infrastructure or evendirection in terms of investment
in technology and so forth.Typically it's in alignment with
(23:40):
national agendas. So politicalendorsement carries a lot more weight
here than, you know, moredeveloped markets like in Europe
or in the US. So there's a lotmore government involvement. And
therefore, you know, whatpolitical leaders say do play a very
important role in shaping, youknow, what brands and corporations
(24:04):
do. As for mainstream media, Ithink generally, while the delivery
has changed tremendously, forexample, in the past people pick
up physical newspapers, buttoday most of the delivery is done
through digital platforms.Most of these mainstream brands,
while they've changed theirdelivery methods, the brand itself
(24:27):
is still largely trusted. Manyof these are seen as state institutions.
So therefore a lot of trust isstill there in terms of getting accurate
information. Again, it'sbecause there's an overflow of information.
Asians are very sociallyconnected digitally. I mean, social
(24:49):
media is very active. Buthaving said that, there's also a
lot of fake news, a lot ofinformation that's not validated.
So the mainstream media sortof, when they release something,
you know, that's a trustedinformation. Of course there's also
a lot of regulation. I thinkAsian markets are still highly regulated
in terms of making sure theinformation out there is validated
(25:12):
because most mainstream mediascontinue to be licensed. So therefore,
when they release informationout there to the market, it's typically,
you know, it's accurate.Right. So these are two aspects with
regards to employee brandingor employee advocacy. I think it's
changing slowly with more andmore Gen Z and then the younger workforce
(25:37):
coming into the picture. Butin many Asian cultures, I think influence
is still hierarchical. As Imentioned earlier, many decisions
and many communication stillflows from the top. So the idea of
giving employees orambassadors of the company staff,
particularly junior ones, tospeak on behalf of the brand feels
(26:00):
risky. Many senior managementstill is reluctant to let go the
full control of the narrativeto younger executives. Even if it's
done, a lot of it's veryscripted. So sometimes for the younger
generation, when it'sscripted, they feel it's not that
authentic. So these are thebalance that you need to probably
(26:23):
find. But I think it'schanging. We can see more progressive
companies investing intoemployee advocacy, making sure that
the younger employees aregiven a platform to voice. You know,
what does companies stand for?The value, particularly in the technology
sector and all that. They'revery progressive. They, they are
(26:43):
aware that they need to catchup. But maybe in the older sectors,
I mean, the more traditionalsectors, there's still a lot of catch
up to do.
Let's conclude with this. Ihave a final question and I'd love
each of you to share youranswer. Bill, I'll have you go last
in this case, as kind of tyingtogether all of the episodes that
we've done and all of thecommentary that you've provided on
(27:05):
this survey that you helpedbring to life. o,Andy,thefirst,firststabatthis
is foryou. for you. Looking atwhat's onefindingin the surveyresultsthatyouthinkismostcriticalforcommunicationprofessionalstounderstandandactoninthe
(27:25):
yearahead?
I think, I mean, there's noone specific statistic or data, but
the overall gaps that wetalked about just now in terms of
Asian brands tend to focus onthe hard number. I mean, the hard
innovation, hard products. Ithink there's a hug opportunity
because APAC brands, forexample, have already built strong
(27:50):
thatthere'snoquestionaboutthequality ofproductsandservicesthatcomesfromAsia
becausethere'salotofworkbeinginvestedinto producing.You
know,we'rebasicallythemanufacturingor the productionhuboftheworldrightnow.Sowhere
theopportunityliesisthere'sanopportunity forAPACbrandstonow
(28:10):
takeonthemorerelatable,valuedriven,Imean,connecting withtheir
customersandstakeholders.Ithink thisiswherethat
mindsetneedstochange. Inthepast,many Asianbrandstendto think,oh,weconnectwithourstakeholdersbyshowingthemgoodwork.
ButIthinktheyforgetthat goodworkneeds tobecommunicatedaswellsothatourstakeholdersunderstandwhat
(28:36):
work. But Iandwhywearedoingit.SoI thinkthere'salotof
opportunity.ThisdataonlyshowsthatbigroomorhugeopportunityforAsianbrands toreallytakethis
opportunitytoassertitspresence, build emotionalconnectionwithits
stakeholdersandbeproudandshowcasealittlebit more.Ithinkwe're
(28:58):
intheotherextremeofbrandsthattalk bigbut
don'treallydeliver.Butontheotherhand,we'redoinga lotofgoodwork.Whyarewenot
tellingtheworld?Right.Sothere's a
lotofopportunityhere.Andthat'swhat tome,thisresearchhas
but don't really deliver. Buton the other hand, we're doing a
(29:18):
lot of good work. Why are we n
That's really insightful.Thank you. Bill, you are the closing
bookend on a whole series ofepisodes that we've done here.
Thank you.
Now reflecting sort ofglobally, because that's the lens
... you've looked at this datafrom every perspective possible.
What is one takeaway, onething you think is most critical
(29:42):
for communicationprofessionals to understand and act
on, no matter where they arein the world?
Yeah, you know what? And I'vespoken about some of the specifics,
but in looking this, theuniverse of data and stuff, no two
regions are alike. Andtherefore you have to -- and Andy's
kind of touched upon this --you have to approach each region
(30:04):
based upon their culturalopportunities, their societal opportunities,
how they perceive differentaudiences and such. And I think that
it's why PRGN exists, right?It's so that we do a lot of collaboration
across countries and, youknow, if members of APAC come to
an agency in North America andthey say, here's what we're trying
(30:26):
to accomplish, the strategymay be completely different and the
approach than what would be inAPAC because of those differences.
And I think when you look atthis as a whole There's a lot of
similarities about theimportance of brand influence and
how it's changing, et cetera.And there's some differences across
the regions. But to me, itpoints out no two regions are alike.
(30:49):
Whether you're a brand in APACor Europe or North America, and you
want to enter a new market,rely on those local experts because
they understand what it'sgoing to take to be successful. So
I think at the end of the day,I kind of tie it together and it
really supports really whyPRGN is in existence. And on a final
(31:11):
note, Adrian, I have to saythis. I want to really thank you
and Abbie. I mean, you guyshave done a phenomenal job. You know,
we've interviewed all theregional leadership and Natacha,
who's the president of PRGN,and I youforhelping topromote alotofworkwentintothissurveythroughall
(31:33):
theagenciesthatarepartofprgn.We'regoingtodoitagain,so look
are part of PRGN. We're goingto do it again, so look forward to
another series nexttherighttypes and Abbie have just
done platformtopromotethefindings.
Thank you. It's been ourpleasure to do so. Thanks for listening
to this episode of PRGNPresents, brought to you by the Public
(31:55):
Relations Global Network.
We publish new episodes everyother week, so subscribe now in your
favorite podcast app. Episodesare also available on our website,
along with more informationabout PRGN and our members at prgn.com.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.