FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kimberly Egan
Senior Marketing Manager
Ragan Communications and PR Daily
kimberlye@ragan.com

Embargo Date: Nov 8, 2023

3rd Annual Ragan Communications and HarrisX Study on CEO-Communicators Perceptions Shows Alignment on AI, Disconnect on Who Leads Communications

NEW YORK, NY – November 8, 2023 – Ragan Communications and HarrisX unveiled new data on the modern-day communications function at today’s Future of Communications Conference during Communications Week. In conjunction with HarrisX, a leading corporate research firm, Ragan surveyed 375 CEOs and communications leaders to understand how they view each other’s roles and responsibilities, what they value most, and their views on pressing industry issues like artificial intelligence, preparing for a recession, and the return to work.

"These insights have the potential to influence how we implement technology into our work and how it is poised to influence how we approach comms overall," said Diane Schwartz, CEO of Ragan Communications, the leading media brand for communicators and the producer of Communications Week. "It’s an exciting time to be a communicator and a critical time for communications to lead the way for organizations."

"Business leaders today are facing more change and at a faster velocity than ever before," noted Dritan Nesho, CEO of HarrisX. "This study dives deep into the opinions of decision-makers themselves and the heightened responsibility CEOs feel to address unprecedented global crises and economic uncertainty, along with how the impending AI revolution will impact their business and stakeholders."

Key Findings include:

• The communications industry is optimistic and ready to embrace AI.
  • 82% of CEOS have a positive opinion of Artificial Intelligence and are leaning into it.
  • Communications leaders have a positive view of AI’s net impact on each area of their organization, particularly analytics and marketing and improvement in productivity.
• Organization leaders took actions to prepare for a recession in 2023.
  • 85% of CEOs and communications leaders are taking steps to prepare for a recession; 38% of respondents cut travel budgets and 24% are downsizing their teams.
  • Most leaders from medium and large organizations are back in the office though say they endorse a hybrid work policy for employees. Support for a 4-day work week has waned.
• As stakes have risen, CEOs feel a heightened responsibility for leading communications for their organization.
  • CEOs increasingly see themselves as responsible for both external and internal communications, with this sense of responsibility nearly doubling since 2021.
  • CEOs say unprecedented events, such as COVID-19, social justice issues, politics, wars, recession, and now, AI, have compelled them to engage closely in their organization's communications.
• Employee communications is the function that brings the most value.
  • All respondents noted that employee communications was the number one area of the communication function that brings the most value. Notably, employee communications ranked number 2 for CEOs but was the top selection for other communications leaders, pointing to the fact that communicators understand employees are a brand’s number one advocate.
  • There is still a disconnect on who oversees communications for companies: 78% of CEOs say they lead external communications, while 73% of CEOs report leading internal communications. But only 15% of communicators agree with that assessment.
• The level of trust between members of an organization’s C-suite remains high, with chief communications officers winning trust from CEOs for their work.
  • Communications leaders’ trust in CEOs is slightly lower than last year but remains very high.
  • 91% of communicators trust the judgment of the CEO when it comes to external communications, slightly down from 95% last year.
  • The larger the organization is, the less the C-Suite confers regularly with communications leaders.

The data was unveiled in Austin during the Future of Communications Conference, the signature event of Communications Week, Nov. 6-10. Under the theme "Leading the Way," the event zeroes in on how we can celebrate and accelerate the crucial role of the communicator within organizations, from upskilling and integrating technology like AI, to building a more engaged, purpose-led employee culture. Communications Week will bring together some of the biggest names in the industry for a weeklong series of events like speed networking and mentoring, fascinating speakers and meaningful workshops.

"We’re excited to bring together the industry’s most innovative leaders in Austin this year," said Tiffany Guarnaccia, co-chair of the Communications Week board and CEO and founder of Kite Hill PR. "As someone who is fascinated by the intersection of communications and technology, I’m looking forward to seeing how this new data will spark conversation and how innovation can move our industry forward."

Ragan’s Communications Week 2023 kicked off in-person with the Future of Communications Conference on Monday, November 6, and was followed by a Top Influencers List Party on Tuesday, November 7. Communications Week partners are holding events throughout the week, both virtually and in person. Check out commsweek.com for the schedule.

Communications Week has industry support through sponsors and partners, all of whom help the communicator’s ability to meet the moment every day. Sponsors include: Prophet, Omnicom, AxiosHQ, Notify, Cision, Workvivo, PlayPlay, Simpplr, Signal AI, Unily, Arti.ar, Politemail, Appspace, Interact, Contact Monkey, Lumapps, Workshop, RCG, HarrisX, and more than a dozen industry associations and partners. Check out the full list at commsweek.com.

Download the full study at Ragan.com.

For more information on this year’s programming and to attend Communications Week, please visit commsweek.com.

Methodology
In conjunction with HarrisX, Ragan Communications surveyed 375 CEOs and other high-ranking communications officials to gain insight on the industry. The survey was conducted online within the United States from August 11 – September 11.

About Communications Week
Communications Week was founded in 2014 to bring together the greatest minds in PR and media. The biggest industry organizations and media outlets have been supporters of the week since the event's inception. Every year, Communications Week pinpoints some of the most pressing issues that the industry is facing. As the conference continues to grow, it attracts professionals from various levels of the marketing, media and communications industries. Designed to be the voice of many and not just one, Communications Week also holds sessions geared towards business professionals who are impacted by new communications trends, from HR professionals to entrepreneurs looking to understand how to measure PR. For more information visit https://www.commsweek.com/.

About Ragan Communications
For nearly 55 years, Ragan Communications has been delivering trusted news, training and intelligence for internal and external communicators, marketers, HR professionals and business executives via its conferences, webinars, training, awards, subscriptions and membership divisions. Its daily news sites—PRDaily.com and Ragan.com—are read by more than 600,000 internal and external communicators monthly. Its Communications Leadership Council is one of the fastest-growing membership groups for communications executives. Visit www.ragan.com.

About HarrisX
HarrisX is a technology-driven market research and data analytics company that leverages data plus creativity to drive strategy. We conduct multi-method research in the United States and over 40 countries around the world on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, public policy institutions, global leaders, NGOs and philanthropic organizations. HarrisX runs the deepest and longest-trended research trackers around connected consumers and their behaviors, focusing extensively on the ecommerce, technology, telecom and media industries. HarrisX has partnered for several years with leading independent Wall Street research house MoffettNathanson to correctly track the evolution of the new media, streaming and content industry, and was the most accurate pollster of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. HarrisX is a proud member of Stagwell Inc.