This week's PR Roundup looks at the "Wicked" movie's test case for PR oversaturation, America's fascination with news influencers and a global honor for PRSA.
How Much is Too Much "Wicked?"
What happened: Unless you have been living in a cave and cut off from all digital communication, you probably know that the “Wicked” movie musical hits the big screen this weekend. Brand partnerships with Crocs, Walmart, Samsung, Patrón, Conair, Lexus and dozens of others can get you anything from a Wicked-branded green mac and cheese to a Stanley tumblr to ombre luggage.
We remember seeing some of these marketing and PR moves during the release of 2023’s “Barbie,” including a special Burger King burger in Brazil and a complete Malibu Dreamhouse for rent on Airbnb.
Activations do get people talking. According to recent listening data (Nov. 1-19) from Sprout Social, “Wicked” has received 1.23 million mentions and 17.53 million engagements, with 9.64 billion potential impressions. Search terms for the data include Wicked, #wicked, #wickedmovie and @wickedmovie.
But how much is too much? When looking at sentiment measurements, it’s not all shiny emeralds. Sprout Social shows sentiment on social media at 36% positive, 35% neutral and 29% negative.
Communication lessons: Timing is everything when it comes to brand partnerships and activations. Priscila Martinez, Founder and CEO of The Brand Agency, says it’s very possible for a release to feel “oversaturated.”
“If a marketing campaign isn't timed properly, audiences can feel like it's all marketing and no content,” Martinez says.
She praised “Barbie” and Warner Bros. for their activations in 2023, even though they also seemed oversaturated at the time.
“Audiences embraced them because they were rolled out along with film clips, interviews and other compelling content,” she says. "“Wicked” is similar. As long as the studio times things properly, audiences will continue to purchase products and participate in marketing and PR activities.”
News Influencers Make an Impact
What happened: Pew Research Center released a new study this week exploring the universe of influencers who regularly post about the current events on social media and the Americans who get that news from them.
“News influencers have emerged as one of the key alternatives to traditional outlets as a news and information source for a lot of people, especially younger folks. And these influencers have really reached new levels of attention and prominence this year amid the presidential election,” says Galen Stocking, senior computational social scientist at Pew Research Center. “We thought it was really important to look at who is behind some of the most popular accounts—the ones that aren't news organizations, but actual people.”
The study revealed that one in five U.S. adults and almost 40% of young adults (ages 18-to-29) get their news from influencers on social media. And 65% of those surveyed say that news influencers help them to better understand current news media topics.
However, the study also showed that the majority of news influencers come from outside the traditional newsroom. Only 23% of news influencers are currently or were previously employed by a news organization.
Pew based this report on a survey of over 10,000 U.S. adults and their experiences with news influencers, along with an analysis of 500 news influencers and their posts across five major social media sites. Most news influencers were most likely to be found on X (formerly Twitter), where 85% have a presence, but many are also on other social media sites and publish content including podcasts and newsletters.
Other findings include:
- Among Americans who regularly get news from news influencers, most say the information they share is unique and that they provide several types of content, including basic facts, opinions and breaking news.
- A majority of news influencers (63%) are men. And the influencers sampled are slightly more likely to identify explicitly with the political right than the left.
- TikTok has the smallest gender gap among news influencers on the site: 50% of news influencers on TikTok are men, while 45% are women.
- More than half of posts (55%) during the summer of 2024 focused on U.S. politics, government or the presidential election. Another 18% focused on social issues, including race, LGBTQ+ issues and abortion. And 14% of posts were about international issues, including the Israel-Hamas war (7%).
Communications takeaways: PR professionals should not ignore this data when it comes to building out new types of media relations strategies. After the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the proof is there: news consumers are finding different outlets to learn more about current affairs and important topics.
Curtis Sparrer, Principal and Co-Founder at Bospar, says news influencers can be found in people you least expect. He spoke of a time he worked with George Takei to promote an app in 2018.
“Since that time, I’ve watched him (George) grow into one of the most important influencers online,” Sparrer says. “Look at Bluesky. He’s the second most-followed account, right after The New York Times. If I had news that would be of interest to his followers, I would go to him immediately.”
However, Sparrer notes, just because someone is famous or has thousands of followers doesn’t mean they will fit the bill as a news influencer.
“That doesn’t mean I would go to George Takei with everything,” he says. “It would have to be on-brand for him. That’s the gist of working with influencers. Unlike newsrooms, the content has to be laser-focused on their personal brand and can’t have the wide appeal of a newsroom.”
PRSA Wins Distinct Honor
What happened: The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management recognized PRSA, the leading professional organization serving the PR and communications community, as the Global Public Relations Association of the Year during the World Public Relations Forum 2024.
The Global Alliance World Public Relations & Communication Awards is a global competition celebrating the most outstanding national and international public relations and communication management programs and case studies. The Global Public Relations Association of the Year category is open to associations with outstanding work in the public relations and communications industry that continually proves to push the profession forward.
The group chose PRSA from four finalists in the Global Public Relations Association of the Year category. It was the only finalist selected from the United States.
Communication takeaways: Joining a professional organization is always a good idea to enrich any communications career, and PRSA serves as the gold standard for many. This latest accolade just proves it.
“PRSA fosters a community of trusted advisors and mentors and empowers its members through a wealth of innovative professional development programs, lifelong learning opportunities and leading-edge resources to enhance their knowledge at every stage of their career,” says Joseph Abreu, 2024 PRSA Chair. “This prestigious honor is a testament to our members, community, and staff who constantly raise the bar year after year.”
Congratulations to PRSA on their honor.
Nicole Schuman is Managing Editor at PRNEWS.