PR 2030: Examining how public relations must transform across APACMEA

Earned First has partnered with the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) and Ruder Finn Asia to launch PR 2030: The Transformation Study, a new research initiative designed to provide a more realistic picture of how public relations is really evolving across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa.

The study examines how public relations, corporate communications and public affairs are positioned inside organisations across APAC and MEA, barriers holding their progress back, and what will be required to prove relevance over the next three to five years. It targets senior in-house communications leaders and agency leadership in regions that now account for a growing share of global business, geopolitical complexity and corporate risk, yet are often assessed through North American or European benchmarks that fail to reflect local realities.

PR 2030 is designed to move away from promotional narratives and towards practical, evidence-based insight. The research will focus on how communications functions are currently valued, the extent of their strategic influence, and the specific barriers, from budget constraints and talent gaps to centralised global structures and geopolitical pressure, that limit their ability to lead inside organisations.

A major emphasis will be on what actually drives transformation. The study will examine which capabilities communications teams will need to build over the next three to five years, how agencies can support that shift, and what role emerging technologies such as AI can realistically play in these markets.

The research also aims to explore regional distinctions that are often obscured in global datasets, including how APACMEA markets differ from North America and Europe in expectations of communications, organisational culture, regulatory and political risk, and the commercial mandate given to PR leaders.

Methodologically, PR 2030 combines a quantitative online survey of senior in-house and agency leaders with a programme of in-depth interviews and a regional roundtable, allowing both broad benchmarking and deeper qualitative insight into transformation across the industry.

Fieldwork is now open, with the survey closing on 27 February. Senior communications executives and agency leaders across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East & Africa are invited to participate via the online questionnaire at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PR2030Transformation

"As we know too well, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East & Africa operate under very different political, commercial and cultural conditions," said Elan Shou, CEO of Ruder Finn Asia. "If public relations is going to earn greater strategic influence in these regions, it has to evolve on their terms, not by importing models designed for the US or Europe. That’s why PR 2030 matters: it’s about understanding what real transformation looks like here, not in theory but in practice."

Findings from PR 2030: The Transformation Study will be released later this year.