The Communications Priorities of Organisations in 2025

The communications objectives of organisations continue to evolve in an ever-changing world.  With this in mind, we have collaborated with some of our US-based IPREX partners to share current communications priorities for organisations from a US perspective.

Ann-Marie O’Sullivan, Founder and CEO, AM O’Sullivan, and Global President, IPREX

At AM O’Sullivan PR, we’re seeing a notable rise in demand for three key areas: trusted strategic counsel at leadership level, stronger internal engagement strategies, and robust reputation management frameworks.

Leadership teams are seeking guidance, not only during crisis moments but as an embedded part of their decision-making processes. There’s a growing awareness that how an organisation communicates — particularly during times of sensitive change or high-stakes events — directly influences its long-term reputation and stakeholder trust.

Equally, internal audiences are no longer passive recipients of corporate messaging. They are active participants in shaping and sharing the organisational story. As a result, clients are prioritising clear, consistent and authentic internal communications, recognising that their people are their most effective ambassadors and advocates.

Lastly, reputation resilience is becoming a defining theme. Whether it’s navigating geopolitical risk, ESG scrutiny, or the amplification of public sentiment through digital channels, clients are investing in preparedness and reputation protection. We’re increasingly supporting organisations with scenario planning, message alignment, and cross-stakeholder engagement strategies that can withstand today’s scrutiny and tomorrow’s uncertainty.

What ties all this together is the need for communications that are informed, intentional, and grounded in real understanding of stakeholder expectations. 

Lindsey DeWitte, Chief Impact Officer, BarkleyOKRP

At BarkleyOKRP, our public relations, influencer and sustainability practice teams are consistently working with brands to both protect and propel them forward. In 2025, with a new U.S. administration and changes in policy and general rhetoric, we are experiencing a greater focus on the protection side of brand reputation. Services such as issues and crisis management, executive communications and brand leadership content strategies, and counsel on social and environmental strategy, have been in higher demand. Preparation of communications has broadened to encompass multiple scenarios during times of uncertainty. 

Meanwhile, the ongoing management of mis-and-dis-information requires reactive response, and demands a robust and proactive strategy to balance protection with promotion of brand reputation. We see continued growth in social media and influencer relationship management strategy development and execution, as the media landscape evolves. The need for the voice of the brand, sharing and socialization information, data, and proof is an imperative. And the recruitment of a trusted sphere of influence, respected by consumers to provide third-party endorsement is key to building trust. 

This year, amid the immense change in the U.S. and within a globalized economy, we see the need for brands to take an integrated approach to marketing communications as greater than ever. We are fortunate that beyond our practice, we have the scale of services at BarkleyOKRP to do it all, and the IPREX network to tap into for specialist expertise on demand.

Virgina Miller, Founding Partner, and Courtney Cash, Senior Account Executive, BMF Communications

BMF is laser focused on expansion in areas that positively affect our clients’ bottom lines, which has proven to be a winning strategy for them and for us.  Our two areas for expansion in 2025:

Litigation Support

BMF has developed a strong suite of services in the realm of risk assessment and reputation management over several decades. These services complement our PR and Marketing services and allow clients the benefit of not only a full complement of Strategic Communications Services, but a team that bears each client’s risk in mind when planning campaigns.   

Reputation Management services include arenas that we are all familiar with such as Issues Management and Crisis Planning and Response.  We are also experts in Litigation Support, a nuanced but critically important skillset developed over decades.  

Expanding Litigation Support is one of our two primary focuses: so much so that we are adding Senior Legal Counsel to our team.  

Many legal cases are at risk of being tried in the court of public opinion, yet effective legal communications strategy is delicate, and often subject to judicial restrictions, along with intense public scrutiny that can tip the balance when a client’s reputation is at stake.  

BMF has worked with dozens of law firms, from coast to coast in the U.S., on civil and white collar criminal cases and clients globally have tapped us for guidance navigating U.S. based legal issues. We have worked around, or with, almost every federal regulatory body and understand their modus operandi. Each requires a deep well of experience to craft the right strategy. Yet every case calls for a healthy respect for the fact that the legal strategy comes first. 

In a world that is getting more litigious, and in which political strife is amplified, the right strategic approach to communications, relative to litigation, often makes a tremendous difference in managing reputations at risk.  Because this expertise is not easily transferable or developed, we are happy to support our partners by providing Litigation Support counsel and services upon request.

Digital Strategy 

Most communications agencies understand the power of expertise in Digital Strategy. Digital has all but replaced conventional advertising and has the very real advantage of making Communications teams accountable to clients in this realm: we can, and should, demonstrate ROI in very real terms.  

Digital also serves us as experts in Reputation Management. Whether we are managing a global client’s reputation relative to disruptive world events, supporting litigation that threatens to upend a client’s business and reputation, or managing a cyber event, Digital Strategy plays a major role in helping us to move our clients from a reactive to a proactive stance, and help clients navigate their situations in an informed and authentic way. 

Frank Buscemi, CEO & Chief Creative Officer, MBE Group

Rather than prioritising one specific service over another, our clients are challenged to do more with less. They have more channels to cover than ever before, with fewer team members and tight budgets – and many are turning to AI for some solutions. 

This is where agencies must strategically maximise speed, cost, efficiency and overall content output to keep a client’s brands in front of their customers. 

To meet those needs, MBE Group has fully adopted and implemented generative AI across our complete line of client services. It is now an integral part of our creative process, drastically changing how quickly we get from idea to result, enabling us to add significant value to our clients by automating repetitive tasks, providing personalised output, optimizing channel integration and accessing wider market or audience data.

AI isn’t replacing the human expertise in our business, or discounting the level of work the clients receive. Instead, it is amplifying it and enabling our team to focus more on things clients value, like strategy and creativity. 

The move to AI as a priority helps generate great work in a much more efficient manner, leading to value and results-driven relationships that clients want.

Conclusion

Based on the feedback from our US-based IPREX partners, it’s clear that we are all facing similar challenges in a rapidly changing global environment. As providers of professional communications support and strategic counsel, we agree with our IPREX partners that a strategic approach to communications, a focus on reputation and crisis management planning, the importance of digital strategies and the use of AI, will remain a key part of our clients’ communications strategies. Despite the challenges of a changing world, there are also a myriad of opportunities which will arise as the communications industry reacts and responds to the changing needs of our clients. There’s no doubt that being part of the IPREX network enables us, and our clients, to benefit from having a global perspective on the communications sector as we navigate our way forward together.