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The 2024 Cision and PRWeek Global Comms Report

Find out how 400+ PR and comms leaders worldwide are approaching the way they work in today’s media landscape.

Measuring Stakeholder Perceptions of the “Social Impact" in ESG

A Joint Report by Cision and the Institute for Public Relations

The past few years have brought a renewed focus on social issues and activism, which has had an impact on consumers’ expectations from brands. Recognizing this, Cision and the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) joined forces to take a closer look at this impact and what it means for communicators. Using Brandwatch’s Consumer Research tool, we analyzed nearly 209 million social media mentions and keywords relating to specific social issues.

Questions addressed in this study include:

  • What social issues are generating online discussion and media coverage?
  • What key themes and topics emerge?
  • What brands are associated with social issues most frequently and why?
  • How are brand perceptions tied to action or inaction on social issues?
  • How do consumers want brands to address key social issues?

This study also presents nine key findings related to social topics such as LGBTQ+ rights, climate change, mental health and more.