Edelman was named the most admired PR agency, maintaining its unequivocal top spot for the fourth year running. In 2019 it was temporarily knocked off by Weber Shandwick, after a six-year straight run of being the most frequently-cited public relations agency when the Influence 100 were asked which firm they most admired.
Coming in second place, as last year, was strategic comms powerhouse Brunswick, which regularly shows up in the top five mentions.
The only other agencies to get multiple mentions were Italy’s MY PR, Weber Shandwick and Freuds.
Made up of global in-house communications and brand marketing leaders, the Influence 100 also named South African Razor (M&C Saatchi Abel) in the list.
When asked to name the companies the Influence 100 think have best managed their brand communications and corporate reputation over the past year, unlike previous years, there was no stand-out winner.
There were an equal number of multiple mentions for Microsoft (which last year was far ahead of any other brand), Disney, Apple, Nvidia, Lego and Tata Group.
Twitter, hitherto a regular on the best brand communications list, not only had no nominations but switched to the other side.
Unsurprisingly, given the tumultuous change in ownership to Elon Musk, it was in joint first place on the list of the companies that the Influence 100 think have managed their reputations least effectively over the past year.
In joint first place with Twitter was brewer, Anheuser-Busch, after its handling of the Bud Light trans influencer controversy, and in third place was cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which collapsed swiftly last November.
Out of the Influence 100’s list of nominees for best communicator among world leaders this year, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenkskyy again came out head and shoulders above anyone else, having consolidated his status as a hero in leadership and communications terms as Russia’s invasion stretched into a second year.
Despite announcing in January that she was stepping down, New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern again received multiple nominations for second place – the same as last year, after three years of running in the top spot.
The only other leader who received multiple mentions was Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
On the list of the worst communicators among the world’s leaders, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin was in undisputed first place, far ahead of other nominees.
In joint second place were former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and Elon Musk, the only business leader on the list.
This tranche of research also reveals some valuable insights into what the Influence 100 think are the biggest challenges for the future of PR agencies, with many frank responses focused on AI and other advances in technology, creativity, talent, diversity, proving return on investment, and agility.
