Tech & Communications in the Year Ahead: 2023 Predictions by the SBS Media Practice

“Uncertainty” seems to be the main theme for 2023, with massive disruptions in the business world, the economy at large, and the political environment clouding the outlook. This is particularly true in the communications industry, where a pullback in advertising is upending publishers and social media companies alike. Recent headlines include the closure of Protocol just two years after it opened and instability at Twitter, not to mention layoffs at CNN, Gannett, Morning Brew and the Washington Post, just to name a few.?

This of course doesn’t mark the demise of journalism, as editors and reporters are a resilient group who always find innovative ways to feed the world’s appetite for insight and accurate information. But the industry is undoubtedly experiencing rapid change, and the Brew Crew at SBS is constantly thinking about the best ways to work with media to tell our stories, all while understanding and respecting their constraints and pressures. This requires embracing flexibility and creativity as we adapt to the news cycles, as well as taking chances on unique pitches and finding creative ways to amplify news.?

In an effort to provide some guidance for a tricky year, here’s the media practice’s outlook for 2023, and advice on breaking through the uncertainty.?

Owned Channels Lose & Communications Strikes the Right Balance (For Once)?

We’ve already seen massive layoffs across the corporate communications and media industries this year and I expect more in early 2023. The last time this happened, in 2009/2010, both companies and the journalists that cover them stopped to ask: “what is really important to communicate and what is really important to cover?” Mid-aughts corporate comms centered on company profiles and customer use cases, but after 2010, journalists turned their focus to the individual leaders, change agents, and provocative thinkers for magazine covers and main stage speaking slots. These people were not just leaders of their company, but of their industry. Others were convinced that their own company channels were the place to communicate effectively, emphasizing their own corporate blogs. It didn’t work then, it doesn’t work now, and won’t work next year.

In 2023, the communications world will strike a better balance with how we elevate companies, technology, products and executive profiles; less of a pendulum swing between focusing on journalism and then social media and then content and then podcasts. The right balance is an orchestration, not a blueprint. Between traditional publications, trade publications, broadcast, Substacks, podcasts, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social publications the opportunity to reach audiences with compelling news, ideas, and commentary is still very ripe. There is a lot of power in repeatable messages – they just have to be compelling to begin with. – JOHN OBRIEN , Co-Founder

The Public Will Turn on Tech (But All Is Not Lost)

With its layoffs and falling valuations, the tech industry will be the face of next year’s downturn, and could suffer damage to its reputation that will last well beyond 2023. This is reminiscent of Wall Street’s fate during the Great Recession, where Big Finance’s standing among regulators, prospective hires and consumers took a massive hit and never fully recovered. Bad decisions and PR blunders along the way fed the narrative, such as fat executive bonuses following government bailouts. Big Tech and Silicon Valley filled this void, garnering status as the engine of innovation and the cool place to work, with the media often lauding founders. Those days are over, and investors, regulators and journalists won’t be kind. But with smart PR that focuses on the promise of technology to help rebuild and advance our economy, coupled with leaders who display smarts, humility and real empathy, the tech industry can recover and lead us into recovery. – Randall W. , VP of Media Strategy

Cost Savings Becomes a Badge of Honor

The past decade has been one of excess among venture capitalists and startups, with growth prioritized above all else. As the markets crash back to earth, and mass layoffs continue, growth at any cost has become a red flag. While the best companies will continue to invest and grow through the downturn, media will shine a positive light on companies that help their peers cut costs –?be it among personnel, in the cloud, or via increased automation. Startups that—carefully, thoughtfully—lean into this differentiator will rise in 2023, and media coverage will follow. – Cole Garry , Director of Media Strategy

Broadcast Becomes Cool Again

The streaming wars have brought on huge declines in TV viewership, and broadcast has taken the hit. With the downfall of networks like CNN+, it’s easy to say that broadcast doesn’t have a place in the streaming era. However, producers, hosts, and showrunners are getting creative, starting new shows for younger audiences, verticalizing into areas like crypto and climate, and experimenting with documentary-style formats. Broadcast provides a huge opportunity. With mainstream media experiencing staff shortages and layoffs, it’s harder to get news out there - producers are keen for breaking news, timely hooks, and hot takes. Having a good spokesperson who can speak to the “why”, rather than the “what”, can unlock doors for these opportunities. Take time to connect with producers and anchors to understand what they’re really looking for. – Cameron Turner , Media Strategist

Twitter Loses Its Media Crown

With the decline of Facebook, heated debates over Twitter’s future, and the rise in popularity of quick, isolated videos –?broadcast, podcasts and mainstream media will focus on fast and informative ways to break through to younger generations. We’ll likely see print industries move links to social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, encouraging reporters to post quick video clips and blasting the content to millions of people. Podcast hosts might upload episode highlights to hook listeners and herd audiences to individual websites. Producers and anchors could publish increasingly shocking footage to encourage likes, views, comments and more. The world’s future generations live on their smartphones –?it’s only a matter of time before media find the most efficient way in. – Jessie Foster Warner , Account Coordinator

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