Telum has gathered the latest host of reports from the comms industry, including a report on the booming ESG media coverage, how Indonesia’s Generation Z are responding to COVID-19 and how the pandemic has pushed leaders to reexamine their roles and relationships with stakeholders.

Cognito: ESG Investing and the media
Cognito released a report on how the booming interest in green investing is being covered by asset management media and how asset managers are communicating their ESG strategies. “Media communications for ESG Investment: time for a temperature check” analysed ESG coverage by 16 leading financial media outlets in Europe, North America and Asia over the last two years, alongside analysis of outbound communications (including press releases and insights) undertaken by 35 leading asset managers - to see how supply and demand compare. 

Some highlights of the report include:

• Total media coverage on sustainable investment rose 75% from 2019 to 2020, with thousands of articles written on green investing. Many publications - such as the Financial Times, Handelsblatt, Ignites, and Citywire - doubled their coverage in just one year.
• Media outlets are focusing on broad stories around ESG investing - such as portfolio composition, performance / risk and regulation - that involve commentary from a range of managers
• Outbound communications by asset managers, however, skews towards the types of news that are only relevant for the minority of media stories that are based around a single firm.
• Sharp differences in areas of focus different types of outlets: trade media are much more likely to run stories on specific firms, while major publications largely, and increasingly, want to cover thematic stories featuring multiple firms.

H+K Indonesia: The Youth Equation: The ‘Now’ Reality of a New Storytelling 
To mark its one-year anniversary in Indonesia, H+K Indonesia launched a report “The Youth Equation”. Over 500 of Generation Z (aged 16+) in Indonesia are responding to COVID-19, their new and future digital behaviours; and what this means for brands who want to invest in Indonesia and the need for them to engage Gen Z in order to grow in this market.

Key insights from the report include:

• Indonesian Gen Z consider social media to be their preferred platforms for engagement. Visual media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, and rising platforms like TikTok, LINE, Telegram, DISCORD and Wattpad are most preferred.
• Young Indonesians are brave to stand up for what they think is right and voice their opinions especially when it comes to day-to-day issues. Gen Z are very keen on supporting brands that have a strong sense of purpose, and what’s key is that a brand’s values need to resonate with theirs. Brands that are relevant and authentic will indeed capture the attention and interest of this arising generation.
• Brands need to adjust and adapt their communications to resonate with this young audience. Brands are innovating ways to keep this generation socially connected through digital activities that can be enjoyed together. 

WE Communications: Leaders to re-examine roles, relationship with stakeholders 
WE Communications (WE) released results from a new Brands in Motion study, “Rethinking the Purpose and Meaning of Leadership”. The research, surveyed by more than 300 C-suite executives, senior-level managers and key decision-makers in the United States, the UK and Singapore have revealed a dramatic shift in executive leadership behaviour, prompted by the global pandemic and ongoing moments of social upheaval. 

Key insights from the report include:

• 86 per cent of brand leaders surveyed say they’ve become more introspective
• 71 per cent said articulating their personal core values and elevating their voice was more important for them now than it was a year ago
• 69 per cent say stakeholder engagement is one of the most important leadership behaviours for 2021. In Singapore, 71 per cent leaders surveyed say stakeholder engagement is one of the most important leadership behaviours for 2021, but nearly half are only somewhat prepared to engage with the organisations' stakeholders and manage its priorities and initiatives in the coming year.