S9 E1: WEBINAR: Latest Insights from PRGN's Global Research on Brand Influence
On May 13, 2026, the Public Relations Global Network will present the key findings of the PRGN Influence Insights 2026, the second edition of its global survey on brand influence.
The 2026 PRGN Influence Insights Survey offers a closer look at how brands are managing trust, reputation, AI, audience behavior and the growing complexity of influence across channels, audiences and markets worldwide.
Join us for a live webinar presentation of the survey data, built on global findings from more than 1,800 professionals across 48 countries.
Register for one of the webinar sessions:
- May 13: EMEA and Americas
- May 13: Americas and APAC
About the Hosts
Abbie Fink is president of HMA Public Relations in Phoenix, Arizona and a founding member of PRGN. Her marketing communications background includes skills in media relations, digital communications, social media strategies, special event management, crisis communications, community relations, issues management, and marketing promotions for both the private and public sectors, including such industries as healthcare, financial services, professional services, government affairs and tribal affairs, as well as not-for-profit organizations.
Dr. Adrian McIntyre is a cultural anthropologist, media personality, speaker, and strategic communications consultant for PR agencies and marketing firms. He's lived in over 30 countries and spent more than a decade in the Middle East and Africa as a researcher, journalist, communications adviser, media spokesperson, and storytelling consultant. He earned a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a Fulbright scholar and National Science Foundation fellow. Adrian helps agency leaders strengthen their positioning, sharpen their messaging, boost their visibility, and win new clients by replacing impersonal, intrusive and ineffective marketing tactics with authentic human conversations.
PRGN Presents is brought to you by Public Relations Global Network, the world’s local public relations agency. Our executive producer is Adrian McIntyre. The show is produced by the team at Speed of Story, a B2B communications firm in Phoenix, AZ.
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Transcript
From the Public Relations Global Network, this is PRGN Presents. I’m Adrian McIntyre.
Abbie Fink:And I’m Abbie Fink, president of HMA Public Relations in Phoenix, Arizona, and a founding member of PRGN. With public relations leaders embedded into the fabric of the communities we serve, clients hire our agencies for the local knowledge, expertise and connections in markets spanning six continents across the world.
Adrian McIntyre:Our guests on this biweekly podcast series are all members of the Public Relations Global Network. They will discuss such topics as workplace culture, creative compensation and succession planning, the importance of sustainability and environmental, social and governance programs, crisis communications, and outside of the box thinking for growing your business.
Abbie Fink:For more information about PRGN and our members, please visit prgn.com
Adrian McIntyre:Regardless of the business you’re in, whether you’re a government agency or a nonprofit, a small business or a big corporation, influence is a central part of how you do the work that you do. It’s what allows you to share your message in a compelling way. It’s what allows you to build a base of support for your products or your services, build a loyal following. And influence is kind of what it’s always been, but it’s also changing. Abbie, PRGN has done a significant piece of research on this very topic. What do we have to look forward to here?
Abbie Fink:Right, so the Public Relations Global Network is a network of independently owned PR agencies around the world. And we commissioned a study by Researchcape International that helped us take a look at the impact that influence has on brands. We did our first survey last year. This is survey number two with a really amazing cross section of being able to look at the data from the first survey and how that has changed over time. And in a lot of ways, what is remaining the same as it relates to influence. And what we’re finding in this research is that we have more opportunity, we have a broader set of stakeholders that potentially can shape influence, and that there is still a need to discuss the role of influence and who within an organization needs to own that responsibility. And we will be discussing the findings of that survey and really the implications of what this data means for those of us in communications and marketing.
Abbie Fink:During a webinar that’s being held on Wednesday, May 13, we’re doing two sessions. So depending on what time zone you are in, you’ll have an opportunity to listen in on a review of the data, how it was gathered, and what the implications of that information will be, and how to take this knowledge and use it to inform your communication strategies and how you are using influence to impact your brand and how it is seen amongst your competition and amongst the various and growing mix of channels that’s available to us.
Adrian McIntyre:I’m really looking forward to the publication of these results. We did a series of four episodes last year with the first inaugural Influence Insights Survey. And the reach that the Public Relations Global network has is part of what makes this so compelling. I mean, the fact that There are over 50 member agencies in 48 countries across the world allowed the data gathering to really reach into pockets of global markets that, you know, are not commonly tapped for this kind of thing. So it’s really going to be a useful guide, I believe.
Adrian McIntyre:Certainly the last year’s study gave a lot of interesting insights and I think the refinement of the methodology, which all of which will be discussed in in detail on the webinar, will help people who are leading brands or agencies or you know, in house at variety of different communication roles really understand some of these dynamics. You know, as we said, a lot of human behavior and what influences people hasn’t changed. But how you reach those people, the mix of channels and audience, and what is AI doing in the midst of all of this? How does that affect things like trust, reputation and so on? There’s really a rich set of topics here. Now, if you can’t attend the webinar live or if you’re hearing this after the fact, Abbie, they’ll be able to also watch the replay and download the report and get all the details, is that right?
Abbie Fink:That is correct. We will have all of that information available on PRGN’s website at prgn.com. The webinar will be recorded and made available afterwards, as will a comprehensive white paper and the research data itself for anyone that is interested in taking a look at that. And you know, the comment you made in terms of the global reach of this study, you know, 48 countries participated. It really will provide an interesting set of data for review and for consideration as you’re making decisions, whether you are again the responsible party for how your organization is represented and how your brand impacts influence and what is impacting your brand as it relates to influence.
Abbie Fink:And I think the conversation during the webinars and the availability of that data post launch will be really an opportunity to influence decisions. And we look forward as a network of independently owned PR agencies in sharing that information with marketing communications professionals around the world. So join us for the webinar on Wednesday, May 13. Again, there will be the registration links in the show notes and there will be two sessions live and then that will be available for replay at any time that you might be interested in listening to it again. And I look forward to this discussion with our research partner at Researchscape and really taking a deep dive into this data.
Adrian McIntyre:Thanks for listening to this episode of PRGN Presents, brought to you by the Public Relations Global Network.
Abbie Fink:We publish new episodes every other week, so subscribe now in your favorite podcast app. Episodes are also available on our website, along with more information about PRGN and our members, at prgn.com.
