Kara Alaimo's presentation from the 2016 PRSA Tri-State Conference about global public relations.

1. Photo credit: Nasa
Twitter: @karaalaimo

2. My crash course in cross-cultural
communication
Copyright: ra3rn

3. Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street: How to Practice
Global Public Relations and Strategic Communication
• Interviews with 87 practitioners in 31 countries
• In person at the World Communication Forum in Davos,
Switzerland and Social Media Strategies Summit in New York
• Focus groups in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Cape Town
• Skype

4. GLOBE: a ten-year study of more than 17,000 managers in 62
societies conducted by 170 researchers
The World’s Ten Cultural Clusters:
• Confucian Asia
• South Asia
• Anglo Cluster
• Latin Europe
• Germanic Europe
• Nordic Countries
• Eastern Europe
• Middle East
• Latin America
• Sub-Saharan Africa

5. Key Factors
The Generic-Specific Approach
(Verčič, Grunig, and Grunig, 1996)
Adapt PR strategy based upon 5 local factors:
• Political-economic system
• Culture
• Extent of activism
• Level of development
• Media system

6. Key Factors
Social Expectations
Copyright: Grand Canyon National Park

7. Key Factors
Local Influencers
Copyright: Blan-k

8. Asia
• Personal influence model
• Collectivism
• Face
• High context communication
• Long term orientation
• Power distance
• Avoid “risky communication”
• Mobile (average commute: 1 hour)

9. Middle East and North Africa
• Youth bulge
• Religion
• Friday/Saturday weekend
• Personal influence model
• Pride/criticism
• Resistance to change/Present orientation
• Emotion, symbolism
• Arabic doesn’t translate literally

10. Latin America
• Collectivism around the family
• Personal influence model
• Polychronic approach to time
• Low future orientation
• Poverty and inequality
• Expectation that businesses help society
• Heightened citizen consciousness, activism

11. Sub-Saharan Africa
• Brown envelopes
• Corporate social responsibility
• Word of mouth
• High context
• Indigenous forms of outreach
• High humane orientation
• Relationships

12. Europe
• Anglo Europe
• Latin Europe
• Germanic Europe
• Nordic Europe
• Eastern Europe

13. Contact Me
Kara Alaimo, Ph.D.
www.karaalaimo.com
www.routledge.com/cw/alaimo
Kara.S.Alaimo@hofstra.edu
Twitter: @karaalaimo
PRSA members can get a 20% discount on “Pitch, Tweet, or
Engage on the Street” and free shipping using promo code
FLR40 at www.routledge.com.