Abstract
AbstractWhile most research in public relations and strategic communication concentrates on textual elements, this contribution shifts the focus to the growing importance of visual elements. The theoretical background is based on visual theory and the concept of strategic mediatization. By using a large-scale quantitative survey among 3,387 European communication professionals, this study is the first empirical evidence of communication professionals’ perspectives concerning visual communication. Therefore, the paper empirically demonstrates a visual turn in strategic communication. Although practitioners have been using visual elements since the very beginnings of their trade, only a minority guide these activities through a sound management process. This calls for a deeper consideration of visual communication management in practice and visual public relations research in academia.
Highlights
In the last two decades, increasing mediatization has been transforming our everyday lives, organizations, societies, and global society as a whole (Couldry and Hepp, 2017; Hepp and Krotz, 2014)
If one thinks of cave paintings and other visual representations firstly produced by Neanderthals and later in the modern age, visual communication can be seen as
Taking into consideration the increasing importance of visual elements in society, the first research question in this study addresses the importance of visual stimuli for strategic communication in general and for organizations as well as their stakeholders: RQ1: How do communication practitioners perceive the importance of visual stimuli in strategic communication?
Summary
In the last two decades, increasing mediatization has been transforming our everyday lives, organizations, societies, and global society as a whole (Couldry and Hepp, 2017; Hepp and Krotz, 2014) In this “media age” (Hepp and Krotz, 2014), visual communication, in particular, as one of the three main types of communication alongside verbal and nonverbal communication, has become an unequivocal component of the realm of academia and for practitioners that work in the field of communication G., in product or brand advertising as well as public relations). This covers a whole range of visual representations such as space design, signs and symbols like logos, (moving) images – photographic images or animated images like videos –, business clothes, and more (Johnson and Carneiro, 2014; Orgad, 2013)
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