This giving season, companies are working to reclaim popular impact campaigns hoping their affiliation will create a halo effect in the minds of consumers.

Why it matters: Communicators face the challenge of ensuring consumers know which brands are behind campaigns, without seeming too self-congratulatory.

Driving the news: Through marketing and earned media, American Express, which launched Small Business Saturday 15 years ago, made a more concerted effort this year to closely tie itself to the day of support.

• Ad spots ran during NFL games, company executives along with local New York business owners rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, the Empire State Building lit blue, singer Noah Kahan performed in the streets of Charleston, South Carolina, and it all was blasted across social media.
• Meanwhile, American Express CEO Stephen Squeri sat down with CNBC to discuss Small Business Saturday and focused on associating the day with the company.
• On the day itself, U.S. consumers spent an estimated $22 billion shopping local, up from $17 billion in 2023, according to the company's annual consumer insights survey.

Other corporate-led initiatives have taken on a life of their own.

• In reaction to Black Friday, REI Co-op launched the #OptOutside movement in 2015, closing its stores and giving employees the day off to enjoy the outdoors.
• Cosmetic manufacturer The Estée Lauder Companies was the first to popularize the pink ribbon campaign supporting breast cancer awareness.

What they're saying: These company-generated campaigns worked because they were authentic to their purpose and business, says Alison DaSilva, global managing director of purpose and impact at Zeno Group.

• "When thinking about how much to lean in or promote corporate social responsibility campaigns, we consider ABC," says DaSilva.
• "A) Authenticity, how is it aligned with your purpose, mission and values, and walking the talk. B) Business relevance, how the issue is connected to your business in a way that makes sense. And C) competence, and how you are uniquely able to drive a meaningful impact."

Between the lines: These campaigns also let companies engage in ESG initiatives that meet stakeholder expectations while avoiding political crosshairs.

• A majority of global consumers (69%) want companies to play a role in addressing societal issues and two-thirds say companies are not doing enough, according to a recent Zeno Group report.
• "The consumer appetite is there and the expectation is there, so companies shouldn't shy away from having these social impact moments, if done the right way," says DaSilva.

What to watch: As companies consider new strategies to communicate about ESG and corporate social responsibility, expect a shift in audience targeting, says Susan McPherson, CEO of McPherson Strategies.

• "The focus will be on local communities first, because in the end, it's a tremendous opportunity for American business to continue doing what it's good at, and that is being a source of trust and support in the communities that they operate in," she adds.

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A collective of public relations agencies best known for supporting tech clients like OpenAI, Coinbase, Google and Amazon is looking to revolutionize industry standards by ditching empty impression metrics for hard readership numbers instead.

Why it matters: PR professionals have long relied on metrics that do little to show the true impact, reach and value of earned media.

Driving the news: Marker Collective — which consists of PR firms Outcast, Archetype and Nectar — has partnered with media insights platform Memo to make readership metrics readily available to their more than 450 clients.

The big picture: As PR firms feel budget pressures, clients have questioned the actual impact of earned media.

• Plus, understanding the reach and value of traditional media placements has become more important given the rise of social media news influencers, digital creators and podcasters.

Between the lines: Knowledge of audience readership trends can help communication teams operate more strategically, says Memo CEO Eddie Kim.

• "Every other channel or platform that communicators use is far more nuanced," Kim says. "We don't just say, let's be on Instagram. We say, let's figure out which creators or influencers are best. What does their engagement look like? Why are we picking them?"

How it works: Memo works directly with roughly 10,000 news publications to gather the readership data of specific reporters, articles and topics.

• Marker Collective will integrate Memo's readership metrics into its insights and analytics dashboard, called Delve, which will be used across the agencies to track, measure and support its clients.

Yes, but: Changing course on measurement means communicators must level set with clients and executives who are used to seeing huge — but soft — volume-based metrics like circulation numbers or social media impressions.

What they're saying: Having these insights makes it easier to show return on investment to stakeholders, says Andrew Wyatt, chief product officer at Marker Collective.

• They will also help refine media strategies, enhance storytelling by identifying what resonates with audiences, and give teams the data they need to make smarter decisions, he says.

What to watch: Expect more large PR agencies to prioritize smarter measurement tools as the value of earned media comes into question.

• Plus, certain top-tier or niche publications could see their brand value rise as AI disrupts the media landscape.

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Edelman has reduced its global workforce by more than 5% — affecting about 330 employees — and will sunset several of its subsidiary boutique agencies, according to a memo obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: It is part of a broader demand across the industry for more streamlined, integrated PR support that includes corporate reputation, brand marketing and public affairs.

State of play: As part of a restructuring, several boutiques within Edelman — Edible, Revere, Salutem, Mustache, EGA and Delta — will shut down.

• The firm's financial communications boutique Edelman Smithfield, research arm DXI and experiential marketing firm UEG will remain intact, supporting Edelman and its sister firm, Zeno Group.
• Those affected range in seniority. "It's about evenly split between vice president and up and account executive to account supervisor," CEO Richard Edelman told Axios.
• Even with the cuts, Edelman will maintain its large footprint with no plans to close its 60 offices across the globe.

What they're saying: The corporate communications and brand marketing worlds are overlapping as businesses grapple with social and geopolitical pressures, according to Edelman.

• "I've got to structure Edelman to be fast and to be, in a way, completely integrated," he said. "The two things we were trying to build in the last years are the advisory business to compete with Teneo, etc., and the marketing side of the business, to compete with ad agencies and digital firms."

The big picture: Economic headwinds have impacted the agency space and many are feeling pressure to cut costs, find synergies and streamline offerings.

• The firm's revenue is down about 8% in the U.S. for the year, with Edelman saying it's been a "slower year for agencies than they'd like," pointing specifically to less cashflow coming out of the tech and health sectors.

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Axios HQ — the internal communications software company that spun off from Axios Media in 2022 — has purchased the communications membership organization Mixing Board, its first acquisition since its founding in 2021.

Why it matters: Membership groups are trending as the communications field has evolved and practitioners look for ways to hone their craft and find community.

State of play: A group of former CCOs and recruiters recently launched CommsCollectiv for those who hold fractional roles, Financial Narrative was established for communicators working in the finance field, The PRNet serves those in lifestyle industries, and we recently launched a membership for Axios Communicators readers who want more content and events, called Axios Communicators Pro.

• Meanwhile, more established membership organizations like Page Society and PRSA are at a crossroads as they bring on new leadership.

Zoom in: Axios HQ will absorb Mixing Board's 450-person membership and the 1,200 members within its free, sister organization Comm(s)unity.

• Both Axios HQ and Mixing Board declined to share the financial terms of the deal, which closed on November 27.
• All Mixing Board employees will join Axios HQ, with founder Sean Garrett becoming chief communications officer and president of Mixing Board.
• Current fees for Mixing Board run $65 per month. Garrett said he does not anticipate these fees changing under the new ownership.

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Disclaimers: Axios HQ split off from Axios in 2022, after Axios Media was acquired by Cox Enterprises. Hawkins is a 2022-24 member of Mixing Board.

Dave Heinzinger will join X as its head of media strategy, reporting to CEO Linda Yaccarino, Axios first learned.

Why it matters: X owner Elon Musk is critical of the mainstream media and has never liked hiring corporate communicators on his behalf.

• In hiring Heinzinger, a veteran of marketing industry communications, X is signaling to the ad industry that it cares about maintaining those business relationships.

Zoom in: Heinzinger's hiring comes after the departure of Joe Benarroch, who led X's media and communications efforts until June.

• Heinzinger joins X from public relations firm Haymaker Group, where he served as president. He also led communications for digital advertising platform inMarket and held roles specializing in B2B communications.
• Heinzinger will serve as the sole communications professional for X and will work closely with its new global head of marketing, Angela Zepeda, who joined in September from Hyundai.

Yes, but: X's hiring of a media strategy lead doesn't mean the company is going all in on traditional media.

• The social platform's leadership is encouraging executives, brands and founders to skirt traditional media and go direct with their communications on X, according to ads X is running on its verified account.
• The ads promote a "revolutionized approach to public relations," and claim "Traditional PR is dead. Long live direct engagement."

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Axios partnered with Gravity Research to create our first communications report.

• While this report is exclusive to Axios Communicator Pro members, I couldn't resist giving you a sneak peek.

Why it matters: Balancing stakeholder demands is one of the biggest challenges for communicators, according to the survey.

• Other top challenges include anticipated public backlash or controversy, aligning internal leaders and message consistency.

Zoom in: Roughly 3 in 5 executives say employees are the hardest group to manage effectively and they feel the most pressure from them to engage on societal or political issues.

• In response to these pressures, 35% say they are involving more stakeholders in strategic conversations and 12% report increased involvement with employee resource groups.

Zoom out: Communicators feel pressure from everyone on AI strategies, climate change and sustainability practices, per the report.

📊 Go deeper ... Become an Axios Communicators Pro member to see the full report.

Construction is underway for Axios Communicators Live tonight.

• Excited to see some of you there!