How international public relations drives strategy and growth

Public relations is opening markets, shaping strategy and building organisational resilience.

In international markets, the corporate communications and public relations function is opening doors, shaping strategy and building resilience. Yet behind these achievements lies a human reality: practitioners stretched across time zones, under-recognised for their strategic contribution and too often at risk of burnout.

That’s the red thread running through People, Pressure and Purpose, the latest report I’ve researched and written with The PR Network.

Based on in-depth interviews with 25 senior practitioners, the report explores what international public relations looks like in practice: the models, the pressures, the potential, and the gap between what’s delivered and what’s understood.

The PR Network brings deep expertise in designing, building and delivering international programmes and in helping make sense of what works.

International public relations is already strategic

Let’s state it as plainly as possible: international public relations is not a tactical support function.

Practitioners in global and regional roles are enabling market entry, shaping leadership behaviour, managing organisational risk and building resilience across borders. They’re acting as advisors, not just delivery arms.

Yet too often, they do so without the job title, reporting line, or mandate to match.

Public relations still suffers from an outdated framing that equates communications with media coverage. That narrow lens misses the real value: opening markets, building credibility in unfamiliar environments and translating business strategy into stakeholder action.

Structure is important, but mindset matters more

High-performing teams design for flexibility and empower local voices. They build trust by designing for flexibility and empowering local voices.

Successful teams:

• Treat local voices as strategic input, not just delivery channels.

• Enable adaptation, rather than enforcing rigid alignment.

• Build flexibility in as a feature, not a flaw.

We saw the impact in case studies where complexity was brought into order without sacrificing cultural nuance and where global consistency was matched with local credibility.

The hidden cost: people under pressure

Behind the models and frameworks lies a more human reality: overwork, emotional labour and quiet exhaustion.

International roles often span time zones, cultures and conflicting expectations. Practitioners are expected to be always-on, always-available and always right. That’s not sustainable. In many cases, it’s already taking a toll.

We heard stories of burnout, professional insecurity, and a lack of recognition, even in teams delivering business-critical outcomes.

For international public relations to remain a viable, sustainable career path, organisations must rethink not just roles, but the systems around them. That means:

• Respecting time zones.

• Investing in wellbeing.

• Recognising emotional labour as part of the job.

• Embedding learning and upskilling into the day-to-day.

Measurement: still the Achilles’ heel

The disconnect between value delivered and value measured came up repeatedly. Most teams are stuck reporting dual metrics: one to reflect real impact, another to feed the dashboard.

For example, stakeholder trust and risk prevention are measured internally, while leadership dashboards still demand media coverage counts or campaign outputs. This mismatch drags on confidence, resourcing and strategic influence.

A better approach combines metrics for a clearer, more credible picture of performance. Crucially, it helps leadership understand what public relations is really achieving: influencing perception, driving behaviour and protecting reputation before risk becomes reality.

Ready for the future, waiting for recognition

The function is ready. That much is clear. What’s lagging is the system, from outdated perceptions to limited reporting frameworks.

We set out in this report to move beyond assumptions. To listen, not just analyseThis essay was originally posted on my Substack. And to surface the real tensions facing international communications leaders.

What we heard was consistent: this is strategic work, delivered under pressure, by people who care deeply about doing it well.

Further reading

This essay was originally posted on my Substack. The newsletter is read by more than 5,000 communications and public relations practitioners twice a week. We take a slower, critical perspective to distilling news, research and industry developments into actionable briefings to help you at work.