The NRF Retail Communicators’ Network convened for the annual fall meeting in New York City.
The NRF Retail Communicators’ Network held its annual meeting in New York City this fall to talk about the most impactful issues facing the industry and communications professionals. We convened 25 senior retail communications professionals to learn from subject matter experts — and one another — and stay ahead of the curve.
The NRF Retail Communicators’ Network brings together communications, public relations and investor relations professionals within NRF retail member companies to discuss current and emerging issues facing the industry.
The program covered five key topics:
Combating false and misleading narratives
As retailers are expected to take a position on divisive social, political and financial issues, they face a growing list of motivated critics. Preston Golson, director at Brunswick Group, and Lisa Kaplan, founder and CEO at Alethea, shared how communicators can better understand misinformation, disinformation and mal-information threats and deploy compelling and values-laden counternarratives that build reputational resilience.
The 2024 election season
Bill Knapp, partner at research and public affairs firm SKDK, provided an overview of today’s political landscape, including current polling and expected outcomes for the presidential and congressional races. Knapp detailed how retailers can build reputational strength by knowing their customers, living their values and backing up their claims.
Retail economic and consumer outlook
Mark Mathews, executive director of research at NRF, presented an economic outlook for the U.S. consumer, demonstrating that consumers are on solid footing heading into the holiday season. Mathews also shared data debunking the “greedflation” narrative, showing that gross margins and profit margins for retailers have remained flat over the past eight years.
Cultural trends
Abraham Espinosa, senior vice president and executive director of strategy at Golin, walked communicators through changes in the cultural trend landscape, including how generations are evolving, how consumers are navigating their personal finances, the attitude consumers use to embrace today’s world, how pop culture is being deconstructed by multiple content formats, and what all these variables mean to the retail experience.
Media landscape
Daniella Genovese, reporter at Fox Business, shed light on the trends and stories she’s tracking for the 2024 holiday season, tips for working with the media during busy news cycles, and how retail reporting and the media landscape are constantly evolving.
Learn more about NRF’s Retail Communicators’ Network and request to join here.
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