Digital Communication Management via Digital Media-Arenas

Date and Time:
June 19, 2025
12:00 (CEST)

What to expect from the webinar

This webinar marks the launch of the Digital Transformations subseries within the EUPRERAtalks webinar programme. Initiated by Grazia Murtarelli, who leads the Digital Transformation and Public Relations thematic network of EUPRERA, this new subseries explores how digital developments are reshaping communication.

In this first webinar, Mark Badham, Vilma Luoma-aho and Stephen Waddington introduce the novel Digital Media-Arena (DMA) Framework, which outlines 15 digital spaces where organisations, stakeholders, and publics communicate today. The DMA Framework addresses the dilemma over how much control communicators have in today’s digital communication environment. The DMA Framework is a key feature in the new Routledge textbook Digital Communication Management: Theories & Practices for a Global & Volatile World.

The explosion of digitally mediated forms of communication is changing the game for all communicators. Communication power has shifted massively from organisations to the public and stakeholders. Organisations are no longer solely in charge of their brand and messages, and reputations are increasingly at the mercy of stakeholders formed across the 15 DMAs. The DMA Framework reveals (1) where communication can and can’t be controlled, and (2) where communication should prioritise “listening” vs “speaking”.

Speakers

Mark Badham, Leeds Beckett University, UK

Dr. Mark Badham is Senior Lecturer in Public Relations at Leeds Beckett University, UK. His practitioner experience, teaching and research have focused on organisations’ strategic communication in digital environments, particularly through the news media and during crisis events. Mark’s recent research addresses public relations solutions to complex organisational communication challenges presented in digital and social media environments. Prior to joining academia, Mark worked for 20 years as a public relations practitioner for governments, politicians, corporations and not-for-profits in Australia.

Vilma Luoma-aho, School of Business & Economics, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Dr. Vilma Luoma-aho is Professor of Corporate Communication and Vice Dean in charge of Education at the School of Business & Economics, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Luoma-aho has published several books and articles in leading communication journals on digital stakeholders and new forms of influence, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Arthur W. Page Society (New York), an elite community of the world’s leading communicators. Known for her engaging content, she teaches university and executive education programmes in Finland, Norway and Germany, and consults organisations across sectors on meeting the new expectations of digital stakeholders. Her current project, AIDEMOC, funded by the Finnish Research Council’s Strategic Research Funding, focuses on misinformation and the malicious use of AI to harm democracy.

Stephen Waddington, Wadds Inc., UK

Stephen Waddington is founder and managing partner of Wadds Inc., an advisory firm for creative agencies and communication teams. He built an agency during the 90s supporting internet infrastructure companies, and later scaled one of the first agencies to integrate paid, earned, and social media. He was most recently Chief Engagement Officer at Ketchum, leading global digital and social media initiatives. His clients have included Amazon, ARM, BMW, The Economist, Microsoft, NHS, Salesforce, and Virgin Media Business. He has written and edited ten books, including Exploring Public Relations and Management Communication. A former CIPR President and Honorary Fellow, Stephen helped establish its AI in PR panel in 2018. The panel has since published key practitioner guidelines. In 2020, he co-founded Socially Mobile, a CIC offering management training to under-represented and lower-income PR professionals across the UK. Stephen is also a PhD researcher at Leeds Business School, exploring the relationship between public relations and management.

Moderator: Grazia Murtarelli, IULM University, Italy

Grazia Murtarelli, PhD, is Associate Professor of Corporate Communication at IULM University, and has coordinated the Master’s in Strategic Communication since 2024. Her research focuses on digital communication, corporate PR, and strategic communication, with a focus on digital transformation, AI, and corporate reputation. She has held visiting positions at the University of Huddersfield and Leeds Beckett University, contributing to projects on AI ethics and organisational legitimacy. She teaches Digital Communication Management and Public Relations at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with emphasis on AI-powered communication and data-driven storytelling. She also lectures at the International University of Monaco in luxury management. Beyond academia, she advises organisations on social media governance, API-based intelligence, sentiment analysis, and digital positioning. Her work is published in leading journals and has received awards for contributions to AI ethics and digital reputation. She is an active member of professional associations including EUPRERA (where she leads the Digital Transformation and Public Relations thematic network), ICA, SIM, and SIMA.

Publications about the DMA:

Badham, M. & Luoma-aho, V. (forthcoming 2025). Digital Communication Management: Theories and Practices for a Global and Volatile World. Routledge.

Luoma-aho, V. & Badham, M. (2025). Future roles for communicators in digital media-arenas: Boxturners and global diplomats. Corporate Communication Review, 1(1), 31–39. https://doi.org/10.63904/ccr.v1i1.9

Badham, M., Luoma-aho, V., & Valentini, C. (2024). A revised digital media–arena framework guiding strategic communication in digital environments. Journal of Communication Management. 28(2), 226-246. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-03-2023-0031

Badham, M., Luoma-aho, V., Valentini, C. & Körkkö, L. (2022). Digital Strategic Communication through Digital Media-Arenas. In Falkheimer, J. & Heide, M. (Eds.). Research Handbook of Strategic Communication, Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800379893.00035

Stephen Waddington’s LinkedIn post

Duration

1 hour