Resilience, engagement, networking, storytelling, ESG, web3 and leadership; These have been the most searched, commented, analysed, developed and discussed words during 2022 in relation to the exciting world of communication, that great catch-all word that is so often used and that, in so many other ways, we pervert;
It’s been a fun year, I’ll say that; And not because it has not been free of difficulties, hardness, intensity, threats… but because it has not allowed us to stop or stop learning; At this stage of my professional (and also personal) life, to continue learning and having fun with what you do and what you are involved in, seems to me a luxury;
I have asked our friends, the intelligent but artificial ones, to tell me what they think are the barriers we have been working with this year and the challenges for the coming year; And, it turns out that for these girls, the past and the future are similar; This we are told: “the fragmentation of the media landscape, making it difficult to reach target audiences with traditional methods such as advertising; the increasing use of social media and other digital platforms by consumers, requiring communications and PR professionals to be more innovative in their approach; and a shortage of talent, as there are not enough qualified professionals to meet demand”;
Grammatically correct, I think this approximation could be an approximation for last year, for this year, for two years from now… Although it can serve as a reference, that is not what I was looking for; I wanted enlightenment and this, I’m afraid, comes from our experience, our work, our research, our practice… That AI is here to stay, there is no doubt about it; But it is firmly linked to two coordinates that we must not lose sight of:
- The danger of content by weight: quality versus quantity? And what will make us able to distinguish the true origin of a content?
- Will it mean the disappearance of content creators (read writers, journalists, bloggers, editors, designers, artists…) I’ll leave it there and go back to the subject of this last post of the year: perspectives of communication 2023;
Communication challenges in 2023
1.- Uses of technology
To continue to deepen in identifying how all these new tools are transforming the practice of our profession; and, as a by-product, whether we professionals will be prepared to face the multiple challenges;
With regard to the use of artificial intelligence, I think it explains it perfectly calvoconbarba in his last post. Beyond the coordinates outlined above, we will see how it can change the way we interact with information and how it will affect our decision making; I worry about whether we will be able to tell when we are being sold a bill of goods; We will have to be more awake than ever and never stop learning;
2.- Sustainability, transparency and accountability
Can these words be more beautiful? Brands are (or should be) striving to communicate more clearly and transparently their commitment to ESG in the broadest sense of the word, not only in their speeches but also in their actions; Consistency is going to be closely monitored. The Global Alliance’s annual report explicitly states: “Knowing how to detect, analyse and counteract these unethical techniques has become key to maintaining trust and reputation in the long term. Trust and reputation are strategic issues for companies; Ethics must always be at the heart of our actions: integrity, objectivity, honesty; ESG criteria are here to stay and it will be the territory of communication to ensure their identification, performance and transmission;
3.- Data, data, data
Increasingly, communications work requires a deep understanding of data to demonstrate its true impact; Professionals will have to know how to interpret them appropriately and to make the most of them in an efficient and effective way; With data, possibly, we will be able to demonstrate the value of intangibles whose management depends directly on our work and which is not always sufficiently valued; Just look at the communication and marketing budgets; There is much to be done here and the work of associations such as ADC is going to be essential;
4.- Innovation and creativity
Our ability to imagine, to create narratives that capture the dialogue between technology and creation, adapting the content to the logic of the digital but without losing the essence of humanism, will be fundamental to break the limits and self-imposed rules; But “The challenge of innovation in the sector remains enormous.” and requires a change of beliefs; Are we prepared? Are we ready?
5.- Real-time communication
Agility; Everything is moving too fast; Although, as Mario Tascón (Prodigioso Volcán) in the latest episode of El elefante verde, “Thinking requires stopping. If you don’t stop, you don’t think”, companies must become more agile and be prepared to respond to social, technological and economic changes in a fast and at the same time effective way;
I could go on and on, but I think that with five references we can mark the challenges on which we should not lose focus in the year that is about to start;
From comma, with all the passion for communication that characterises us, we wish you a good end of 2022 and a powerful energetic charge to put the power of conscious communication at the service of people and the space we inhabit during 2023;
