The fragmentation of the media environment, regulatory pressure and the advance of artificial intelligence in the current context mean that corporate communication is reinforcing its role in business decision-making. In this interview we talk to Lucía Casanueva and Valvanuz Serna, co-founders and managing partners of the agency Proa Comunicación (PROA Comunicación) about the strategic value of reputation, the role of influence versus notoriety and how communication management is changing in an environment of permanent conversation.
Proa Comunicación has built a solid reputation in a very competitive environment. What would you say has been the most decisive strategic decision for the agency's growth?
The most decisive decision has been not to grow by volume, but by strategic relevance. We have never been obsessed with size. We are committed to sustained, qualitative growth based on long-term relationships with our clients. In a sector where quantitative growth is associated with strength, we decided to build a firm based on senior talent and direct support to the first level of management, seeking relevance at the decision-making table.
At Proa Comunicación, the correct implementation of the strategy is more important than the definition of the strategy. We prefer to accompany complex decisions, with a qualitative approach, rather than produce massive impacts. This coherence has allowed us to consolidate long-lasting relationships, based on real trust and a direct contribution to our clients' business results.
In a market where communication, marketing and advertising are increasingly intertwined, how do you define the role of a communication agency within the brand ecosystem today?
Today a consultancy firm must be the guarantor of strategic coherence in a radically fragmented environment. It must guard the corporate narrative by aligning it with business, regulation and geopolitical context.
For years, communication was understood as a tool for dissemination: to increase reach, to gain notoriety, to occupy media space. This approach responded to a more linear and less exposed environment. Today, the context is radically different. Business decisions are conditioned by regulatory, geopolitical, social and technological factors. The conversation is ongoing and cross-cutting. And in this context, the risks are saturation, noise and incoherence.
Today, communication must be integrated into the steering committee, anticipating risks, structuring narratives and assessing the environment before acting. it is part of the strategy.
AI is already on the decision-making tables. Is it a real lever of strategic value in communication or does it run the risk of turning brands into narrative commodities?
It is a real lever. But not because it gets the job done faster, but because it is changing the rules of the game. For years we have understood technology as an efficiency tool, but artificial intelligence goes beyond that: it is redefining how information is accessed, how authority is built and how public perception is shaped. It is not just a process improvement; it is a transformation of the environment.
Today many business decisions are conditioned by how AI systems synthesise and prioritise information about a company. This introduces a new dimension: algorithmic reputation. Organisations must no longer just manage what the media or social networks say, but how they are interpreted by conversational environments that automatically structure information.
At Proa Comunicación we have launched PROA AI_Guard, a strategic solution aimed at managing and protecting reputation in generative artificial intelligence environments. In this context, senior talent becomes even more relevant: because the competitive advantage does not lie in producing more information, but in structuring it with judgement and supervision. AI demands more judgement.
Let's talk about needs. What are clients demanding today that wasn't in the conversation before and how is the agency responding to that change?
Influence. Business leaders and brands want to be influential, to create opinion, to lead the conversation. But in this quest, influence is often confused with notoriety, and presence with credibility. Being visible is not the same as being influential.
Our clients are not just looking for media presence. They are looking for real capacity for institutional dialogue, strategic positioning in regulated sectors, credibility with investors and legitimacy with critical stakeholders. They want to influence the conversation that defines their sector, not just react to it.
At Proa Comunicación we understand that true influence comes from prestige and coherence. Consistency between what an organisation says, does and represents. It is not built overnight or bought with campaigns or headlines: it is earned over time, with verifiable facts and with a solid narrative that reflects a strategic vision.
Credibility has become a critical asset for brands. How do you build trust in a context of over-information and widespread mistrust?
With discipline, coherence and rigour. Trust is not built with punctual creativity or with communicative hyperactivity. It is built by aligning discourse, behaviour and business decisions over time.
But trust is also transmitted through those who manage it. At PROA we are well aware that our own reputation is an asset at the service of our clients. Journalists know that when information comes from Proa it is relevant and responds to a strategic logic. This credibility is not improvised; it is the result of years of rigour and respect for informative work. This accumulated trust translates into influence.
We are also constantly engaged in pedagogical work with our clients. Sometimes it means saying no. It means recommending caution, adjusting approaches or explaining that certain shortcuts can erode credibility. It means recommending caution, adjusting approaches or explaining that certain shortcuts can erode credibility. It may be uncomfortable, but trust does not allow for shortcuts. In an information-saturated environment, communicating better is more important than communicating more.
Brands are looking for impact, but also consistency and results. How do you balance creativity, reputation and business in the projects you lead?
Creativity is necessary, but always subordinate to a sound reputational strategy. In environments of high public exposure, every message has institutional, regulatory and economic implications. Communication cannot be separated from business impact.
Our approach is clear: if an action does not protect trust, strengthen strategic positioning or contribute to business objectives, it is meaningless.
In a market obsessed with visibility, are brands underestimating the cost of not being consistent in the medium to long term?
Inconsistency slowly erodes an organisation's reputational capital. It affects investor confidence, the ability to attract and retain talent, the relationship with regulators and the social legitimacy to operate. In an environment where conversation is permanent and digital memory virtually infinite, any dissonance is amplified and archived.
When there is a gap between what a company says and what it does, that gap becomes an argument to third parties: competitors, analysts, activists or regulators. Inconsistency fuels questioning and weakens the ability to influence.
This is why consistency is not just an ethical virtue; it is a competitive advantage. It generates predictability, consolidates trust and builds authority. A coherent organisation is more credible, more stable and more influential.
On the other hand, crises no longer erupt, they leak out. How has issues and crisis management changed in the age of constant conversation?
A crisis used to be an episode. Today it is a process. It often starts with a seemingly minor comment, a partial interpretation or a sectoral conversation that is progressively amplified. There is not always a clear starting point; there is an accumulation of signals.
Moreover, today's environment is much more sophisticated. A crisis is not limited to the immediate media impact. It can trigger regulatory implications, open political debates or affect the perception of investors and talent. It is deeply connected to context.
That is why management can no longer be understood as a one-off response. It must form part of corporate governance. Anticipation is key: understanding the regulatory climate, detecting social sensitivities and analysing how certain decisions can be interpreted in a polarised environment.
Another decisive element is digital memory. Organisations no longer operate in short attention cycles. Past statements, historical decisions and previous positionings are always available. At Proa Comunicación we have developed SafeRep precisely to address this dimension: the management and protection of the digital footprint as an integral part of corporate reputation.
Managing an issue is not about reacting faster than others, but about reacting better. Precisely, judiciously and with a clear long-term vision.
In this sense, reputation has become fragile and volatile. Are brands prepared to manage the conversation when they lose control of the narrative?
Only those who have worked on their internal culture and purpose are ready. It is not about controlling the conversation - that is no longer possible - but about influencing the conversation.
Truly prepared brands are those that have integrated communication into strategic decision making. That have aligned strategy, discourse and behaviour. That have trained their spokespeople, defined clear frameworks for action and worked on internal governance to anticipate scenarios.
Moreover, today's environment is multidimensional: traditional media, social networks, professional communities, regulators, artificial intelligence systems. The conversation does not take place in a single space or under a single logic.
Companies that understand this don't try to dominate the conversation; they build authority within it. And authority, like reputation, is built with consistency.
In recent years, brand communication has gone from being tactical to strategic. When do you feel that you really add value to your customers' decision making?
The true value of a strategy consultancy is not measured in moments of stability, but when the organisation faces complex scenarios: business transformation processes, corporate operations, demanding regulatory environments, institutional conflicts or situations of reputational stress.
In these contexts, communication becomes a management tool. We provide independent analysis, strategic judgement and the capacity for qualified dialogue. We help to anticipate the reputational impact of a decision before implementing it, to organise the narrative and to protect the structural credibility of the organisation.
But there is an even more decisive element: trust. The trust our clients place in us is an essential part of the value we bring. It allows us to work with intellectual honesty, to exercise pedagogy when necessary and to maintain coherent positions under pressure. At critical moments, this relationship of trust becomes a strategic asset.
ROI is an obsession for brand managers. In business terms, what indicators do you consider key to measure the success of a communication strategy beyond visibility or reach?
It is true that for a long time the industry focused on quantitative metrics: number of impacts, reach or advertising equivalents. Today this is clearly insufficient. What is relevant is not how much an organisation is talked about, but how it is positioned and what effect that conversation generates.
The quality of positioning, authority in the sectoral debate, alignment with critical stakeholders and reputational risk reduction matter. It matters whether the company is taken into account in decision-making spaces.
Communication and reputation only make strategic sense if they have an impact on business. That is why the communication strategy must be aligned with the business plan: contribute to strengthening the relationship with investors, facilitate institutional dialogue, reduce regulatory risk, improve competitive positioning or attract key talent.
We measure influence: real capacity to influence strategic perceptions, regulatory frameworks and business decisions.
In a context dominated by data, are we measuring what matters or only what is easy to measure in communication?
As we have discussed above, for years, priority was given to simple quantifiable metrics that were convenient indicators because they provided an immediate sense of activity. However, activity is not always impact.
Today, communication must dialogue with finance, strategy and compliance in the same language as the rest of the organisation. This means building indicators that connect reputation with business and risk. Measuring how the perception of the company evolves among critical stakeholders, how regulatory friction is reduced, how institutional dialogue is strengthened or how the competitive position improves.
Reputation is an intangible asset, but its consequences are very tangible: access to capital, regulatory stability, ability to attract talent, resilience to crises.
If we are not able to translate communication to that level, it loses strategic weight within the organisation. In this sense, a report only makes sense if it improves a business decision.
To close, what role do you want Proa Comunicación to play in the future of the industry and what kind of clients and projects especially motivate you in this new phase?
Our role is to consolidate our position as a reference in strategic reputation and public affairs consultancy in an environment characterised by geopolitical complexity, increasing regulatory pressure and permanent technological transformation.
As we said at the beginning of this interview, we do not aspire to be the largest firm, but one of the strongest and most relevant in the field of strategic influence. Our growth will continue to be sustained, selective and consistent with our model: senior talent involved in execution, rigorous method and long-term relationships based on mutual trust.
We believe that the future of the sector lies in raising professional standards. By integrating communication into business decision-making, by measuring its impact on business and by managing reputation with a long-term vision. We also need to understand that institutional influence and social legitimacy are strategic assets in increasingly regulated economies.
Reputation is a strategic asset that conditions competitiveness, access to finance, regulatory stability and leadership. Managing this asset requires experience, serenity and judgement. And that is the space we want to continue to occupy.
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