The managing partner of PROA Comunicación, Lucía Casanueva, responds in this interview in Influencers on the new challenges of communication, which must always be managed by professionals.
Lucía Casanueva, managing partner of PROA Comunicación, is one of Spain's most experienced voices in the field of communication auditing. As a journalist and as a businesswoman. In a sector accustomed to putting experience to one side, she and the team at PROA Communication They lead a ship in which veteran experience is a degree, and an index of confidence that makes the consultancy firm one of the top rising stars in a sea full of ships and waves.
In its backgroundHe has more than twenty years of professional experience in Spain, Germany and the UK, with stops in leading multinationals in the sector, such as LLYC, Kreab and Edelman. In 2009 he founded PROA Comunicación and in 2015 he joined forces with Valvanuz Serna "with the conviction that there was room in the market for a new standard of high-performance communications consultancy, based on rigour, excellence and discretion". And there was.
Today PROA inaugurates its new Madrid headquarters in Montalbán street: "a strategic reinforcement whose objective is to promote a new stage of growth". During the event, the journalist José Antonio Zarzalejos will present the report The new business communication and marketing in post-pandemic times.
We take advantage of the occasion of the new roof to talk about the floor of this veteran journalist and businesswoman, a regular in this country's communication forums.
"TODAY, MORE THAN EVER, OUR JOB IS TO AVOID THE NOISE AND FOCUS ON WHAT IS IMPORTANT.
After more than two decades working in leading companies in the field of corporate communication, is communication now more or less important in this liquid society?
Communication is more important than ever. We live in a bit of a daze with huge amounts of information, or rather 'infoxication'. Our brains cannot digest so many visual and written impacts. At PROA we tell our clients that "we help them navigate in an uncertain sea". Those of us in the business of communication consultancy for companies and institutions in different sectors must make a special effort to return to excellence; that is: write well in order to speak better. We must have clarity of ideas, be concise, coherent, seek simplicity and always focus on what is relevant. Today, more than ever, our job is to avoid the noise and focus on what is important.
What are the hallmarks of effective communication, now that everything is constantly changing?
I follow a maxim of the writer, essayist and journalist Eugenio d'OrsBetween two explanations, choose the clearest; between two forms, the most elementary; between two expressions, the shortest". This helps to make an impact with our message when we communicate.
"WE WANT TO HAVE A PROFOUND, POSITIVE AND LASTING IMPACT ON PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES THROUGH EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION WHILE MAINTAINING A SPIRIT OF SERVICE.
Your professional career has grown in parallel to the intense transformation of global communication. What has remained and what has changed in the DNA of your professional practice in these twenty years?
I have been in business for a few years now, thirteen of them as an entrepreneur. I have made many mistakes. First of all, I have had to change the way I understand the company, and also the partners on the journey, the methodology, the processes and part of the team, until I found the key to a high quality communication consultancy model in which we are facilitators of excellence.
Today, PROA competes on a level playing field with the big consulting firms in the Spanish market after a tough exercise of introspection and change. In 2015 I had to turn everything upside down and, to a certain extent, re-found the company. Falling down and getting up is painful and educational in equal parts. What has remained? The illusion, the rebelliousness and the courage to move the company forward have remained, as well as the passion for communication, for people and for journalism. The entire PROA team firmly believes that things can be done better. We want to have a profound, positive and lasting impact on people and companies through excellent communication while maintaining a spirit of service.
How do you see the media landscape, corporate communications, the media and the media? fake newsThe post-truth, the lack of real transparency, the public's distrust of official voices...?
I believe in a profitable news business that is independent of banks or companies that restrict freedom of information. At this time, we need a strong, independent and free media in the face of the hurtful threat of social networks, which bypass journalistic intermediation by creating states of opinion that act as a breeding ground for the fake newsalternative versions and conspiracy theories. Public opinion needs a media that guarantees that opinion is distinct from journalism, and whose purpose is to inform and educate.
Does communication in general need an image campaign for citizens to regain the trust of a fundamental pillar of our democracy?
Yes, communication needs its own communication campaign to make the case for what is being done and why it is needed.
Your professional achievements include managing the crisis communication of the train accident in Santiago de Compostela in 2013; advising on OHL's entry into Inmobiliaria Colonial; the communication strategy of the Room Mate hotel chain until it became one of the most important companies in the sector. love Brand and corporate and operational advice to clients such as Lacoste, Artá Capital, Mercapital... Knowing that each brand, each institution and each company is different, what have you learned as a professional from each case? Now that multimedia is more highly valued than the multiexperienceWhat indelible traces have they left on the way you work?
In these intense years, I have learned that each client is a world with very specific problems or challenges that need to be addressed individually. I have also learned that it is essential to make a good diagnosis of the case in order to apply the appropriate methodology. I still believe that the most important thing is to be accurate in the diagnosis in order to apply the strategy that will lead to success in each operation. Being 'multimedia' is not the most important thing. Dissemination channels are changing. They become more sophisticated or languish incessantly. The essential thing is always a good narrative: a coherent and consistent story that is properly transmitted through the different channels.
Crisis communication has become the most real threat in this hyperactive society. Anything can unleash a tsunami in a short period of time. Why is it that PROA relies on mature talent and experience as a guarantee of success in these crises?
In the field of crisis communication, experience and self-judgment are essential: own case management. Here, in addition to an accurate diagnosis, immediacy of response is key. When it comes to advising the owner, CEO or president of a company, it is essential to provide reliability, trust and experience, and this requires years of professional practice with accumulated success stories in similar situations. That said, we believe in senior talent complemented by the fresh vision of youth. This combination brings us very good results.
"IN THE FIELD OF CRISIS COMMUNICATION, EXPERIENCE AND SELF-JUDGMENT IS ESSENTIAL: OWN CASE MANAGEMENT".
What mature lessons about communication that are not learned in faculties are important for future professionals to know?
I think it is very important to apply common sense and honesty to the resolution of the different challenges that arise. The faculty helps us to furnish our heads, but the practice of the profession allows us to apply what we have learnt and to contribute our own particular way of doing things. I would also like to convey to future professionals that learning is something permanent that we must exercise all our lives. Keeping ourselves constantly up to date and keeping our curiosity intact is one of the most important things we can do. skill fundamental. Books do not close at graduation. Learning is hungry as long as we are alive.
What profile should a person who wants to build a career in the corporate communications sector have?
I recommend working in the media before moving into the communications consultancy sector. The person who wants to work successfully in this field must be curious, speak and write well, have digital skills and the ability to approach very different business registers. International experience is always highly desirable.
Some companies, institutions, brands, etc. still believe that investing in communication is a luxury. To what extent does it pay off, in your experience, to professionalise communication, even for the economic efficiency of these companies?
We live in times of great instability and the greater the uncertainty, the greater the need to manage intangibles. I prefer to talk about intangibles and reputation. Companies are living in times of constant change - geopolitical context, digital challenge... -. Communication is increasingly complex and needs to be left in the hands of professionals. We tend to speak of the 'conductor of intangible assets' who 'manages conversations, listens to different stakeholders and identifies social trends'. Companies now need to develop empathetic communication and this requires investment.
Can externalising communication help to be more objective, more direct and less conservative?
Yes. Outsourcing communication with a well-trained senior team facilitates a better diagnosis of what is going on. As I said, it also helps to identify trends and broaden the radius of the conversation. One of the advantages of hiring the services of a communications consultancy firm is to be enriched by a multidisciplinary team of consultants who invite you to open your eyes to society and to the company.
In 2009 you launched PROA Comunicación. Almost fourteen years later, how have you managed to be at the forefront of such a competitive sector?
Working hard and doing a permanent exercise of introspection to change what doesn't work and build on what makes us better. It is not easy to be an entrepreneur. There are hard times along the way, but the effort is worth it. We have come this far because we have surrounded ourselves with the best possible team. We are dedicated to professional services and here the key is the human factor.
What are your goals for the coming years?
We have an ambitious growth plan. We want to continue to grow by 30% per year. We are now in the TOP 50 of the main communication consultancies in Spain. We want to be in the TOP 30. Another important challenge is to achieve greater awareness of the PROA brand through the projects developed for clients and to become better known to the general public.
Why should anyone hire your services in such a competitive environment?
Because at PROA the team that sells the project is the team that executes the project. We put senior professionals in the execution of projects, and not just in sales. The big consultancy firms in the market tend to use interns for execution. I believe that the quality of service and the fees charged are unbeatable in our case.
"AT PROA WE PUT SENIOR PROFESSIONALS IN THE EXECUTION OF PROJECTS, AND NOT JUST IN SALES. THE BIG CONSULTING FIRMS IN THE MARKET TEND TO USE INTERNS FOR EXECUTION".