On Tuesday 6th November, the fourth edition of the "Proa Communication Observatory" was held. On this occasion, the guest speaker was Joaquín Fernández, former director of the Ministry of Defence with Carme Chacón and current Director of Corporate Communication and International Media Relations at Ferrovial. Joaquín Fernández has developed an extensive career in the most prestigious media around the world (El País, Expansión Magazine or The Wall Street Journal) as well as in the Communication Consultancy Llorente y Cuenca.
In this session of the Observatory, the speaker began his talk by explaining his time at the Ministry of Defence and the strategy they followed to create a narrative in which the Minister and the Army generated a mutual symbiosis. This strategy meant that the Armed Forces became one of the institutions most highly valued by Spaniards, at the same time as the Minister was at the top of the main opinion polls.
At the end of this period, Fernández returned to the world of Corporate Communications by joining Ferrovial, a company with more than 70,000 employees and a growing international presence. Despite being one of the most prominent companies on the international scene, its public profile needs to improve.
When it comes to establishing a relationship with journalists, he emphasises the need to provide information and report the news. In the case of a critical media, Fernández explained that if you argue and provide data, the journalist will reduce the level of rejection towards your company, which does not mean that it disappears, but it does mean that it is reduced. In this way, the background of the article will always be positive, as long as the news allows it. He also commented that in other countries, journalists do not accept a meeting if there is nothing to report. He took advantage of this point to point out that in Spain, companies are not very proactive in communication, although this is an aspect that is gradually improving.
Joaquín Fernández did not want to overlook the delicate situation of the media in our country. He highlighted the loss of great names in journalism, "replaced by people with little experience. We have an excessively ideological journalism, compared to the greater objectivity of the international media, which are not so polarised.
Finally, and in the debate on the future of print, Fernández wanted to make it clear that today the written press has more credibility and transmits a confidence that online media are not yet capable of generating. He also stressed that the most important thing is a good brand backed by the media's track record.
Proa Communication Observatoryis a discussion forum for analysing new ideas and trends in the field of corporate communication. The Proa Observatory was created with the vocation of being a laboratory of ideas where a genuine dialogue is fostered to debate and analyse, among other issues: corporate reputation, brand and public affairs as key elements in business improvement.