The vast majority of the professional disciplines that make up the global economy have been affected in one way or another by the emergence of the Internet and its development, progressively bursting in and transforming our day-to-day work. But if there is one profession that is especially immersed in an authentic revolution, motivated by innovation and the technological development behind it, it is the one practiced by communication professionals. Our increasingly sophisticated skills are advancing – or must advance – in accordance with our relationship with the increasingly complex environment of organizations that we must be able to manage effectively and, above all, immediately. Blockchain, artificial intelligence, bots, smart data, business intelligence, augmented reality, hypersegmentation, millenials, generation Z… are concepts that have become entrenched in our daily lives and from which corporate communication, as a strategic management tool for organizations, must be nourished in order to contribute to the achievement of business objectives.
These new terms are firmly grounded in the daily reality of the practice of communication and have been developed after the application of innovation. Thanks to innovation, we have a communication ecosystem at our disposal; however, it is neither sufficiently known by all dircoms nor properly used.
Innovation has made us witnesses to a revolution that has marked the passage from one era to the next in less than twenty-five years, and its alignment with communication is so great that one without the other cannot be conceived.
Both concepts give rise to two lines of work, independent but complementary, within our field: communicating innovation and innovating communication. The first would be defined as the application of the set of strategic communication techniques to the adoption of innovation in the organization, in its products, services, processes, in short, in its culture. On the other hand, to innovate communication is to apply new ideas, concepts and practices to communication as a business strategy with the intention of helping to increase its productivity.
Strategic axis and backbone
It is unquestionable that innovation is a priority so that companies no longer increase their competitiveness, but can simply survive in the market, in an increasingly global society that faces other unimaginable challenges. But if it is not accompanied by an adequate communication policy, the achievement of its objectives is questioned. Communication must be part of innovation from the origination point in the organization. A true innovative entity will bet on communication as its strategic axis and backbone, in order to direct relations with an increasingly demanding environment.
And vice versa, if we do not innovate in communication or if communication innovation is not absorbed by professionals, we will miss an endless number of opportunities to strengthen our discipline, as a priority in companies´ decision-making bodies. We will lose effectiveness in our contribution to achieving business objectives.
Marta Muñoz Fernández, Director of Communication of the Federación Española de Centros Tecnológicos, Fedit and member of the Innovation Committee of Dircom, Asociación de Directivos de Comunicación