Corporate campaigns: communicating the company’s active role in society

Today, the focus of corporate communications has switched from the product to the transmission of the company’s values and mission, enabling businesses to sensitize the public to their areas of interest. But they are also a means of creating value.

Advertising has changed, this is very clear. From TV commercials to social media ads and billboards in the street, it is evident that the focus of advertising has shifted from the commercial aspect to the communication of values, visions and actions to the public. The Harvard Business Review has defined this change as “the new era of conversation”, i.e. the prevalence of corporate communication over product-oriented communications.

This new type of advertising is rooted in the need to revert the focus away from financial aspects and savings, and lead consumers towards more emotional and sensitive terrain. In fact, nowadays businesses tell their own stories, share their values and goals with customers, and ‘go behind the scenes’ to introduce their teams and explain their production processes.

To do this, companies must rethink their communications, prioritizing the development of a trusting relationship with their clientele and employees based on maximum transparency, and transmitting their objectives and values. It is also important for them to listen to their customers, stakeholders and the local community in order to better interpret and communicate the social role of the company, enabling them to then tell their story to the public.

The businesses that are most effective in applying these measures are able to achieve important results. For example, an increase in brand awareness and an improvement in brand reputation. By describing themselves and their goals, companies also become the lead communicators of their own stories, sharing news of their achievements before these are published by others. This enable a positive connection with external actors.?

The association between improved profits and corporate communication emerged from a Cineas-Mediobanca survey in collaboration with Milan Polytechnic: in general, there is a 30% improvement in company profits and a return on investment of +10%.

Another research study carried out in March 2020 by CECOMS of Iulm University, in collaboration with Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid and Leeds Beckett University in the UK, highlights another positive aspect of corporate campaigns. Results are better if the communication emphasizes the history and concrete social actions of the company. The survey of almost 500 millennials shows that for 51% of respondents the corporate campaigns perceived as most effective are those in which the enterprise reiterates its role as an actor and never a spectator of the reality that surrounds it.?

Another interesting finding is that among the strategic challenges of the next few years the priority continues to be the fiduciary agreement (41.6%) which is followed by the management of corporate sustainable development and social responsibility communications (37.5%).

Corporate communications therefore represent an important tool for improving business performance and are crucial not only for communicating but also for helping to bring a company’s mission and vision to fruition.