Corporate communications is continuing to gain a heightened importance within business, informing global and strategic decision making and operations. C-Suite teams are increasingly seeking out the advice of communications professionals for corporate decision-making, with 41% of Chief Communications Officers now reporting directly in to company CEOs. In a year characterised by economic turmoil and geopolitical headwinds, communications advisers have had a significant role but which corporate communications trends are going to shape 2025?
Unlocking the true power of AI within comms
Stepping away from musing on the uses of AI for efficiency (there are too many benefits for PRs to name, from inbox management to research and cross-referencing), AI also opens up new avenues for creative communication. Rather than worrying about AI replacing their functions, 2025 should see comms professionals thinking about how AI can be deployed as a strategic tool, helping to land messaging more effectively and enabling them to focus on delivering influence.
An interesting example is using AI generated avatars to deliver ‘on-message messaging’. This is a powerful build on AI’s use in comms and corporate profiling that extends beyond copy development. It gives comms teams the option of greater control and creativity, or stops a spokesperson shying away from the limelight or, worse, going off script.
It may not be authenticity in its true form – but it is more engaging than a written financial update, and less risky than a CEO struggling to land the right messages.
Trump turning the tides of traditional media
Donald Trump’s election victory has some significant implications for the comms and media landscape, and for this I’ll turn to my colleague Rhys Merrett who recently shared his views with PRWeek:
“Of the many themes to consider, this election has exemplified a bigger point on the continued relevance of mainstream media.
“In the US, it is no secret that partisan media dominates. Clear political learnings drive the agenda of 24 hour news channels. It can be difficult to divide fact from opinion, more so finding an objective channel to form independent opinions.
“It explains why there has been a shift to alternative media which had a clear role to play in the lead-up to this election.
“Podcasts allow for deep, (mostly) unfiltered, organic conversations. Their rise in popularity reflects a general yearning for authenticity, for real conversations that flow naturally, not polished, rehearsed answers that sound good but have little substance.
“There’s still a place for mainstream media—it brings depth, resources, and credibility. But to compete in this new landscape, it’s going to need a major overhaul, one that embraces the power of long-form conversations and unfiltered engagement.”
Turning employees in to brand advocates
It is harder than ever to create brand advocates, let alone keep them for more than five minutes in the social media age. In that context of 24 hour trend cycles, the longevity of advocacy doesn’t always matter too much around a big launch moment, but it does matter in order to sustain long term commercial success.
That’s where internal comms comes in directly alongside external affairs: businesses should turn their comms inwards as well as outwards.
Creating internal advocates has numerous benefits in an uncertain economic and political climate. These range from building positive reputation and word of mouth through to generating stability through employee retention and recruitment gains. This process can be encouraged by open, clear communication – and establishing channels that create dialogue and give employees a voice to be a force for good in their workplace.
Reputational risk also lies within any organisation – especially if there is a gap between the values and principles that a company eschews externally, and how it operates day to day.
The growing importance of paid and owned media
Where reputational issues might be abound, brands are increasingly turning toward owned and paid media channels, and investing pretty heavily (take Airbnb’s ATL campaign and podcast sponsorship series). Here they have more narrative control versus an interrogative editorial approach.
Using ‘sponsored’ and paid media is nothing new – and this doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something to hide, but when communicating on increasingly globally contentious ESG issues we anticipate that more businesses will be exploring options to communicate about their progress, hurdles and their ambitions.
We recently conducted research on how ESG issues are being discussed in the media which you can find in our free eBook here.
If you’d like to discuss how we could help shape your corporate communications strategy in 2025 and beyond, why not get in touch today.