As the communication function at organisations becomes more advanced it draws ever closer to a point that is key for its performance: strategy, i.e. the ability to bring strategic value to an organisation by joining together business-related objectives and results with those related directly to communication itself. Over 2200 specialists from 42 countries clearly understand that reinforcing the communication function means taking on a strategic role at organisations once and for all, especially in regard to the CEO as a company’s top executive. These figures are taken from the 2012 edition of the annual survey conducted by the European Association of Communication Directors, EUPRERA (European Public Relations Education & Research Association and the European magazine Communication Director, with the sponsorship of international PR agency Ketchum-Pleon. This document has been prepared by Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership. It has cited, from among other sources, speeches by Sebastián Cebrián, General Manager of Dircom, Alfonso González Herrero, Head of External Communications at IBM, Ángeles Moreno, tenured lecturer at the Dept. of Communication of the Rey Juan Carlos University , and Tony Noel, President of Ketchum-Pleon in Spain, delivered at the presentation of the study European Communication Monitor 2012, organised by Dircom and Ketchum-Pleon in 2012.

1. Insights
Strategy Documents
I31/2013
Communication
Linking strategy with
communication and
dealing with the digital
world: the two main
purposes of new-style
communication directors
As the communication function at organisations becomes more advanced it
draws ever closer to a point that is key for its performance: strategy, i.e. the ability
to bring strategic value to an organisation by joining together business-related
objectives and results with those related directly to communication itself.
Over 2200 specialists from 42 countries clearly
understand that reinforcing the communication
function means taking on a strategic role at
organisations once and for all, especially in regard
to the CEO as a company’s top executive.
These figures are taken from the 2012 edition
of the annual survey conducted by the European
Association of Communication Directors,
EUPRERA
(European
Public
Relations
Education & Research Association and the
European magazine Communication Director,
with the sponsorship of international PR agency
Ketchum-Pleon.
Indeed, 7 out of 10 communication directors
think that this is already the case, that the
recommendations of communication directors are
listened to carefully and taken into account on
management committees. 72% of communication
directors believe that they are listened to by their
colleagues on executive committees, but 82%
This document has been prepared by Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership. It has cited, from among
other sources, speeches by Sebastián Cebrián, General Manager of Dircom, Alfonso González Herrero, Head of External
Communications at IBM, Ángeles Moreno, tenured lecturer at the Dept. of Communication of the Rey Juan Carlos
University , and Tony Noel, President of Ketchum-Pleon in Spain, delivered at the presentation of the study European
Communication Monitor 2012, organised by Dircom and Ketchum-Pleon in Madrid on July 12, 2012.

2. Linking strategy
with communication
and dealing with
the digital world:
the two main
purposes of new-style
communication
directors
believe it to be essential to continue promoting
and demonstrating knowledge there and
recognition of the strategic role of their function.
75.3% believe that it is therefore necessary to
measure the impact of communication actions on
business results.
Accordingly, CCOs (Chief Communications
Officers) are taking on a significant role at
organisations. Their prime responsibility and remit is
to impact on the strategy of their company and attain
the influence required to act as a bridge to connect
the interests of stakeholders and the shareholders
who represent the company ownership.
“The
communication
director is no
longer merely
a conveyor of
information
and raiser of
awareness: he/
she is now
a translator
of concerns
and a creator
of behaviour
patterns.”
Their function is no longer merely to tell people
outside what happens at their company; they must
translate its approaches for outside audiences and
interpret the concerns of stakeholders for those
within. In other words, the communication
director is no longer merely a conveyor of
information and raiser of awareness: he/she is
now a translator of concerns and a creator of
behaviour patterns.
More competences and responsibilities
Almost half the time that communication
directors devote to their remit is spent aligning
communication with strategy and with the
needs and expectations of stakeholders. Ángeles
Moreno, a tenured lecturer at the Dept. of
Communication of the Rey Juan Carlos University
and a research co-ordinator in Spain, maintains
that the keys to this function lie in studying and
analysing reports, developing plans, drawing up
scenarios and enhancing the company’s legitimate
entitlement to operate and act in the economy
and in society.
Other important tasks include general planning,
the annual budget, effective team management,
assessment and development, the implementation
of processes and strategies and the preparation of
the company’s responses in tackling any situation of
risk or crisis that may arise. A further 37% of their
time is devoted to operational and management
tasks and the remaining 14.7% to training
members of the company itself in communicationrelated matters.
As far as training related to communication
directors themselves is concerned, there is a clear
gap between what they themselves demand –more
training in corporate management, finance and
team management– and what their organisations
offer them, which is more strategic in their specific
field and focused on new forms and new channels
of communication such as the digital world and
social networks.
The unstoppable rise of the digital world
The communication directors interviewed for the
survey believe that in the next three years one of
the most important issues for the communication
function will be the rise of the on-line world, social
networks, digital media and mobile apps. Indeed,
there is a 34.7 point gap in terms of the overall
application of such apps, i.e. the extent to which
they are actually implemented is lagging behind the
importance attributed to them.
This gap between the importance attributed and
Graph 1: Communication management has to catch up in the field of mobile applications
Gap between importance and current implementation of social media tools in communications
-34,7 %
Mobile applications (Apps, Mobile Webs)
Online communities (social networks)
-20,1 %
-19,4 %
Online video
Webblogs
-17,5 %
-15,9 %
Location-based services
Microblogs (e.g. Twitter)
-14,0 %
Social bookmarks
-11,8 %
Wikis
-11,5 %
Slide sharing
-11,1 %
Online audio (e.g. podcasts)
-10,8 %
Mash-ups
Photo sharing
Virtual worlds
-8,6 %
-7,6 %
-5,6 %
Source: European Communication Monitor 2012.
Insights
2
the degree of implementation is perhaps the most

3. Linking strategy
with communication
and dealing with
the digital world:
the two main
purposes of new-style
communication
directors
significant obstacle to be overcome if a policy on
digital matters is to be developed that is useful
to the overall communications strategy and that
provides some guarantee of future success.
There are currently more points of contact between
companies and their stakeholders than ever before
in the history of the function, and communication
needs to respond to this somehow: integration
would appear to be the only way to cover the full
range of channels and communicate efficiently, and
at the same time effectively.
Focus on business ethics
“It is hard
to prove the
worth of the
communication
function if
people know
nothing
about it: it is
essential to
promote and
demonstrate
knowledge and
recognition of
its strategic
role.”
The 2010 study examined the contribution of
communication to the objectives of organisations.
In 2011 the impact of the social media was
incorporated, and the 2012 analysis now includes
the value of transparency and ethics in the field
of communication and business, according to
Alfonso González Herrero, Head of External
Communications at IBM and co-ordinator of the
European Association of Communication Directors
in Spain.
By contrast with what has happened to date, the
problems that are beginning to concern European
communication directors are mostly related to
ethical issues, with matters bordering on behaviour
patterns that are ethically praiseworthy or
approachable, especially in regard to relations with
the public administration and institutions, but also
in matters of digital communication.
Some of the causes lie in the opening up of certain
markets, in globalisation itself, in the rise of new
media such as the digital media and, without
doubt, in the production of codes of conduct and
ethics at organisations that regulate and penalise
certain patterns of behaviour to prevent them
from taking root and ending up by affecting the
reputation and, indeed, the very viability and
survival of companies.
Almost 6 out of 10 (57.6%) communication
directors believe that they currently face more
ethical problems than just five years ago. 77.3% of
them believe that this has to do with compliance
with regulations and rules on transparency, 72.3%
associate it with the sudden expansion of social
networks and 57.4% with the challenges that arise
from operating in countries with different situations
and cultures.
However, only 29% state that they have specifically
used the codes of conduct of their organisations to
tackle and resolve ethical problems, while 51.7%
state that they have not done so. It is among older
and more experienced communication directors
and those who belong to professional organisations
that the use of such codes is most widespread.
31.7% state that the codes of ethics now in force
in the profession are outdated and are neither
useful nor relevant to the problems currently facing
communication directors. Even so, 93.2% believe
that codes are necessary and essential, and feel that
it is professional associations at both the domestic
and international levels that should draw them up
and develop them, or at least their foundations.
Conclusions: the major
challenges still outstanding
In the opinion of Tony Noel, President of KetchumPleon in Spain, there are five challenges that
professional communication directors need to
Graph 2: Despite low utilisation and critical voices, communication professionals clearly
see the need for a code of ethics
Does the communication profession
need a code of ethics?
Which institutions are most eligible to
provide such a code?
National professional
associations
International professional
associations
28,4 %
Organisations
individually
19,8 %
Governmental
institutions
No
6,8 %
29,6 %
10,2 %
Universities and
educational institutions
5,2 %
Source: European Communication Monitor 2012.
Insights
3

4. Linking strategy
with communication
and dealing with
the digital world:
the two main
purposes of new-style
communication
directors
meet in the coming years if they wish to maintain
and extend their competences and influence at
organisational level:
1. Guardianship of ethics: this role needs to be
enhanced by adopting and implementing a
single code of ethics adapted to the actual needs
of the profession.
2. Measuring of results: it is essential to have and
implement common, widely accepted tools
for measuring the value of communication
to organisations in terms of the efficiency of
resource investment, time and money and the
effectiveness of actions taken.
3. Development of networks: it is essential to bridge
the gap that still exists between the importance
attributed to these issues and the amount of
actual resources earmarked for making a success
of them.
4. Internal influence: it is vital for the
communication function and its value in a
company to be known and appreciated in-house
by other management staff and by the workforce
as a whole. It is hard to prove the worth of
something if people know nothing about it.
5. Business negotiation: it is also essential for
communication directors not to be merely
experts in communication (otherwise it would
be difficult to link it with strategy) but also to be
capable of handling other areas such as finance,
administration and team management, like their
fellow members of the management committee.
Insights
4

5. Leading by
reputation
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