The digital future of corporate communications

Corporate comms is evolving faster than ever before. To build a function that’s future-ready and remains relevant needs communications leaders to break down silos, blend strategy with agility, and bring sharp commercial insight to the table. The tools may change (hello AI), but the fundamentals - clear thinking, compelling storytelling, and deep business understanding - matter more than ever.

We recently hosted a panel discussion with Andrew Cocks, Director of Corporate Affairs at Virgin Media O2, and Sophie Timms, External Affairs Director at Kier, joined by other senior communications leaders. There was clear consensus on what it takes to future-proof a corporate comms function. Those who succeed will be the ones who can flex across disciplines, build trust through relevance, and consistently prove the value of communications in driving business outcomes.

Here are our top takeaways from the session:

1. Feeling busy? Perception is reality. The pace of change in corp comms over the last years has been ‘ferocious’, and what’s happened in the last 5 years has matched the previous 20. 

2. All things to all people. Comms needs to be a one-stop shop. The future needs technical specialism but less focus on disciplines of specialism (internal comms, PR, public affairs, sustainability) - you won’t be able to meet the breadth or pace of challenges if you’re siloed. And you need to be able to readily pivot between tactical, strategic and big picture – often in short order.

3. The press release is dead. Well, not really, but many people entering the industry have never written one. Or pitched a journalist. But ignore the craft behind that at your peril - clarity of thought, demonstration of understanding, ability to distil information, and a deep understanding of the strategy - all backed up by data - is what the future needs. 

4. Be commercial. It’s the only way corp comms will get a seat at the top table - AND be listened to. Speak their language - prove the value. Drop the comms speak. Really understand the business and its challenges.

5. Is reading the secret sauce? Building trust (and relevance) with senior stakeholders means being better and more widely read than anyone else - whether that’s TikTok or the FT. It has to be an embedded behaviour throughout the team. 

6. The biggest unlock for corp comms: everyone understanding the business challenge. (And therefore writing better briefs). It’s frequently underestimated how little some members of a corp comms team - and external partners - understand the overall problem and why it needs to be solved. This leads to poor-quality briefs and a rush to plan tactical outputs that don’t deliver good outcomes.

7. Don’t ignore the politics. Politics will always exist. If you don’t get a handle on it, it will hamper future progress. No one except the in-house team can understand, navigate and mitigate this. Do the things only your inhouse team can do.

8. We are still storytellers. It builds trust for both internal and external audiences. Facts and data need to be woven in but we shouldn’t lose the balance of comms - and that’s both emotional and rational. When done right, it can fundamentally change how people interact and view your business or brand (and comms!). 

9. Comms vs Marketing. Who owns the brand? The business does... Ultimately, we have shared missions, shared objectives, but different levers to pull to achieve it. Temporary ‘soft’ structures or ‘centres of excellence’ around topics can be effective at creating a shared purpose without impacting the overall structure. 

10. We were historically ‘scared’ of the impact of spell check. AI may change how we do comms, but it won’t rip everything up. It will raise the bar of what passes as ‘acceptable’ for outputs and deliver more opportunities, just as Google did for the minimum standard of knowledge. But interrogation is needed, and to keep a firm eye on how the human brain can enhance it.