MILAN (ITALPRESS) – “Communication is increasingly strategic, integrated, adaptive and technological.” So says Alessandro Vanoni, Brand & Communications Director of EY Italy, interviewed by Claudio Brachino for the TV magazine Italpress Economy. The focus of the interview was the third edition of the “Communication Leaders” survey conducted by EY in collaboration with SWG. Communication is “strategic, because almost 90 percent of managers see the function becoming increasingly important within the company,” Vanoni explained, “especially to position it and to manage reputation. Integrated because it works more and better with business functions (and this is not a given). Adaptive because it is able to change plans, adapt and adjust to the external and internal context much faster than before: 90 percent of respondents said they change plans throughout the year and not necessarily once a year, but also once a month or quarterly. Technological because even compared to last year, there is an increased awareness of artificial intelligence no longer just as an opportunity, but a necessary traveling companion to be more efficient, but also to start creating value. “For Vanoni, “technology influences and triggers transformation, even in communication,” which “is one of the disciplines where there is greater possibility and potential for change, and secondly, it is one of those areas where transformation is actually happening. Almost half of the sample we surveyed are even enthusiastic about the possibility of artificial intelligence with respect to communication, especially within medium and large companies,” which “are the ones that have been able to equip themselves with evolved communication functions that are able to take advantage of the best of technology and of course also the best of internal resources.” From this point of view, he explains, “trust is a very important issue: last year we were seeing a lot of interest from managers, but with some wait-and-see: yes, it is an interesting technology, but to be understood. Instead, within 12 months we see how functions have implemented very strongly and have already succeeded in making a number of initiatives more efficient, from the ability to use AI in the more day-to-day activities of communication (press releases, press reviews, and briefs) to the more creative activities. “In EY, “the brand marketing and communications function implements AI very strongly. In the last year we have dedicated ourselves to very strong training in the subject, because it is clear that we should not confuse what seems accessible to us with the right way then to use it: AI is intuitive, but then there has to be expertise to use it. We have worked a lot on being able to find areas of efficiency to do the same activities in less time, which allows us to invest in doing more of them,” he stressed. “It is clear that we live in a time when staying relevant in the market is an increasingly complex exercise. We come from times where the communication plan before was almost an untouchable treaty that was unchanging throughout the year: to change it meant we had done bad planning. Today we have overcome that belief; the communication plan is a project exercise, with annotations, changes and opportunities. It is inevitable that if we want to support companies in transformation, we have to be the first to transform.” Therefore, “we adapt our communication strategy to the big issues in society: artificial intelligence, technology, sustainability, the energy issue.” Integrated communication “is communication that can listen, dialogue, and then create value: it is an increasingly present theme” and “should not be taken for granted: we come from a world where communication was in the ivory tower, adding aesthetic value or embellishing things. Clearly this requires a shot in the arm from communication professionals.” Reputation “for us is everything, but it is fundamental for every professional who deals with these issues.” For Vanoni, “in a very crowded world, knowing how to stand out and communicate well makes all the difference. Greater social and economic complexity does not mean that communication has to be more complicated,” only “more sophisticated.” This means “using all methods ranging from human skills to relationships to artificial intelligence: this is the only way to add value, it is an opportunity that cannot be missed.”
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