Wars, elections, energy and other transitions, threatening monopolies from Big Tech…
These are complex, uncertain times for companies, with major upheavals that are difficult to get a grip on. These create challenges in communications. How can CEOs and corporate communication teams safely navigate their personal reputations and those of their companies through the turbulence?
The big corporate communication challenges for 2025 for European companies
Regulation
An avalanche of regulations has been coming at us for some time, from sustainability policies (CSRD), GDPR, to cyber and mobility plans. There are many and they are constantly changing. All these ‘compliance’ goals take up a lot of time of internal teams, to the detriment of innovation and entrepreneurship.
If your communication team has to spend all their time on compliance projects, your ESG report, … how much time is left for brand building? How are you going to make a difference if everyone is sharing the same kind of (mandatory) communication?
Speed
PFAS, nitrogen, toxic leadership… Issues that didn’t worry anyone 10 years ago have suddenly become hot topics. Our tolerance for certain situations or behaviours is shifting. This is generally a good thing, but it does pose a challenge for companies, because one generation is not the other, or one stakeholder reacts more sensitively to an issue than another.
What is particularly striking in this regard is the speed at which these new phenomena are coming. It is becoming harder and harder for companies to keep a finger on the pulse and constantly pick up on new issues and changing sensitivities. Communication about them must be faster and faster: while you are still fully investigating everything, stakeholders expect you to have a substantiated response ready.
Fake news
This speed creates a dangerous breeding ground for fake news and disinformation. After all, when new phenomena emerge, we often don’t know a lot about them, so it becomes particularly easy to misguide the general public.
Think of the misinformation surrounding health issues around 5G or the Covid vaccines; we see similar phenomena today around PFAS. Communicating proactively about what we as a society do and do not know, and what you are doing as an organisation to mitigate health and environmental impacts, for example, is crucial (see our FINN blog on how to deal with fake news and disinformation).
Backlash
A Financial Times columnist summed up 2024 in one word: ‘greenlash’ – the backlash against green policies. Whereas in previous years both governments and companies showed great faith in tackling climate change, they are gradually pulling back – along with their ambitions. More pleas for a different balance are emerging, asking for more focus on competitiveness, affordability, etc. One of the defining moments in 2024 was the Antwerp Declaration for a European Industrial Deal, in which key industry players argued for more focus on the competitiveness of the European industry.
This backlash trend has an impact on a lot of phenomena: besides backlash against green policies, there is also backlash against diversity, against tech,… Everything that used to offer an angle to talk about ‘good news’ suddenly seems to have become suspect. Companies will have to look for other positive stories as a capstone for their communications.
So what position should you take as CEO and organisation? Do you stick to your principles of the past, or do you go with the (new) flow? Should you take a position at all?
Polarisation
Although this phenomenon is mainly political, organisations are not immune to it. Companies – certainly Belgian and European ones – want to be anything but political. But lately, they have at times been forced to speak out and take a stand (or face the criticism that they lack backbone). The Israel-Gaza conflict has been a divisive issue for many universities, but polarisation equally arises around climate issues, as with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. After all, how fast do you want to go in your emissions reduction and does that outweigh economic interests?
Geopolitics
Russia, the US, Israel, China,…: the number of (trade) conflicts is rising sharply. Legitimate trading partners today may suddenly no longer be so tomorrow, and things can go from ‘right’ to ‘wrong’ very quickly.
This makes for difficult decisions in which companies have to weigh up various factors: the continuity of the business, the fate of local employees, the company’s reputation, etc. The interests of internal stakeholders are sometimes diametrically opposed to those of external stakeholders.
Solutions: how can companies use their communications to arm themselves against the major challenges of our time?
Know what you want to say and stick to it
In the current context where situations can radically shift from one day to another, the importance of strategic communication cannot be underestimated. So spend the necessary time on the strategic, long-term messages you want to share.
Where it used to be important as a corporate communication department to show that you were on top of trends, the challenge in the coming years will be how to remain yourself in this storm of trends and tendencies. So try not to be too trendy: don’t change like a whirlwind when new events or trends occur. It is much more important to know what you stand for and to stick to it.
“Purpose might have lost its lustre – but knowing which values you consider worth speaking up for, will be more important than ever”
Kristien Vermoesen
We notice that ‘purpose’ has lost importance among CEOs and companies compared to a few years ago. The focus is now more on business performance, which makes sense in economically challenging times. But don’t forget that your values remain an important compass for internal stakeholders. They are still an important target group for achieving success with your organisation. So when making decisions, positions and messages, don’t forget your core: your values and your culture.
Make sure you reach your target audience (including on X?)
Having a good idea of your target audiences’ “media diet” gives you a step ahead. Where are our stakeholders? How do they consume media? Make sure you are active on all channels and platforms where your stakeholders are present.
That’s the short, simple answer. Indeed, many CEOs and companies today struggle with the choice of those channels. Should you stay on Twitter/X now that its founder is increasingly using the platform to engage politically (including in the EU) and actively engage in disinformation? Do you stay on Facebook and Instagram now that the big tech companies are jettisoning their diversity policies?
Decisions in this area are sometimes made ‘from the gut’, but it is important to start from the facts:
- How many (active) followers does your organisation have on which platform? What is the engagement rate? What trends do you see in your follower base?
- Evaluate whether your target audience itself is migrating, and if so, to which platforms? Is that Bluesky, Threads, Linkedin…?
- You may choose to ‘walk the talk’. Depending on how important certain values are to your business (democracy, diversity and inclusion,…), you may decide to pave your own way to alternative platforms.
- Consider managing risk when taking your decision: it can be useful to keep your account or handle on a platform without necessarily being active there. This way you can still react quickly the moment you are attacked.
- Rather than an extreme ‘yes’ or ‘no’, the solution may lie in finding the right balance, e.g. keeping the handle on certain platforms, but publishing less frequently on them, exploring alternatives or no longer buying advertising space there.
What is the CEO’s role in communication?
Consistency
In today’s volatile world, it is crucial that the CEO sets the tone. Stakeholders, both internal employees but also potential recruits, customers, bankers, investors look to the CEO to form an image of the company. He or she is the embodiment of the organisation’s values and culture, and should live up to that in every speech, every message, every post.
Internal leadership remains important: as CEO, your role is to provide guidance on the company’s values and points of view. In doing so, act from principles and facts, and try to stay away from partisanship and (rigid) opinions.
Finding common ground
Maintaining relationships with key stakeholders is an important task for the CEO – even and especially if they hold opposing views. After all, good relationships make you less likely to falter in the face of attacks or crises.
How can you still find common ground between what your stakeholders expect and what your organisation can offer? And between the sometimes divergent expectations of different stakeholders? That is the balancing act the CEO faces.
That also means: being visible, finding regular communication moments, be it on social media, in traditional media, or at events.
How can the communications team help with this?
Listen, but don’t jump on every bandwagon
As a communications team or professional, keep a finger on the pulse of the social debate. Inform your CEO, but above all bring clarity to him or her in the fog of events and opinions. In volatile times like today, it will be less about being a trend watcher (‘Where should we be?’) and more about being a strategic sounding board (“How do we stay on track? How do we keep our reputation intact through this storm(s)?”)
Advise
Come up with your own advice on what the organisation needs to do. What platforms should we maintain a presence on? Who are the key stakeholders and where are they? What is our strategy? Don’t lose sight of the long-term goal in day-to-day management. Dare to challenge your CEO and go beyond the echo chamber effect.
Plan, measure and learn
Get things done. Keep track of whether your communication is catching on. Measure and adjust where necessary.
The above theme was discussed in a Trends Talk with FINN managing partner Kristien Vermoesen. The recording can be viewed here (interview in Dutch).