What has been the most significant change in consumer behavior in the last ten years, and how has that impacted the way you think about marketing and communications?
From my perspective, the COVID-19 pandemic has driven the most significant change in consumer behavior over the last decade. It forced retailers to find new ways to serve consumers during lockdowns and social distancing, consumers to seek safe ways to buy what they needed, and suppliers to manage inventory challenges.
The pandemic also posed unprecedented issues for communicators. Company leaders had to quickly pivot their strategies, ensure business continuity and instill confidence in their rightfully anxious (and potentially newly-remote) workforce. Managers had to address difficult questions with little information and keep their employees engaged and productive. Employees needed to continue to do their jobs while quickly adjusting to new ways of working and managing their personal lives. And behind all of this were the communications teams essential to addressing this new reality.
Suddenly, the demands on communicators were greater than ever. Communications channels that were once reliable, like digital screens in offices, became significantly less effective with corporate employees working from home. Filming videos, conducting broadcast interviews and producing live, in-person events like town halls became extremely difficult.
My team at the time, like many others, quickly rose to the challenge. We learned to leverage “new” tools like Teams and Zoom to host executive town halls virtually and to produce our internal podcast and participate in broadcast media interviews when being in the studio wasn’t possible. We leaned on our employee mobile app, previously a channel complementary to traditional methods, as our primary means of sharing information; we drove engagement and connection with user-generated content. And we traded highly-produced video content for executive “selfie” videos.
Ultimately, many of these methods resonated better with our audiences than our standard approaches. For example, in executive videos, employees loved seeing their leaders in their homes, in sweatshirts, with their families and pets, dealing with the same challenges they were. This humanized our executives in a way we hadn’t previously achieved. The important thing was that our leaders were visible, not that they were wearing suits and being interviewed in a formal setting.
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There are a few lessons and reminders from this period that I believe remain important today; among them:
- Having to do more with less requires teams to think outside the box – this is a good thing. Particularly in light of constricting overhead budgets, we as communications leaders need to move our teams from a “this is the way we always do it” mentality to an entrepreneurial mindset. Necessity is, indeed, the mother of invention.
- Sometimes good is good enough. High-performing teams often strive for perfection. But “scrappy,” creative solutions developed in a 15-minute brainstorm can be just as, if not more, effective than slick, highly produced campaigns and activations that take months to develop.
- In periods of uncertainty, transparent and timely communication is not just important, it’s a business imperative. It is natural to want to wait until we have all the information to send the email or host the town hall, but in a crisis, we don’t have the luxury of time. It’s better to use the “We don’t have all of the answers yet, but we’re committed to communicating with you transparently and regularly” message (and then do that!) than sit in silence. Silence breeds anxiety.
- Employees are not a single audience. The pandemic reminded us that frontline workers have very different needs and concerns from corporate employees. A thoughtful communications strategy includes audience segmentation for the workforce. Meet employees where they are and speak to their unique needs and interests.
I think that one notable outcome of the pandemic (and really all of the events of 2020) is that the role and expectations of communicators have been significantly elevated. Notably, 77 percent of respondents in Edelman’s 2023 Future of Corporate Communications study agreed that their CEO demanded more of them than they had in the previous year, and 66 percent said that the advisory their CEO sought extended well beyond communications to impact business decisions across the enterprise. Leaders who had previously viewed communications as an execution function quickly realized that their communications team could be their greatest asset when viewed as a strategic partner.
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What are the key skills and mindsets that are critical for success at the CCO level?
In my experience, being able to use data and insights to your advantage, the ability to clearly articulate your vision and maintaining a keen external focus are among those skills key to a CCO’s success.
Leveraging data and insights can help define priorities, identify problems, support problem-solving solving and drive continuous improvement. Experience and instinct are important, but the most strategic and successful communicators also use data to guide decision-making.
I think it’s critical that CCOs be able to articulate their vision in a way that fosters understanding, followership and unity. In the absence of clarity, achieving business objectives becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible. Communicators must clearly understand the strategy to know their role in its execution, to feel a sense of ownership in its success and to translate it effectively for their audiences.
By now, we’ve all learned that crisis is inevitable and we have to be prepared. CCOs need to be well-informed on the external landscape to anticipate and prepare for what may be ahead. The traditional media landscape has evolved, and social media has made it easy for (mis)information to spread quickly. You have limited time to control the narrative. CCOs must ensure there is a simple but thoughtful plan in place to respond to issues and crises quickly and consistently.
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What has been the defining moment of your career, and why?
I can’t name a one specific defining moment, but being named Chief Communications Officer by Newell Brands’ former CEO, Ravi Saligram, was incredible validation of the importance of the function and the value we added in driving business results.
For me, that was a major career milestone.
Looking into the future, which fast-moving issues and consumer dynamics will marketing and communications leaders need to be aware of?
It’s probably the obvious answer, but I’d say Artificial Intelligence. I don’t think AI will replace people entirely (at least not in our lifetime), but it will replace those who don’t know how to use it. I was admittedly skeptical and somewhat resistant until recently, but I’ve realized its incredible capabilities and am learning everything I can. For communicators in particular, AI can drive tremendous efficiency and productivity. I think it’s beneficial for manual tasks that can be automated, for example, compiling media monitoring reports and distilling dense information into simple presentations.
The key thing for younger professionals is to understand that AI is a tool, not a crutch. It should be used to enhance work, but it will never replace strategic thinking. And the technology isn’t perfect, so checking for accuracy is critical. The output is a starting point, not the final product.
Cybersecurity is another issue that Chief Communicators will spend a lot of time on. It’s critical that they have a seat at the table and that the companies have a comprehensive response plan in place.
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What one piece of advice would you share with those starting their career in marketing and communications?
My advice would be: Learn. Absorb everything. Ask questions and listen more than you talk. I find that early career professionals often feel the need to prove themselves and demonstrate how much they know, and in many ways, they do. They just often go about it in the wrong way. The best way to show your worth is to demonstrate relentless curiosity, view feedback as an investment in your growth and commit to acting on it and take accountability when appropriate. Acknowledging responsibility is a strength, not a weakness.
My unsolicited advice for people at any level in their work: don’t be so focused on your job that you neglect your career. Be intentional about growing and nurturing your network. Commit to professional development. Make the time. It will benefit you tremendously.
Where to find Beth: