Ask chief communications officers (CCOs) how they’re feeling, and they’ll tell you it’s a bit like the 2023 Oscar winner: it’s Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.
Perhaps no one understands that better than Eleanor Hawkins, a communications strategist and writer for Axios and author of the popular newsletter Axios Communicators.
We sat down with Eleanor to get her view on the state of play for businesses today, the power of the CEO–CCO partnership, and one (or more) big thing for leaders to keep in mind for 2025. Through it all, we zoomed in, zoomed out, read between the lines, and much more. Following is a lightly edited excerpt of our conversation.
Eleanor, it’s great to have you with us. Can you first tell us how you got here?
I did everything backwards. Before joining the Axios newsroom, I held various communication roles within government, politics, public policy, and media.
- Why it matters: Working in the industry that I now cover has allowed me to report from a place of authority. It also means that I intimately understand and relate to my audience, because I have been in their shoes and had to navigate some of the same challenges.
- Communications is pretty misunderstood, so instead of examining the business of PR, I’ve focused on covering how communication impacts business.
- I often say that you can have the best strategy or the best product, but if no one understands it—i.e., if it’s not communicated effectively—you can’t win. That’s what I dive into each week.
Set the stage: We’re seeing so much change in how organizations engage and connect with stakeholders—disintermediation, new and emerging media and technologies. What’s the state of play for communicators today?
- There’s this belief that companies, brands, or leaders need to be everything, everywhere, all at once, as you said above. Not only is that impossible, it’s not a real strategy.
- Instead, communication teams should figure out which audiences matter most to the success of their business and target them proactively and consistently.
- Everyone should reexamine their stakeholder map and then figure out exactly where you need to go to reach the audiences that will help your business achieve its goals.
- That could mean opting for a semi-obscure podcast or a Substack writer over a mainstream news outlet, or it could mean prioritizing LinkedIn posts over op-eds and newsletters over staff intranets.
- The reality is that there’s a podcast, newsletter, or Reddit thread for everything, which means there are more ways to reach hyper-engaged audiences, but the outreach strategy needs to be clinical and must tie back to the goals or mission of the business.
Zoom in: Increasingly, communications leaders are expanding their remit and becoming strategic advisers to CEOs on a wider array of issues. What’s driving this shift, and how are you seeing CCOs rise to this moment?
- Communications is the sister of leadership, and many executives learned this the hard way in recent years.
- Communication teams also have a unique perch within a company because they are usually seeing across departments and teams while also serving as the liaison to outside stakeholders. Because of this, they are positioned to bring the right people to the decision-making table while also providing important external context.
- Communication professionals are expected to advise on everything from geopolitics to labor issues to TikTok trends. Because of this, we are also seeing more CCOs report directly to the CEO and serve on the executive leadership team than in years past.
- We’re also seeing this rise of the CCO+ role, which means communication teams are absorbing more corporate functions and becoming an important aligning force within the C-suite.
Yes, but: There’s still so much complexity! We call this context collapse as organizations contend with stakeholders with various, at times, competing agendas and seemingly infinite channels to engage. What do you see as the biggest challenges CCOs are facing?
- Increased responsibility in a more complex operating environment, yet resources remain stagnant at best.
Trend watch: What are the biggest trends you saw this year for communicators? And we can’t ask this question without probing deeper into the adoption of gen AI: How are you seeing comms professionals navigate the new era of gen AI?
- The three big communications trends in 2024 were/are:
- Audience fragmentation, the politicization of everything, and AI adoption.
- Here are some ways I’ve seen communicators integrate AI tools into their work:
- Content creation. To which I say, duh!
- Teams are using generative AI to draft press releases, pitches, social media posts, or talking points.
- It’s also helping teams iterate their content or “create once, repurpose everywhere”—a phrase coined by UPS president of global communications Deisha Barnett.
- Efficiency. Using AI to support basic research, scheduling requests, formatting, list building, transcription, or summarization.
- Translation. AI can help translate between languages, but it can also help craft key messages for specific audiences, like formatting a note to appeal to an influencer or foreign council member, which requires specific protocol and language.
- Message testing. Teams are using AI to predict how certain messaging might be received, whether it’s seeing how specific language could appealto a certain analyst on an earnings call or how a brand campaign might land in a new emerging market.
- Personalization. Generative AI can help teams personalize communications, which will keep people more engaged.
- Discoverability. As AI supports search, the information these chatbots regurgitate about a company will become more important.
- For a story, I asked ChatGPT how a brand can influence it. Check out the response here.
- Content creation. To which I say, duh!
Next-gen communicators: What advice do you have for aspiring communications professionals?
- I have two:
- Don’t just come with problems, also come with solutions. Communicators are problem solvers at their core.
- Surround yourself with people who challenge your thinking or have different lived experiences than you, because to be an effective communicator, you have to be able to provide context and anticipate the sometimes-opposing needs or demands of various audiences.
One (or more) big thing: OK, final question: What are the big things CCOs, and business leaders need to keep top of mind for 2025? Any must-win themes for you?
- A must-win theme for 2025 is communicating from a place of power, not fear. We’ve seen too many reactionary or wishy-washy moments in recent years. I’d like to see companies or big brands own their narratives, prioritize key audiences, and commit to engaging with them in a real way.
Eleanor Hawkins is a communications strategist and writer for Axios.
Comments and opinions expressed by interviewees are their own and do not represent or reflect the opinions, policies, or positions of McKinsey & Company or have its endorsement.