"The communicator needs to be savvier about the end customer."

Edna Ayme-Yahil on a new direction for the Chief Communication Officer

How should the chief communication officer position him or herself in relation to the digitally-driven changes that impact our society? That's the question posed by Edna Ayme-Yahil, head of communications at EIT Digital, in her presentation at an event held by the European Associaiton of Communication Directors in Amsterdam recently. We asked Edna to elaborate on a few talking points.


In your presentation you mentioned a disconnection between mainstream conversations about the role of the communications director and wider dialogue about societal changes. Why does this disconnection exist? Why aren’t communicators looking at the bigger questions?

The trend in the past has been positioning communications and corporate affairs within the c-suite. If you look at the general literature, for example the Korn Ferry study that came out last summer, there’s the whole question about getting a seat at the table and becoming more strategic. At the same time, there’s also been this conversation about integrated marketing, integrated communications and the whole customer/client experience. Where I think the next logical step is to question where society is going, looking at how Europe is becoming more digital, what impact does that have on the economy,  and bridge that to the discussions of what the CCO is doing, and how can he act as the harbinger of the outside world to the corporation.

So a future purpose of the CCO could be a bridge between these big themes and changes and inside the organisation?

We’re in the process of establishing the role within the corporation as a harbinger or the moral compass if you will, and not only speaking to society but also echoing what’s happening in the world. But there needs to be more sophistication in how you interpret the outside world, what the changes are and how things like urbanization, digitalization, internet of things and 5G are going to change the way human beings interact.

"We’re in the process of establishing the role within the corporation as a harbinger or the moral compass."

You also talked about three major changes in our society and how they affect the communicator.

The seamless transition from production to the end customer, that’s the big change that’s happening. It’s no longer only companies that deal with digital topics like telcos that are thinking about this, it’s also retail, for example, with Ralph Lauren coming out with an omni-channel strategy, or various different industries that are really thinking about the whole supply chain. And there are also customer expectations. There’s a personalization of the end product that people come to want and to expect. Everything from my dress fitting exactly my body shape rather than being a size 40, to ordering a 3D-printed piece for a broken washing machine rather than buying a whole new machine. 

And how does that affect the communicator?

The communicator needs to be savvier about the end customer. Customers are being trained to expect this kind of personalized end product and that affects their behaviours and the way they interact with the corporation. But it’s also a reality if your company is not moving in this direction you’re going to fall behind.

What would your message be to corporate communicators about finding their place in the new digital economy?

I think that for the communicator there are two things. First of all there needs to be sensitivity to societal changes that are happening. For example, a pressing crisis is that jobs are changing. In some cases for the better, because there’s less boring administrative work that needs to be done, but also in some cases jobs are being displaced by technology. And also as leader of the communications function the CCO should create opportunities to keep their teams skilled and to have the ability to be life-long leaners and to continue to adapt. You no longer have people who spend five years in a communications consultancy and then move on client side.

"There needs to be sensitivity to societal changes that are happening."

There all kinds of different paths and no one can have full control over the full remit of corporate communication anymore. You don’t pass from one job to another and then become the boss. It’s a change in the way that we think, in the way that we learn, in the way that we relax a bit on the controls, set guidelines but not force it.

Do you think that comes naturally to communicators?

I think for communicators our age, letting go doesn’t come naturally. It used to be that we were centrally writing and controlling the messages but now it’s a question of putting in place the framework and letting others speak for you or about you, which can be much more powerful but it means letting go. And for many communicators that’s very, very uncomfortable, I think.


Edna was a guest speaker at the latest in a series of events held across Europe this year to mark the 10 year anniversary of the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD). Find a summary of the event here and an interview with the evening's moderator Hans Koleman here. To find out more about #eacd10 and other events, visit the online EACD calendar here.

Edna Ayme-Yahil

Dr Edna Ayme-Yahil is head of communications for EIT Digital, the leading European digital innovation and entrepreneurial education organisation driving Europe’s digital transformation. She has developed and delivered top-quality integrated communications strategies in large global companies and public organizations. Previously, she has held various global communications roles at Nissan, STMicroelectronics, Philip Morris International and UNESCO and was a consultant for the OECD. She has also taught communications and history at UCLA, University of Arkansas, University of Paris, and Washington State University. She is currently serving as the Regional Lead France for the European Association of Communications Directors.