The authors of the book Dircom: Comunicar para transformar (CCO, Communicate to Transform), professors and researchers Pilar Buil and Pablo Medina, from the University of Navarra, wonder which strategies are the best to be successful on the long term considering intangible assets such as reputation. Thus, companies need to do things right and then tell about it to be able to consider the perceptions of their stakeholders. It is also important to try to raise the communication discourse and include it in the agenda of the senior management because it needs to be long-term oriented and sustainable. In this book, Buil and Medina analyse the situation and offer a communication foresight based on interviews with CCOs from some of the biggest Spanish companies (Banco Santander, Repsol, Gas Natural Fenosa, Acciona, Inditex, CaixaBank, Mercadona, Telefónica and Mutua Madrileña). It addresses important issues such as internal communication, circles of trust, reputation rankings or communication goals in this new context.

1. Ivy Ledbetter Lee, considered to be the founder
of public relations in the USA, said that every
company has to “do it right and tell about it”,
a sentence that sums up the importance of
taking care of perceptions, from management to
communication.
It is also important to try to raise the communication
discourse and include it in the agenda of the senior
management as it is the highest level of decision-
making, where the most important and strategic
decisions are taken and issues as the long term,
legitimation and sustainability are considered. That
is why the top executive (chairman, managing
director or chief executive) and the CCO need to
share a common vision about communication.
Regarding this discussion, professors and researchers
Pilar Buil and Pablo Medina, from the University
of Navarra have published Dircom, comunicar para
transfomar, which in English would be “CCO,
Communicate to Transform”. The book analyzes
the situation and offers a communication foresight
based on interviews with CCOs from some of the
biggest Spanish companies.
An organizational vision is
preferred over a functional one
The standard communication approach has
been traditionally linked to the classic model
of paying attention to the media (informative
communication) and creating advertising
(persuasive communication). In the Corporate
Communication field, the main responsibilities of
the CEO were to tell what the company was doing
and use persuasion to sell.
However, the situation is now very different,
according to one of the respondents, Joaquín
Mollinedo, Chief Institutional Relations Officer
The role of the CCO is shifting and getting more strategic responsibility in corporate
communication of intangible assets, such as reputation. But which strategies are the
best to be successful on the long term?
Strategy Documents
L17/2015
Reputation adds value to
communication and proves
its direct contribution to
business outcomes
Communication
Book Summaries
This document was developed by Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership and among other sources contains references to the book
Dircom: Comunicar para transformar written by Pilar Buil Gazol and Pablo Medina Aguerrebere, doctors in Communication Sciences of University
of Navarra and researchers of Corporate Communication and based on interviews to CCOS at Banco Santander, Repsol, Gas Natural Fenosa,
Acciona, Inditex, CaixaBank, Mercadona, Telefonica, Mutua Madrileña and University of Navarra, published in Spanish by Pirámide in 2015.

2. Book Summaries 2
Reputation adds value
to communication
and proves its direct
contribution to
business outcomes
at Acciona. Today, a company has to extend the
relationship with its stakeholders: customers, media
and shareholders but also employees, regulators,
institutions, associations and the society as a whole.
Corporate Communication goals are no longer just
to inform or convince, but also to converse, listen
and gain trust and credibility. Companies participate
in debates without an exclusive commercial,
working or business intention but with the aim to
contribute to the society and address environmental,
professional, institution or politic issues.
Molliendo believes that rather than audiences
(linked to what has been mentioned above) or
even stakeholders, it is necessary to talk about
conversational partners, with whom the company
talks to searching for agreements. Never before in
the history of companies have these people played
such an obvious role, influencing activities and
making future possible through their behaviour,
attitude and decisions.
Jordi García Tabernero, managing director of
Communications and head of the Presidential
Office at Gas Natural Fenosa, explains that internal
communication is a good example of this shift of
paradigm.
Some years ago, internal communications were
included within the human resources department,
as part of the labour relations area. Its main purpose
was to communicate any facts in labour terms.
Nowadays, internal communication plays a much
more transversal and multidisciplinary role. Its goal
is to align employees with the corporate goals and
values and to establish a dialogue between them and
the company to guarantee the employees that their
complaints, suggestions, concerns and opinions
reach the top management.
Public issues and circles of trust
Communication has truly started to support the
transformation of companies and to ensure their
present and future value. The rising importance
of reputation and public issues management may
be a clear evidence of this evolution. According
to Marisa Navas, director of Communications
and Media at Telefonica, this issue becomes even
more important for companies, such as hers, which
belong to standardise areas and which have a strong
presence both internationally and in financial
markets, through the price of their stocks.
It is important that people in general have a positive
awareness of the benefits that companies can bring
back to society (employment, economic growth,
social and technological development). Therefore,
there must be news and data to support such
awareness. The objective is to contribute to a good
understanding not only between Telefonica and
NGOs or associations, but also between Telefonica
and public institutions, shareholders and employees.
In Navas opinion, it is about building a circle of trust
by adding up the support and personal perceptions
“Corporate
Communication
goals are no
longer just
to inform or
convince, but
also to converse,
listen and
gain trust and
credibility”
Source: James Byford
Public Relations Brands Communications
Continuity Plan Disruption Ethic
Demographics Human Beings
Web 1 Web 2
Big Hits Seeds / Chunks
Mass Media Micro Media
Corporate Speaks Conversations
Big Ad Campaign Viral Marketing
OLD AND NEW
Figure 1: New infrastructure - A Freerange exploration

3. Book Summaries 3
Reputation adds value
to communication
and proves its direct
contribution to
business outcomes
from all the parts, which in return get a collective
perspective that reasserts their trust on the company
and also their engagement, if the company has a
lasting and suistanable development.
Culture, values, employees and reputation
A 110 years old organization is a good example
to show that caring about values and keeping up
with the times help to build a parallel value: to be
sustainable and profitable at the same time. Jaume
Giró, CCO at La Caixa, firmly believes this is the
secret to his company’s success.
Traditionally, La Caixa has been renowned for its
quality service, commercial leadership, customer
trust and social and cultural commitment.
Nowadays, La Caixa has been turned into a bank
but it keeps true to its principles. And it is thanks
to this consistency through the years that it has
managed to be not only sustainable and profitable
but also admired, mainly by its own employees who
are the heart and gears of the company, and the
ambassadors of the corporate values.
According to Giró, financial sectors are aware of the
importance to reach further, not only following the
laws but reacting to social expectations by caring
about doing things the right way.
Despite an excellent communication policy,
bad decisions will always be perceived badly by
society. As a result, the company reputation will be
damaged, but not only that, it might even register
economic downsides.
Therefore, in Giró’s opinion, reputation rankings
are not really a value on their own. Instead, they are
the result of a well-done job. As Lee affirmed, what
companies really need is to do things right and then
tell about it. Given time, rankings portray a reality,
so they are the consequence of a good reputation
and not the cause.
Conclusion: communicate
in order to transform
All the big Corporate Communication departments
have evolved in the same direction: from the
press office to the general brand management,
internal and external communication, corporate
responsibility and reputation. Thus, companies do
not use tactical methods anymore, they favour an
strategic approach focused on an actual contribution
to create a value to their organizations.
Juan Manuel Mora, Vice President of
Communication from the University of Navarra,
institution that has founded this publication,
“Communication
supports the
transformation
of companies
and ensures
their present and
future value”
Figure 2: The stakeholder environment
Source: georgeprtrends.blogspot.com
Managers
Press /
Media
Employees
Interst groups
Strategic
Partners
Associations and
Organizations
Customers
Governments
Suppliers
Public
Authorities
Local
Communities
Owners

4. Book Summaries 4
Reputation adds value
to communication
and proves its direct
contribution to
business outcomes
believes that communication is a key discipline
which connects culture, beliefs and values and
which allows to align what is said with what is done.
As a consequence, the professionalism and success
of a corporate communications department needs to
be measured in accordance with its contribution to
value and to the general reputation of its company.
To Mora, reputation would be the aspect that best
shows how a company’s intangible set of values
is perceived. Reputation is an accurate portrait,
which displays everything that your stakeholders
appreciate and value about you.
Communication shouldn’t be understood as the
final product of some mechanic techniques related
to the short-term, on the contrary, it has to be
considered as something that is linked to culture,
governance and relationship buildings and thinks
in the middle and long term. A seed that will bear
the right fruit.

5. Leading by
reputation
©2015, Corporate Excellence – Centre for Reputation Leadership
A foundation established by major companies aiming to excel in the management of intangible assets and facilitate promotion of strong
brands with a good reputation and a capacity to compete on the global markets. Our objective is to become the driving force, which would
lead and consolidate professional reputation management as a strategic asset, fundamental for building value of companies around the world.
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