What to watch in 2024

Communicators are bracing for another volatile year, according to a new report from Axios HQ and Mixing Board.

Here's what communication and marketing leaders from Mixing Board, a curated communication organization with over 300 members, are saying:

• Elections. Everything will feel political. Comms teams should have a playbook guiding how and when to speak about social or geopolitical matters.
• The rise of AI. Communicators must help implement, set guardrails and be able to explain how AI impacts corporate strategy.
• Employee needs. Labor battles will continue in 2024, and communicators can serve as the connective tissue across an organization by evaluating communication channels, incorporating a strong feedback loop and empowering middle managers.
• ESG skepticism. Audiences are growing more suspect of corporate commitments to environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, and communicators must share narratives that are backed by data and action.
• Trust and media. Communicators are increasingly targeting niche, engaged audiences through nontraditional media channels. To show impact, they must embrace modern measurement metrics.

The bottom line: The growing political tension, ongoing wars, polarized workforce and fractured media landscape will make the job of communications more difficult, but more important in 2024.

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*Disclaimers: Axios HQ split off from Axios in 2022, after Axios Media was acquired by Cox Enterprises. Hawkins is a member of Mixing Board, but did not participate in the creation of this report.