Axios Event: Values-based corporate communication isn't gone, it's just different, experts say

CANNES, France – Communications leaders are still leaning on corporate values to drive messaging but are also navigating increased sensitivities around language, they said at a roundtable discussion event on June 17.

Why it matters: Cultural shifts are prompting many big brands to reconsider values-based communication, which was once at the core of their strategies.

Axios' Eleanor Hawkins moderated the June 17 discussion, sponsored by Omnicom PR Group.

What they're saying: "I feel like I'm constantly dancing on a pinhead around language," TIAA chief marketing and communications officer Micky Onvural said.

• She is trying to balance staying true to the narrative of the business without putting the brand in a difficult spot as expectations shift.

Zoom out: Brands must consider the various stakeholders among their audience when tailoring messages.

• "For me, it's thinking about investors and advertisers and our consumers. … There's certain messages that are kind of a lightning rod for certain audiences," said TelevisaUnivision SVP of corporate communications Alyssa Bernstein.
• The need for fluid messaging led the brand to lean on its resilience as the overarching message. "Against macroeconomic challenges, are you going to put your money in a durable brand … or are you going to take a risk with a volatile stock?" she said.
• "When I think about some of the opportunities from a pleasantly blurred line with marketing is the opportunity to segment," said Liz Caselli-Mechael, World Central Kitchen's vice president of marketing and communications.
• "So you need that North Star that stays consistent, but when it comes to those stories that show who you are, it's not walking away from it, just show it to the audiences that it resonates with."

Zoom in: Some companies are still aligning their external communications with internal values, attendees said. "Our work is rooted from the inside out," Delta Air Lines managing director of global communications Kate Modolo said.

• "As we're asked about things externally, we really can just point to the actions that we do internally," she added.
• "What is internal is external, external is internal – the lines are blurring," said Hilton executive vice president of corporate affairs Katherine Lugar. "We find it at Hilton to be very helpful to anchor on values and purpose in these moments."