There was a time, not so very long ago, when being ‘disruptive’ was rarely a good thing. Being ‘disruptive’ in class probably meant you were popular but also spent quite a few afternoons in detention. Someone being ‘disruptive’ by talking through a movie would have been glared at and had popcorn thrown at them. How times have changed. ‘Disruptive’, certainly when applied to technology, has become a buzzword, a signpost for all things at the very cutting edge of a particular discipline. Disruptive technology turns its back on whatever has gone before, creating new markets for things and services which didn’t exist (and often which consumers didn’t know they needed); it sidelines competitors and relegates outdated processes and systems to the rubbish heap. Disruptive technologies sometimes emerge into challenger brands with millions of consumers as global ambassadors. Uber, Airbnb, Waze and Snapchat and countless others across an array of sectors are prime examples.
Is there a place for ‘disruptive communications’ in today’s organisations? What can the corporate communicator learn from challenger brands? The role of lead communicators within organisations has changed dramatically over the past few years. As the range and complexity of their organisation’s stakeholders has increased, so has the demand for companies to be more transparent and to engage with their stakeholders, both internal and external, proactively and consistently. Communicators operating at the senior end of business are expected to input into every aspect of their business, from compliance to regulation and interaction with investors – a plethora of issues way and beyond the traditional communications agenda. Hence the rise of the Corporate Affairs professional.
In this sense, the Director of Corporate Affairs can be seen as a ‘challenger brand’, positioned as they invariably are in the complex interface between multiple stakeholders, the CEO and the Board. To be truly useful and to merit their place at the top table, they must lead and they must advise; they must do away with outmoded channels and processes; create a demand for a better flow of communication internally and externally and know and when and how to make use of Big Data. To do this effectively, they may well need to challenge and they must disrupt. Not, of course, for the sake of it but because this is the way businesses are increasingly operating. The Millennials, provided they are given the right kind of training, will be the business leaders of tomorrow; for them, disruptive technologies and challenger brands are the norm. They are setting the agenda for the ways in which companies do business and the way in which services and products are bought and sold. Corporate communicators have a great opportunity to help their businesses adapt to this new world but one thing is clear: it’s no longer enough just to innovate – innovation is so yesterday. Today’s communicators have to be disruptive.
