All this talk of social media-driven integration and its subsequent empowerment of communications executives is all well and good, but does the numerical evidence support anecdotes of communications’ increased value? According to recent industry reports, the answer appears to be yes.
For example, according to the most recent “Rising CCO” survey released by Spencer Stuart, Weber Shandwick and KRC Research, 58% of surveyed global chief communications officers (CCOs) now report to the CEO, compared to 48% just one year ago.
The results also revealed that as corporate reputation endures extreme stress and as the Internet continues to present unforeseen risks, communicators are in much greater demand:
• The need for crisis/issues management experiences has increased by 45% since 2007; and,
• Social media management was the most frequently added responsibility to communications departments.
As both crisis management and social media continue to define organizations’ success and failure, communications executives should also continue to experience increased responsibility and more direct access to the C-suite.