While this may be an opinion that may initially sound extreme all the way through to outright provocative, there has never been a time historically when development, investment, beneficial bilateral or multilateral partnerships were not based on excellent communication. The same is true today. While the type and size of investments, form, market penetration and of course the speed of communication may have changed, their interconnectedness is closer than ever before.

There are at least two perspectives regarding the role of communication and its relationship with development. The first relates to the development environment itself. The promotion of policies and of course projects that support growth at the Investor Relations (IR) level – whether it concerns stock market investors, funds or any relevant stakeholder – is an integral part of a country or an organization’s development policy.

And the truth is that such communication strategies are more or less expected, especially in terms of their content. Direct contact with the investment community, having a presence in the international media which keeps our target audiences informed and updated along with partnerships with investment ambassadors are both expected and necessary. The content of the communication is also a given at such a level, entailing the investment environment strategy, advantages and prospects related to the projects themselves, Greece’s firm and sometimes spectacular commitment to investment-friendly policies and lastly, the significant benefits that an investor can expect.

There is a second perspective, which in my view is just as important as it relates to the sustainability of development policies, to the investments themselves as well as the institutions and people behind them. Using investment terms, this is now reflected in numbers through the adoption of ESG principles and policies. In practice, it is a parameter that permeates the entire investment chain to decisively reach its last link. The end consumer or a brand marketing campaign for example.

In this context, our strategic communication planning goes beyond the more traditional  perspective, it has changed course and is now determined by what we call Thought Creativity at both leadership as well as brand level.

The need for Thought Creativity

The leader of the future, like today, will be called upon to design the communication strategy for his or her investment, organization or brand. The difference in the future will be based on not using creative thinking to attract a predetermined age or demographic audience. Instead, a strategy (thought creativity) will replace creative thinking, a strategy which will prove why a leader’s organization and its products have the reputation, prestige, responsibility and accountability to enter the everyday life of an audience (investors, shareholders or consumers, roles that in everyday life are identical) with a strictly predetermined profile. The key will lie in prestige, substance and purpose wherein future success will correlate with effective management and the genius of micro targeting.

We already live, and will continue to live, in an era where whenever political leaders are unable to solve major challenges, organizations and brands should be able to do so effectively. This is a role that goes far beyond “responsible business”. It is a measurable role concerning both investment policies and investment choices.

Clearly both technological and financial means can support all the above strategies. What is often lacking and sometimes forgotten however is the power of emotion, be that in the moment or not. If the end goal is to create an investment love brand (essentially that’s what we want), then we have to know that we need to create a character, a structure that -apart from its technocratic perspectives- will consistently serve an important purpose for the rest of the world. This also applies to every leader behind every single if not all investments.  Today, and at least in the medium term, effective and sustainable growth needs leaders and brands possessing substance and content, with an ultimate goal that embraces the “common good”.

Published on ENERGIZING GREECE, 1ST EDITION