NEWS

At first glance, things look good in many communications departments: Dashboards have been built, KPIs defined, data warehouses connected. The CommTech Index shows progress, at least technically. And yet conversations on Monday mornings surprisingly often revolve around the same question: can we actually trust these figures?

Are they calculated correctly? Are these the official figures for the Board of Management? Do we need to recalculate them “just to be on the safe side” – perhaps even in Excel? At the latest when marketing and communication present the same key figure and deliver two different results, it becomes clear that the problem is no longer a lack of data. It is the lack of meaning.

An interview with PRCC boss Thomas Lüdecke in the PR Journal gave new impetus to the appointment of managers from outside the profession to the top of communications departments that has been observed in recent months.

The communications industry is undergoing a transformation that focuses on data, automation and AI. The latest CommTech Index Report shows how this process of change is perceived: a full 83% of communications professionals agree with the statement that digital technologies will fundamentally change the way they work in communications. But what about implementation?

There are moments when an industry looks in the mirror – and hardly recognizes itself. The results of the new CommTech Index Report 2025/2026 are just such a moment. Yes, CommTech is changing the industry. Yes, CommTech is changing departments and agencies. But the real revolution is taking place elsewhere: in the minds and everyday working lives of each individual. Never before has the personal impact been as clearly measurable as this year. 76% of communication professionals say that CommTech will significantly change the way they work – an increase of nine percentage points compared to 2024.

Data is increasingly becoming a key intangible resource in corporate communications. Nevertheless, it has often not been used consistently for decision-making – instead, experience and intuition dominate. To change this, we need to understand what constitutes a data-driven culture.

The CommTech Academy offers a wide range of seminars on CommTech topics. I myself offer two of my own seminars, each lasting four hours, which ideally complement each other:

The world of communication is changing rapidly. Artificial intelligence (AI) has long been a reality and is shaping the way we work. At Merck, together with our 200 communicators, we have embarked on a global transformation journey that goes far beyond the introduction of new tools. Our goal: to establish AI expertise as the key to a sustainable communication culture.

Many companies avoid the topic of disinformation. Not because they consider it irrelevant, but simply because it is sensitive. It smells of politics, of polarization, of an irritating topic. And that is exactly what internal communication often wants to avoid.

How do language models like ChatGPT actually talk about your brand? What topics are linked to them – and what narratives are created in the background? For many communications departments, this is an open question.

Faster, more efficient, more accurate and creative at the touch of a button – the use of new technologies also offers enormous potential, especially for corporate communications. However, in order to fully exploit this potential and take advantage of opportunities, it is important to find the right answers to a number of questions that communicators ask themselves.