CUNEF Universidad discusses corporate communication in the age of AI

CUNEF Universidad’s Graduate and International Business School organized a roundtable discussion on the transformation of marketing and corporate communication in the current context of rapid Artificial Intelligence disruption. The event, held at the Almansa Campus, featured the participation of leading experts: Iñaki Ortega, General Director of LLYC Madrid; Jorge Martín-Luengo, Executive Director of Prodigioso Volcán; Fernando Lázaro, CEO of SuperReal; and Yeray Carretero, Partner at Thinking Heads.

The moderator, Leticia Santos, Director of the Graduate and International Business School, opened the discussion by asking the speakers about the evolution of corporate communication in recent years. In this regard, Iñaki Ortega reflected on the history of Llorente y Cuenca (LLYC), pointing out that “in the early days of Llorente y Cuenca, press clippings were compiled manually by cutting out newspaper articles and pasting them together. Today, Artificial Intelligence does all of that, but that does not mean the role of the communications director has disappeared.” In his view, “a communications director is far more valuable today than 30 years ago because communication directors are now heard at company board meetings, and investors depend on what they communicate to decide whether to buy or sell shares.”

Jorge Martín-Luengo added that “perhaps in the past it was a more operational role, but now the strategic dimension is beginning to expand because companies are aware of the value of reputation… and reputation has market value. There are already studies suggesting that between 20% and 25% of a company’s value lies in its reputation.”

Regarding Artificial Intelligence and the widespread concerns about its effects and consequences, all four speakers addressed both the challenges and opportunities AI presents for marketing and corporate communication. In this sense, Fernando Lázaro highlighted that “in this entire Artificial Intelligence revolution, we have moved beyond the Google internet era, where my reputation worked well, into a world of AI models that speak and issue opinions or recommendations about my brand. This creates a paradigm shift that is highly challenging for communications directors, who must maintain a consistent narrative for the company and the brand.”

Yeray Carretero also emphasized that “communication remains exactly the same as it was 50 years ago. What has changed are the tools, the formats, and the complexity… and there is now greater value because the world is more connected. Situations that occur in one place immediately happen everywhere simultaneously, and the arrival of Artificial Intelligence has added yet another layer of complexity to all these issues.”

The roundtable concluded with an open discussion session in which both CUNEF Universidad students and those interested in the new Master’s in Digital Marketing and Corporate Communication were able to ask questions to the speakers and gain insight into their decades of professional experience in the sector.