Director of communication

The communication director, also known as dircom, is a professional whose mission is to establish the conception, planning and management of any type of communication activity entrusted to affects the public image of your organization or its own internal functioning according to the indications and strategies of the marketing department, on whom it depends in most efficient companies and institutions in this field.

It develops its activity both in organizations and institutions belonging to the public sector and in private companies and organizations.

Less evolved organizations still do not have marketing departments, although "and marketing" to appear more evolved, although in reality they still do not have competent university personnel in these disciplines, such as graduates or graduates in marketing.

There are other organizations that do not set objectives, but only provide general information to the general public or produce information documents that are accessible to interested persons. In these cases, no marketing strategy is essential, nor therefore competent professionals in this field.

Function

The communication director must coordinate, integrate, give coherence, design, manage and take initiatives in communication strategies, as well as execute them through specific action plans to provide solutions to the communication needs specified jointly with the rest of the marketing variables in the operational marketing plan carried out by the marketing director. Which, in turn, must provide solutions aligned with the strategic marketing plan that the marketing director will design in accordance with the general management.

In the same way, in some organizations the director of communication has to manage the internal communication entrusted to him by human resources, the entities in charge of risk prevention or any other department that may have the need to communicate internally to the organization. This will depend on the organizational structure of the business or organization.

External communication will be entrusted to you by the marketing department. The marketing department will establish the communication mix in an integrated way with other marketing variables, such as the definition of the concept of the product-service-relationship that the company or organization will offer, the price or consideration that the interested parties must support and the way in which the one that will be distributed or sent to you.

The communication tools are the sales force, advertising, publicity, public relations (sponsorship, patronage, relationship with the media, etc.), social networks, sales promotion, direct marketing, etc.

However, one of the requirements of the communication director of the XXI century is his ability to measure quality and results of his management, so that he can demonstrate the added value of communication management, which leads him to master different data collection techniques, as well as to generate indicators that reflect the quality of the communication process in the organization. Normally in the most advanced companies and organizations, the communication objectives are set, measured and evaluated by the marketing directors, who perfectly handle these metrics and their techniques, since they are usually Graduates in Market Research and Techniques or their degrees + master.

These departments can count on Graduates in Advertising and Public Relations and with Graduates in Audiovisual Media to carry out operational actions, although advertising is usually contracted to agencies. It is also possible to count on graduates in journalism to establish relations with the media, write press releases and carry out other actions with the media.

Since in the last decade of the XX century the study plan for the degree in Market Research and Techniques was created (Marketing), and the study plan for a degree in Advertising and Public Relations, the communication departments in Spain have evolved, becoming more professional and becoming more and more like the departments of more evolved organizations at an international level and moving away from the traditional communication department basically based on in press releases and other techniques that are typical and very appropriate in journalism.

The main characteristics desired for the profile of the Director of Communication are:

1) When it comes to objective communications without the desire to influence: the ability to analyze, to contrast the information, to communicate objectively without influencing their personal opinions and without language that encourages biasing the reader's opinion, critical capacity and self-criticism and desire to serve society by offering objective and unbiased information.

2) When it comes to communications with the objective of creating trends, influencing public opinion, transmitting or creating a company, organization or brand image, what amounts to marketing communication: the most important thing is that they have solid knowledge of comprehensive marketing (Graduates or Graduates in Market Research and Techniques for management positions and Higher Technicians in Marketing and Advertising for more operational actions), who are recognized as having knowledge of economics, market research, management strategy, communication management, etc.

Position

The communication department is a very important position in the development of the company's communication strategy, so in terms of external communication it must always be under the supervision of the marketing department who will define the marketing plan Strategic and operational in accordance with the objectives of the general management, setting the objectives, resources and everything related to the communication department.

Depending on the organization, the marketing plan must be adapted. University graduates in Marketing specialize in Service Marketing, Industrial Marketing, Political and Social Marketing, International Marketing, etc. Therefore, they will define the communication objectives based on the objectives of the organization and the sector in which it operates.

The communication director must achieve the objectives defined in an integral manner in the plan carried out by the marketing department, a strategic functional department that is integrated into the leadership and management team at the highest level in all companies.

Profile

To carry out their functions properly, the communication director must have:

• Wide experience contrasted in positions of responsibility.
• University education, preferably Bachelor of Market Research and Techniques (pre Bologna) or Graduates in Markets and Marketing Research (post Bologna) if the company, institution or agency wishes to communicate creating trends, opinions, brand image, corporate image, etc. Or Bachelor of Journalism, if an objective, neutral communication of journalism is desired.
• Understand the importance of the modern communication department within the marketing plan and possess the ability to achieve the communication objectives specified by the marketing department.
• These competencies are desired for this profile and own of the Bachelors and Marketing Graduates:
• Math and statistics capacities at a high level.
• Human resources management capacity.
• Capacity to evaluate the profitability of projects.
• Critical capacity and analysis in market research.
• Strategic direction.
• Wide knowledge of economy.
• Language domain.
• Ability of leadership and creativity.
• Wide knowledge in the theories of information and communication.
• Knowledge in design of communication strategies.
• Knowledge in digital support design and development techniques such as blogs and web pages, among others.
• Be characterized by predisposition to work in multidisciplinary teams.