During the debate, he highlighted the role of Gen Z as “community natives”, a generation capable of organizing around shared causes, mastering social media codes, and influencing public discourse. He emphasized that political debate increasingly unfolds within digital spaces, where narratives and movements evolve in real time.

The full episode is available for replay on the France 24 website:

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The time has come to prove, with figures to back it up, the real impact of communication.’ Caroline Faillet, GM of JIN.

The Barcelona Principles: the foundations of communication evaluation

The International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication has established the Barcelona Principles, an internationally recognised reference framework to guide communication professionals in their evaluation processes. The Barcelona Principles 3.0, updated in 2020, focus on :

• Setting clear objectives: Planning, analysis and evaluation must be based on clear and measurable objectives.
• Distinguishing between different levels of results: It is crucial to differentiate between outputs (what is created and disseminated), outcomes (how messages are received), results (the changes brought about in stakeholders) and impact (the consequences of these changes for the organisation).
• The importance of considering all stakeholders: The evaluation must take into account the impact on stakeholders, society and the organisation.
• The combination of qualitative and quantitative measures: It is necessary to use a combination of quantitative data (figures) and qualitative data (perceptions, opinions) for a complete understanding.
• The abandonment of Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs): AVEs are not considered a valid measure of the impact of communication actions.
• Measuring all channels: The evaluation must include all relevant channels, both online and offline.
• Integrity and transparency: Measurement must be conducted with integrity, recognising the need for transparency about context and potential bias.

These principles form the basis of any serious evaluation process are a reminder that measurement should not simply be a collection of data, but a source of learning and continuous improvement.

Overview of existing communication indicators

There are three types of indicator used in business communications, each with its own specific characteristics and limitations.

Indicators on the strategic objectives to be achieved (brand tracking, reputation monitoring, awareness)

• These indicators are derived from ad hoc studies carried out once or several times a year.
• They are described as strategic and easy to understand for General Management.
• They measure the long-term impact of actions, but are not actionable because they do not reveal the reasons why objectives are not achieved.
• They are top-down, as they use questionnaires to measure whether the public’s representation of the company is in line with expectations, by means of closed or open questions based on criteria determined in advance and therefore not spontaneous.

KPIs for actions taken :

• These indicators come from the agencies and are limited to spin-offs: media clippings (PR), reach and views (influencers), visitors and leads (websites), followers, fans and engagement (social networks), open rates and click-through rates (campaigns), and so on.
• They are considered to be operational rather than strategic, and therefore difficult for senior management to understand.
• They are considered actionable but within a family of levers (PR, websites, social networks, campaigns, emails) and are oriented by what the agency wishes to highlight.
• They are purely quantitative.
• As they do not take into account all the channels, they make it possible to monitor the actions carried out in each lever, but do not provide an overall view of the performance and contribution of the lever to the company’s overall objective.

Target behavioural data :

• This data comes from social listening, research and analytics tools: volumes of searches on the brand, volume of quotations from the brand, tone of voice on social network mentions, most visited sections on the site, number of forms filled in, and so on.
• They are both quantitative and qualitative, as they can also be used to track the spontaneous expressions of targets (verbatim, keywords most searched for on the site or on Google, etc.).
• They are considered to be technical, non-strategic and difficult for General Management to understand, apart from lead generation.
• This data is considered actionable, but within a family of contact points, and bottom-up because it provides insights to help decision-making.
• With the exception of e-commerce, where the bottom of the tunnel is conversion, these indicators do not provide an overall view of communication performance.

General limitations of current reporting

An analysis of these three categories of KPI highlights several important limitations:

• Lack of overall vision: Indicators are often compartmentalised by tool or by data source, preventing an overall view of communications performance.
• Difficulty in linking actions to impact: It is difficult to understand how the actions taken (the means) really contribute to achieving the strategic objectives (the impact).
• Vision too fragmented: Technical indicators do not provide a vision of the value and ROI of communication.
• Indicators that are too ‘top-down’ or ‘bottom-up’: strategic indicators are top-down, i.e. they only assess what you want to look at, whereas behavioural data are bottom-up, i.e. they only provide a source of insights without helping to guide action.

In summary, each of these three types of indicator has advantages, but also limitations that underline the need for a more integrated, strategy-led approach. The Impact Factor by Jin methodology seeks to fill these gaps by providing a more holistic and actionable view of communications performance, focusing on impact objectives and linking actions to results.

The Impact Factor approach: an innovative method

The Impact Factor, developed by JIN, offers an innovative approach to measuring the ROI of communications by structuring the strategy around an impact objective, sub-objectives and resources.

The originality of the Impact Factor lies in :

• An impact-focused approach: this allows you to move away from a vision limited to the tool and concentrate on concrete results.
• A structured method: this provides a clear framework for defining objectives, sub-objectives and resources, enabling communication initiatives to be better managed.
• Hybrid measurement: cross-referencing all sources of data for a global, multi-channel view of performance.
• The introduction of qualitative measurement: this uses artificial intelligence to create new types of indicators that are truly specific to the company and cannot be substituted, by working qualitatively on the messages and the reactions expected from the target communities.
• Insightful’ indicators: it also uses AI to create new indicators that are not limited to measuring performance, but also help to understand what is not working.
• A collaborative approach: its cross-functional approach and initial methodology ensure that all teams are aligned with the strategy and work together.

Impact Factor is an innovative solution for companies wishing to assess the ROI of their communication in a rigorous way, based on the Barcelona principles, relevant indicators and a structured approach. It’s time to move on from communication based on tool indicators to communication based on concrete results and impact on the organisation.

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Yet, amid this chaos, businesses appear surprisingly as beacons of stability. According to a recent 2024 study by Odoxa, 56% of French people now believe that businesses are the most capable of driving change. This expectation places corporate leaders in a key position: they are seen both as agents of transformation and as guiding figures for a society searching for direction.

However, this trust appears betrayed by a disconnect between business leaders’ concerns and public opinion. In fact, 60% of corporate leaders’ social media posts focus on environmental issues. While this topic is undeniably important, it ranks only ninth among the issues most discussed by the French public. Instead, online debates revolve around pressing topics such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the fight against the far right, and the taxation of superprofits.

So why, in an era that demands clear commitments to build trust, does the communication from business leaders seem to lack resonance?

Breaking free from corporate imperatives

Despite what is often suggested on social media, businesses are far from being universally despised. However, the way corporate leaders communicate online amplifies the perception of detachment. Their messages, often highly conventional, appear carefully crafted to align with institutional communication constraints or regulatory requirements.

A staggering 98% of executives’ posts adopt a positive, even overly positive tone, avoiding any strong stances. But this excessive optimism makes their statements feel hollow, stripping them of the impact needed to foster genuine engagement. In a world craving authenticity and sincere commitment, such sanitized messaging fails to connect.

Giving leaders back their voice by listening

A company, through the voice of its leader, must take action in response to civil society’s demands. So how can business leaders reinvent themselves to transcend corporate constraints and truly engage with contemporary concerns?

First, by addressing public expectations beyond economic or regulatory needs. French citizens want businesses to make real commitments, not just in response to financial imperatives. This trust places a greater responsibility on corporate leaders to demonstrate tangible actions that benefit society, whether to external audiences such as customers, partners, and civil society, or internal ones such as employees, who increasingly seek purpose-driven workplaces.

Second, by engaging in dialogue with communities. Communication is not just about broadcasting information in a one-way, top-down manner. Platforms like LinkedIn offer a unique opportunity to create authentic, constructive exchanges with various communities. Engaging in conversations within a company’s digital ecosystem helps leaders strengthen their role in society, showing that they respond to community expectations rather than simply following media-driven timelines.

Third, by choosing the right battles. No company can solve all the world’s problems, and no leader should attempt to comment on every issue. Instead, leaders should carefully select causes aligned with their company’s mission and champion them with clarity, relevance, and true engagement. A leader’s activism should be identifiable and legitimate, focused on issues where their voice and company can make a tangible impact.

The end of corporate-speak for business leaders

The era of corporate-style communication from executives is over. In a world where expectations for businesses have never been higher, leaders have a historic opportunity: to become true agents of change, aligned with public aspirations and fostering meaningful dialogue. We must not let this opportunity slip away.

Edouard Fillias, CEO of JIN agency, and Anne Le Brouster, Managing Director of the Leadership team at JIN

L’article Talking Without Meaning: Putting an End to Empty Corporate Speak from Executives est apparu en premier sur JIN, Agency in Europe (France, UK, Germany...).

Artificial intelligence is set to profoundly transform the communications professions, yet investment in this technology is struggling to keep pace. A study carried out by JIN in collaboration with E-CERCLE, a network of digital corporate communication professionals, highlights this paradox: although communication directors recognise the major impact of AI on their sector, few of them are allocating significant budgets to its adoption.

Rapid adoption but limited funding

Interviewed as part of this survey, communication directors from major French companies (CAC 40 and SBF 120) overwhelmingly acknowledge that AI is already having a significant influence on their business. 51% of respondents believe that the impact is strong or very strong, and 93% think that this technology will have repercussions at least as great as the arrival of the Internet.

Among the most widespread uses, content creation dominates (81% of respondents), followed by the design of strategies and creative elements (63%), and analysis and monitoring (52%). Communications professionals see it as a way of improving their productivity (63%), their creativity (48%) and the overall effectiveness of their organisations (26%).

Despite this growing awareness, the budgets allocated to AI remain limited. Only 30% of communication directors plan to significantly increase their investment in this technology, while 67% intend to do so more gradually.

An urgent need for training

Faced with the rapid growth of AI, companies are seeking to raise awareness and train their teams. To do this, they are relying on concrete use cases (93%), practical training (74%) and theoretical instruction (52%). However, a number of factors are still holding back the adoption of these tools, including security concerns (56%) and the time needed to train teams (44%).

According to Alexandre Villeneuve, co-founder of JIN, these obstacles are particularly visible in large groups, where technological and legal constraints are holding back the transition. He also highlights a major challenge: although communications directors are aware of the issues, employees at other hierarchical levels do not always perceive the importance of these transformations.

Challenges for effective deployment

While AI opens the way to greater creativity and productivity, it also raises ethical and strategic questions, particularly in terms of misinformation, content standardisation and transparency.

However, the study reveals that AI is not causing major concern among communications directors. On the contrary, it is fairly well accepted in the sector. The main reservation concerns the lack of investment, a surprising paradox: although managers are aware of the importance of AI, they are still reluctant to devote substantial budgets to it.

According to Alexandre Villeneuve, this reluctance could be explained by the speed of technological advances. ‘The advances in AI are so lightning-fast that companies don’t know where to place their investments’, he observes. For the time being, they prefer to wait and see rather than invest massively in this revolution.

But this caution could well prove risky in the long run. Without adequate investment, companies could find it difficult to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by AI, and find themselves lagging behind the competition.

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