While the media landscape continues to change (particularly at the hands of AI), so does the role of communications. How so? We asked 1,000 communicators what their job entails, their priorities, and who they report to at the leadership level.
Memo’s second annual Evolving Role of Communications report examines where comms leaders sit relative to the rest of their business, how their scope is changing year-over-year, priorities, and what it all signals for the future of the role. Keep reading for 2 highlights from this year’s report.
Comms teams no longer report to marketing; they own marketing.
Reporting structure for comms saw a major shift in the last year. In 2024, 56% of comms teams say they roll up to the CEO directly, up from 22% in 2023. Comms teams reporting to marketing leaders dropped to 37% in 2024 from 63% in 2023. For VPs, the number of comms teams reporting to the CEO jumps up to nearly 60%.
On top of that, comms teams are extending their areas of ownership across their organizations. In fact, over 50% of comms teams are also owning marketing campaigns.
Pros are more focused on amplifying key messages than changing perceptions.
We asked comms leaders to rank their priorities for the year. Amplifying key messages, increasing share-of-voice (SOV) against the competition, and building awareness most frequently showed up within the top 3 priorities.
Also noteworthy is what ranked at the bottom of the list. Changing perception showed up in respondents’ bottom 3 priorities most frequently. In today’s environment, comms teams are more focused on owning their key messages than changing opinions.
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