Changes, challenges and learning to hurdle.

This week’s edition of the Friday Five is led by three communications specialists who all have something in common but whose experiences and advice vary.

At Bright Space we work closely alongside many partners in the industrials sector; Frank Neve, Matthew Defosse and Carolyn Bazzini are three of those talented strategic minds. We sat down with them this week to talk industry changes, challenges and overcoming roadblocks.

The industrials sector is an industry with tangible purpose and persistent evolution. Its product is mostly detail oriented but behind the science and the process is a deep purpose in the function of everyday life. Therein lies a story worth telling.

Their thoughts are fleshed out in an article coming early next week but ahead of its release we have dished up five key takeaways for the Friday Five.

1. The importance of storytelling

"One significant challenge for us in the industrials sector is the appearance of ever more channels that potential customers use to gather information. The age-old challenge remains: how to engage them so quickly that they agree to invest time in reading your text or watching your video? Storytelling is as important as ever.”

- Matt Defosse, Global Marketing Communications Lead, Celanese Engineered Materials & Solutions

"Messaging is messaging. Content is content. Those things don’t change. You have to be on social media, you have to be visible. But the ‘what’ hasn’t changed, and I think that sometimes this gets lost. It's not about just being out on social media, it’s about having something interesting and impactful to say.”

- Carolyn Bazzini, Global Communications Leader, DuPont Automotive

2. Learn to listen

"Listening is not often the first thing you think about when writing a communications strategy. But an internal conversation with your scientists, or the like, is significantly different from talking with external audiences. Just because people within your organisation understand, doesn't mean your community will get what you are trying to say. It’s important to listen to your audience, to understand their environment, and make your message relevant to them."

- Frank Neve, Specialist Adviser in Industrials and Communications, Bright Space and former EMEA Business and Sustainability Communications Leader, Dow

3. Sustainability is the biggest change in the industrials sector

"You have to have a clear strategy and you have to effectively communicate that to all stakeholders. Our customers have objectives, we have objectives, we then need to work together to align the objectives. In the end, the idea is that we help each other as the end goals are the same, they might be expressed differently, but the end goals are the same.” - Carolyn Bazzini

"Ten years ago, companies could let sustainability slip. Not today, especially with the reporting that’s going to be required in the EU soon. Unfortunately greenwashing still happens and some companies are struggling to communicate with their stakeholders and customers on the issue.” - Frank Neve

4. Don’t bury the lead

“We in the B2B realm need to be concise with our messaging, especially with that first attempt to draw someone’s attention to a subject in which our company offers expertise. We need to be talking frequently to our colleagues who meet daily with customers, and ensure our content is bull’s eye-aimed at the challenges customers face.” - Matt Defosse

5. Trust is vital

"Trust is a critical element for business long term. It's important that you do what you say you're doing. It’s less easy but more important. What Edelman found in its 2023 ‘Trust Barometer’ is that people tend to trust commercial organisations more than governments or NGOs. There’s a big responsibility for industrials to live up to those expectations.” - Frank Neve

That's it for this week - more food for thought is on its way early next week when Carolyn, Matthew and Frank's full conversations are released. Follow Bright Space on LinkedIn here to get notified when it drops.

Have a great weekend,

The Bright Space Team.