Henkel is a global company that has numerous brands striving to meet consumer expectations. That’s why the company strives to keep pace with all communications trends and to align with the challenges of the media world
Digital media tools have brought major transformation in terms of speed, transparency, simplicity, accessibility, responsiveness and connectivity, says Henkel’s Jelena Gavrilović Šarenac, with whom we discussed all the challenges and advantages of modern communication, and the ways Henkel Serbia and Henkel Adria engage with the public and their consumers.
You are the Head of Corporate Communications at a large international company, which is a position that carries significant weight and responsibility. How different is your job today compared to that of a corporate communications leader in previous times?
— The main difference is the speed and ease with which we can now access information or reach a spokesperson, primarily thanks to digital communications.
Information exchange happens very quickly and dynamically, with an expectation that everything will be completed in real time.It is often said that time has accelerated and there is now an increasing expectation for innovation while managing numerous diverse tasks. Communication is now an imperative for businesses and existence itself – if you aren’t available on social media channels, it is as though you don’t exist.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is the capacity of AI and the human ability to interact with it. It is said that AI won’t replace human communicators, but that the quality of communicators’ work will be measured by how effectively they use AI. Despite all these changes, I always emphasise teamwork and strong collaboration with colleagues, which remains my top priority.
Strategic communication is undoubtedly the key to successful operations for all companies. It requires aligning topics and priorities with other departments, as well as long-term planning of all activities. How do you approach this?
— Long-term planning is extremely important, as it helps create a vision and framework for executing tasks. Such plans are developed in a detailed and careful manner. A long-term strategy provides an overview of the entire business year, which is why I approach planning with enthusiasm, energy, a positive mindset and a high level of focus and dedication.
Communication is a business imperative today—if you aren’t present on social media, you might as well not exist.
However, no matter how solid our long-term plans are, we must always be ready to react quickly and adapt on the go, as things are happening ever more quickly. At our company, we have the Henkel corporate brand, as well as dozens of well-known and strong brands like Persil, Schwarzkopf, Ceresit and Loctite. Aligning topics and priorities can sometimes be challenging, but that’s when good planning and excellent collaboration with colleagues come into play, allowing us to jointly execute projects successfully.
Digital media tools provide not only speed, but also creativity, interactivity and the ability to communicate the right messages about your brands and their innovations. How do you approach this?
— It is often said today that every person can be a media channel, and we know that the media has always been considered the “seventh power”. Digital media tools have brought major changes in terms of speed, transparency, simplicity, accessibility, responsiveness and connectivity. All messages now move between the analogue and digital worlds, and target audiences can be reached through both traditional and digital media. Depending on the channel used, there are specific expectations that we must meet.
When it comes to our brands, we care about ensuring that timely and accurate information reaches our consumers.Year after year, we see a trend of stronger advertising in online media, but this doesn’t diminish the importance of traditional media.