Jean-Marc Atlan, CEO and Founder of EKNO & Chris Cuenca, Creative Director, who joined the agency a few months ago, share their views on the challenges of corporate expression for companies and organizations.   

In what way and how does the integration of creative skills give value to the EKNO model? 

JMA: The integration of design and creation skill within EKNO’s team does not radically change our open architecture model, but in fact, adds value to it.  
By bringing our team members closer to the experience and the daily practices of creation by confronting them to their challenges, our consultants are clearly adding another string to their bow and are gradually sharpening their perspectives on the expression and and staging of their strategic intuitions. 

CC: Our creative studio expands EKNO’s range of intervention and facilitates our clients’ access to the necessary expertise in the design and deployment of their communications.  
We will establish solid links with the partners who are integrated with EKNO & Co, to coordinate and design together adapted responses to their expression challenges. 

What place does creation hold in companies and institutions’ corporate communication? 

JMA: In terms of corporate communication and B2B, we observe a tendency to banalization of speech, being internal or external: managerial newspeak, multiplication of ready-made sentences and use of meaningless words to characterize and convey the strategic intentions of businesses. 
The high CSR pressure or the race to become purpose-led adds to this creeping homogenization of corporate speeches, as if certain commitments, sometimes even the most obvious ones, should be brought up again and again to ensure that they are following the surrounding noise. 
In the end, the risk is losing credibility through loss of attention. However, the identity of the organizations must reflect their singularity, which means working first on determining the nature and the outlines of this singularity, and then to give us all the means to reveal it effectively. 

CC: More than ever, creative talent contributes to this demand of affirmation of the fundamentals of companies and organizations as a source of differentiation, attractiveness but above all, coherence. It is, in fact, in this creative and strategic exercise of alignment of content and form where relies the strength and impact of a brand.

What are the trends today in the expression of the identity of companies and organizations? 

CC: As Jean-Marc pointed out, today we are observing a real trend towards the simplification of the expression of companies and brands, at all levels. 
We might think that it is a direct consequence of the digitalization of models and dialogue with various audiences. However, it goes way beyond that. Simplicity carries indeed two essential dimensions on which trust is founded: sincerity and authenticity. 
To reinvent themselves, brands and organizations will need to draw from their stories and their fundamentals to tell their project, provide proof of their commitment and share their reality.  
The creation process must position itself at this truth exercise and projection’s service by including essential parameters of ethics and eco-design.