Life at IE School of Communication – Blog

“Being creative is a source of tremendous power and sense of well being”. This conception has an owner: Denise R. Jacobs.

She is an author, speaker, web design consultant, and an true creativity evangelist. Based in Miami, Florida, she is the author of The CSS Detective Guide. She also co-authored InterAct with Web Standards: A Holistic Approach to Web Design and the newly-released Smashing Book 3 1/3. Masaaki Hasegawa, IE´s student of Visual and Media Communication Program, has interviewed her.

Enjoy it!

MH: How have you started to give workshops about creativity?

DJ: After I wrote my book, “The CSS Detective Guide”, I had realized I am the creative person that I wanted to be. I thought it is good, during the period of time that I wanted to be able to share that feeling with people. So, I started this workshop and started focusing on the creative process, because I wanted to start helping people converse more on their creativity and feel empowered about their creativity.

MH: Are you much more creative than others by nature?

DJ: I do not think I am intrinsically more creative. I think I have more focused on creativity than other people. Being creative is like a drug for me. It is like a feeling that you get rushed when you create something or bring something into the world. For me, I keep having that feeling and keep seeing what come through me into the world; what I can bring it to be in the world. So, I think everybody is creative, and all in different ways, everybody has a creative genius of some sort. Some people are more in touch with it than others. I am happy with helping people who are not in touch with it.

MH: Do you really think everybody can be creative?

DJ: I think everybody is already creative. If you really think about it, every act of living itself is intrinsically creative. Every day, you have a new set of experience that you haven’t happened before, and you interactive with people and say things that you didn’t say a day before, and in ways that you hadn’t said before. It makes you a new person. So, every moment you are actually creating your life. Some people are aware of that and make certain choices based on that, and some people are not aware of it that they may feel lives are being creative for them.

MH: Being aware of it is the most important thing to determine whether you are creative or not?

DJ: Being aware that you are creating every moment potentially helps you make different choices that have potentially different outcomes. Some people are being aware of and are more in charge of their life. Feeling a part of choices that they are making and realizing that they can affect the outcome of situations to the degree that they want are important.

MH: Some people insist that handwriting and hand drawing are important to enhance their creativity. Do you think digitalization prevents people from being creative?

DJ: I do not think so. For example, in my case, typing allows me to get different ideas from handwriting and using Photoshop and Illustrator lets me get different ideas from hand drawing or sketching. Thus, digitalization just has brought us different media to reach our creativity.

MH: In order to be creative, sometimes it is necessary to face your deep inside, which is scaring for some people. How they can overcome that first barrier?

DJ: One thing that is important to remember is that fear is actually a construction of your brain. It is not necessarily a real thing. It is usually an acting of your response, that you think it is going to happen in the future or something that happened in the past.  But, usually it does not have anything to do with what is happening in the present moment. Because of that, I think people can have the kind of perspective where they realize that it is something that their brains are doing. You can separate what your brain’s reactions to certain thought, and then therefore change the thought and change the brain’s reaction. It is very empowering that you can do a lot more because you know you actually control it. When you feel fear, there is actually a chemical and bioelectrical reaction that dumps in your creative and generative impulses. So, if it is getting on top of your fear, then you can create more.

MH: Do you think people will start concentrating on what they really like to do, using their creativity, in the future?

DJ: I think they will. There is definitely kind of a socially cultural shift that people come to different generation that they have a different set of goals, a set of how they want to live or structure their life, and a set of what is possible. I do think we are actually coming into a place for generation of new workers and people who are interested in entering and working in industries to start challenging those ideas, and who are starting to question why it has to be the way it has been. And, actually we are forging and creating a new path.

MH: Many people cannot find what they want or like to do. How can they find it?

DJ: I think they can start with small things, because that issue comes from habit of suppressing your likes and desires for a long, and they are even not in touch with it anymore. That is why they can start with small things such as what they like to eat or who are people that you want to be around you, really focus on it, and find how do you feel about it. Once you find it, try to think about how and what can keep that reinforcement: dopamine, and then increase the complexity as you go.

MH: Once they find it, how they can follow it?

DJ: In most of cases, it is very rare that somebody actually tries to keep you away from what you really want to do. There is nobody who grabs your close to stop you going your direction. So it is giving your self-permission and trusting that there would be something that you are suppose to experience. And life is not actually supposed to be hard or duties but to enjoy and follow your good feelings. Good feeling happens because you are trying to get more good feelings. Sometimes, people imagine something bad will happen if they follow what they like to do, but it is often the case that it ends up happening better things. You usually meet people who want to be around or get the job that you do want to do, because you are being who you really are instead of who you think you are supposed to be.

MH: Do not try to find permissions by others.

DJ: That is it. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if I do the things that other people want me to do, then I will be more valued and get more love. The irony is more who you are more you are valued, and more love you get. If you are wearing a dog costume to be liked by others though you are a cat, take that dog costume off, and be a cat.

The concept of brand co-creation is taking place in many organizations around the world. Market is giving value to the involvement of stakeholders in the way companies design and innovate to develop their brands. Therefore, the stakeholders can be an active part of the creation process.

In the video bellow, Daniele Tagliavia, Master in Corporate Communication Candidate at IE University interviews Professor Majken Schultz, from the Copenhagen Business School & Reputation Institute, about the subject.

“The biggest trend in marketing strategy nowadays is the focus on mobile”. This is how Antonio Abalos, the head of marketing for Amazon BuyVIP in Spain, defines the future of marketing. The 31 years old Spaniard joined Amazon´s team in April 2011 and came from Facebook, where he worked as a Growth Leader. In the Amazon’s shopping club, he develops the marketing plans and strategies for the online global company.

Bellow, find the interview in which he gives us his perspectives about the trends in this area.

What are the biggest challenges in heading an online company´s marketing area nowadays? 

A.A: Working in an online environment is a constant challenge, since new opportunities and initiatives come up every month. You need to have full control of every acquisition and communication channel to be able to define a good marketing strategy. However, the main challenge for any area manager is to hire and develop a good team. Having the best talent around you –people with more expertise than yourself about specific business areas– is the only option to succeed in this industry. Also, you need to make sure all your team members have clear career goals and that you will be able to help them grow inside the company.

What is specific from a big e-commence company as Amazon? 

A.A: Well, big companies have big plans, so probably the most peculiar thing about working at Amazon or any other large online business is that you have to align with other countries and departments before taking any action. Besides this, you also benefit from a well-known brand and a defined global marketing strategy that you need to adjust to some local needs.

What is changing, in terms of marketing strategy, with the strengthen of social media?

A.A: We need to consider social media as a key part of the marketing strategy. We need to be where our customers are, and we know they spend a lot of time on Facebook and Twitter. Also, social channels are great for e-commerce, since we usually share with our friends what we buy, the coolest offers, great discounts… so a big part of the acquisition budget is dedicated to social ads.

In your opinion, what are the big trends in marketing strategy? 

A.A: I guess the main trend right now is the focus on a mobile strategy. As online retailers, we need to offer our customers the possibility to buy what they want at any time and place. One of every two phones in Spain is a smartphone, so every new marketing plan or strategy has to take this into account. As an example of this, we have launched Amazon.es and Amazon BuyVIP apps for iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire…

People connection and awareness for social change. That is one of the targets of Change.org, a web platform that empowers common people to make the difference and change things. Putting people with the same targets together, the platform has more than 25 million users in 196 countries. “We are a petition platform and our strong mission is to empower everyone to lead the change”, says Francisco Polo, founder and director of Change.org for Spain.

Follow bellow the interesting interview made by Masaaki Hasegawa, IE´s student at the Master in Visual Media Communication.

MH: How did you start the “Change.org“?

FP: I have been an activist through my life. I joined the Red Cross when I was 16 years old, and I worked in a social field and an international development field. Then, I started to study law and, after that, International law, to become a diplomat because I was interested in human rights. In 2007, I had an opportunity to put my passion for social change in technology.

What happened was that Spain had manufactured cluster bomb that was prohibited by international laws. But, Spanish government insisted that they would like to have some exceptions to possess cluster bombs. That is why I started a public campaign to stop manufacturing cluster bombs and around 100 people sent me letters to join that campaign right after I commenced, and the campaign was introduced to the El Mundo and the El País. After 2 weeks I started campaign, a surprising thing happened: someone sent me e-mail with his signature to join the campaign and there was a link to the front page of El País, saying that Spanish Government agreed to ban manufacturing cluster bomb.

That was the first moment that we actually made the change and it was the first time that an individual campaign succeeded to convince government and to provoke a big change. I realized that anyone could lead this campaign, and that the most important things are setting a clear message, knowing a proper person to address to make a change, and providing tools to others to join the campaign. That is why I was determined to build a platform, in which everyone can join, to empower people.

MH: So you think everyone has a potential to make a change?

FP: Yes, if you give right tools, and show it in the right way, they can make a change by themselves.

MH: When you started, did you already have an abundant knowledge of programming to build a platform?

No, I did not have it. It took seven months for preparation and I got a lot of interviews with a lot of potential clients, users, and stakeholders. Finally, I found one of the top 3 user experience designers, and he became the person who was in charge of building a web-page and he also invited a web-developer to built the platform.

MH: What was the biggest challenge you experienced then? How did you convince people to join your campaign and company?

FP: First, you do not have to convince people to join your campaign. You can start with your own petition by yourself and just tell it to others. As long as it is an effective and appropriate campaign, people would join it. So, the only difficulty at that time was how to create a good campaign. How to establish the appropriate title, to choose the photos, and to explain in a way that makes people empowered to sign your campaign are significant factors to develop it. Narrative is also a very important part of campaign. Then, we made a platform well integrated with social media that people can make their own petition quickly and share it on the social network, such as Facebook and Twitter. What I focused on is to leverage the power of social network to spread their petition effectively.

MH: So, the usage of other social networks plays an important role in your service?

FP: Yes. We have not tried to make a social network, but a tool for people to make a change. The Internet is not the only tool to spread your idea, but one of the tools. We would like to use all options that surround us. For example, we are often working with newspapers and magazines and welcome to use those media in order to support petition creators.

MH: What do you mean by empowering people?

FP: First, creating the tool that people can use.  Second, giving advices to petition creators what is their next step. And, supporting them with press coverage. Thus, we have made a simple platform that people just need to fulfill information to start their petition and we sometime introduce petition craters to media to have an interview to be published. We support people in that way.

MH:  I had imagined that your platform was only for petitions, but it actually has a feature to connect with people. How is the function to create a community on your platform important?

FP: Actually, at the beginning, Change.org was a social network that people could connect with each other for non-profit purpose and did not have a function of petition. In 2011, we added the function for doing petition, and made the Change.org as a petition platform. So having a feature of social network is kind of a part of our legacy, but we do not recognize our service as the social network, but as the petition platform.

MH: How do you characterize your platform? What is it different from other platforms, like Facebook?

FP: Comparing with Facebook, our platform is very similar to it, and at the same time, is very different from it. As for similarity, both are open platform that everyone can join and share certain information. Big difference is its purpose. For example, Facebook’s main purpose it to connect with your friends and people you know, but our strong mission is to empower everyone to win the change, and to promote information to make a change locally and globally.

MH: How has this platform attracted people?

FP: The most important attractiveness is an inner energy that is made by petition creators. Each petition creator is a totally unique and this characteristic attracts people. So the more people make petitions, the more people would be attracted. From the technical part, combination of petition platform with social network and email has a synergy effect. We regularly provide users with new petitions uploaded on Change.org, and users can share the favorite petition on the social network. So sharing is one of key factor to get more people join.

MH: Your organization has now branches in many countries, how do you decide  which countries you would like to expand your business? 

FP: It is very simple. We choose the culture or country where seems to have a high potential and a low law entry barrier. As for economically emerging countries we have offices in Mexico, Argentine and Brazil. But as for China, we currently do not have an office because it is not democratic country and so it is hard for us to have an office there. In fact, we had some campaigns targeting Chinese government but those could not gain expected reactions. Also, we are very interested in Arabic countries to expand our services. Actually, we have tried to launch our service there but we could not find a campaign director who has the knowledge of technical skills, or creativity and energy to start campaigns.

Have you ever heard about social capital?

The idea is that contacts, social environment and relationships can be as important as, or even more important than money in the moment of launching a new business.

The Pinboard Investment Co-Prosperity Cloud calls itself a startup self-incubator, which provides venture business with is social capital instead of tons of money. Giving only US$ 37 for six new business ideas, the company intends to help them to be successful with publicity, contacts in the computerland and helping them to attract an initial pool of customers.

“The project aims to draw attention to the fact that if you have access to technical labor, the startup and operating costs for an online project in 2013 are negligible. The biggest obstacle to creating something useful is finding the time to build it and attracting an initial pool of paying customers”, explains its founder Mr. Maciej Cegłowski, in the website.

Masaaki Hasegawa, student of Visual and Media Communication Program of IE, interviewed Mr. Cegłowski. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1975, but immigrated to the United States when he was a child.

M: Please, tell us more about how did you get this outstanding unique idea, The Pinboard Investment Co-Prosperity Cloud.

MC: The idea started as a joke. I wanted to highlight my belief that many good projects do not require any outside investment, if the founder has access to free technical labor.

M: Why $37(or $222 for 6 business)? Is that your favorite number or it is based on calculation from the viewpoint of investment?

MC: There’s no deep significance to the figure.  It’s a small amount of money, but enough to buy useful services (like hosting or a domain name registration).

M. You have mentioned that you would like to invest in interesting ideas. Do you have specific fields, areas, or industries in which you would like to invest?

MC.  I am very interested in areas where computers can make people’s lives easier, but where people are still doing things in the hard way. These tend to be in industries and professions that are not well known to technical people.  For that reason, I have tried to avoid projects that target programmers, designers, and startups, since the tech industry is already full of useful tools that people build for one another.    I also prefer to focus on small, specific projects rather than very ambitious ideas.  I like people who bite off one the corner of a specific problem, rather than trying to solve it in the abstract.

M. Would you look for other investment destinations in the future?

MC.  If this initial “investment” round goes well, definitely!

M: What do you think about the current venture capital situation?

MC.  I think there is too much money right now, chasing too few good ideas.  This kind of overheated investment climate encourages people to chase investment money and rapid growth rather than build useful things. That means a lot of time has been wasted, running after investors that would be better spent programming.  I also think that many people who got rich in the most recent bubble (companies like Twitter and Facebook) are now trying their hand at investing, making the problem worse.

M. You would like to change the current venture capital trend that putting huge amount of money into start-up companies and that aims for publishing stock to sell? 

MC.  I don’t want to change it, I just want for there to be alternatives.  For every million-dollar idea, there are thousands of hundred-dollar ideas.  Not everything has to grow to be successful, and I would like for people to feel good about pursuing side projects and small businesses, without feeling pressure to find “bigger” ideas just so they can be taken seriously.

M: Would you like to be a business associate of interesting business rather than an investor? Is that why you are using “Co-Prosperity” as your fund’s name?

MC:  I like the idea of mutual aid.  People who run small online businesses have a lot of advice and help they can offer one another, as well as simple encouragement.  The more of us there are, the less stressful it becomes to do what I do.

M. You say, “The Co-Prosperity Cloud is an experiment in distributing just that sort of social capital ”. Do you think that your business is actually creating an innovative meaning of value measurement in the economy, instead of the traditional concept of money?

MC.  Not at all.  I’m just trying to draw attention to the fact that for many business ideas, startup costs are approaching zero.  This is an exciting new development.  In these circumstances, the most helpful thing you can offer someone is often not money, but help in finding customers and making connections.

M: What is the definition of social capital for you?

MC: The ability to get strangers to pay attention to what you are doing.

M. If you can success in this experiment, social capital would be proved to play an important role in the current society, mainly in the sense of value generating. Do you think it would potentially be an important keyword in next years?

MC. I think people recognize that connections have always been important.  The only thing that is changed now is that money is becoming less important, which means there will be more of a focus on social capital.

M. It seems that your business has a sophisticated philosophy. Please tell me more about your philosophy and its effects in your business. 

MC.  I really just make up the philosophy as I go.  People seem to want to talk about it, so I keep adding new bits!

I would like to introduce you our Dean Begoña. She is a smiling and sensitive person, and at the same time she is also a high-level professional with strong character, in charge of two new master programs at IE School of Communication and one more program that is in its third intake.

Personal approach Age: 47 Married: No Children: No Studies: She studied a BA in Spanish Philology at  Navarra University and obtained her PHD in  Literature, focusing her with a thesis on Mexican  poet Octavio Paz. Cities in which Begoña has lived: Gijón, where  she is originally from, Pamplona during her studies  at the University, and Madrid since 1996. Her favorite city in the world: New York and Paris  (Impossible to choose just one of them). Last book she read and liked: D’autres vies que la  mienne by Emmanuel Carrère. However, her  favorites books are: Cien años de soledad by  Gabriel García Márquez (novel), Duineser  Elegien by Rainer Maria Rilke (poetry) and Los  límites del mundo by Eugenio Trías (essay). One song: One, by U2 and Mary J. Blige. A film: Although David Lynch is her favorite  director; the latest movie she liked a lot was  Amour by Michael Haneke. A hobby: Reading, watching movies and to go out  with friends. A secret: No secrets. A sin: (Maybe) to have a very strong character.

Beatriz García de Prado: There are two new masters in Communication being taught this academic year. How do you feel about them?

Begoña González-Cuesta: I am very happy with how things are going with the programs so far. We have received feedback from both, students and professors, and it is very positive. Students are very happy with the all they are learning. For this they are working very hard, they understand how necessary it is to do so. From the point of view of the professors (which is also very important for me) they are very happy with the quality of the students and the energy they bring to the classroom, especially because of the diversity of the students and their commitment to learning.

Beatriz: What are the key aspects of these programs?

Begoña: The kind of school that we are building relies on three balanced elements: the first one is a conceptual and strategic component; we want the students to be able to think critically and to build on the foundations of their profession, with a strategic vision of their own development. The second is the practical side. Students develop a learning process very closely aligned to the professions, focusing on being very creative and updated with the latest developments in the fields. Finally, there is the managerial side, which is very much the core of IE; we believe that by offering management education within every field we are preparing people to be better journalists, visual and corporate communicators, but also professionals that are able to manage teams and businesses.

Beatriz: Do you choose the field in which to teach a master program, or is it assigned to you?

Begoña: I am mostly free to make decisions about the programs, although not completely free; which is good. I lead in establishing the vision of the school and selecting which programs we want to teach, but I don’t make those decisions by myself. I work with a team that includes the academic directors of the programs, Manuel Fernández de Villalta, the Dean of Graduate Programs for IE University, and also our Admissions and Marketing team.  It is very important to us not only to have programs that are interesting from the academic point of view, but also programs that meet the needs of our society and of our potential students.

Beatriz: Why are these master programs important for IE?

Begoña: Because communication is, now more than ever, at the center of both our personal and professional lives; it plays a key role in the development of any institution or company. Given this importance, having programs that teach professionals to manage the communication process is an asset for the strategic development of IE as an educational institution

Beatriz:  Do you think that the students are meeting your expectations?

Begoña: Absolutely! And in many cases, they exceed our expectations. We currently have the two new programs we have talked about, but we also have the Master in Corporate Communication, already in its third intake and an upcoming fourth one in the fall. We recently performed a job placement survey which reflects that our alumni are getting hired for very interesting positions all over the world. We will publish very soon the results on our webpage.

Beatriz: And now a little bit of self-criticism, do you think you are IE meeting expectations?

Begoña: I think we are doing well in terms of the academic quality of the programs, our faculty, and program management. Naturally we have to deal with some shortcomings, but I think in the most cases we are ok. Maybe the biggest challenge that we have is that the School of Communication is very young within the IE system. In comparison, the Business Schools is a far larger and worldwide renowned school, with thousands students and over twenty Master programs. In some cases, to be the youngest of the family has its disadvantages. An example of this is not being able to choose the classrooms or classroom layouts we would prefer, given that our groups are smaller than those in business programs.  However as our school keeps growing, we will do away with these small constraints.

Beatriz: What is your day to day job as Dean of IE School of Communication?

Begoña: My daily job has to do with coordinating and driving all the activities and initiatives related to the School. I am happy doing this, especially because I am working with a great team. I also invest much of my time updating myself about the field of Communication, both in the academic and the professional sides, trying to keep abreast about the latest trends and innovations. It is also very important for me to create a network for the School: professors, companies, and associations.

And the same time I am also a professor, which is my passion and is how I got started. For sure I consider myself more a professor than a Dean. I spend an important part of my time preparing classes, teaching, reading, and writing.

Beatriz: Being a Dean, do you miss being in contact with the students?

Begoña: I don’t miss it because I am in touch with the students. This is something that I don´t plan on giving up. Not only because I like but because I think that a Dean, or anyone holding a Director position in an academic institution has to be in contact with the students. For me this is a must.

Beatriz: Best and worst things of being a teacher?

Begoña: The best part is that it is very rewarding to see how people evolve, learn and develop their skills, and this is something that you can feel being a professor. I also love the fact that it allows you to spend a lot of time thinking, reading, discussing and interacting with others at an intellectual level. The worst part is when you have students that lack motivation. I think that the relationship between a professor and the students is like a dialogue, and if the other person doesn’t feel compelled to talk, then that connection is difficult.

Beatriz: What behavior or what attitude do you appreciate the most in the student?

Begoña: Interest, no fear of working hard, curiosity and an open mind. I like students who combine reflection and action, who are willing to learn about different cultures, values and lifestyles.  More so, I like student who are aware of how important these factors are in their learning development both personally and professionally and how all this fits in the role are going to assume in the future. Lastly, I appreciate people who are very professional and ethically committed.

Social Networks are increasingly playing a role in the journalism field. In the Spanish market, the latest innovation in this direction is Niagarank. The platform involves Twitter and can be seen as an aggregator of the most important tweets in the moment: it reveals what everybody is commenting about and highlights the hot topics of the day in Spain.

How do they do it? Niagarank follows several thousand Twitter users and rank them, also ranking the subjects they usually tweet.  Through an algorithm, it publishes the most interesting material that is circulating in the social network. “We do robot mass-curation for news aggregation”, defines Luistxo Fernandez, who helped to develop the platform. He has visited the Master in Digital Journalism Program last week and presented the project that has just been launched by CodeSyntax,a  small web development company, based in the Basque Country.

In your opinion, what is the role of social media in communication field?
LF: All social media play a central role in the realm of communication. Well, Internet itself is pure communication, best invention we could imagine for that human need… Then, introducing one’s social entourage as an enhancer of the communication experience adds nuances to that experience. On one side, you can create your own communication channel selecting your sources (friends or otherwise), but on the other, closed circles can also be created. Your entourage has a certain color or taste, and what you consume, at the end, may end being monocolor…

In Niagarank, Twitter assumes a role in journalism area: people enter in the platform and see the most commented (by consequence, important) subjects of the day. It can be considered as “audience natural edition”. In your opinion, is it a trend that social media also assumes a role in the journalism field? 
LF: Social media is a prime informative source for many of us. We get to know relevant news and information through those channels rather than by mainstream media. But at the same time, the amount of noise and irrelevant chatter may be overwhelming. Although Trending Topics in Twitter might be informative, many times they are just a miscelaneous chaos. In Niagarank, on the other hand, we try to refine information, not in terms of Topics, but real news or informative links, and we add up the most relevant tweets to those items, not just the most retweeted, but also the ones that are relevant to that community. And I say community, because we have created distinct channels in Niagarank, and in each one of these channels, we follow a different set of users.

What is special about Twitter?
LF: It is obviously the social networking with biggest connection to the concept of news and information. Therefore, it is the closest to what might be considered media.

On what markets do you see opportunities for Niagarank? Why?
LF: We are trying to build Niagarank.es as a destination newssite in Spain. That is a b2c perspective, trying to reach the audience in general, people that is thirsty for news in this or that subject. But, we also believe in a b2b setting, in which the content-discovery functionality of Niagarank can be put to the service of organizations or businesses which need to develop a content-rich experience for their web or social media strategies. In order  to fulfill that objective, they might purchase content, hire content creators… or use the automated machinery of Niagarank, a cost-effective solution.

On January 14-15 this year, the International Seminar on Tourism and Media in Central America took place in Guatemala City. It was organized by the Central American Integration System (SICA), and supported by United Nations World Tourism Organization, INGUAT and Fondo España.

During the first day, tourism was stated to imply large territorial advantages -beyond leisure time- such as poverty eradication, improving the quality of life among local communities, and contribution to environmental preservation. Travelers should be aware of the big impact caused by our movements to different destinations.

Ana F. Biescas taking part in the panel discussion: Central Amarica Tourism on International Media

Tourism, as a business generator, grows faster than global economy – said Marcelo Risi, Principal Media Officer of UNWTO. The tourism sector creates 1 out of every 12 jobs worldwide. In Central America, tourism directly generates 364,000 jobs, and indirectly, an additional 20% more -said Mercedes Meléndez, Secretary of the Central American Integration System. Tourism is also relevant for many socio-economic aspects, such as the promotion and consumption of local products, the creation and improvement of local infrastructure, promoting local associations, attracting foreign investment, security protocols, and obtaining documents and visas.

International media turns tourism into current news as it directly affects the global economy and people’s lives. We are particularly touched by individual human stories, with close and personal cases being the ones most likely to shake us, surprise us, excite us… give us goose bumps. This idea sparked a debate about how media balances the importance of increasing their audience with generating transparent information free of sales objectives.

During the second part of the seminar we focused on crisis management communication. This is a crucial issue in Central America since sensationalist news tends to overshadow the positive stories emerging that highlight the region as an attractive tourism destination. Media cannot skip sad or unfavorable news, but there is a need of establishing communication protocols in case a crisis situation occurs to deal with its consequences. These procedures must be part of each destination’s communication strategy. Crisis evolution depends on how changes are perceived, and how we react to adversity. Germán Porras, ex general secretary of Tourism Spain, led an analysis of the best practices for crisis situations. We went through several cases in which inappropriate information management caused a loss of trust among travelers, negatively affecting tourism in well known destinations -such as Egypt- .

Crisis communication management starts before a crisis occurs. It begins by setting preventive measures aimed at its relief when a crisis arises. When that happens, a flexible response protocol must be established -mainly at an institutional level. After the crisis takes place, we need a set of type responses, always bearing in mind that messages should be carefully handled showing empathy for the audience, especially for people affected. Likewise, reputation and leadership will be maintained assuming responsibilities and following the processes established, communicating the available information with transparency and using a single voice.

Travelers have no reason to be loyal to tourist destinations. On the other hand, travelers are very sensitive to subjective risk perception. That is the reason why destinations should keep travelers well informed to minimize their feeling of vulnerability due to factors like language difficulties, lack of environmental awareness, emergency procedures, and so on.

Tourism is a future bet, and is a product of trust. Therefore, the best way to communicate the information about destinations must be shaped to attract visitors without scaring them. Ideally, tourism boards should maintain a close and fluent relationship with media, and journalists should be committed to reporting with transparency.

By: Ana Fañanás Biescas

Admission is free, but  space is limited. Please confirm your attendance to: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGFEWFRZcFVoNEZLZjN3MlVPOEdsS0E6MA