Preparing Future Leaders for Digital Marketing and Communication Challenges
Bridging Theory and Practice: Preparing Future Leaders for Digital Marketing and Communication Challenges
For the second year, Weber Shandwick teamed up with the higher education institution CREA on their specialized Master’s program in Influence & eReputation. Alphonse Daudré-Vignier (Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate, Weber Shandwick), along with Justine Chappuis (Account Director, Corporate & Health, Weber Shandwick), shared their expertise on corporate and specifically crisis communication, with students building a career in communications. Raphaël Troussier (Programme Director, Master’s in Digital Marketing & Communication, CREA) and Alphonse Daudré-Vignier exchanged thoughts on the experience in a joint interview.
Tell us about yourselves
Raphaël Troussier: With 27 years of experience as an advertising executive in agencies in Paris and Geneva, I’ve become an expert in disruptive communications and digital marketing. Seven years ago, I co-founded the Bluevista agency in Geneva. In 2022, I joined CREA, a pioneering school for digital education in Switzerland, to contribute and share my experience with Master’s students, training the experts of tomorrow.
Alphonse Daudré-Vignier: I am an Executive Vice President at Weber Shandwick with 15 years of experience in corporate communications, public affairs, and crisis management. I am a trusted partner and advisor for Weber Shandwick’s largest clients, helping them navigate complex and challenging business environments with a focus on corporate affairs. As Head of our Corporate Communications Practice, I lead a team of talented professionals who deliver strategic and creative solutions across multiple sectors and markets.
What is the specialized master’s in Influence & eReputation and who is it designed for?
Raphaël: In the field of digital marketing and communication, the term ‘influence’ has unfortunately been distorted and devalued. Our challenge is to restore its true meaning and transcend its understanding beyond the influencer. In a world where social media users are growing exponentially, and brands are omnipresent on the web, we have therefore chosen to offer our master’s students a specialisation in ‘Influence & e-Reputation’. This decision responds to a specific need in the Swiss market, home to many European and international headquarters of multinationals and international organisations with major needs in reputation and PR communications. Since the introduction of this specialisation, we have seen a strong influx of students every year, which testifies to the interest it arouses among future digital marketing and communications experts. We aim to provide our students with the tools and skills they need to successfully navigate the complex digital marketing and communications landscape in the digital age.
Why did you decide to invite Weber Shandwick Switzerland to teach as part of this course?
Raphaël: Weber Shandwick is a recognized player in influence and in the fields of communications and public relations. My decision to work with Weber Shandwick was therefore an obvious one. Thanks to my experience as an account director, I was aware of Weber Shandwick’s excellence in key areas such as brand e-reputation, corporate communications strategies, and crisis management. In my initial discussions with the agency team, I quickly realized that we shared the same business vision. This made it much easier to apply their expertise to the courses and workshops in the ‘Influence & e-Reputation’ specialisation in the master’s degree in ‘Digital Marketing & Communication’. Their professionalism and responsiveness have been major assets to a fruitful collaboration.
What attracted you to CREA and made you want to be part of this adventure?
Alphonse: CREA had just introduced its influence specialized course, and it felt like an opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with students. Despite the personal challenges of teaching, the topics covered in the syllabus were particularly relevant in that we had plenty of concrete examples to bring to the discussion.
What are the current trends that should matter to the next generation of communicators?
Alphonse: Companies’ actions are under greater scrutiny, especially when considering factors such as the current geopolitical context, social media and its 24/7 exposure, and expectations for brands to have a voice on issues (e.g., ESG, social justice, etc.). Actions, words, and business decisions can impact companies’ reputation and their ability to do business. Communicators need to play a role in raising collective awareness around these risks and develop the tools and approaches to mitigate them. AI is also bringing a paradigm shift to our work regarding reputation analysis and content creation, for instance.
What was the main message you wanted to share with students?
Alphonse: We touched upon three main topics: corporate communications, issues and crisis management, media training, and public speaking. For each topic, we covered a mix of theory and practical examples. We tried to balance both so that students could leave with a clear analytical framework tested against real-life situations. My final recommendation would be to stay curious, which is very much needed in our industry.
Raphaël: A strategic approach and empiricism are at the heart of our teaching philosophy. We strongly encourage our students to show initiative and creativity, which encourages the emergence of intuitive profiles. But we don’t stop there. We guide them to rationalize their proposals using tried and tested methods and tools. Our ‘Learning by Doing’ pedagogy allows students to put these methods into practice through workshops based on real, concrete cases. In this way, they can see for themselves how these tools and methods work in the real world of digital marketing and communications.