Book Chapter Published

Abstract

Within the strategic communication field, the concept of alignment has played a crucial role in increasing the effectiveness of communication activities and enhancing the contribution of communication function to the development of corporate value. The different definitions of strategic communication provided by scholars have emphasized the high relevance attributed to the alignment between communication strategy and corporate strategy as well as to the coherence between the single communication initiatives. As pointed out by Argenti et al. (2005), strategic communication can be defined as a communication that is “aligned with a company’s overall strategy to improve its strategic positioning” (p. 83). Additionally, Hallahan et al. (2007) have underlined that strategic communication is to be considered the “purposeful use of communication by an organization to fulfill its mission” (p. 3). By using the term purposeful, we can assume that strategic communication needs to be characterized by consistency between corporate purpose, guiding values, mission, vision, business strategy and communication aims, and activities (Christensen et al., 2008). Communication practitioners should aim to include and align all the diverse communication activities “in the service of the organization as a whole” (Christensen and Christensen, 2018, p. 438). The relevance attributed to the concept of alignment is well represented by the case study of Nuvola Lavazza, the new headquarters of Lavazza Group located in Turin, Italy, which opened in 2018. The design, the development, and the communication implemented for presenting the new buildings required a strong effort by the organization and the communication function to align the corporate mission, vision, and culture with communication strategies and tactics.

Based on these premises, this chapter provides an overview of the concept of alignment within the strategic communication field and illustrates the methods and theoretical and practical tools available to practitioners for measuring the alignment level of their activity. The first part discusses the steps to follow to guarantee coherence and consistency with corporate strategy. The focus then shifts to explore how to align communication strategies and tactics. Finally, key learnings for communication practitioners are offered with reference to the Nuvola Lavazza experience.