The Magic of Unbranded Communication

In this first Spanish episode of the PRGN Presents podcast, Loreley Maldonado, founder of Eje Comunicación in Mexico, talks with Valentina Giacaman, founder of RumboCierto Comunicaciones in Chile about unbranded communication.

The evolution of corporate communication allows companies to use all their creativity to develop narratives and messages that stand out, permeate and influence their strategic audiences, obtaining not only brand or name recall but also recognition of what they contribute to society.

Many of these companies, especially the over-regulated ones, and those under constant public scrutiny, have to resort to innovative communication techniques that allow them to participate in the public conversation without necessarily appearing in a visible way. This is where unbranded communication plays an essential role in helping them to defend their interests.

And what is unbranded communication?

With little recognition in the business world, this type of communication seeks to generate credibility, legitimacy and trust, aspects to which all communication must adhere if it is to be effective.

Unbranded communication is that which seeks to persuade strategic audiences indirectly, through the promotion of topics of interest to public opinion without mentioning the brand that drives it (Maldonado, 2023).

How does it work?

Unbranded communication works because, since there is no brand in the middle, public opinion is more open to receive messages that allow the company that elaborates them a more effective penetration, especially if such messages are placed in the hands of third-party experts, who generate high credibility. 

The implementation of unbranded communication requires material and human resources, as well as intelligence work to strategically map organizations, associations, think tanks and researchers whose topics are aligned with what the company seeks to communicate, as well as time to plan and carry out the efforts.

Exerting some degree of influence on public opinion on issues that can climb or fall positions is one of the tasks of communication itself and even more so of unbranded communication, which manages to influence audiences in a forceful manner.

One of the industries that carries it out on a recurring basis is the pharmaceutical industry, since it is unable to communicate directly with its products, due to its particularities and regulations, it carries out an unbranded communication that allows it to inform audiences and generate a call to action.

Unbranded communication and its effectiveness in corporate reputation management

Reputation management is one of the most important tasks of organizations today, so in order to do it successfully, it is essential to consider communication as a key success factor.

The extent to which an organization manages its communication, through different tactics, can have a positive or negative impact on its corporate image and thus its reputation.

This is how today some of the big brands, especially those that are constantly being singled out, have migrated from the traditional communication model, that is, from branded content to unbranded content, in order to manage in a more intelligent way, an editorial agenda attached to their interests, which favors them and gives them strong results in their business objectives.

In particular, unbranded communication is fundamental to obtain better results; understanding it as a necessary tool within strategic communication is also part of the job of the organizations and, in our case, their agencies.

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