Request a MarCom Exec: 5 Issues on Write-up-Pandemic Interaction Developments with Amentum’s Roela Santos

WashingtonExec has attained out to major GovCon communications and media executives about the hottest trends in a post-pandemic earth. These interviews emphasize good results tales that resonate, talk about how businesses are navigating present worries and deliver perception into lessons realized.

Roela Santos, senior vice president of advertising and marketing and communications for Amentum, shares her ideas under.

What ended up you and your staff greatly focused on this yr?

In 2022, the organization was centered on completing the integration of a pair of main acquisitions into Amentum, which was a substantial undertaking. In addition to integrating the framework and systems, we have the longer-phrase target of developing a unified Amentum lifestyle.

A person of the essential points the marketing and advertising and communications staff centered on this previous year was rolling out a new established of eyesight, mission and values that replicate the newly shaped business with the objective of inspiring our 36,000-in addition employee base, as effectively as our exterior stakeholders.

Our broader Amentum employee base has actually rallied all over the new eyesight, mission and values, and the advertising and marketing and comms team is energized to keep on to ground a good deal of the priorities and initiatives we have on this basis. In the method, the society we’re developing taps into the Amentum workforce of ingenious doers passionate about producing a change and fully commited to creating a purpose-pushed corporation.

What were being some of this year’s major media and communications issues, and how did you overcome them?

This past yr, we have had to reevaluate the promoting channels against evolving audience behaviors as we arise from COVID-19 isolation. We realized we were not heading back to pre-COVID patterns, but how substantially would audience behavior change and how considerably would keep the exact have been the huge thoughts.

For instance, have been individuals heading again to commuting to make metro or radio promoting a more powerful option? And will enterprise vacation be again to ranges where we ought to commit extra in airport or convention visibility?

The solutions to all those questions progressed a few times throughout the previous 12 months, and we experienced to stay on major of them and stay flexible and agile to abide by the viewers and improve our investments.

What are some of the most significant media and communications developments you are anticipating for the remainder of this year, and into 2023?

We are satisfied to see tradeshows and conferences coming back again in force and filling a broader job in shopper engagement. With a large amount of buyers functioning hybrid or distant schedules, these market functions have grow to be a extra important location for obtaining in-particular person discussions with customer teams and around cross-staff collaborations.

We also feel that with inflation and some tightening in the financial system, the need to measure qualitative success and present value in channels would be additional crucial in 2023. We will continue to have a diversified set of channels and innovative approaches to bring our story to audiences, but with enhanced metrics and agility, organizations can much more quickly adjust ways primarily based on knowledge and analytics.

Are you/your crew spearheading any major media and communications initiatives at the second? If so, can you explain?

We are excitedly working on launching a far more complete Amentum model in January. When Amentum was introduced in 2020, the exhilaration and visibility close to the new company have been minimal by the pandemic. Considering the fact that then, we have built-in and completed a couple additional major acquisitions and it is a a great deal distinct corporation than we ended up in 2020.

We now have the opportunity to relaunch the manufacturer of a corporation that has a a great deal larger footprint and a far more fascinating portfolio, and is the acknowledged leader in strategic current market segments. It is an exciting time for our advertising and communications staff and for the whole organization, and we can not hold out to unveil the brand in January.

What are you most passionate about boosting communications-extensive in your firm heading forward? 

I’m truly energized about the new technologies that are readily available that will improve the audience and staff experience. At the rear of the scenes, we have analytics and info to better inform decisions on channels and timing. To arrive at our stakeholders, who have experience as shoppers with several digital channels and units, our profession requires to step up and achieve them in which their electronic anticipations are.

Any possibility to develop and incorporate to our marketing and communications toolbox is just greater for our business and for the folks we’re hoping to engage with. This is even far more significant as digital natives in more youthful audiences are expanding in numbers and getting more influential in our current market.