The author is president of the Argentine Public Relations Professional Council

Institutional communicators in Argentina face a challenging yet fascinating scene, marked by the current political landscape, swift cultural changes, and a society pierced by fragmentation and distrust. The outdated paradigm of broadcasting messages from an authorized and unambiguous voice has been replaced by a decentralized, emotion-driven, and competitive digital ecosystem, where every speaker is competing for seconds of attention and bits of credibility. 

Today, communication is not just about providing information; it’s about negotiating meaning, interpreting the social climate, understanding algorithms, creating community, and, above all, building trust in the midst of distrust. Within this dynamic setting, technological transformation (with AI as a protagonist) is redefining time, distribution channels, and languages. And as the tools at our disposal multiply, so do the dilemmas. How do you talk to a polarized society without getting caught in its cracks? How do you communicate purposefully without slipping into posturing? How do you exert influence without manipulation?

One of the most pressing challenges is how to deal with conflicting narratives. Institutional communication cannot elude the great cultural debates that divide the world: woke v. anti-woke, globalism v. nationalism, and progressives v. conservatives. The collective fears (of change, of other people, of an uncertain future) model perceptions and condition narratives. Within this context, brands, institutions, and leaders face the dilemma of intervening or staying silent, of taking a stand or remaining neutral, knowing that silence is also a way of communicating.

The rise of streaming and new digital platforms has given this paradigm a new twist. Broadcasting is not enough: you also have to build a community. Younger generations no longer engage with traditional media outlets and flock to Twitch, YouTube, or TikTok, not only for entertainment but also for a sense of belonging. Conducting institutional communication within these environments requires knowing their codes, understanding their values, and adapting formats to each platform’s native languages. In short, it’s an invitation to leave the ivory tower and engage in real conversation, even if that means losing a bit of control.

Politics is becoming more vertical and visual: a post, a short video, a meme, a reel. The dispute over symbolic power plays out in the field of what is immediate and shareable. Words lose impact when confronted with images. Charisma is measured in interactions. Within this context, the institutional communicator assumes the role of a translator between the formal and the viral, between the strategic plan and the audience’s emotions. 

The debate surrounding how to manage diverging interests and the legitimate representation of a cause has also been renewed. In an age in which the online community demands and monitors values like ethics and transparency, influencing becomes a delicate task. Today, hashtags can impact as much as government decisions, sometimes even more. A well-run digital campaign can open (or close) doors faster than any formal letter. The challenge lies in integrating the purpose as a compass, not a slogan. 

How do you communicate the future? In a world guided by algorithms and marked by hyperstimulation, communicational success is no longer measured in reach but in emotional resonance. Understanding how the human brain works, how our emotions operate, and how AI can amplify or distort those mechanisms will be key to constructing effective, ethical, and important messages. But we must also honestly ask ourselves if artificial intelligence is a real ally or a black box with consequences we have yet to fully grasp.

All these topics will be debated during the 2025 International Conference of Public Relations and Communication (CIRPCOM, for its Spanish initials), the most important event of the institutional communications industry. The conference will take place on June 9 in the Buenos Aires Convention Center (CEC) and is organized jointly by the Professional Council on Public Relations and the Argentine Dircoms Circle.