Founder and CEO of ARTÉMIA Communications Barbara Wichmann labored internationally as a guide earlier than founding ARTÉMIA as a girls’s enterprise enterprise (WBE) in 1995. In each capacities, she developed and executed strategic communications and advertising in addition to VIP partnership growth campaigns for purchasers on a number of continents.
As well as, Wichmann serves on the board of a number of organizations and lectures often on sustainability and associated points. When she’s not working her firm, she dedicates time to Ladies Impacting Public Coverage Schooling Institute in addition to Ladies Enterprise Enterprise Nationwide Council (WBENC) and WBEC-Pacific.
Drawing inspiration from her early life within the Netherlands, Wichmann, embraces a global method that’s deeply ingrained in her values. Residing in a rustic recognized for its dedication to ecological practices, innovation-driven mindset, and multicultural society, the founder’s core rules of sustainability and variety had been formed. Her international perspective fuels her imaginative and prescient for ARTÉMIA and drives the corporate’s unwavering dedication to making a sustainable and inclusive future.
We caught up with Wichmann to get her tackle the way forward for the communications business.
What ebook, podcast or different media do you advocate to different comms execs?
I could also be just a little biased as a result of I personally know Dr. Patricia Anderson, nonetheless, I’d nonetheless advocate her ebook “You Know Much less Than You Don’t Know” if I didn’t. It’s a nice learn for these in search of to change into simpler leaders. Dr. P, as she is understood, is an professional in genuine transformational management and her ebook does a superb job of breaking down the variations between change and transformation, and tips on how to lead in a approach that drives the latter.
What’s your favourite device you employ often for work?
We’ve got at all times been early adopters of latest know-how; nonetheless, it wasn’t till the COVID-19 pandemic that we started actually leveraging Zoom. Earlier than, I spent fairly a little bit of time flying internationally to satisfy with purchasers face-to-face or dialing right into a convention name. When every little thing shut down, including Zoom to the combination was important to proceed our operations. It’s nonetheless part of our day-to-day life as a result of it modified the best way our staff keep linked with one another in addition to our purchasers and companions in a approach I couldn’t have imagined.
We might have relied on convention calls, however I felt it was actually essential to have face time with the group, whether or not it was for a five-minute contact base or a full work session. Along with making us really feel much less remoted, it additionally made us extra environment friendly; it was simpler to ship a Zoom hyperlink to a number of individuals for a brief briefing than it was to arrange a convention and display sharing made it simpler to remain on the identical web page.
Our purchasers had additionally moved to Zoom or Groups, and we had been in a position to “meet” individuals we’d solely referred to as voices for years. I assumed that was actually thrilling! I used to be in a position to get to know purchasers on a deeper degree because it was a extra casual one-on-one atmosphere that offered all of us with perception into one another’s worlds.
Plus, the transfer to a digital area made it doable for me to attend extra conferences and occasions than I might earlier than whereas decreasing our carbon footprint. That’s a giant deal to me, as sustainability has at all times been a core a part of our work. Though in-person occasions have resumed and I’m touring extra once more, Zoom has continued to maintain it to a minimal.
Furthermore, I’ve discovered Zoom to be an incredible equalizer. Everybody’s window is identical dimension, whether or not it’s a shopper, an intern, a senior author or me. I believe it made it much less intimidating for newer teammates which allowed us to attach on a extra private degree. It has unified us.
What excites you most about the way forward for communications?
Within the final 25+ years within the business, I’ve seen quite a lot of tendencies come and go. Nevertheless, the rise of know-how, together with social media, has completely redefined buyer expectations each within the B2B and B2C area. Firms are anticipated to talk out and take a concrete place concerning social and environmental points. They have to be capable to show they reside the values they declare. Many corporations are discovering it tough to speak with their goal audiences utilizing the methods they’ve relied on up to now.
We’re experiencing a interval the place belief, authenticity and open dialogue are paramount. Folks wish to join with actual tales and experiences now greater than ever; they should really feel seen and heard. At our core, we’re storytellers and messengers who’re able to serving to companies meet these wants. Firms are realizing how beneficial communication actually is and that creates quite a lot of thrilling alternatives for us.
What communications problem retains you up at evening?
I spend quite a lot of time enthusiastic about how we will push the boundaries of communication to make sure that no viewers is ever actually out of attain. It’s one thing that I care about deeply – DEIA has been one in every of our core values because the company’s infancy. I consider there may be immense energy in connecting with those that have been marginalized and neglected – we uncover new concepts, problem current norms, construct stronger relationships, and foster innovation that advantages not solely these people however society as an entire.
Partaking with hard-to-reach audiences means breaking down boundaries and making certain that everybody, no matter their background or circumstances, has entry to info, assets and alternatives. It’s about making a degree enjoying subject and offering avenues for fulfillment and development; it’s about constructing a society the place everybody’s voice issues, the place nobody is left behind, and the place we will all transfer ahead collectively.
What’s the largest problem you’ve overcome in your profession?
In our early days, we had been a product launch firm that primarily labored with tech startups. Our company started to increase shortly in tandem with what would ultimately be dubbed the “dot com bubble.”
After all, it burst as bubbles are likely to do and the telephones began ringing. Founders wanted to shut their accounts with us as a result of their funding was drying up. In consequence, we accelerated our diversification into different business segments.
Fortunately, we survived, and the expertise made the company extra resilient. It confirmed me the advantage of being much less specialised and I started to construct a extra “generalist” company backed by a group of specialists. This offered a chance to increase the companies we provided in addition to the sorts of purchasers we served. Whereas we nonetheless like to work with startups at the moment, we additionally started aiding international companies.
The company was as robust as ever going into 2020. We had simply moved into an exquisite new workplace area and I used to be wanting ahead to the work we’d do there, however then the world went into full lockdown mode. When the pandemic considerably impacted non-essential companies, it felt just like the dot com demise over again — besides this time, it wasn’t restricted to startups. I keep in mind wanting round our workplace and enthusiastic about how empty it felt. All that was there was new furnishings and the load of uncertainty hanging within the air.
Whereas issues slowed down, the industries deemed “important” had an elevated want for our assist. We embraced the flexibleness that got here with the “new regular” to change into extra agile, which allowed us to construct and keep stronger relationships with our purchasers. I’m grateful that we had been in a position to proceed doing significant work and finally come out on the opposite facet. These two challenges had been each main crises and extremely beneficial studying experiences.
What’s the greatest recommendation you’ve ever gotten?
One in all my vastly profitable friends who’s a thought chief within the logistics business advised me as soon as, “You may’t take issues personally.” It was a reminder that purchasers function with their very own set of concerns that might not be aligned with really useful approaches or greatest practices.
Isis Simpson-Mersha is a convention producer/ reporter for Ragan. Comply with her on LinkedIn.
