What will communication of the future be like?

If it's possible to plan a ten-year business plan, why shouldn't it also be possible for a communications strategy? This question informs the project launched by A2A in collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome: a veritable laboratory for imagining future communications and how to gain and manage public trust, a fundamental element underlying the choices of those who must craft a narrative. At the heart of the initiative is a cultural and organizational workshop, entrusted to a multidisciplinary steering committee of scholars and a group of young professionals under 30. The goal? To define a brand strategy capable of accompanying the group's growth until 2035, with a future-fit approach. Leading the process are Carlotta Ventura , director of communications, sustainability, and regional affairs at A2A, and Alberto Mattiacci, professor of Economics and Business Management at Sapienza University and chair of the committee. The group also includes Professors Fabio Babiloni (Physiology), Marino Bonaiuti (Social Psychology), Francesca Cuomo (Telecommunications), and Paola Panarese (Sociology of Cultural and Communication Processes), coordinated by Stella Romagnoli, Executive Director of the International Advertising Association Italy. "It's a project with an underlying optimistic vision," explains Ventura, "a way to look beyond the difficulties of the present and build a form of communication capable of evolving with society, the media, and technology. Imagining the future is useful for developing the tools to govern it."

The heart of the initiative is choral and generational. The team comprises 24 professionals under 30. Together, between January and April 2025, they addressed ten key research drivers: thought, attention, creativity, artificial intelligence, digital twins, networks, demography, the I-we relationship, Gen Z, and… the Middle Ages. A blend of classic and contemporary, employing methodologies from the discipline of "futures studies," it allowed for reflection on the future of communication , starting from two fundamental questions: what kind of skills and attitudes will be needed ten years from now? And who will we be speaking to? The future cannot be predicted: it is designed with method, collective intelligence, and vision. The project is structured along two timelines: the 2035 horizon and an intermediate "pit stop" five years from now, necessary to adapt to a rapidly changing scenario. With technology continually evolving and the advancement of generative artificial intelligence, many activities that companies currently outsource could return to being in-house. This will also impact the organization of the functions involved in managing communications. But it won't just be skills that will change, Ventura warns. " Trust will become even more central . In a context where the content offering is multiplying, often unfiltered, consistency over time between action and declaration will make the difference in a brand's positioning. From my point of view, we must first strive to achieve objectives and then communicate them."

How, then, do we build communications teams that are up to the challenge? "It takes an attitude of curiosity, flexibility, and the ability to read context," Ventura continues. "But above all, we need to be able to combine attention and trust: two elements that must be built with relevant content and cultural depth ." Expertise isn't enough. "The world is full of 'competent idiots,'" Ventura provokes, "hyperspecialized but unable to place themselves in space and time. This is the risk our young managers' generation runs. We need something more: culture, critical thinking, vision." Often, we fail to see the obvious. And if we don't truly understand artificial intelligence—its language, its impact—we risk being subjected to it. Culture is therefore the only way to avoid fear of the future . The relationship between attention and comprehension is particularly delicate: "One of today's major problems is functional illiteracy," Ventura observes. "People can read, but they lack the ability to elaborate concepts. It's a serious limitation, forcing those who communicate to rethink their languages and tools to prevent the gap from becoming unbridgeable." The risk isn't just economic, but cognitive. A polarization between the few capable of thinking and the many excluded from understanding. The real challenge will be cognitive recession. And to address it, communication will need to return to the essentials: emotions, symbols, accessible codes. What will remain of today's communication in ten years? "From a current technology perspective, perhaps nothing," Ventura concludes. "But the ability to excite and inspire will remain." One of the first project projects launched by A2A, following the research phase conducted with La Sapienza, concerns the exploration of the integration of "synthetic users" into communication design processes. These are advanced digital models, based on Digital Twin technology, which would complement traditional tools as true "virtual panels." This innovation not only represents a step forward in the company's ability to deeply understand its audiences, but also opens up new possibilities for building a more inclusive, effective, and targeted dialogue with a wide variety of stakeholders. The goal is to make communication increasingly accessible, translating complex messages into clear and relevant language, benefiting the entire network of relationships surrounding the group.