As chief communications officer at Forbes, Laura Brusca says that "a big part of my focus is really on both promoting and protecting the brands. So that's everything from our stories, our editorial stories, our business stories, as well as our internal stories. We do a lot of employee and internal communications, so it really runs across the board, both, you know, the external points and internal comms."

To make sure that both parts of the "protect and promote" agenda are being taken care of, several key things need to be addressed. "Really key to that protect and promote point is prioritizing things and really making sure you're on the same page with your team." Another essential is "being proactive—more in touch with reporters building relationships." Other must-haves are "being flexible" and "finally, it's really just trust. So, you know, for me, it's the trust of my team. It's the trust in our business. It's the trust in our people."

Brusca says that keeping pace with the changing ways in which people consume content is helped by the fact that Forbes is such a strong brand: "We celebrated our 100th anniversary several years ago. I think the thing that the Forbes brand stands for is success and it's something that every person can relate to. And I think that's what's really given us this global recognition and global appeal with so many different types of audiences."

But she also stresses keeping up with the most recent trends in society. "Something we've been talking a lot about is our cultural currency, which keeps us relevant. And it's so amazing, this, cultural currency, the fact that there's covers of Forbes magazine in superhero movies and all these different examples. I think it's this feeling that people want to connect with our brand, and they want to be part of our brand."

Brusca is also closely involved with New York Women in Communications. "The reason I love NYWICI and being involved with an organization connected to our industry is the things that I learned both from other incredible leaders and other incredible women that I meet as part of the board."

The principles behind how comms leaders can motivate their teams are also discussed. She stresses the importance of "empowering everyone on the team to know that there's plenty of opportunities all around and that, there's plenty of things that we can all achieve together. You need a team that's both ready to go and flexible and able to work with one another. That's really, really critical."

And as regards dealing with the communications landscape in an election year, "I think our team will to promote their great work and continue to keep our eyes focused on ensuring that the facts matter and the facts are presented."

View all of the interviews in the “PR's Top Pros Talk” series. Subscribe to get notified when new episodes are available.

Interested in taking part? Contact Doug Simon at [email protected]

D S Simon Media helps clients get their stories on television through satellite media tours and by producing and distributing content to the media. The company also produces live social media events.