Edelman’s Mainardo de Nardis: AI Transformation Demands ‘Training, Retraining, Preparing Our People’
Artificial intelligence represents the most significant industry shift in two decades of digital evolution, requiring comprehensive workforce preparation that extends beyond professional skills to personal adaptation for fundamentally different career trajectories.
“If I have to focus on one which is life changing for our industry and for people in general, we got to talk about AI and what is happening today and what is going to happen next,” Mainardo de Nardis, president & COO of Edelman, told Beet.TV. “One of our biggest efforts is training, retraining, preparing our people from a human point of view as individuals and obviously for preparation for the company.”
Edelman has integrated AI tools and agents behind hundreds of specific deliverables to enhance team capabilities and enable previously impossible client services.
Data and measurement capabilities transform
AI enhancement occurs at campaign beginning and end points through improved data management for insights generation and strategy development, plus stronger measurement capabilities for outcome definition and value assessment.
“At the beginning of the process, we can manage data in a very different way than we could in the past. We can generate insights and determine strategies with a data support that was harder to manage in past years,” de Nardis said.
Enhanced measurement capabilities enable outcome-based compensation models that focus on delivered value rather than time-based billing structures traditionally used by agencies.
Earned-first model gains market momentum
Edelman’s approach reverses traditional paid-to-earned progression by starting with earned media credibility and ending with paid amplification, capitalizing on growing consumer trust in creators and influencers over branded messaging.
“We believe in the ease of the model, which starts with earned and ends with paid for amplification,” de Nardis said. “The market is going in our direction and the part of the investments that is growing the fastest is earned more than paid.”
This shift reflects consumer preference for relevance, community connection, transparency, and authentic content over polished brand communications across both corporate and brand-focused business segments.
Modern PR transcends traditional boundaries
Public relations evolution encompasses corporate affairs, public affairs, risk management, financial communications, and brand-side digital influencer work with creators and performance-driven social strategies.
“The PR today is not the PR of yesterday,” de Nardis said. “What we do on the corporate side and what we do on the brand side with digital influencers, creators that pay for performance, social obviously two different halves, but working with the same clients and the overlapping is increasing.”
Industry entry requires curiosity as the primary skill for navigating continuous change and adaptation in evolving communications landscapes.
“Young people, the skill they need more than anything else is curiosity. We live in a world which is changing. We need people who are curious, want to learn, want to adapt, want to see things in a different way,” de Nardis said.
You’re watching “From Digital Disruption to the AI Era”, a Beet.TV Leadership Series for Beet.TV’s 20th Anniversary. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
Artificial intelligence represents the most significant industry shift in two decades of digital evolution, requiring comprehensive workforce preparation that extends beyond professional skills to personal adaptation for fundamentally different career trajectories.
“If I have to focus on one which is life changing for our industry and for people in general, we got to talk about AI and what is happening today and what is going to happen next,” Mainardo de Nardis, president & COO of Edelman, told Beet.TV. “One of our biggest efforts is training, retraining, preparing our people from a human point of view as individuals and obviously for preparation for the company.”
Edelman has integrated AI tools and agents behind hundreds of specific deliverables to enhance team capabilities and enable previously impossible client services.
Data and measurement capabilities transform
AI enhancement occurs at campaign beginning and end points through improved data management for insights generation and strategy development, plus stronger measurement capabilities for outcome definition and value assessment.
“At the beginning of the process, we can manage data in a very different way than we could in the past. We can generate insights and determine strategies with a data support that was harder to manage in past years,” de Nardis said.
Enhanced measurement capabilities enable outcome-based compensation models that focus on delivered value rather than time-based billing structures traditionally used by agencies.
Earned-first model gains market momentum
Edelman’s approach reverses traditional paid-to-earned progression by starting with earned media credibility and ending with paid amplification, capitalizing on growing consumer trust in creators and influencers over branded messaging.
“We believe in the ease of the model, which starts with earned and ends with paid for amplification,” de Nardis said. “The market is going in our direction and the part of the investments that is growing the fastest is earned more than paid.”
This shift reflects consumer preference for relevance, community connection, transparency, and authentic content over polished brand communications across both corporate and brand-focused business segments.
Modern PR transcends traditional boundaries
Public relations evolution encompasses corporate affairs, public affairs, risk management, financial communications, and brand-side digital influencer work with creators and performance-driven social strategies.
“The PR today is not the PR of yesterday,” de Nardis said. “What we do on the corporate side and what we do on the brand side with digital influencers, creators that pay for performance, social obviously two different halves, but working with the same clients and the overlapping is increasing.”
Industry entry requires curiosity as the primary skill for navigating continuous change and adaptation in evolving communications landscapes.
“Young people, the skill they need more than anything else is curiosity. We live in a world which is changing. We need people who are curious, want to learn, want to adapt, want to see things in a different way,” de Nardis said.
You’re watching “From Digital Disruption to the AI Era”, a Beet.TV Leadership Series for Beet.TV’s 20th Anniversary. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
