Series 2 Episode 6: The secret sauce behind Nestlé’s corporate digital comms success
A conversation with Ferhat Soygenis, Nestlé’s Global Head of Corporate Identity and Content
How does the world’s largest food and beverage company maintain its position as a global leader in digital communications? In the latest episode of Cutting Through, Ferhat Soygenis, Global Head of Corporate Identity and Content at Nestlé joins podcast regulars Scott Payton and Jonathan Holt to discuss the "secret sauce" behind Nestlé's enduring run at the top of the Corporate Digital Communications Index. Find out how constant, iterative improvement and cross-department collaboration are helping Nestlé navigate the rise of AI search and get Ferhat’s insights on what to do first if you want to create a comprehensive, AI-friendly corporate FAQ similar to “Ask Nestlé”, the key role that digital marketeers can play in corporate digital comms, and more.
Key themes from the conversation
- “Ask Nestlé” as a model for direct communication.
Providing authoritative, evidence-based answers, even to difficult questions, in language that mirrors user searches is crucial for ensuring your voice is heard in search results. - The evolving role of corporate websites in the AI era.
As more search bots extract content rather than simply directing users, corporate websites must become the source of truth and rich insights. Your site and social channels need to cater to a new audience: the AI search bot. - Breaking silos with mindful governance…
AI does not behave like human visitors in that it does not care what heading relevant content is housed under. This makes collaborating across teams more important than ever, to ensure that local markets have freedom to be relevant while maintaining consistency across channels. - …and radical collaboration
Cross-team working and regular collaboration between Digital marketing and Corporate affairs teams in particular, and with corporate and marketing departments in general, can strengthen, evolve and enrich the output of both teams - The “Secret sauce” of continuous iteration.
The best way to make a big impact is often to start small, build on wins and grow mindfully.
References and resources
Further reading
- Article - Future-proof your global digital estate
- Article - The best FAQs on the corporate web – and what to learn from them
- Article - Rich editorial is back!
- Article - Lessons from the Web Performance Summit 2026
- Article - Adapting corporate digital for AI: lessons from Shell and HSBC
- Article - Five ways to win at AI search (and not become obsolete)
- Podcast - A brave new world for corporate digital comms
- Leadership insight article - AI and misinformation: who gets heard first - you or your detractors?
- Research - Secrets of Corporate Digital Leadership
Read more about the Nestle digital estate
- Podcast - In the AI age, is authenticity enough?
- Podcast - A brave new world for corporate digital comms
- Article - Taking a "Mixternal" approach at Nestlé