As the recession begins to slowly loosen its chokehold on the global economy, the reinvention economy pushes forward with a new-found urgency. Companies are delivering re-inventive programs—and consumers are demanding them.

PR and communications continue to emerge as powerful tools and innovations in the strategic arsenal of many leading companies—à la the new paradigm established by the Obama White House—with a sudden spate of leading CMOs and CEOs alike speaking out more vocally than ever before on communications as a brand driver and key differentiator.

However, as the new world order continues its emergence and corporate America plays catch-up to its new political role model, we are beginning to see that communications innovation can only go so far without tangible action. President Obama's always-high approval rating is waning, exposing the flaw in communicating too much and acting too little on key issues—in his case, healthcare and the economy. Still a role model for all leaders, President Obama's slip in the polls sends corporate executives a vital message: They need to pair revolutionary approaches to communications with real corporate action.

As such, real and much-needed re-inventive innovation demands measured success over other priorities like speed to shelf and mass appeal. Re-inventive innovation is showing up in sustainable R&D, disruptive-focused development and truly collaborative approaches to new thinking that comprise multiple views—from the private sector to government and academia alike.

Amidst this seismic alteration of the world, one that is demanding a re-inventive approach to success, leadership continues to rise in importance with next-generation models taking shape at all levels. The focus on leadership empowers not only the continued gestation of a new generation of senior leaders, but also instigates a next-generation approach to cultivating employees at all levels as leaders who are inextricably linked to a company's future. A newly minted 21st century workforce, with reinvented values, is on the horizon.

Part of this reinvention is a focus on entrepreneurialism that prevails inside companies of all sizes. The setting not only catalyzes small- and medium-sized business growth, it also pushes corporate titans like Google and Adobe to cultivate entrepreneurs-in-residence/venture capital environments within their walls. This sense of entrepreneurship works hand-in-hand with innovation to reinvent our world.

While this sea change might seem to suggest a call to couple an unrelenting linear focus on all things fresh and new with a burning need to snub the historic blueprints that led to our current demise—those brands getting it right are doing so in ways that strategically balance the need to reinvent the future of possibility while too respecting and appreciating the proven and culture-defining wonderment of the past.

In no place is the understanding of this new paradigm being more acutely felt than in the media industry. While Walter Cronkite's death poetically summons a call to the end of old media as we know it, those who truly understand the principles of thriving in this new environment will reinvent themselves knowing that traditional media is by no means dead. It is just in need of an overhaul.

As this new "old media" paradigm unfolds, uber-advocates grow in both volume and influence, counting among their top successes their quality-driven work for so-called "old media." And then a symbiosis occurs. These "old media," providing some of the most renowned platforms, actually thrive with help from their media uber-advocates. Evidence of this is clear in reports that TV is being watched more than ever before and certain traditional outlets are succeeding as they meet the needs of a growing audience craving their content. Hello, Vanity Fair and Fast Company.

This said, new media outlets certainly find success in the current environment, touting their promise and the unquestioned eventuality of their success (think Politico). Yet the few really winning new media outlets are the ones who figure out the right formula to capture their audience, shaping themselves into niche forums with sleek missions, respected voices and a laser focus that harnesses the power of the medium that is their conduit.

Capturing audiences is still difficult as the mobility revolution continues, actualizing the secular shift to living life on the go. The moving target consumer, saturated with information, is increasingly impossible to reach and increasingly less impressionable.

Corporate-generated content—where leading companies can entertain, delight and connect with key audiences—remains key. But the message becomes more important. Responsible corporations that go beyond "giving" and go beyond "green" are winning. The concept of corporate social responsibility morphs into a critical component of the corporate brand and a much sought after driver of connectivity to key constituencies. Responsible corporate behaviors—not only how goods are produced but also how the companies who produce them behave—emerge as key determinants of purchasing psychology. This behavior works hand in glove with innovation-driven corporate initiatives that aim to produce the value-steeped products and services the world so deeply craves.

As such, the mantra of austerity chic continues its emergence, with a more prevalent focus on producing innovations that meet societal demands affordably and do so within corporate enterprises that now see the merits of valuing guided precision over once frivolously conceived cavalier excess.

Finally, the need to continually look outside not only corporate boundaries but the borders of our nation arrives as a critical reality. Emerging "innonations" prove their merit and economic heft as they drive the global economy forward, ahead of their traditional old-world counterparts. The concept of economic "decoupling" goes from conjecture to undeniable reality, making brands' international growth trajectories—business-wise and communications-wise—transform from optional luxuries into critical mandates.

All in all, it continues to be an exciting time—albeit a time marked by omnipresent and unnerving change. Today calls for leaders at all levels, particularly within the communications realm, to possess an unflagging commitment to reinvention, discovery and unabated optimistic perseverance.

The trends that will serve as critical guideposts in the quarter ahead include:

• The continued urgent push for re-inventive innovations that help to redefine our world.

• An understanding of the use of communications itself as an innovation, while recognizing the imperative need to marry communications excellence with real and tangible outcomes.

• A need to recognize the end of an era of ubiquitous innovation being replaced with a push for the development of thoughts, ideas, products and concepts that disrupt the current environment and meet the societal demand for solutions to unmet needs.

• The continued push for next-generation leadership that redefines the value placed on human capital in relation to an organization's long-term success, not only at the highest levels of a company but throughout an enterprise at all levels.

• A continued push for entrepreneurial advancement, inside big companies and out, that catalyzes the re-inventive tissue our world and our business landscape so deeply craves.

• An emerging new media paradigm that comprises the best of the old and new media worlds bolstered by the proliferation of fresh trusted media voices (uber-advocates) who can tell our stories through media properties that are entrepreneurially savvy enough to survive and thrive.

• The need for smart brands to embrace the creation of corporate-generated content that entertains, delights and provides relevant information, as a critical means for consumer connection, as the line between innovative communication strategist and modern day media advocates continues to blur.

• A strategic imperative for brands to integrate corporate responsibility efforts into business operations and goals, driven by the demand for corporate awareness and accountability to all constituencies, including customers, shareholders and employees.

• A mandated need to recognize the rise of emerging market nations, not only as hotbeds of innovation and idea creation but also as vital engines of the global economy and a company's long-term growth trajectory—both in how they do business and innovate and in how and where they communicate these innovations.

Billee Howard is executive vice president and managing director of the Global Strategic Media Group at Weber Shandwick and a leading corporate media consultant. She represents global clients such as Samsung, DreamWorks Animation, Unilever and Honeywell. As part of her work at Weber Shandwick, Howard leads the development of the Quarterly Trend Report, tracking the most pressing issues impacting corporate reputation, trends driving the changing economy, while also reflecting on how the global media agenda and the changing face of innovation, are echoing those changes. The Trend Report is received by all of the GSMG's leading clients, and the insights within the report are used to develop their global media campaigns.