Five or so years ago something amazing was happening. A niche community buzzed on Twitter, connecting like-minded people across Australia and the world. The trade press was alive with predictions about what it all meant. There were morning coffee meet-ups about it, Friday night drinks and every week new people appeared who wanted to be a part of it. “It” was going to change our worlds as marketers and communicators.
What were we all so excited about? It was the change we could see on the horizon. Social Media represented a potential revolution that could transform this industry forever. Even better, we were the people who were going to make it happen!
Skip to 5 years later and although there has certainly been change, I am not looking back on the revolution. A lot of what we are all doing day-to-day is very similar in many ways to a typical scene in Mad Men.
Why? Well, honestly, I think it got a bit scary for everyone. Over the years we have done a great job of honing our agency models, approaches and effective budget splits, we are all guilty of being reluctant to let go of what is safe and comfortable.
To be the person who provokes and challenges the team to move away from what everyone is so great and efficient at doing is a daunting task for even the boldest mavericks and generally even if teams know change is a good idea, its too easy to stop listening to the new point of view when things get pressurised.
However, we all know deep down that the truth is that things have changed, that people have moved on, society has evolved and we see that now there is a very real need to get truly serious about the future.
Here are my top three reasons why:
1. Technology has truly made our possibilities infinite
We are living in the age of the entrepreneur. Advancements in technology and our connected internet world have really made anything possible for anyone who wants to make it happen.
Never has there been a time in history when old tried and tested methods can be challenged in the way they can now.
People have fully embraced technology, not only to make our lives easier, but also to give us a more relevant and personalized experience that we will happily (in most cases) exchange our data for.
It has also given everyman a voice, which in turn has unleashed a new generation of self-made celebrities and opinion leaders.
In a time where technology has allowed us to challenge so much and look at things so differently in our personal lives, we need to look at how we can shake-up our systems and processes to really test the possibilities professionally, to try out new things, be bold and think ingeniously.
2. The world is speeding up
They say the average human attention span is now only 10 seconds, 2 secs less than a goldfish. A post is only relevant for around four hours and a news story even less. Everything comes and goes so quickly in our lives and newsfeeds we need a model in place that allows us to react to a moment with maximum impact.
Our current structures, while good, are looking slow and our measurement models are not keeping up. We must re-build and re-invent around the world our customers live in and care about, so we can be nimble, agile and ensure we are in their world at the right time.
3. We live in an era of transparency
“The brands that will thrive in the coming years are the ones that have a purpose beyond profit” Richard Branson
The internet has given the public greater transparency and power than we have ever had. We don’t need to take the word of the people in control of the media anymore, we can find out for ourselves. We all have a public voice now and if we feel we are not being treated fairly or offered justice, we speak up loudly on our global platforms.
This puts a new type of pressure on companies to have products and services that treat people well and with respect. They can’t hide behind marketing messages anymore, they must be in the conversation. In must become a welcome and contributing member of society and act consciously with their actions. Something we have learnt only too well in Social over the last few years.
The challenge to the industry
Re-invention is not easy, it’s daunting and it takes us out of our comfort zone. It means we all need to start questioning and experimenting. We need to challenge our existing models, break them if need be, then re-build them and we need be doing it now.
Because fighting our way back when things have moved on without us is a much harder battle than starting to look for pro-active ways to change when there is still time.
I believe that the vision we held back in 2009 sitting around the coffee shop tables of possibilities still holds true. There is a revolution needed, but we must be bold, we must stay agile and we must act consciously with our approach so that brands and marketing in its new re-invented form can take part in our evolved society.
Nicola Swankie
Managing Partner
SOCiETY
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