Companies will need to start promoting a culture of high-level continual learning, experimentation, adaptation and brainstorming if they are to survive.
The world of today is in constant flux and is evolving before our eyes. Where change once happened over a period of several years, it is now visible within just a few months, pushing humanity’s boundaries with every new innovation. This rate of change is increasing exponentially, leaving us with mixed emotions of excitement and anxiety as it provides both tremendous opportunities for flexible and adaptive businesses, as well as immense challenges that we have not been faced with before.
Coming back from the latest CES Tradeshow, we were in awe of the latest technological developments that are going to revolutionise the way we go about our daily lives. From connected homes to self-driving cars, augmented reality, smart wearables and artificial intelligence, it is clear that we are about to enter a new frontier, and as strategic media specialists, we couldn’t help but wonder about what this meant for our brands, and our industry as a whole.
Imagine living in a home that interacts with your movements and preferences, while the fridge orders the ingredients needed for your favourite recipe, the oven heats up to the perfect temperature. Imagine your car driving you to work and back, freeing up hours of your day while generating additional income on the side as it takes Uber rides during work hours. The possibilities are truly endless and this is just the beginning.
Companies will need to start promoting a culture of high level continual learning, experimentation, adaptation and brainstorming if they are to survive. Having employees that are tech savvy, adaptive and fast learners is the best possible form of resilience you could have.
Simply put, we are all entering this new technological era on the same base, as wide-eyed newbies, and as the rate of change continues to speed up, we will remain perpetual newbies to all that surrounds us if we’re not extremely proactive. Instead of riding the wave, we’ll be swept out with the current in whichever way it wants to take us. This is a concern for any business that needs to seek gaps in the market to remain profitable and relevant. Therefore, in order to guard against this, we suggest a slightly challenging approach – innovate beyond the innovation.
We know that this sounds daunting but merely keeping up with these developments is not quite enough because just as we understand and master the latest thing, everyone will already be on to the next.
For example, intelligent targeting such as geo-location and emotion-based is a space that is developing fast. We need to predict how this will evolve and impact media and the consumer journey over the next 2-5 years, as it is definitely not going anywhere anytime soon.
Companies will need to start promoting a culture of high level continual learning, experimentation, adaptation and brainstorming if they are to survive. Having employees that are tech savvy, adaptive and fast learners is the best possible form of resilience you could have.
Despite the challenging space we currently find ourselves in, it also promises to be a very exciting time in the world of media. Every new technological device is a new toy for us to play with, as each new platform or device unlocks many more media touchpoints and possibilities for our brands to reach and engage with their consumers.
We can once again relook at how we use media, strategising and executing campaigns in a completely new way, that not only drives media-firsts, and awards, but also unlocks utility, facility and enhancement in this new tech frontier, setting our clients up for business success by redefining media.
Roxanne Boyes is a strategist for Carat Cape Town
This story was first published in the May 2017 issue of The Media.
