How Tomorrow Came Today & The Future of Work | Jose De Jesus Alvarado Silva

This year’s Advertising Week 2020 was the prime reflection of how our world works today. Expanding all across the world with presentations from speakers in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and Asia even the current pandemic could not stop the best ideas coming together for an insight into the Marketing & Advertising industries. Among many themes available across the exciting speaker lineup, the main three that stood out significantly where what the pandemic meant for business, how its revolutionized work (potentially forever), and what to learn from it for the future. 

 


Global Chief Marketing Officer for Restaurant Brands International, Fernando Machado, put it best by saying 

“Covid-19 made tomorrow come today.”

 In his presentation, Machado delves into how 

“People have been thinking, in the future this is going to happen.” For example, “in the future, digital transactions are going to be much higher […but] with the pandemic, the future became now.” 

This echoes what others in similar industries have been facing. There was very little to do but embrace new technologies in efforts to withstand the effects from the pandemic. Geoff Tanner, Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer for The J M Smucker Company, offers a similar take. For his presentation, he mentions surprises that the pandemic brought to his business. For instance, in times of heightened uncertainty, 

“consumers come back looking for trust, familiarity, [and] the desire for comfort.” Tanner also highlights how “only a year ago, you couldn’t go a day without someone writing an article about how large mainstream brands were a thing of the past or in trouble.”

 Clearly, it is important for consumers to feel a sense of safety by buying products from mainstream brands in order to regain a sense of simpler times.

Just like several industries were deeply affected by the pandemic, so was the entire concept of work. Vice Chairman for Ogilvy UK, Rory Sutherland, argues how it is evident now that 

“the principle bottleneck to growth and progress is psychological and not technological.” 

Countless ways of doing teleconferencing existed in the past, but business was typically never in favor to be conducted in such way. Now that is has become the norm, it might be hard to justify going back to old ways when safe to do so. In addition to this, Sutherland also adds that 

“the gains to randomness are now higher because we are in a zoom economy.” 

Essentially, businesses might uncover new revenue sources through the use of videoconferencing because it has eliminated barriers like commuting and business travel. 

Overall, all of these presentations summarized what it is to be a brand amidst a global pandemic, as well as what is coming next. As highlighted by all of these speakers, several aspects across a wide range of industries will be drastically accelerated. Companies that were on the brink of adopting new technologies to conduct business have mostly fully embraced them. Covid-19 made tomorrow come today, and it shows across all industries. Moreover, just because times are uncertain does not mean that consumers have abandoned their favorite brands. Those brands who invested for the long run in consumers’ trust are now reaping the benefits as more of them want to feel a sense of safety as they navigate the uncertainty of current everyday life. Lastly, by leveraging technologies that continue to get better over time, work and ways of doing business will be forever changed. More opportunities are being unlocked because of the lack of boundaries to reach knowledge from individuals all across the world. The possibility of a highly efficient work culture becomes more attainable everyday as more and more people continue to invest in this new way of work that has never been seen before.

Connect with Fernando Machado on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernando-machado-a87ab2a
Connect with Geoff Tanner on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoff-tanner/
Connect with Rory Sutherland on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorysutherland/


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