Technical jargon: What does "gig" mean?

Thanks to digitization, this perhaps somewhat old-fashioned term is currently experiencing a revival. Translated from English, the short word actually means "gig. In the 1980s, anyone who was anyone talked about "gigs" when they actually meant concerts. It was the music industry that had to revive the word and the events it referred to: The abrupt slump in income from the sale of recordings, which was triggered first by iTunes and later by streaming services like Spotify and others, meant that musicians and producers had to find new sources of income. This was done, among other things, through concert appearances or gigs.

Uberization of advertising

This process is still ahead for advertising. And yet the word should be remembered, because gig also means work without a fixed contract and digital platforms instead of agencies as intermediaries for performance. In the marketing and communications industry, gigs don't mean concerts, but rather short-term assignments for strategists, developers, programmers, creatives, designers, and others who were previously called freelancers. The gig industry, led by Uber, is booming, and traditional agencies will soon have to rethink their business models because the advance of gig workers worldwide is unstoppable. In the USA, it is expected that in two years between 35 % and 50 % of the working population will be gig workers: The music will play in the gig industry in the future. What does this mean for our industry? The pressure on the traditional employee relationship is coming from two sides: on the one hand, from the so-called millennials, who want a lower degree of commitment and responsibility for their work because high flexibility, lifestyle and a sense of purpose are more important to them. And on the other hand, from entrepreneurs who are being dictated to by the financial market with cost pressures that are readily reflected in personnel or marketing costs. So the next time you hear the term "gig," better prick up your ears than just nod your head in time.

*Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He created the section "Vom Fach" in the NZZ FOLIO and was in charge of it for years. He presents and decodes words and terms that can be used either for small talk, being important, getting excited, playing Scrabble or simply for fun.