Battle of the ghastly digi octopus
The editorial by Anne-Friederike Heinrich from the Industry Report 7/2016, «2016 Year in Review,» dated December 16, 2016.
Looking back and looking forward at the end of the year is a tradition: we take stock and sometimes draw a line under the year that is soon to pass, under erroneous assumptions and lofty plans, under fears and forecasts, good investments and miscalculations. Regardless of whether things turned out worse or better than expected at the beginning of the year, plans are made for the next 365 days. Off to new shores!
In this respect, our Werbewoche Industry Report Balance 2016 follows the tradition of other year-end navel-gazing reports: Nine industry representatives tell us on behalf of their industry segment what went well or badly for them and their company or association, what made them happy and what annoyed and amazed them. But what's special about our 2016 review is that the statements of all the industry representatives we interviewed coincide on one point: surprisingly, a lot moved in 2016 - but not nearly enough.
What sounds absurd at first describes exactly the course of the year that is now almost behind us: At the beginning, we didn't really know what digitization would do to us, only that it would grab us by the skin of our teeth. The result: a state of shock, like a rabbit in front of a snake. 2016 started out full of uncertainty, which also manifested itself in advertising sales. There were almost none, in fact.
After a quarter of a year of being put through the wringer, most of us were defying digitization, big data and our colleagues. All business units and industry segments, all minds and senses were shaken up.
But - and all my interviewees agreed on this point as well - this is by no means enough. Companies and agencies are still far too little prepared for the digitization of all areas of life, according to the unanimous statement. They rely too heavily on old-fashioned advertising media and measures, dismiss content marketing as too modern (?!?) and continue to do business as usual. Instead of making far-reaching strategic decisions, they act in the short term and slash budgets for important projects that were initially approved because savings have to be made somewhere.
The trouble is, consumers and recipients are already one step ahead. So if you don't want to lose touch with the paying public, you have to open your eyes and act. Because "digitization" is far from finished with us.
This means that anyone who wants to make progress in 2017, and who also has to manage tight budgets (i.e. all of us), is forced to focus on one or a few projects. The belly-load act has long been outdated anyway; it is better to offer a few - and to offer them really well - than to have a little bit of everything on offer.
And above all, we must take away the horror of the ghastly "digi-octopus" that wants to grab us with its tentacles and strangle us to the point of respiratory arrest. It doesn't exist any more than the ghost under my sons' beds. Quite simply, 2017 should no longer be about technology and conversion rates; instead, the focus should be on sparkling ideas and electrifying solutions for our customers' wishes and problems.
In this spirit, I wish you a powerful 2017!
Anne-Friederike Heinrich, Editor in Chief
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