Innovation In The Pandemic Age | II/V
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Lev. I’m a digital operations and organisation consultant, with a focus on innovation and the advertising industry. I’ve spent the last few weeks interviewing experts in various industries and countries. This is the second in the series of articles (you can read the first here). These opinions are centered around innovations people have found during these interesting times, as well as views on what will be forever changed in the future. The adage of constraints breeding creativity is definitely holding up in the age of lockdowns and the Covid-19 pandemic. I’ve ensured each article has a cross-section of different industries and countries to provide a range of opinions. I hope you’ll find inspiration on the innovations others have seen that you can apply to your jobs or businesses!
I’ll be releasing a new article every day this week and will link to the rest of the series at the end of the article. Today’s article features contributions from advertising, the automotive industry, sports marketing & sponsorships, mining, digital skills development, people operations and management consulting.
What are the best innovations you’ve seen in your industry to deal with lockdown and social distancing?
Brainstorming and facilitating over Teams is completely different to a physical session. Far more preparation and booking of diaries is required. My most useful tools have been individual breakaway sessions for smaller teams, and using the chat function as a version of digital Post-Its to keep track of ideas and things to do.
How do you think your industry will be changed post lockdown?
There will be a big question around the need for big office space. Additionally, the idea that people need to be in the same city or office to deliver work will never be a given. We’re doing work for all our offices around the world and are finding ourselves seamlessly integrated into their teams.
What are the best innovations you’ve seen in your industry to deal with lockdown and social distancing?
I’ve seen a huge increase in the demand of eLearning platforms, specifically mobile- and data-friendly platforms. WhatsApp is now for more than just connecting with friends and family. But I strongly feel we are not innovating fast enough to solve our problems.
How do you think your industry will be changed post lockdown?
I think our industry will boom as the demand for digital skill increases. #postlockdown people will be forced to acquire new skills if they want to participate in the Digital Economy. Companies will have to accelerate their digital transformation efforts rapidly if they want to remain profitable or they will be forced to close down. Cyber Security and personal data protection will be a new area of interest as people realise the value and power of data in their individual lives. Other areas for growth will be personalised services and products, consumers are going to be even more demanding. Chatbots are another growth area — get in there, get messy, learn and relearn, because your next job will have something to do with AI.
What are the best innovations you’ve seen in your industry to deal with lockdown and social distancing?
For certain sports (such as cycling), people can still compete and race against each other from the comforts of their homes. eSports has seen massive uptake, particularly in motorsports, where Oakley has now partnered with MotoGP for their virtual race series.
How do you think your industry will be changed post lockdown?
Initially people will be spending money only on necessities, it will be a long journey back to see sales increase and cash flows starting to gain momentum. Only once this has happens will we see the momentum increase in terms of sponsorship.
What are the best innovations you’ve seen in your industry to deal with lockdown and social distancing?
The hosting of Strategic Team Effectiveness sessions & board meetings remotely via Webex. These sessions require connections to multiple countries over multiple days, along with breakaway group sessions. We also host Virtual Mass Meetings for the organisation — with the GM streaming his message on Webex and broadcast to our locations around the world. Lastly, as our people become acclimated to social isolation, they are spending more time in front of their screens and consuming vast amounts of digital data. We have utilised our our digital and social platforms across the group to the fullest to educate, create awareness and communicate important information.
How do you think your industry will be changed post lockdown?
Internet-based work is going to grow even faster. There is going to be more focus on digitisation. ‘All hands’ meetings will fade away as we master the use of technology to communicate. On site I believe that we now understand the importance of having locally skilled employees to do specialised jobs. There’s going to be more focus on collaborative technology than what we were used to.
What are the best innovations you’ve seen in your industry to deal with lockdown and social distancing?
I have seen a lot of innovation in production. Whether it’s companies changing WHAT they produce, (e.g. AB InBev turning its production facilities over to produce hand sanitiser) or companies changing HOW they produce. We’re seeing beautifully crafted films that would ordinarily have 100 people on set, but now, are being produced entirely virtually — even the cast, crew and agency are in their own homes. I’ve even seen photographers do amazing live shoots over Facetime and the results are beautiful! We’re making use of all the technology that’s available to us, and we’re making it work for us.
How do you think your industry will be changed post lockdown?
I don’t believe we needed lockdown to know that we’re able to work remotely and I suspect some companies may start considering flexible working hours and/or remote work to scale back in some areas, and open up time that would have otherwise been spent in traffic. But I do believe there should be a balance because human interaction is important in our industry. We’re in the business of communication and everything we do develops from a relationship — virtual communication and relationships aren’t quite the same. Lockdown has made people/companies question what is vital to the running of their company, and what isn’t. We know that budgets will be affected, and that means we’re going to need to be smart about how we solve our clients problems and deliver results. Customers are also going to be less inclined to spend, (if they have money to spend) so we’re going to have to find very compelling reasons to get them to part with their money. Ultimately, advertising needs to start adding value again. Not just to the business we service, or even the customers who buy from these businesses, but to the greater South African economy.
What are the best innovations you’ve seen in your industry to deal with lockdown and social distancing?
Ford has experimented with GPS wristbands to track location (warning buzz if you get too close to a coworker) and health (biometrics such as temperature and blood pressure).
How do you think your industry will be changed post lockdown?
Major car manufacturers will have a drastic decline in production, with a decrease of up to 50%. The demand from a consumer side will also become more jumpy and uncertain.
How do you think your industry will be changed post lockdown?
Physical presence, individual profiles and skill are becoming less important. We are looking at Consulting As A Service (subscription, like an API) in the future. Clients are less interested in various personal interactions, but rather more focused on the solution and answer provided. It is human nature that still reaches out for physical interaction. These interactions are reserved more and more for affirmation of self rather than the elicitation of requirements and definition of solutions.
That’s it for the second round of interviews! You can read the first article here. If you’re interested in chatting to any of the interviewees, please drop me a line.