Five minutes with Joel Davis
Co-founder of tech agency Mighty Social, Joel Davis has experience working with companies that strive for differentiation in the digital era. He discusses future trends and opportunities.
How can companies stand out in the post-digital era?
One of the prime things to remember is that, although we are all becoming more digitally mature, this does not mean stakeholders and customers have lost their human traits. The desire for new experiences is still there through to a thirst for authentic, innovative and thought-provoking content.
The technology-driven interactions we now take for granted have created an expanding technology identity for everyone. This pivots business towards developing rich, individualised, experience-based business solutions that respond to their customers’ changing requirements. Successful organisations are already demonstrating the value of fluid consumer touchpoints, which evolve and grow alongside a new breed of data-driven consumer.
What are your best tips to harness consumers’ expectations in this phase of digital saturation?
Having fostered the illusion that most needs can be met, no matter how personal or customised, organisations now need to meet these expectations. This means understanding people at a holistic level and recognising that their outlooks and needs may well change at a moment’s notice. In the post-digital world, demand is communicated instantly and gratification is expected immediately. What’s more, both are constantly changing, creating an infinite and never-ending stream of opportunities to be met.
What do you think will be the future of communications?
There are a number of trends that will likely shape the future of communications. First, the shape of ads is changing, as native advertising increasingly reaches people through meaningful and impactful content. Conversely, ads that are sales orientated will decrease.
Second, the use of video will continue to disrupt the way we consume media – 1200% more shares are generated by social videos than text and images combined. Organisations that use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users.
The need for distinct custom audiences will grow, with targeting becoming more sophisticated and consumers only interacting with messages that are hyper-relevant to them. User journeys will increasingly become more personalised and optimised based on real-time interactions.
But fierce competition and shorter attention spans will mean brands have to work harder and more efficiently to be heard. Innovation will drive new formats and new ways to deliver ads, such as augmented and virtual reality to enhance engagement, personalisation and overall UX. This will lead to the rise of AI-based experiences and the rise of emerging, interchangeable mediums such as connected TV.
Why are experience and emotions becoming increasingly important in communications?
They have always been important but now we have the tools to deliver an extraordinary level of quality experiential material. Thanks to the likes of VR and AR alone, consumers can be plunged into entirely new dimensions. Ordinary will never be enough again.
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