Elements of Strategy, Part 2: The Digital Divide
Part two of a series, “Elements of Strategy.” Check back each Monday for more insights.
Digital communications have flipped the relationship between audience and messenger: audiences are in control of how they’re communicated to, and have been for years. More than ever, it’s inadequate to simply “message:” real success lies in breaking through the barriers of indifference and over-saturation that define modern media consumption.
This means a renewed emphasis on innovative, engaging digital content, and an embrace of new channels and approaches. For most organizations, that usually means the dreaded “C” word: change. Unfortunately, change is non-optional. To quote former G.E. C.E.O. Jack Welch, “If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near.”
Consider the following:
- Facebook is now the largest single medium on the planet, with almost 2.2 billion users.
(https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2018/Facebook-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2017-Results/default.aspx) - Digital advertising has become the biggest ad channel on earth.
(http://adage.com/article/digital/digital-ad-revenue-surpasses-tv-desktop-iab/308808/) - Adults spend as much time on digital media as on all other media combined.
(http://www.insideradio.com/free/emarketer-adults-spend-half-of-daily-media-usage-on-digital/article_24addc46-ad97-11e7-bbda-4f926ba26027.html) - Digital is set to become the #1 news medium in 2018.
(http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/07/americans-online-news-use-vs-tv-news-use/)
It’s not cliche to say the rate of change is increasing: it’s simply the truth, and digital is what’s driving it. In spite of that, there’s a divide between organizations that understand and embrace this shift and those that try to avoid it.
Which side is your organization on?
