What Have We Gained This Year?
This post was inspired by the Visit Austin Virtual Annual Meeting and the theme of For Austin. A program recording is available through the event portal until 12/31/2020.
This year has been hard. I have spent so many months with my head down, just trying to get through the storm, that I often forget what month it is. I’m sure you can relate to that feeling on some level, no matter who you are. With the holidays approaching comes more opportunities to slow down and reflect. This year, the reflection feels more important than it ever has, and I’m not shying away this time.
If you’re like me, you might find yourself complaining daily about being stuck at home, uncertainty in the economy, missing travel and in-person connection, or how the mountain of dirty dishes never seems to wane now that everyone is home all the damn time. The internet is awash with negative news and editorials about how the global pandemic has changed society forever . . . for the worst. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of reading about it.
Let’s choose, together, to focus on how the pandemic is changing our lives and our industry for the better.
Spending more time than ever away from the office has not only given us a chance to more deeply understand our families and housemates, but to appreciate them as well. But that insight isn’t limited just to our households. Despite not working from the office since March, I feel like I’m getting to know my team and clients even better too. Every week, I see their home décor, I greet their dogs by name when they pop into meetings, and it seems like everyone is being more vulnerable. Almost every email opens or closes with a sincere hope that the recipient is “holding up okay,” and when asked how they’re doing, it feels like people are finally being honest. What a refreshing change of pace.
You’re also probably tired of hearing about the election, but I’m going to talk about it anyway. Whether you’re an American, trying to parse out exactly what the election results say about you, your social network, your country, or you’re not an American, trying to figure out why you suddenly know the names of counties in Pennsylvania, of all places. The American presidential election has been so pervasive and so divisive that it’s forced all of us, regardless of nationality, to take a good, long look at the world and our identity within it. And I bet you’ve found yourself a more active participant in your community regardless. That kind of engagement and introspection can only lead to progress.
“LET’S PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER AND COME UP WITH SOMETHING NEW: SOMETHING THAT FEELS FRESH AND TRULY IN-TUNE WITH WHAT OUR CLIENTS NEED…”
Which brings me to my last point, which is what are we going to take away from this experience? Blowing up your entire routine and the way you view the world offers an exciting opportunity to change it for good. So many people are realizing that they don’t actually have to endure their brutal commute or late nights at the office. And others are finally recognizing that there is an extensive network of essential employees who are quietly making other people’s lives more convenient, and they’re choosing to reach out and lift those essential workers up financially, vocally, and systemically.
What about your business strategy? How do you plan on changing that? The past year has given us all plenty of time to flex those creative muscles and figure out what does make a difference to our customers and to our bottom line. Let’s all agree to stop moving forward with the same routine campaigns, just because it’s what we’ve always done. Let’s put our heads together and come up with something new: something that feels fresh and truly in-tune with what our clients need, something that’s easier on our internal teams, something that will make 2021 a little better for all of us.
Need some strategic insight for your next brand activation? We’d love to hear from you.
