Digital is growing strong, and at this point, it is only the laggards who have not yet created a digital group in their creative organizations, or at the very least hired someone they can call ‘head of digital’, ‘online media director’.
But is digital overused? I love a clever digital activation as much as anyone, but I’m wondering if we have created an environment oversaturated with media and digital content. Digital has become such a fixture that I fear we might forget there are other ways to reach people.
Admittedly, my background in theatre might mean the idea that live interactions will always outperform a bunch of moving pixels is deeply ingrained in me.
But I’m not the only one feeling a cramp from the digital reliance. When Sergey Brin introduced Google Glass – a screen integrated into a pair of glasses – last year, he said the main inspiration was to lift people’s faces out of their handheld devices and direct them back to the real world.
While Google Glass is just another piece of technology that delivers digital content, at least it’s a step in the right direction, and there is some acknowledgement – from one of the greatest content facilitators on the planet, no less – that perhaps we are spending a little too much time in cyberspace and not enough time in the physical space around us.
Digital components are a permanent fixture in our world of communication and highly effective tools for engaging consumers when they’re used sparingly and with purpose.
But let’s not forget the power and beauty of analogue. In this cacophony of LED screens and flashy media where consumers are becoming desensitized, remember that well-designed architecture and cleverly messaged environments can be cases that viewers will gratefully explore.
So before you take visitors straight to the world of Twitter, microsites and branded games, first think about how you can engage them in this world.
