More disciplined storytelling

The past decade has seen an evolution in storytelling. Netflix and Amazon have seized control of the remote. One downside of this is that there seems to be a belief that there’s no limit to how far a story can be stretched.

‘The Irishman’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ both push audience interest to the limit. Yes, these are artists at work. Stunning visuals. Awesome period details. But this is the streaming era. People are more likely to stay in than go out. For an audience to pay attention for over three hours in one sitting, time has to fly or they will add their own interval—and may not come back.

More personal data

We’re used to tech giants using and abusing our data for their own ends. So it’s nice to see companies do something positive with it for a change.

Spotify is a great example of a brand acknowledging that it collects your data and giving you something back in return. We love its latest data sharing, which tells us our listening habits and favourite artists over the past year and entire decade. British Airways is another brand to get this right with its personalised flightpaths of journeys made together.

This is a lesson in how data collection can strengthen customer loyalty. It reminds us why we use these brands in the first place. It makes us feel like an individual, not a demographic. Maybe the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn will take this on board in the decade ahead.

More trust

Uncertainty makes everyone wary about making big commitments. This has been a reality for many UK businesses since the Brexit referendum. Narrower horizons and tighter budgets have become the norm.

Yet austerity has not narrowed creativity. In fact, where there is enough trust in the relationship between agency and client, it increases it. Because with trust we can explore more creative avenues, find better answers and get there sooner.

Austerity demands fiscal discipline, operational efficiency, doing more with less. But size of budget should never affect quality of thinking or creative work. It may mean more digital communication, one camera instead of two, clever use of stock, shorter edits for social media. There’s always more than one way to get a message across and often more than one audience out there.

Life and business may be no more certain after Brexit. As long as there is trust, agencies can help clients navigate what comes next.