What’s ahead in 2024? Our forecast is the winds of change will continue into the new year and beyond
While it’s appropriate at this time of year to project trends we see in 2024, the reality is that the fundamental trend we saw in 2023 – constant change – will continue in 2024 and beyond.
Organizations in communications and many other areas are having to address basic issues. Specifically and not limited to the following: What will AI and other innovations in technology mean to communicators? What will the growth in work from home mean to employers who now are adding employees from outside this area? What skills will employees need in 2024 and beyond? And, who will pay for employees to gain the skills they will need to remain of value in the workforce? And, in the agency world, how do firms keep current with what their clients will demand?
What is clear is the new normal means that everyone will demand accountability. The concept that the communications field is more of an “art” than a “science” is over. Communicators will have to learn the language of business – think ROI – to justify their existence.
One marketing director at a major international organization shared that he was meeting with his/her agency with the message: “I’m not interested in “eyeballs.” My job is sales and if your agency can’t help me achieve my sales goals, you will be gone.”
And, what’s the literal price of the new tools communicators need? One agency president shared with us that his/her agency could not afford the price to stay current with technology, so that individual sold the agency.
Success in the future will rest on being nimble and staying current, to the degree you can.
The winds of change are not just blowing but, for some, the winds may be howling. Change has become a constant we all have to live with, adjust to, accept and deal with. Success in 2024 and the following years, will rest on being nimble, staying current with the skills of your trade and demonstrating your value to those who pay you.
If you have thoughts about 2024 that you want to share, please email them to our editor, Phil Rabin, at phil.rabin@capitolcommunicator.com.
