Why speed is so important

Brand communication has changed significantly. In the digital age, it is completely different from traditional communication: new conditions and frameworks lead to new rules. What are they? Here is a brief overview.

When we invented the Internet, we celebrated total freedom. Finally, no more gatekeepers: gatekeepers who control, monitor, allow or deny access to every message, every post, every image, and ultimately censor them—that's how we saw it. Structuring and sorting, weighing, classifying, and evaluating is what “the others” called it. And that's how CLASSIC communication work was designed: overcoming hurdles, convincing gatekeepers, creating reach through money. Whoever drummed the loudest would be heard.
And with the internet: Hurray, we can publish whatever WE want! Finally free! (We are now falling back into old patterns, but that's another story).

• Everything is important. “I am important.” Everyone can be a star, just like everyone else.
• Private life becomes professional and vice versa. There is no longer any separation.
• “If someone doesn't speak directly to me, I don't listen to them anymore. I don't even look at them.”

The individually perceived importance of the personal self is many times higher in this direct media communication than ever before. Whether this is appropriate is open to debate. But this is the impression, the image, and thus the rules of dialogue. EVERYTHING is a conversation. Because everyone talks, even if no one is actually listening. But at least you have to PRETEND to.

An experience is only perceived as “real” if it is supported and accompanied by the media. What's more, without this support, it doesn't “exist” at all, it doesn't “really” happen. Right now, we are still in a phase in which digital media, especially social media, are being learned and their rules are not yet fully mastered by everyone. This means that they are still very powerful and have a great impact, which will only wear off over time once they have been properly learned. But this is nothing new: when the first films were shown, one of a locomotive pulling into a train station, the audience ran out of the fairground tent in terror. Because they were afraid of being crushed. We are not much further along today: shortly after the big scare, still quite out of breath.

But the design itself is completely different. What is GOOD has to be redefined again and again. And that is quite challenging. Because now we no longer have just a few central media outlets with a few privileged gatekeepers. Instead, we have many, many, many channels, intermediaries, persuaders, disseminators, part-time and full-time influencers. We want to entertain with them and through them. And somehow, in any case, please, please, please, gain an overview. To do this, we need tools! Instruments that are no longer explained to us by some third-party specialists, but which we control ourselves and thus retain full control at all times—a nice wish, a pious intention. But the world is now digital and therefore completely chaotic for the time being.

In the past, identity was like a whale: large and heavy, defined from its center. But today, it is a swarm of nimble fish, moving at lightning speed, here today, there tomorrow, less guided than united by similar intentions that may be completely different tomorrow. You swim with them and move forward together. You have to recognize, sense, and feel them quickly, preferably BEFORE they know exactly what they are doing and start moving. If you don't notice this, you lose touch, like a small fish left behind.