[2011 trends] The rush for digital skills

A recap of digital in 2010

The ANCYL comically threatened to shut down Twitter when earlier it had written off the Internet as being irrelevant to its followers - not realising then that there are many a feature and smartphone in the hands of its support base.

Cell C launched a superior data product on the back of a naive attempt to manipulate social media and got a black eye. The biggest favour its campaign received was a banning from the ASA so that it could whoosh! Its speedstick to market - the buzz generated around that by the online community must have been eye-opening.

That it learned was evident from its response to the Nando's experiment in social media - the Cell C parody that quickly went viral. I suspect that that people will notice the effect of that Nando's toe in the water. [Nope, I still don't think Cell C has learnt all that much - see Herman Manson's Why Cell C's talking ads might be a communication masterstroke for the latest annoying stunt - managing ed]

Absa Bank, Standard Bank and Woolworths also felt the effect of social media in action.

What next?

So if the penny has dropped - what next?

I believe 2011 is going to be the rush for skills. None of the formal educational institutions are turning out people with knowledge of this new frontier and, whereas the digital agencies know digital stuff, there are very few with an integrated knowledge of brands.

As demand increases for online advertising, social media, online reputation management and search engine marketing, we are going to need people with the skills.

This is a golden time for people who already have skills; they are in short supply and they are already being hunted down by the recruitment industry as media companies and agencies start understanding the need for an offering of some sort. The pressure to find these skills is only going to get greater and greater.

Heavy pressure

The pressure on educational institutions and the few offering qualifications in this space is going to become very heavy and will not abate.

2011 will also see agencies trying to figure out what the agency of the future will look like. Not that they will crack it either, as they will be looking in the wrong place for the answer.

The model is neither the traditional agency nor a media agency with a digital division, nor even a digital agency with a traditional advertising capability - it's a new kind of agency completely. This new agency is going to bring a whole lot of new and different skills into the communications industry.

2011 is going to be another very exciting year. And I can't wait!