winds of change …

by Darren Caveney

I’ve been lucky enough to attend and participate in a couple of excellent events this past week or so.  The first UKGovCamp in London and the second an LGComms seminar on social media in Cardiff.

A key theme running through both events was that of the shifting nature of the communications landscape, and the differing ways in which organisations are reacting and redifining activity.   The sands are certainly shifting at speed for some, for others they're moving at a far gentler pace.

It would be fascinating to fast-forward a couple of years and see how these organisations are faring, and I wonder if it’ll be a case of stepping in and out of alternative realities for some.

So, what happens when you throw into that already heady mix a bunch of budget cuts.

Because as sure as day follows night there’ll be some more cuts heading the way of many a comms team again this year.

All of which has prompted me to ask myself the hypothetical question, in terms of communications resource, if it were a straight choice would I rather have more people or money budget?

Think of it as a (slightly sick) board game where the winner is the person who delivers the most effective communications and engagement activity. When it’s your turn to throw the dice you can either pick a person or a box of cash.

For me, I’d go people every time, so that I could deliver really engaging social media and digital campaigns mixed up with more traditional - but still joined-up - PR activity. The box of cash is tempting, of course, and you could buy a boat-load of advertising, shiny new collateral and expensively procured websites.

But here’s the thing, this is no hypothetical scenario for many in communications.
As the cuts bite deeper, and new cuts come along to keep us ever more on our toes, we’ll be needing to make these very decisions.

And for the most cut amongst us, it’ll be an unfortunate case of cutting both, I suspect. Or, worse still, no say in the cuts and being personally affected.

This is now a very definite challenge for many of us, right here, right now.

So now really is the time to go out there and deliver the absolute best work that you can, embrace the changes, consider everything and make sure that even if you do go, you go out with a bang.

As a result, your digital CV – we all now have one – sets you apart when the time comes to look elsewhere for employment.

photo credit