Many brands have traditionally considered digital to be a nice-to-have – a platform for social media content and community management with some tech thrown in. Digital has traditionally been cut when funds are needed for a billboard or an event, based on the assumption that SA doesn’t have a widespread digital market because tech access is limited and data is expensive. Covid-19 has changed all that, forcing brands to focus on technology-led models.
Brands that have been digital averse in the past can use their agencies to help them to communicate and deliver products and services without having to touch their consumers physically. Digital is an indicator of what’s to come and we all need to start thinking of these technologies as critical to our brands and way of life. They’re not gimmicks any more.