The pandemic has ravaged and continues to leave an indelible impression on most of the world to various degrees. Only a year ago, there was so much uncertainty and misdirection that impacted a great many industries to the point of irrevocably reshaping the status quos that had been in place for generations.
One such industry that has had a complete makeover in terms of approach and execution is in the Digital Marketing space. With a majority of workplaces opting to work from home in a semi-permanent to more permanent capacities, the logical conclusion is that more eyes will be on the digital space which has opened the door for new opportunities for engagement that were once considered secondary.
With the chaos of the initial months of lockdown, there were two schools of thought within marketing agencies and the advertising model as a whole; to reduce spending or to double down in the increasingly populated digital space. Interestingly enough, the gamble seems to be paying off, with experts around the world touting the reduction of historically traditional models in favor of online marketing tactics.
The State of Things
To gain a better understanding of the journey to the current state of things, Dan Kogan, a digital marketing veteran and CEO of 1Digital® talked about his own experience and how his company has adapted. It appears that everyone was under the same spell in the early stages of the pandemic as Mr. Kogan iterates “At first our only thought was survival and we didn't really understand the impact and what role 1Digital® would play during a pandemic. We had to adjust as a team…”
As such digital marketing agencies navigated through the latter half of 2020, the adaptation to digital dominant models began showcasing themselves as Mr. Kogan pointed out, “clients and merchants started to take e-commerce much more seriously.” One of the key takeaways that their team appropriated was that in order to survive, both themselves and their clients needed to look at trying new angles for their campaigns.
When asked about their own clients, Mr. Kogan states “their budgets are bigger, and their plans have accelerated. Before the pandemic there were many projects that were shelved until later dates. Now it seems that everybody wants to have everything accelerated based on the new norm.”
A Grand Adaptation
This exciting new chapter is quite a logical step forward in many respects, with the world working in an online capacity for longer periods of time, there stands to reason that new forms of message communication is the wise step forward. 1Digital® is no exception to this, proving the rule that adaptation is everything, the working from home model that is now commonplace around the world is not without its challenges of course as Mr. Kogan attests, “There is something to be said about working from home. I have many team members that absolutely love the new work from home model. Others crave an office environment.”
One would assume that the loss of synergy would have a negative impact on the process of a digital marketing agency. Mr. Kogan begs to differ, stating “even without that synergy we are still able to find creative solutions for our own initiatives as well as for our clients… we're able to join Zoom meetings, and Google Hangouts for many day-to-day face to face activities.” With technology being so adept at easy communication channels – a unique opportunity has been discovered in the way of new and lucrative voices that would otherwise have been impossible or tossed aside pre-pandemic.
With so much occurring in the digital space, it seems that agencies like this one are adapting with the times rather uniquely. Throughout the latter half of 2020 and beginning of 2021, the hiring of worldwide creatives has been on the steady rise, giving credence to a barrage of new voices, creative opinions and artistic voices that aims to give the agency a newfound perspective on the potentials of digital marketing. It seems Mr. Kogan agrees, stating “we have hired people from Los Angeles to Washington from Chile to Uruguay and new employees out of Canada, that wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for the pandemic.” This new landscape appears to be more inclusive than ever and allows for the digitized focus on marketing to have a fresh and new spirit as a foundation going forward.
What’s Next?
In terms of the future, 1Digital® is well prepared to tackle the prospects of an online-centric focus, to assist clients in navigating a space that was not as dominant for them in previous years or as Mr. Kogan puts it “helping them grow online, generate more business, grow their leads and ROI… helping them with local SEO or PPC, or helping them with localized marketing initiatives.” So, it seems that there is a silver lining in the pandemic cloud – showcasing the adaptation this innovative SEO agency has implemented to resounding success – we look forward to seeing where Dan Kogan and the Digital Marketing industry goes throughout the near future.