rethinkEDM

Change, transfor­mation and people

YES, IT’S ALL ABOUT TRANSFORMATION

„Help me Lord, I plead! Spirits I have conjured, no longer pay me heed.“ Goethe’s lamentation from the sorcerer’s apprentice is perhaps a little over the top, but it hits the core. We are in a drastic and irreversible transformation process that was originally started by state institutions (ARPA) and consciously or unconsciously pushed forward by technology companies, nerds and later by many other players. We like to talk about generations like millennials or digital natives. We look for explanations especially from the young. Or in technology … and overlook the obvious.

From the companies’ point of view the analysis of the current world usually consists of buzz-words. For example: networked world, 24/7, from mobile to mobility, realtime, GenZ, Big Data, Smart Data, IoT, AI, programmatic buying and many more. These technical terms and trend determinations intend to help explain market mechanisms, but are not conditionally useful as orientation and, above all, are really boring. Because understanding changes requires context.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT YOU!

We are in the middle of a huge empowerment and emancipation movement. But for once, their leaders are not civil rights activists, interest groups, Alice Schwarzer or even Oprah Winfrey. This new movement is absolutely decentralized and emanates from ourselves – from each individual. Attention! Full attention. Something really important is missing. There is a much stronger trend, a movement, a mega-change: The Genesis of the Educated Decision-Maker. A human transformation. The frequent lack of people understanding this point is striking. Inclusion only takes place under the stamp of „User“ or „Target group“.


You could say it over and over again: it’s only for the young. Nope. Totally wrong. EDMs don’t just come from GenZ or Millennials. To put it in a nutshell, it affects us all. Therefore don’t take it too easy. We are all part of the movement.


Take Max, for example, a dealmaker who is particularly good at price comparisons – and has been since the beginning of the internet or Steve, who got an iPad from his son, had no previous contact with the Internet but now downloads eBooks online. Or Lucy, who passes the time on her lunch break by casually playing games. The digital divide is effortlessly skipped. Of course, there are also younger generations who have a natural affinity with digital technology; who use it for themselves and are often the pioneers of completely new services. Ask your kids about TikTok! The EDM is a phenomenon across all age groups. What is common to them all is that self-determined use developed – and is still developing – at great pace, regardless of their starting level.

DON’T FORGET: IT’S NOT ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. IT’S ABOUT SOCIETY.

This change does not only relate to technological developments, but to society as a whole. Similar to the invention of the printing press more than 500 years ago … not the existence of the book itself, but the self-determined absorption and application of knowledge by the reader caused great social, scientific and political changes.

In the next few years, the knowledge and experience generated and applied by humans, will fundamentally change the previous structures. And not only the user behavior of the digital natives, the GenZ or the millennials will contribute to this. We all do. Experience is gained and then transferred back to other areas. The common factor: knowledge transfer and application.