Don't forget the face-to-face

4th May 2009 A passion and truth by Jacqui

Photo by tuppus

The buzz around Twitter is reaching a giddy crescendo right now and one of the most popular trending topics is #goodmeeting. For the uninitiated, this is simply a way of sharing the news that you’ve had a productive, physical meeting with a fellow human.

But how many people, particularly in this oh-so-advanced technical and digital age, can truthfully say that they are investing as much time in quality face-to-face interactions as they are in social media, emails and text messages.

Social media is revolutionizing the way we network. It allows us to maintain regular contact with friends, family and business connections quickly and simply with the tap of a keypad (or touch screen!), but is it really a substitute for a lunch, a brainstorm, or even a snatched meeting in a coffee shop? A meeting filled with enthusiasm, honesty, emotions and expressions?  I don’t think so. A smiley emoticon at the end of an email can’t compete with the go-getting drive that a great meeting can induce. 

Advertising and PR professionals have always had a reputation as being champagne-swigging luvvies who spend more time schmoozing in wine bars than with their nose to the grindstone. It is sad to think that more and more, the reality is that they are hunched over a computer blazing a paper trail, liaising with clients and contacts across a mobile or internet network.

We’re all guilty of relying too much on email and the like to communicate with people, and when you’ve built up a relationship with clients and friends, a certain amount of that can be forgiven. But we forget that the reason our clients hired us, the reason our friends chose us as friends, was because of our personalities. So if it’s real life encounters that so often generate the sparks and ideas that make life and business brilliant, then why are we so insistent on hiding behind our keyboards?

In agency world, it’s a sad and worrying sign that this faceless process seems to be escalating. In recent months, we’ve seen a notable increase in the number of organisations – and not just public sector ones - resorting to tenders when putting their marketing contracts out. The result is that there are agencies across the country today making a considerable investment in responding to belt-and-braces tenders from clients they’ve never met!

How can any agency produce an effective response when they’ve not been given an opportunity to find out more straight from the horse’s mouth? Without interrogating the problems, objectives and desires, the danger is the real brief will remain hidden away. Are people really so busy that they can’t spare time for a #goodmeeting? Without this crucial human element, responses - however thoroughly prepared they may be - will surely be lacking the insight that can make the difference. It could just be the best hour they ever invest.

Jacqui Lennon is managing director of WAA

Share ♥

Found in Trend watchingJacqui's column