It seems appropriate that I am writing my very first blog post just after our Digital Workshop at the AAA School of Advertising in Cape Town. This post feels long overdue, especially when I soon realised that the unwritten theme for this year’s workshop was engagement. (It was all about Google two years ago, Facebook last year.) But now it’s all about starting conversations, and so here I am.
Our final year copywriting and art direction students spent the last few weeks listening to some of the Cape’s big minds in the world of digital communication. And that included a few of my very own alumni, who were satisfyingly inspired by previous workshops and are now making their mark in the world of digital advertising.
It’s the 4th year we’ve run this workshop at the college and there is something new to be discovered every year. The workshop featured 16 speakers on topics such as Social Media, Digital Design, Online Writing and ORM. We are very fortunate to be living in such a dynamic era, especially if you work in the field of communications.
A consistent message that was shared throughout is that the real advances in technology are not necessarily more technical, but in fact, more understanding of human behavior. Digital communications essentially maximize the meeting point between technology and humanity. It’s about so much more than websites and search engines, but talking to people respectfully and actually listening to them. In fact, exactly the way any good conversation works.
What excites me, is that is goes back to the very reason I was initially inspired to make advertising a career. It is a form of communication which, if done well, reflects an understanding of how people think, feel and experience their world. And what we learned over the last few weeks, is that it is now even easier to engage with people in a way that shows a genuine understanding of these feelings.
Thanks to all the guest speakers involved in our workshop!
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