Curtis Zimmerman

It’s the Wild West there. Just when you think you’ve grasped – and perhaps mastered with more than reasonable certainty – the latest innovation, technical revolution, platform, application, digital breakthrough or content enablement, something new awaits as you attack a new day. It’s not like things haven’t moved quickly over the past decade. But it’s different.

In the 1980s, there was a popular futurist named Faith Popcorn. At the time, his theories and projections caused some consternation and more than well-oiled doubt. She predicted a time when the world would exist through an effect she called “cocooning,” a kind of hyper-nesting where people might work remotely, live in an isolated environment, avoid others, or whatever. be and control their own lives. It’s hard to believe that it’s been forty years since his book “The Popcorn Report” has been quoted in every marketing pitch. She was followed by another futurist named Watts Wacker – odd names for futurists were obviously a thing back then – who wrote a book based on the name of this article: “The 500 Year Delta: What Happens After What Comes Next?” where he outlined strategies for businesses to reset their course toward an unpredictable future, offering new models for adapting to the chaos caused by increasing change and the breakdown of social, political, and economic organizations.

There’s a reason Faith Popcorn and Watts Wacker have been called “futurists.” And, in hindsight, their unquestionable accuracy is astounding. So where does this leave us as PR and marketing communications professionals?

The cocooning is real. Ms. Popcorn certainly predicted the rise of remote work, Amazon and Netflix. And the ensuing chaos, caused by increasing change, is something we face every day in our industry.

As we consider the way forward for our customers or our organizations, we may not have time to assess the real impact of all these changes. Because there’s more to come, and it’s happening fast.

Who would have predicted that the QR code would have a reversal of fortune and become the popular reference for a contemporary call to action? Five years ago, if you had suggested a QR code to a customer, they would have thought you had overlooked it. The QR code has seemed to come and go and be forgotten with the likes of virtual reality, direct mail, variable printing and, oh wait… it’s all back in fashion.

Not only is virtual reality a real thing, but it also opens doors that aren’t so virtual. Despite the not-so-trendy eyewear, Marriott’s New York wedding experience was awesome. And the promise of destination experiences brought “alive” through virtual reality around the world is truly breathtaking. And now Navitaire, the Amadeus company, is introducing the world’s first virtual travel search and booking experience.

Virtual reality has the potential to change the way we communicate and operate as marketers. Not too long ago, the idea of ​​virtual reality as a tool or concept was dismissed as yet another innovation that sounded good but had no place in the real world. Truly an idea whose time has come and which may well create a paradigm shift for the world of communications.

Consider bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. Not so long ago, Expedia was adopting cryptocurrency as a way to pay for travel. The number of sites and collateral that highlighted crypto acceptance was growing daily. And hotels and tour operators have seen this new form of currency as a launching pad for brands and their customers. Bitcoin’s rapid and cruel fall has been covered by every news source, from CNN to “Saturday Night Live,” and criticized by business leaders from Elon Musk to Bill Gates. Unsurprisingly, you can no longer use crypto to pay for travel on Expedia.

Like QR codes and virtual reality, we may be looking back five years as blockchain technology and the world of Web 3.0 open up the world to crypto as a primary source of currency. It is not easy to advise clients on speculation.

And, if that’s not enough, the world of NFTs is worth more time and consideration than simply explaining – or trying to explain – what is fungible and what isn’t. Marriott has once again jumped to the forefront of innovative technology by adopting an NFT collection as a form of reward through Marriott Bonvoy which was showcased at Art Basel. And destinations like Belize are using NFTs in partnership with big-name artists to help express and expose audiences to the experiences that await them. Whether NFTs are worth the hype and return the value remains to be seen, but we need to give them some attention nonetheless.

As we consider three-letter acronyms, the world of college athletics has changed significantly with the introduction of NIL, or Name Image and Likeness. An athlete cannot be paid for his performance, and absolutely cannot be paid by the institution. Thus, NIL must rely on “collectives” and corporate sponsors or organizations who believe they will gain influence and positive exposure by associating with the athlete. There’s a female college basketball player whose influence has been valued at over $65,000 per tweet. But it takes a partner willing to pay to make that happen. And, it takes a PR or marketing professional to make the recommendation.

If all that doesn’t make your head spin, get ready for Web 3.0. The only thing that can slow it down is the lack of 3.0 developers. But, when it grows, it will provide the ability to process and apply data at a much greater capacity, much faster, and considerably more secure. The content will be created in 3D and virtual. Your mobile device will become a powerful data center with edge computing. And the user experience will be extraordinarily personal. The speed of change will be faster than anything we have seen in history. Not even Popcorn could have predicted what would happen next.

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Curtis Zimmerman is co-founder of the Zimmerman Agency.