The UK’s snap general election and Brexit were at the forefront of discussions at a press conference on Mark Carney’s monetary policy last week. They are forcing the UK’s short-term economic policy. But there is a much bigger economic juggernaut on the horizon. And that is: automation.
The next economic juggernaut
Automation is the single biggest callout card for boosting productivity. The electronic clippings service was an early gift to the agency world. Then along came social media monitoring tools like Hootsuite to organise our networks. And SERP metrics from Moz to make SEO strategies that little bit easier. So, could automation help us with creativity?
No, I’m not saying that we should ask Alexa for our next creative idea. But, could we automate more of the important low-level tasks to give us the freedom to think?
The automation revolution and its impact on creativity
Agencies recognise that time is their most precious asset. Yet, daily lives are getting faster, email inboxes are getting bigger and the ‘always on’ culture more apparent. The fact is, days can quickly pass us by. So, finding the time to think can be a chronic problem, if you’re not careful.
The next wave of automation in the agency world relates to how we eke out intelligence and create time. The wheels of every agency are oiled by ensuring the right people are in the right places for the right amount of time. And, that the allocation of time versus reality is accounted for and tweaked to maximise productivity.
Every day we focus on how we can automate data collection and use our data to make smarter decisions. And it is of real importance. The smarter you work, the more time people have to think.
And that breeds creativity. I’d be really interested if a machine could do my timesheets.
