Working From Home! WFH! WTF?

So now the world is working from home (WFH) and social media is filled with screen grabs from Microsoft Team gatherings and Zoom meetings from agencies and advertisers alike as the novelty of working remotely kicks in for the majority of companies.

As I shared with you in my email last week:

“Since the start of TrinityP3, by design, we have operated a remote working structure and process. In the past, it has given our consultants the freedom and ability to manage a work / life balance and has meant the company could build the flexibility to serve our clients no matter where in the world they were located. Now, in these strange times, it enables us to work immediately in a way that ensures the health and safety of you, us, and the people most important to all of us. Plenty about the next few months will not feel like business as usual for any of us. But there is more than enough technology to connect us at those times when business as usual has to carry on.

To measure the impact of WFH is having on marketers and agencies we have a quick (2 mins max) and simple survey (4 questions) regarding the impact on pitching in market this week.

Advertisers and marketer can respond here

Agencies and other marketing suppliers can have your say here

Your responses are confidential, and we will share the results with you soon.

Now back to working from home. Here is a selection of industry media articles that made me go WOW this week.

MASTERING VIRTUAL COLLABORATION WITH TOM FISHBURNE

Team collaboration can be tricky in the best of times, but it will be interesting to see how completely virtual meetings will test this further — particularly when we add strained WiFi, the learning curve of more people learning new videoconferencing tools, and trying to juggle kids in the background. 

Bad meeting habits are amplified by going virtual. So this is a good time to rethink how we hold meetings, starting with when to have meetings, who really needs to be there, the purpose of the meeting, and how to actual facilitate the meeting.

TIPS FROM A LONG-TIME CHAMPION OF LOCATION-AGNOSTIC WORK

Most knowledge workers should consider themselves fortunate: the majority of us do not need to sit in our cubicles day in day out and can quite happily do our jobs from just about anywhere with a laptop and a good, dependable internet connection.

But here’s the rub: shifting from on-premise to remote, location-agnostic settings isn’t just about picking up your laptop and finding a cozy spot to set up in. But while it’s not as easy as flipping a switch, there are things you can do to ease the transition for your teams, direct reports, and your organization as a whole starting with the following…

LET’S PLAY CONFERENCE CALL BINGO

Dr Mumbo knows there are some very serious, and not at all funny, things to worry about as Australia and the world grapples with how to contain the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).

He also knows tensions will rise, frustrations will bubble, and technology will trouble as adland – and Australia’s internet system – comes to grips with working from home.

So, if you’re well enough, and you have the time, why not play this with yourself, your company, or just a few of your favourite colleagues next time you have to “dial in”?

For an extra laugh, this 2014 video from Tripp & Tyler has made a resurgence on social media. Check it out here.

TRIBE LAUNCHES ‘MARKETERS IN PYJAMAS’ SERIES AS INDUSTRY GRAPPLES WITH COVID-19

Jules Lund’s Tribe, with the support of Facebook, has launched a new video series in a bid to keep the industry connected, learning and growing as they work from home and grapple with the long-term effects of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.

Lund said as the industry confronts its new reality of seeing into colleagues’ kitchens, hearing children screaming in the background, and the various tech issues of video conferencing, marketers still need to deliver – which spurred ‘Marketers in Pyjamas‘.

CELEBRITY YOUTUBER, PUBLICIS GROUPE CEO ARTHUR SADOUN, ADDRESSES REMOTE WORK

Last week, Publicis Groupe updated its remote work policy in response to the coronavirus pandemic, asking employees to work from home “aside from key meetings.”

Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun addressed the holding company in a video released yesterday entitled “Taking Care Together.” The video follows up on last week’s announcement in the wake of coronavirus developments around the world.

BBDO AND OMNICOM MAY NOT BE ‘THE POSTER CHILD FOR WFH’

BBDO has launched something called “BBDO Your Home.” It’s an effort seemingly embracing a move to most of the agency working remotely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign features employees rebranding their home workspaces as BBDO offices.

However, the initiative follows criticism on Fishbowl from self-described employees who felt BBDO wasn’t quick or enthusiastic enough about embracing employees working remotely. A Fishbowl commenter shared, in part, an email for an unspecified BBDO office informing staff, “We will remain open because it’s the right thing to do for our clients and to keep the business moving.” The commenter, identified as “BBDO 2” claimed the email was sent as an “agency-wide email” for an unspecified office.

MUMBRELLA IS POSTPONING EVERYTHING (NO SURPRISE THERE)

“We’re postponing Mumbrella360. And CommsCon. And Audioland. And pretty much everything else we’ve got planned for the next six months too” wrote Tim Burrowes. 

He went on “Financially, Mumbrella’s business model is more than 50% based on our events portfolio. If this had happened three or four years ago, it might have killed the company. We’re about to have a very tough year. But we’re fortunate, because it will still be much better for us than many will experience. Many of those who read Mumbrella are in industries in situations where their employers may well go out of business and many jobs will be lost. For the media and marketing world, it’s a far more desperate situation the GFC felt a decade ago”.

WHILE THE DRUM TAKES IT THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FESTIVAL DIGITAL

If you had any doubts about the need to embrace digital transformation, coronavirus might just have changed your mind. As business grapples with the physical challenges, digital-first companies have an opportunity to flourish. That’s why we’ve launched Digital Transformation Festival.

Throughout March and April, this event will be playing host to a vast array of panel sessions, talks and roundtables, bringing you insights from the world’s biggest brands and brightest thinkers. Dive in now and join the conversation using #DTFest

It’s great to see the marketing and advertising embracing the new reality of working so enthusiastically. We are currently reviewing all of our processes to identify ways to make everything we do from managing pitches and tenders to measuring collaboration and performance and benchmarking and negotiating agency fees totally hands free and operating remotely.

Part of this is getting feedback from the industry and so again I would ask you to take two minutes today to provide your views to our survey above.

As always, if any of this has piqued your curiosity or you simply want to discuss the marketing implications and advertising opportunities let me know.

Stay safe

Darren