THE FORGOTTEN SPECIES

I was in the supermarket yesterday, walking up and down the aisles trying to remember why I went there in the first place. As I wondered from dairy to world foods, it struck me that everyone in the supermarket was human. The customers, checkout folk, packers. All human. 

Empty handed, I made my way to the local coffee shop hoping that a shot of caffeine would stir my memory. Actually, make that a double. It didn’t work, but again, as I looked around as you do in coffee shops, I couldn’t help but notice the number of humans. Behind the counter and seated at just about every table were, yes, human beings. They were doing extraordinary things like talking, laughing, drinking, eating, reading.

How strange that in a world dominated by technology, by AI, VR, AR not one single robot actually buys anything. Not in a supermarket, or a café, a bar, boutique even online.

Yet, read many of the posts on places such as LinkedIn and you would think that humans are obsolete. Talk about technology seems to dominate, companies are investing enormous sums in tech, the majority of jobs ask for extensive knowledge of IT.

I know of companies who are building very large departments to crunch data. What they do with it, who knows, but crunch they do.

Yet, investing in humans, well let’s not be stupid, the world is changing. Right?

So why this love of technology over people. It’s just easier. To a CEO, it’s easier to put up numbers. They are two-dimensional. Right or wrong. Good or bad. Up or down. And as for technology, it either works or it doesn’t.

But people, what a complex, confused, chaotic species. Humans have beliefs, opinions, feelings and they can change by the time you read this sentence.

They are an emotional lot. They are influenced by culture, friends, family, what they see and hear and where it comes from.

Technology isn't swayed by isms. By sexism, ageism, racism, individualism, optimism, cynicism, terrorism, Trumpism and a dozen other isms that influence us mere mortals. 

Let's face it, humans are a forever moving target. Far too hard to try to understand, let alone connect with.

Which is the one thing agencies could do better than any other industry in the past. Know people, know how to talk to them and how to build a relationship with them. They did it, yes, with some data and research, but mostly by observation and conversation. And then by using creativity to build that connection.

Have agencies become so caught up in the data, they have lost that human edge, that point of difference?

While technology can do so much, remember The Forgotten Species. The human species. The ones who buy everything you have to sell.

Speaking of which, it was Peanut Butter, Crunchy of course.