How to rise to the high new expectations for communications

We could have seen it coming.

Many companies pulled back their marketing budgets in the early days of pandemic uncertainty and in-person event cancellation. Then the build-up that had to be spent by the end of Q4 2020 hit like a Tsunami. We all hustled to make it work.

Most marketing departments and agencies got the job done from home, sometimes more productively, thus proving it could be done. So employees wanted—some nearly demanded—permanent work-from-home options. Those options are mostly still in place.

After calls for social justice roiled and inspired the country, employees and RFPs made it clear that diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I) programs and policies were on their mind, and progress was expected. Like, yesterday. And many companies appear to be making progress.

Looking back, some of these outcomes could have been anticipated and were even welcomed—but our new normal has raised the bar in more subtle ways for communicators.

Enter the heightened expectations placed on marketing departments, agencies and, in some cases, the whole of humanity. From taking relevance to new extremes to producing content on a grander scale or working seamlessly across cultures and borders, these refinements are here to stay, and they make us all better. Here are four changes comms pros must track:

1. Relevance