Leading up to Holmes Report’s Global PR Summit, PRovoke17, we asked Alexander Jutkowitz, H+K US CEO, to tell us his perspective on the changing communications landscape. Alex will join the event as a panelist discussing navigating change in a new reality.
How can brands innovate faster in a world of uncertainty?
It all starts with how you define uncertainty. I’d say there are two big sources of it right now—one is the media landscape, where a profusion of new platforms brings with it a new set of dynamics, that favors different approaches to messaging and different types of messages. The other is technology, how it’s redefining the way we work, play, and consume. The interaction between the two creates a radically different world every few months, it seems. The brands that learn how to experiment, move with velocity, and find new ways to express their best selves will be the ones that win in the future.
You recently published a book entitled The Strategic Storyteller: Content Marketing in the Age of the Educated Consumer.  What has changed in the art of Storytelling over time?
Everything and nothing. The basic things that people look for in a story are rooted in human nature. People want a promise and they want to see it fulfilled. But the way they look to see that promise fulfilled is changing with each new innovation. In the pre-digital landscape, stories were siloed, along with people, to specific verticals and functions. Today, a story can extend seamlessly to every experience, from mobile to bricks-and-mortar retail, to desktop, etc. The essence of the story is the same, the expression is truly something new under the sun.

The brands that learn how to experiment, move with velocity, and find new ways to express their best selves will be the ones that win in the future.

Leading up to the Holmes Report Global Summit, what do you think is a biggest challenge communicators face today
I’d say its resiliency. In a volatile world, the biggest challenge is to stay true to yourself and keep a host of different worldviews and influences in your mind – to find a coherent story for them to be part of.

To learn more about our session at PRovoke17, click here.