What is digital disruption?

By Paul Cooke

June 2015

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What is “disruption”?

Generally if there’s an easier, less expensive way of doing something, humans gravitate to

it. We may be wary of change, but generally we can’t resist progress. That means when

technology advances, the world changes.

Disruption is a new way of describing this age-old phenomenon. It’s something that

happens when new technology enables a dramatic shift in the way an established system

operates or a market runs.

Is a disruption like a revolution?

Kind of. In fact, some would argue they’re synonymous - just two buzzwords meaning

essentially the same thing. They’d say that “revolutionary” has passed its use-by date and

been replaced by the more fashionable “disruptive”. We think disruption is worth coming

at from a different angle.

Let’s go back to the idea of novel technology being the catalyst for a momentous

change in an industry. Who brings about this change?

Sometimes it can be government. Sometimes it can be not-for-profit companies,

universities or research organisations.

But often it’s business. And business can be ruthless - “cut-throat” you might say. Which

brings us to revolution. If you think about revolutions through the ages, most didn’t end well

for the old guard, those with an established place in the system. Revolutionaries didn’t stop

at introducing bold new ideas; they tended to lop the heads off those who possessed the

prevailing ideas.

Disruption is less absolute than revolution. The concept of radical change is still there, and

what’s left when the dust settles is a thoroughly changed industry landscape just as there

would be with a revolution. But once the brave new world has been settled, the

establishment is still free to participate, so long as they have the wherewithal to negotiate

the totally new terrain.

Should you fear disruption?

A disrupted industry isn’t a fatal industry for established businesses, but it has the potential

to be far more perilous than it once was. You shouldn’t fear disruption but you should be

prepared for it.

Think about the way digital technology allowed Commsec to change the face of

stockbroking. Or the way it allowed Expedia to make so many bricks-and-mortar travel

agents obsolete. These companies didn’t put competitors into the guillotine; they simply

offered an indispensable service in a much more convenient way. Competitors who by

comparison seemed to offer an unwieldy and expensive old world service naturally fell by

the wayside.

How do you protect against disruption?

The glib answer would be “disrupt back”. But that would be ignoring the fact that the vast

majority of companies simply don’t have millions of dollars lying around to make seismic

changes of their own.

A more realistic answer for most companies is to establish - or re-confirm - a point of

difference and communicate the benefits of that approach more clearly than ever

before.

No matter how dramatically digital technology shifts your industry, one thing won’t

change: being able to get a message across in a compelling and engaging way is a

company’s best defence against the uncertainty that comes from a new digital age.

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Effectus Marketing Group (EMG) is a Melbourne based-strategic communications

collective, a group of like-minded creatives with experience in a broad array of industries

and disciplines. We solve communication challenges faced by businesses by offering

targeted messaging, creating memorable content, managing public opinion and

achieving outstanding results. Representing a new breed of PR agency and offering a

fresh approach, EMG aims for nothing less than to disrupt the world of public relations.

http://www.effectusmarketinggroup.com.au/