The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

Damian Horner was a founder of Mustoes advertising agency and is a freelance marketing consultant.

Digital d-day

11.02.08

There is no pretending any more. Everyone is starting to feel it, though no one dare admit it: there is a new class system growing within British industry and it is going to rip some companies apart. The new divisions aren't based on people's backgrounds, schooling or wealth. Instead, they come down to one simple fact: either employees can keep up with digital technology or they can't.

Most organisations (whatever the industry) are characterised by four categories of employee:

1) The Reactionaries. These are the people who can't keep up and have almost stopped trying. Instead, they cling to the ways that have always worked. Generally they are older and in senior management; they mask their fears with a “let's wait and see" approach to technology.
2) The Bluffers. These are the people who pray that being on Facebook and having an iPod is enough to demonstrate their technological capabilities. Often they are in middle management and recognise they need to keep up, but can't.
3) The Disaffected. These are the most technologically savvy, but also the most frustrated. Usually they are younger and have matured in a digital world. For them, every working day is like banging their heads against a brick wall because no one around them will “get it"-—particularly their older and more senior managers.
4) The Specialists. These are the techies bought in to create the impression that the organisation is getting to grips with the digital era. Often these people are “outsiders" and treated as such. They rarely have an impact on the wider culture of a company, and as such their influence is limited.

Most organisations are managing to hold it together, but the cracks are appearing. Publishing may suffer more than most because by its very nature it attracts employees who are more in love with the page than the screen (and all that this implies). Even now we see staff from rights departments struggling to understand the implications of the digital age. Agents can barely keep up, and few marketing teams properly exploit the online environment. It is mainly a case of missed opportunities, but soon businesses will be actively harmed.

This is what will pave the way for a more radical shake-up of the industry. See how Amazon barged into book retailing, Apple carried off the music sector and MySpace usurped the credibility of A&R teams. These radical shifts were all driven by companies new to the sector. Publishers should look out.