Creativity In Business Solutions

To say that 2020 & 2021 were one of the most eventful years of modern times is putting it mildly.

There are those who have faced great challenges in the last 24 months and, rather than accepting some form of defeat, have rallied to preserve their businesses or way of life in as much as they can.

Doing this of course requires motivation and the will to be encouraged in looking for new avenues, and how to open up for potential possibilities. It’s not an easy thing to be expected to change, but at the same time entrepreneurs and small businesses particularly have to be commended for doing so, as they may not have the financial cushion that large corporations do.

As has been seen with a lot of Submit’s clients, it is possible to start anew and move businesses and general directions towards a digital, online presence. Sometimes, as we will discuss further with a few case studies, smaller businesses can even make a better job of adapting to a digital landscape, as opposed to major organisations, despite the odds.

Award shows and assessing the changes

BBC News entertainment reporter Steven Macintosh has commented on the way in which award ceremonies have had to adapt throughout the year. ‘On the BBC News website, we usually cover the major ones you’d expect – such as the Emmys, Baftas, Oscars and Grammys. ‘ 

He goes on to discuss how such traditional aspects of the ceremony, from presenters and skits to routines or song performances usually make up a huge part of that.

  ‘Many of these elements have been stripped out of digital awards ceremonies, which means most of them essentially boil down to someone in a studio by themselves reading out a list of winners. It’s not a format which makes for engaging TV.’

 The challenges are evident, and for an organisation of the BBC’s size that usually cover so many aspects of the ceremony and what it involves, it’s a challenge to replicate that feeling in its coverage.

Steven does see a bright side in amongst a lot of the disappointment however; ‘Some ceremonies deserve credit for trying to keep things entertaining under such challenging circumstances. The Emmys managed to pull off an enjoyable broadcast last month. Jimmy Kimmel was in the studio with several celebrity guests. There was a fun sketch involving him, Jennifer Aniston and a bin catching on fire after being doused with too much hand sanitiser. Similarly, the TV Baftas had a fair few entertaining moments, like some winners making their own trophies from tinfoil, and a guest appearance from Kermit and Miss Piggy.’

 So the need to be inventive and thinking on the spot is clear, and a lot of this is of course possible with technology and such electronic resources. While it is a difficult situation to manage, Steven does look to the future with a positive mindset; ‘Hopefully, just like concerts and the theatre, awards ceremonies will return to normal at some point, once it is safe.’

It is of course difficult to predict what turn things will take in the next year or even beyond, but it would seem likely that event and awards organisers will have some plans for the coming season. You can read more about how Submit work with clients involved in award based ceremonies here.

Transferring physical businesses remotely

Marie Lou is a yoga teacher, originally from France but based in the U.K. Like many others when the Pandemic first hit, she became worried about sustaining her clients and customers in full classes. However, adapting her business model online through patreon style websites and individual based classes, she was able to both hone her approach and focus on continuing her service as before.

‘In some ways the need to go online has strengthened my customer base’, notes Marie, whose collaborative website is known as ‘The Movement Collective’ and relies on being available to customers with differing schedules. Marie continues to say that having an ‘online diary’ within her digital set-up has worked a lot better for her business than when she was applying to use the gym separately.

‘I was previously a business within another business, in the sense that I had to apply to use parts of a gym every month and go through a longer process to get that space’ says Marie, who would have had to complete forms and much more paperwork to keep track of her clients within that timeframe.

The scalability factor of ‘teaching’ online and keeping digital notes has proved smoother and helps her to keep track of clients at the same time. To that extent, Marie is not considering looking back to the physical aspect of her lessons in terms of whatever happens in the next 12 months and beyond. ‘I think the change was forced, but I suddenly found it more fulfilling and organised.’

Submit: how we innovate for our clients

Whether your company is an awards management survey, an individual or group start-up, or an existing company, where applications and forms are involved there is a similarity.

Keeping track of document registration is something that Submit provides in terms of the flexible platforms available for clients. As it is always possible to stay in touch with customers online, everything can be collated and organised in an efficient and comprehensive way. Additionally, a number of programs are supported which give a real boost to streamlining documents in a digital sense. For all parties, this is also an opportunity to have more time to work on any other aspects of work and cutting down on aspects of work involving paper.

For more information, including a free trial, please get in touch so that you can make the next step and innovate for your business! Our team members are always on hand to help out, at every stage of the way!