2023: a year in an era of change

Then: Leonhard Huizinga. Now: Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer. Two celebrated writers, each in their own time, whose body of work cannot be compared, but who perhaps connect because they both have a particular and distinct image of their time. If Leonhard's world was still one of adventure and optimism, Ilja Leonard's is characterised by concern about a 'society' that is polarising and falling apart. Polarisation as a result of people viewing the world in existentially different ways. A world where people don't just argue about different views, but where they can no longer agree among themselves about facts. Since the pandemic, a great distrust in science has emerged. Facts based in science are being replaced by alternative facts. 'Own' facts that create 'own' truths and stories.

Facts, truths, and stories remain unknown if you can't spread them. It's clear that the distribution of all this 'content' is no longer the privilege of a traditional media elite. Digital knowledge and technology have made it possible for anyone to publish unfiltered. Social media have become a flywheel for hurling all sorts of content into the world. And in no time, a new phenomenon emerged: Artificial Intelligence. AI as a human invention is unlike many others. It's the first invention that has the potential to become more intelligent than the inventors themselves. And that's a thought that causes concern. Because never in human history have we had to share our world with 'something' that is or can become more intelligent than ourselves. That makes us feel uneasy. Fear of the great unknown. The 'shadows of tomorrow' mentioned in 1936, but in the year 2023.

And it's happening fast. Late last year, with the input of a few keywords, we were suddenly able to write cleverly rhyming Christmas poems, which also managed to accurately characterise the recipient of the poem. All this is thanks to ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. By now, we're over 12 months down the line and we're overrun by AI tools — developed, improved, and marketed at a breakneck pace — used by curious first-timers and advanced professionals alike. For both, the results are often stunning — in text, in sound, and in images.

It was not just AI that caught the attention of the advertising industry in 2023. Volatility was everywhere. Brands disappeared like T-Mobile and Tele2 disappeared to make way — thanks in part to iO — for the new Odido brand. In the automotive industry, a complete brand realignment is taking place, with Chinese electric car brands like BYD, NIO, and Xpeng leading the way. With the introduction of Zeekr, the 13th Chinese car brand is now operating in the Netherlands. In Belgium, there are already 16. Retail was looking bleak: chains like Big Bazar, BCC, Score, and Chasin' closed their doors in the Netherlands. The number of Flemish companies which will go bankrupt in 2023, remains on track. Reasons: a persistent after-effect of the Covid era, inflation, online shopping, and falling consumer confidence. Consumers are still taking their foot off the gas. Perhaps all these terminations and realignments are a sign of the times. Like the newspaper ad being replaced by ones on social media, shops by marketplaces, the radio programme by the podcast and new clothes by vintage.

Despite all this market turbulence, there's no doubt that AI is the big gamechanger in 2023. AI opens a new world, in which our lives will fundamentally change. The Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) reported on this back in 2021, when artificial intelligence was still an elusive, science fiction-like concept for many. It's remarkable and commendable that even then, the WRR tried to demystify the concept of AI. 'The perception of AI is distorted by misplaced fears and overblown expectations. AI is not an evil robot, but neither is it a solution to everything.' reads a WRR news release from two years ago. Wise words to match the content of three podcasts by three iO colleagues, each with considerable intellect and experience in the field of AI. All three outline a positive future with AI. A future with a more enjoyable and interesting professional life. A future in which there is more time for quality and with the explicit advice to make use of the energy that AI offers, instead of waiting it out in the bomb shelter.

The bomb shelter: it sounds like a concept from a bygone era. Unfortunately, it's more than topical again in 2023. In Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, this refuge is a necessary abode. Leonhard Huizinga's 'De Gestroomlijnde Wereld' has turned out to be an illusion. The end of an era, which Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer writes about in his novel 'Grand Hotel Europa', seems closer instead. We are not living in a change of era, but in an era of change, Professor Jan Rotmans stated back in 2014. This has impacted everything and will continue to do so in the future. So too will it impact our advertising industry and the activities of agency organisations like iO within it, as well as the brands for which iO provides its services. We are all part of what Professor Rotmans calls an 'evolutionary revolution'. A voyage of discovery that is at times unpredictable, from which the people of iO want to learn, by experiencing it together with their customers. Because after all, experience is everything.

Charles Borremans

Client Services Director - iO

Charles Borremans is Client Services Director at iO Campus Amsterdam. He spends his days immersed in the stories that companies and organisations are trying to tell. He is always exploring new, relevant trends.