What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

· Which of our 2021 communications predictions have traveled well

· Whether the “Vaccinfluencer” has been had more of a positive or negative impact

· How society’s perception of social media changed during the pandemic

Once a year our agency does something particularly brave. We predict the future. Released at the top of the year, our “Red Sky Predictions” report forecasts 10 trends we expect to drive change throughout the global communications and PR landscape. These predictions represent the collective insight of top minds from around Red Havas’ 10 markets. We like to think the report has become required reading for our industry. This year, though, the stakes were higher and our assignment more daunting. We looked at everything through the lens of the pandemic. How had COVID forever changed the digital and social media space? Healthcare and technology? The workplace and travel? Of course, we don’t believe in simply flinging predictions into the universe and then quickly walking away.

It’s important to us to return to the predictions we made—to see how, and if, they’re unfolding the way we suggested. This month, we’ve devoted an entire episode to it with a discussion moderated by Red Havas’ Linda Descano that brings some of this year’s soothsayers back to the table: Global CEO James Wright; U.S.-based social guru Davitha Tiller and Steve Fontanot, our managing director in Australia.

So, how did we do?

Says James, “We had a number of [predictions] that have really traveled really well this year in terms of coming to light and becoming a reality. Everything from the Vaccinfluencer to how mental health has come to the fore to how employees have become more and more empowered and the rise of the empowered employee. So, lots of interesting subjects to get into today.”

The episode wraps with Red Havas VP Ellen Mallernee Barnes unveiling a fresh set of questions for Red Questionnaire guest Aleisia Gibson Wright, an executive vice president at Red Havas Health. Their chat runs the gamut from Aleisia’s must-follow TikTok account (Jason Derulo) to what’s keeping her awake at night (healthcare disparities and inequities).

Of the latter, Aleisia says, “Having worked in this industry, we noticed [the inequities], but it becomes like white noise. It’s a problem. We know it’s there. But over the past year and a half, since COVID, there has been a lot of conversation about it. And with the George Floyd murder, there’s just been a lot of conversation about inequities in general. Now, we will see how that plays out in the health space. It’s a problem that I know big companies are really working hard to resolve.”

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