When ECN launched in 2004. Iphones were still 3 years away from existence so ECN’s ability to deliver live news and content to screens at people’s offices was completely ground-breaking.
16 years later, the commercial office sector has evolved with occupier experience taking centre stage. Digital innovation led by the tech sector has seen buildings develop from a facility containing desks and a water cooler to the workspaces we see today that have a look, feel and brand identity all of themselves.
Tech not only disrupted our private lives with social media and apps but also the workplace with the introduction of co-working spaces, hot desking and collaborative open plan working spaces that help attract then retain the best talent. A product of those two areas being disrupted is we are now encouraged to share our experiences of our workspaces.
Workplaces and offices across the world began considering how they could offer better customer experiences by integrating a digital layer into their building – whether it be with the fastest WI-FI or creating an online community in the building itself.
As we enter the 2020s, it’s difficult to imagine an office building not having some form of brand focus – the digital layer makes it easy to do whether it be via a website, social media or some other direct customer relationship.
But the challenge for all buildings remains the same – they all rely on the worker (customers) to do something. To subscribe to another newsletter, to download another APP in a world where 1 in 2 people suffer from some form of digital fatigue getting them to take the first step let alone come back again is no easy achievement!
When you consider the vast amount of content distributed every minute online and that the average smartphone in the UK has over 100 APPs on it (and less than 10 APPs will be used on a regular basis), you get a sense of the challenge.
The challenge for building managers and managing agents is how to engage their building community with digital content in a frictionless and effective manner.
In 2019, ECN created 6,000+ pieces of digital content for our clients, who are communicating to occupiers about sustainability achievements, promoting community activities on-site, highlighting safety issues and wishing their building community the best during key seasonal events.
In March, ECN holds its annual Connected Building of The Year Award, which recognises best in class digital content among our office partners. In 2019 we saw a huge increase in content and in 2020 we expect to see even high growth as more office buildings become brand buildings.