Is it just me or does the Tiger King phase of isolation seem like an eternity ago?
Isolation has introduced us to a lot of different things like the outbreak of toilet paper panic buying, meeting ‘Bunnings Karen’, embracing the novelty of wearing pyjamas ‘to work’ and mastering the mute button on video calls (well, at least some of us). No matter what your isolation experience has been, one thing that we have all shared is that we’ve been given the gift of time – even if it’s only a little bit more than we had before.
I believe that this extra time has helped to shine a light on the things that really matter – being more connected to families, friends and neighbourhoods, aspiring towards a cleaner planet and having the time to take care of ourselves. Isolation has changed the way we perceive how we ‘spend’ time and has perhaps encouraged us to see how we could instead ‘invest’ our time in more important things. For example, in a recent survey, 77% of Australians say they will be more appreciative of simple things like being able to spend time outdoors[1]. Maybe we’ll stop and smell the roses more often.
This extra time has allowed us to invest our time in a range of things like picking up a new hobby, learning a new skill, finally getting around to the things on your to do list among many more. We’ve also probably pledged to ourselves that we will all change for the better as a result of this “new normal.”
But as the world starts to slowly reopen and isolation rules start to relax, how many of us will actually commit to sticking with these changes in a post-pandemic life?
How often do we have the time to make the most of a second chance?
One way to help us stay motivated and accountable is an initiative from the World Out of Home Organization (WOO) and their global campaign called #OurSecondChance, which poses important questions about how we can make the most of the positive opportunities that have arisen out of the pandemic. Now, you may be wondering what an outdoor campaign has to do with all this? Well, if I was to ask you what you think of when you think about outdoor media, do you immediately think of advertising?
What if you were challenged to think about how outdoor media can help make public spaces better by asking us questions about the things that really matter? oOh!media (a leading Australian outdoor media organisation), believes that outdoor media should also be viewed as public notice boards, serving the communities where they are located. And that is what #OurSecondChance is all about.
oOh!media are one of the many supporters of the #OurSecondChance campaign, which is now running in over 50 countries worldwide, putting it on track to be the global Out of Home industry’s biggest-ever campaign. Outdoor Media Association (OMA) CEO Charmaine Moldrich said “the campaign asks us to reflect on the things that we hold dear to us, to consider how we can re-shape the world around us and come into a better world.” Ultimately, the questions posed to us as part of this campaign aim to remind us about the things that matter most in a post-pandemic life:
- Will families still be as close?
- Will we still make time for old friends?
- Will we still look out for our neighbours?
- Will we still value our essential workers?
- Will we still keep up new hobbies?
- Will global air pollution still be down?
- Will the Himalayas still be visible from 200kms away?
- Will we still appreciate being outdoors?
This is a unique moment in history which we can all relate to because we’ve all experienced this together. We can all recognise this and share in the highs and lows of this pandemic. One final thought to leave you with: in a post-pandemic life, “a new normal”, will you go back to the way things were? Or will you commit to changing for the better and embrace #OurSecondChance?
