Welcome to The SoDA Report

Thank you for taking the time to explore the 2023 edition of The SoDA Report. If this is the first time you are reading an issue of The SoDA Report, welcome. If you are a returning reader, we’re deeply proud to continue a legacy of influential thinking from industry leaders around the globe.

SoDA is a global network of digital agency founders, creative innovators, and technology disruptors. At the core of what makes us different is that SoDA members share a belief that we gain more by collaborating than by operating in isolation. In the process, we have developed a culture where we compete based on the quality of our ideas rather than the mechanics of our businesses.

This year’s theme for the Report is Creative Destruction and The Making of New Myths.

Creative Destruction describes the way in which any dynamic and free system will inevitably and repeatedly disrupt itself. Most applied to the idea of free markets and innovation, creative destruction also captures a broader principle of transformative change—it may appear to be incremental and erratic when you’re in the thick of it; but there is, indeed, a different world on the other side.

We see this today in the way technology innovators remake stale categories and invent new ones. We also see it in our growing consciousness and responsibility for creating a more just, equitable and sustainable world. And we may see it even more intimately in our personal and professional lives as two years in relative isolation slowly reframes the ideas, values, priorities, and goals that sustain us.

In our own industry, we’re confronting big questions around distributed teams, employee well-being, inflationary pressure on our operating model, sustained viability and the impact of emerging technology and the hype cycles that feed them. And this is all on top of the age-old and difficult challenges we face to run successful businesses and create ecosystems of value, love, growth, and respect.

A massive thanks to SoDA’s organizational partners, as well as members, contributors, and friends. We also want to thank design-driven creative production company and SoDA member, We Are Royale, for designing this year’s cover. They have created a beautiful interpretation of the report’s theme.

We hope you enjoy this edition of The SoDA Report and share it with your colleagues. Also take the time to explore our website www.sodaspeaks.com, where you can also sign up for our mailing list and keep informed about upcoming SoDA programming and updates.

Happy reading,

Lakai Newman

Managing Editor & Head of Production, The SoDA Report