It’s a Hybrid World
According to some historians, the concept of hybridity is an ancient one. A recent scholarly report notes that the Latin word hybrida was first used to describe the offspring of “a tame sow and a wild boar.”
Hybrids, the article continues, have always played an integral part in myths and legend. We all remember in Greek mythology the fantastic creatures that are typically depicted as hybrids or monsters, such as the Minotaur (man and bull), the centaur(man and horse), and the chimera (lion, goat, and snake).
We’ve come a long way with hybrids since those days. Take gardening: Back in the 19th century, roses were apparently a thing in Europe. The birth of the world’s first hybrid “tea” rose is generally accepted to have been La France, in 1867, raised by Jean-Baptiste André Guillot. And what would Valentine’s Day be without the work of hybridizer Guillot?
The animal world has apparently been on a hybridizing tear for some time now, too—who knew? There are a surprising number of articles online about “Unique Animals You Won’t Believe Exist.” There’s the part whale, part dolphin—wholphin; the part male lion and female tiger—liger; and the uniquely specific cross between domestic cattle and yaks common to Tibet—dzo. The list goes on: zonkey, geep, zebroid, hinny, and beefalo.
A little of this, a little of that
In our modern, high-tech world, hybrids are shooting up everywhere, like well-fertilized tea roses. It seems we humans like things that are a little of this, and a little of that:
- Hybrid golf clubs help fill in the gap between your hard-to-hit irons and fairway woods.
- Hybrid vehicles use two or more distinct types of power–the internal combustion engine and an electric motor.
- Hybrid cloud technology solutions combine a private cloud with one or more public cloud services.
The recent pandemic has introduced its share of hybrids as well:
- The hybrid work model combines office and remote work, as many companies plan for local employees to come into the office only a few days per week and allowing some individuals to stay entirely remote.
- Hybrid events—created to alleviate some of the issues associated with travel—offer a mashup of premium in-person access to a conference with a fully immersive online experience.
To be clear, the hybrid is not just a mixture—it is the artful result of taking the best of two different things and bringing them together to form one, new, better thing.
Next better thing
We at PFL believe we have created a next new better thing: the Hybrid Experience (HX). HX combines the emotional power of offline brand marketing with the transparency and predictability of digital. It’s our tame sow and wild boar—analog and digital combined to do things for your customers and your business that neither can do alone.
HX delivers multi-sensory, custom brand experiences that are orchestrated, measurable, and relevant, so you can earn attention and amplify growth. We create data-driven, timely, personalized moments— “bespoke serendipity”—that earn customer attention. “Magical moments” that appear at the right time and place are neither ignored nor forgotten. By freezing time in this way, so people can live in the moment, we immediately build affinity for brands. And affinity drives business.
Our 21st century is more of a hybrid world than ever. There is a new normal, and it’s often the hybrid result of a little of this and a little of that. Home and office; public and private; online and offline; digital and analog. At PFL, we have created a platform to accelerate relationships with prospects and customers that can help move businesses forward in this new world. So move over Minotaur, dzo, and La France.
The Hybrid Experience had arrived.
