It’s a fairly easy step forward for a media professional (whether seller or buyer) to add digital to their skillset
The chosen ones?
I recently read an article by Doug Weaver from Upstream Group in the U.S. about the buzz in the online industry when Carol Bartz (former Autodesk CEO) was appointed CEO of Yahoo!. Seems the industry saw Ms Bartz as “…a software company veteran, not used to the fast pace of the Web 2.0 world.” “She doesn’t know our space.” To that I’d say that many digital media salespeople would be less frustrated if they had a more of the sales skills needed by those selling enterprise software into large organisations. The biggest challenge faced by online salespeople is often navigating through the complicated maze of agency and client structures to find the people who understand what they’re selling, and/or hold the budgets (unfortunately, they’re not always the same people!).
Doug’s point was that the interactive industry tends to be insular and “self-referential,” believing they have some sort of divine gift of unique knowledge and skills unavailable to anyone outside the industry. How dare Yahoo! give the role of CEO to someone from the stodgy old software industry – or heaven forbid from packaged goods or the manufacturing industry! The naysayers tend to overlook the required leadership skills that quite frankly many “interactive media–only” folks just don’t have.
This concept makes its way down into the sales ranks of online sites. Everyone’s looking for “2-4 years of online experience,” which then grows into 6-8 years of experience - ten jobs later! Let’s start looking at people with sales skills in other industries, within other media, or a fresh new face right out of University.
I think we’re in a better position in Australia than the U.S. is on this point. Have you noticed that most of the major sites in Australia now have ex-outdoor execs in top sales/commercial roles? Unlike in the U.S., where the online industry began with “pure plays” like Yahoo! and MSN, Australia’s major sites were offshoots of established media companies reaching across platforms. It’s a fairly easy step forward for a media professional (whether seller or buyer) to add digital to their skillset – and to conversely add a fresh perspective to the online world, based on their non-digital media experience.
Nielsen upgrades NetView online panel
Taking the first step toward on online audience measurement standard, Nielsen recently unveiled its new NetView panel to the industry in Sydney.
Read about it here
Media owners survive the downturn
Last week I attended (and chaired Day 2) of the Media & Broadcasting Congress in Sydney. The size of the crowd was disappointing this year (I think it points to the lack of discretionary funds media owners have had at their disposal over the last 9 months). However, the speakers were excellent.
The theme of the conference was around the need to adapt, evolve, and transform to survive. A concept that I heartily endorse as the idea around Digital Chameleon, is about helping media professionals do just that.
We heard that digital is causing the lines between media to blur – for example, an attendee raised the point that radio consumption reported as down – but what about podcasts? Streaming online? Radio doesn’t get the credit for that in the current research, even though it’s radio content. Perhaps we need to review what is measured, as well as definitions and consumer understanding of new technologies. For example, we heard an anecdote about surveying Americans about digital radio use. Uptake was miniscule at the time, however 85% respondents claimed they had digital radio – turns out they were referring to their digital clock radios!
The effects from the pace of the move to digital have been exacerbated by the economic downturn, creating a perfect storm, from which media will need to reinvent itself. We heard from media analysts that the GFC is over, and we were reminded that over the decades, media has had to reinvent its content and/or structure frequently. One of the current transformations mentioned was the move from media being a storefront for advertising, to becoming the platform for performing the purchase.
We heard from a media agency panel and learned that planning and buying has had to become more strategic during the downturn, as clients increasingly look toward ROI across media. The increased fragmentation of media, as well as structural changes in consumer media consumption, have implications for how agencies structure themselves going forward. The consensus was around integrating digital teams into traditional planning groups. Since all media will soon be digital, it was mentioned that teams might someday be split into “3-screen” structures (TV, PC, Mobile).
My takeaway from the two days was that video – in the form of TV (FTA & subscription), UGC as well as professionally produced, and its move to mobile, web, iTV, multi-channeling, IPTV, and consequent upheavals in distribution, licensing, and commercialisation, is where the action will be in the foreseeable future.
Thanks for reading, and see you next month!
Patty Keegan, Director
Digital Chameleon
www.digitalchameleon.net
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AIMIA and VentureOne present the Second Annual Commercialising Video seminar on September 24th in Sydney. Through a mix of case studies, thought pieces and interactive panel discussions, this event will give you insights into this pertinent topic.
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