Emergent trends in the digital era are posing several challenges for traditional media houses, particularly in the broadcasting space where television (TV) and radio are housed. Imperative and foremost in dealing with these challenges is formulating strategies in settings where technological advancements work conjointly to satisfy the relentless need for innovation.
In the last few years alone, there has been a surge in active users on social media platforms. YouTube, Instagram and TikTok users, specifically, have exponentially increased, forcing a paradigm shift in the proliferation of content consumption and content form choices. This phenomenon has removed the dominance of analogue broadcasting channels, prompting the urgent need for revised and innovative content strategies.
New technologies, particularly the emergent capabilities of smart phones, have democratised content creation from what used to be a more corporately monopolised space. As such, traditional TV and radio are competing with their very consumers through the growing interest in independent YouTube channels, TikTok posts and podcasts which are showcased on a variety of global platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, OmnyFm, Soundcloud and others.
With cloud video streaming platforms such as Netflix, Showmax and – more recently – Disney+, this is no different. Creatives in various parts of the content production ecosystem are leveraging their creative skills to engage these streaming services in order to showcase new film productions, be they movies, feature films, documentaries or other formats. This marks a shift from broadcasting channels conceiving new film ideas internally.
Since businesses generally have the objective of making profit and remaining feasible, one of their key interests is in developing operations, with the view of securing their market share and – if intended – growth trajectory. This forms the backbone of strategy.
Strategy conceptualisation
The question for companies operating in the space should be: do they want to maximise on existing trends and methods of best practice, or do they intend on introducing a suite of new products that will enable innovation and inform adjected strategies for both themselves and their conventional and novel competitors in the market?
During the process of strategy conceptualisation, the role of artificial intelligence is critical in sorting through the data and providing insights on which tactics should accompany strategy both in the short and long-term outlook of a business. However, artificial intelligence does not provide insights into the shape and form that new innovative products should take.
In the knowledge-making eco-system, this means there is an opportunity for individual companies to incubate innovative hubs that incorporate design thinking, software developers, and other futurist practitioners to do scenario planning to supplement and lead future-proof strategy.
It is therefore imperative that captains of industry collaboratively invest in institutions with the view to introducing new technological products to the global market. According to the South Africa Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Indicators Report, there has not been any improvement in the public and private sector spend on research and development.
As such, the gross expenditure has dipped to 0.62% of the GDP which is unfortunate in light of the hope that it would reach 1.5% of GDP by 2030. Considered differently, this means strategies that respond to market trends are implemented with short-term rather than long-term gain in mind.
For a creative industry whose contribution shrunk during the gruesome days of the Covid-19 pandemic, foregoing the responsibility of investing more in research development and innovation would mean that African players remain followers rather than world leaders of innovation. Furthermore, talent from the region would stand to continually be poached by foreign markets leading the space.
Rethinking what strategy is in the creative and new technologies industry is evidently something that should be placed on the cards. Traditional banking and e-commerce businesses in retail have begun to do this in the Covid-19-induced adaptations of their digital businesses.
Interactive and agile teams
Comparatively, creative industries – particularly production houses – have a similar opportunity in leveraging a new modus operandi by creating capability in the form of interactive and agile project teams and systems where development is an ongoing process that complements objectives surrounding quality content production and the view to increase each company’s market share and competitive edge.
This does not, however, mean that growth cannot be led through strategic observation of what market trends are showing since competition is largely led by such market research. The purpose is about achieving business objectives on a mixed system and ensuring that there is sustainability on all fronts of the creative industry’s value chain. This is how excitement is bred for all players and opportunities for scalability create themselves.
From a corporate governance perspective, this requires that boards of companies embrace both technical ability as well as big picture-oriented and out-of-the-box executives to balance the risk appetites that often vary from one director to the next within a board. Transformational leadership in digital business, therefore, bodes well for future-looking companies.
The trickle-down effect of this will be two-fold.
First, African institutions of higher learning and training as well as digital creators and players will be able to conduct and use primary research on technological advancements coming from the creative industries of the content.
Second, this will change the dominant messaging on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and create a balance where STEM fields and the creative industries are seen as alliance partners.
This essentially ensures that strategies are informed by innovation, solidifying the prospect of market agility and business sustainability.
Strini Naicker is vice president for commercial and distribution at Paramount.
