Innovating in a Rapidly Changing Landscape

Transcription

1 Innovating in a Rapidly Changing Landscape Roundtable Explores Trends and Challenges SEEING WHAT'S POSSIBLE

2 digital innovation eries digital innoationdig ital inno- The Digital Innovation Series traces the trends that are driving the digital-innovation imperative that has led publishers to scrutinize and update their capabilities.

3 Innovating in a Rapidly Changing Landscape: Roundtable Explores Trends and Challenges FOREWARD Changing audience expectations, entry into new markets, and the need to retain and bolster advertising revenue are causing media organizations and publishers of both traditional print publications and digitalonly platforms to have to continually innovate and at the same time build strong operational disciplines that can be scaled to keep up with demand. Innovation in that quickly evolving and complex landscape requires new approaches to reach and influence the always-on consumer. Innovation requires taking new and progressive approaches to partnerships, products, and strategies. It also requires commitment to building engagement through more-extensive collaborations between creative agencies, media agencies, and technology providers in order to enhance the consumer experience. How those approaches get adopted and managed will vary significantly depending on both where an organization is in its development or life cycle and what the organization is trying to achieve. With so much in a state of change, the role of digital marketing partners must evolve from being that of straightforward service providers to being partners that offer insights on key trends, intelligence about new innovations, and informed guidance on the best ways to navigate the transformations now under way. During the first quarter of 2015, Theorem held a roundtable discussion in collaboration with the Interactive Advertising Bureau to begin to uncover the critical enablers and the major roadblocks that could affect the transformation imperative. We analyzed three overarching topics: industry disruption, organizational change, and ideal partnerships. The discussion included leaders from across the digital spectrum from organizations just starting their digital transition to digital natives that are reinventing the consumer relationship. The conversation was lively, and the key takeaways were both confirming and in some instances, surprising. The personal names and company names of individual contributors have been blinded so that participants would have the freedom to speak with maximum candor, but the themes were clear. The marketplace is more digital, more innovative, more fragmented, and yet more interconnected than ever. All organizations are struggling to respond to the shifts in the market and are seeking ways to organize their needs into a unified technology stack so that initiatives can be prioritized, streamlined, and measured. Today, with dozens of potential intermediaries between advertisers and publishers, the value chain has morphed into a maze of myriad associations and solutions. This report summarizes those key takeaways and sets the stage for future discussions. Our hope is that this roundtable summary helps advance the industry s understanding of where we re headed directionally and helps suggest the potential routes to get there. Tell us what you think by ing me at jkulkarni@theoreminc.net. Jay Kulkarni, Founder and CEO Theorem

4 Media organizations and publishers are struggling to maneuver through an increasingly complex and rapidly changing landscape. Disruptive advances are forcing companies to be innovative and progressive with their business models, to form strategic partnerships in order to respond to new market opportunities and pressures, and to assess their own core competencies and what organizational changes they need to make to remain competitive. To understand major client pain points and what companies are looking for from their digital marketing partners, Theorem brought together a broad spectrum of media and publishing companies from organizations at the start of the digital journey to digital natives that are reinventing the consumer relationship for a roundtable discussion. The forum, held during the first quarter of 2015, uncovered the enablers and roadblocks to advancing the business model by focusing on three principal topics: industry disruption, organizational change, and ideal partnerships. This white paper explores the major takeaways from the forum. The Roundtable gathered perspectives from a broad spectrum of media and publishing companies. Some of the standout findings reinforce secondary research, including: The marketplace is more digital, more innovative, more fragmented, and yet more interconnected. Organizations are battling it out to respond to the market shifts and are seeking a clear, unified technology approach to enable campaigns to be prioritized, organized, and measured yet no one team is responsible for experimentation; no team is accountable for tracking technologies and understanding their impact. And they just don t have the time to learn. Theorem

5 Industry Disruption INDUSTRY GROWING DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS PROGRAMMATIC DIGITAL VIDEO VIEWABILITY NATIVE CONTENT M&A DATA MOBILE DISRUPTION Rapid changes in the digital landscape are having a significant impact on how agencies and publishers need to operate, innovate, and stay up-to-date with market trends. Among the issues roundtable participants raised were: The rate of technology innovation increases disruption and standard industry measures remain elusive. New digital channels are emerging at a rapid rate, requiring organizations to decide what they should invest in and how these new content distribution channels should be managed, branded, and monetized. All too often, by the time a company has adjusted its strategy to a new development, it is replaced or updated. Companies have to determine which of the many channels make sense based on a solid business case: do they leverage video and blogs, adopt interactive games, or deploy programmatic media? Do they use SMS mobile marketing, display media? Should they deploy OTT (over-the-top content, where media are delivered from provider to viewer over the Internet independently of the viewer s ISP), which several television channels have embraced. The strategic choices are almost limitless and the more agile competitors will have a clear path for growth and drivers for new revenue. Programmatic advertising is growing rapidly and is now a major part of the digital advertising economy. Programmatic can mean new revenue streams for some and a threat for others. More broadly, there is lack of consensus around what programmatic means, suggesting a need for internal education around the term, its capabilities, and in which digital channels programmatic makes most sense display, mobile, video, , etc. Sitting alongside programmatic is the issue of local versus national campaigns. While local is more complex, it needs to be considered because the one-size-fits-all messaging often associated with national won t work with all brands. Also of top concern is the issue of how sales teams are compensated and rewarded and how programmatic fits into these packages. Since the lines between programmatic and traditional demand channels have been erased at some publishers, some are taking an equal compensation stance, but everyone is evolving in some way. The nascent metric of viewability is creating concern. Depending on the analytics source for example, Nielsen, comscore, and Moat measurements as to what constitutes a viewable ad differ. Pressure from agencies to guarantee 100% viewability is considered unfeasible, and creates concerns that failure to fulfill agency demands will result in revenue losses. Metrics about consumers was another hot topic: how can data around consumer behavior be morphed into ways to market to consumers? How to assess which campaigns work and which don t? And how do you make the most of new platforms to target consumers? Theorem Organizational change TWO THREE

6 Shifts in the media landscape are leading companies to think about how best to respond in terms of organizational structure and positioning. Participants discussed some notable pressures and changes taking place at an enterprise level: The coming together of old styles and new styles is a pressing challenge for many publishers: how do you best combine the strong relationships that old-school media executives have built with staying on top of rapid digital developments? And how do you ensure you have the specific expertise needed? Compensation is critical to motivating employees and change in compensation structure is considered necessary. For example, those focused on data and analytics say this is an area that traditionally has not offered commission, but that needs to change. In light of the rapidly changing environment, annual performance reviews are seen as outdated. Hiring practices are changing. Companies are not only using LinkedIn to recruit but also Facebook, particularly when looking for a specific skill set. COMPENSATION/ PERFORMANCE SHIFTING PARADIGMS Everyone is seeking new ways to help Performance is measured every quarter, not every year ORGANIZATIONAL Old-school order takers meets nimble new media their organization respond to shifts in the market. CHANGE STAFFING MODELS CUSTOMER-CENTRICITY Social and digital profiles can help uncover new talent WORK/CULTURE TRAINING Consumers demand interconnected, experience-driven marketing Newly automated workflows and improved QA are daily drills As millennials have joined the workforce, values are changing. Employees want more frequent reviews in line with rapidly changing goals, they want less rigid management styles, and they re seeking performance reviews based on delivery to project goals not hours on the job. The workplace culture is becoming a priority, with younger employees seeking an interactive experience, a community-based workplace aka Google and the ability to leverage mobile. The relationship with the customer is a priority, as is identifying and targeting the right customer.

7 Ideal Partnerships Given the technology and organizational challenges companies face, their relationships with partners become all the more important, and what participants are seeking from partners has changed. A top priority across the board is a strategic partner who is accessible, understands the client s specific needs, and can adapt their services and agreements according to the current need. Companies want a partner who will help the business tackle challenges as they arise, who can bring big ideas to the table and not simply respond to an RFP. Expertise in data and analytics is vital as it s an area where most organizations lack the skill set. The best partnership is one that allows companies to respond to the external and internal challenges and changes they are facing, from delivering the right message to customers, to data and analytics, to supporting an integrated experience across platforms. RISK Help us control the revenue stream COMPENSATION/PERFORMANCE Performance is measured every quarter, not every year Partners that see the big picture, bring forward ideas, and are able to adapt will rise to the top. SCALE Keep us competitive in this M&A environment IDEAL PARTNERSHIPS CONTENT Support Video, Mobile, Local experiences CUSTOMER-CENTRICITY Find the right customer DATA Bring metrics to the table INTEGRATION Connect the platform, the content, the data, and the revenue Responding to Market Challenges By learning where the greatest pain points lie, Theorem ensures a strategic, client-focused approach to managing the evolving challenges industry faces. Service flexibility combines with clear direction on data, analytics, digital channels and platforms. Theorem

8 SEEING WHAT'S POSSIBLE I 26 Main Street, Chatham, New Jersey Theorem delivers a full range of flexible, tailored solutions to help organizations cost-effectively and efficiently manage digital marketing initiatives across the entire digital landscape. They enable rapid activation of programs through a model that leverages domain specialists, digital best practices, and a deep digital track record. Theorem optimizes digital programs by seeing the full picture getting clients on the right path and overcoming all obstacles along the way. For more information, visit us at Theorem, Inc. All rights reserved.