In the last several weeks, we have had incredible marketplace discussions with business leaders who have described the pandemic alternately as an accelerator, a suppressor and some as both, depending on their perspective.
Certainly, the pandemic has changed the way we live and interact. Working from home accelerated at-home usage of smart speakers for radio listening, OTT and TV news viewing, ecommerce, and video chatting. At the same time, the pandemic has suppressed in-car listening, sporting and other live events, travel, dining out, in-store traffic and business.
Throughout all of this, the pandemic has also driven innovation. In-person meetings have been replaced with virtual meetings. Sales pitches have been replaced with ways to stay connected and positioning for the rebound. Team members have been asked to do more with less.
Eventually, we believe that the pandemic will be the great differentiator for media companies. Those businesses that are properly capitalized and employ innovative techniques will grow their businesses and others that are overleveraged and continue to apply the old approaches to analysis and selling will continue to lose share of wallet. Better assessments and innovation at this time will lead to some media companies outperforming their competitors through this period and upon recovery.
Media executives are being tested to apply their knowledge and skills to lead their companies through the pandemic. No media executive can manage successfully, especially during a down market, without the data and analytics that provide the insights necessary to manage the confluence of business forces driven by this pandemic.
In our work with clients, we see some that rely on data from a variety of sources, often creating a data lake, and then process this information to inform and develop coherent plans of attack. They process this data to identify weaknesses of competitors and changing market opportunities within their media and outside. They realize that TV broadcasting represent less than 12% of local advertising in most markets. They embrace OTT and combine digital with traditional advertising to best meet client needs. And they use the strategic insights they derive from analyzing their data to train their sales teams and create sales campaigns with a greater likelihood of success.
As trying as this period has been, the opportunity to invest in your company’s future and position is now. If you incorporate relevant assessments and innovation into your current operations and move like a recovery is around the corner, it will give you the focus necessary to weather the storm and perhaps even accelerate your business, while others may have to cut staff and sell assets.
As always, we are available to help your company assess it’s current status and figure out the next best steps around sales, marketing and product. Contact us to set up a meeting to see how we are helping clients right now move forward successfully.
