Partnerships to champion business success in a new media age
Content providers face more pressures than ever before in the current media landscape. In a challenging macroeconomic climate, media companies need to do more with less as they contend with rising costs, shifting consumer behaviors, and increased platform fragmentation.
As media leaders tackle surging complexities and look for ways to navigate uncertain futures, forward-thinking and bulletproof service provider partnerships are becoming more crucial than ever. These partnerships are foundational to securing business success, scaling operations, and optimizing ROI.
Shifting business strategies
Content owners and media companies are finding new ways to meet consumers wherever they are, at multiple price points, with different subscription models, direct-to-consumer offerings, and across newer digital platforms. The redefined content consumption landscape and the emerging business models that support it have driven many media companies to make tough business decisions, evaluating strategies to unlock operational efficiencies and scale their operations without incurring upfront costs. Media brands need to achieve scale and flexibility as cost-efficiently as possible to secure new digital revenues — and they need to do this quickly. In a transitional phase where consumers are moving faster than ever, time to market is paramount. Agile decisions and technology can keep content owners ahead of the curve.
Major media companies need to focus on creativity and content strategy in 2023. Securing rights in a fiercely competitive landscape where the right licensing deals are make or break requires time. Put simpler, media business leaders don’t want to worry about technology — their jobs are challenging enough as it is. Shifting to an OpEx-focused technology model that frees up resources for creative tasks empowers businesses to focus on their audiences while entrusting technology with proven experts. Simple off-the-shelf products and services without managed expertise and dedicated support don’t cut it in today’s complex market — media customers that leverage partnerships with both technology and service layers can fast-track their time to market, futureproof their operations, and secure reliable growth at scale for their global businesses.
Trust and accountability
Amid ongoing transformation and upheaval in media, trust and accountability in technology partnerships are essential. When it comes to managing and distributing high-value content, service providers must offer at the very least, the same, or better still, an even greater level of care than an in-house operations team would provide. Media customers need to know that they’ll be getting a good night’s sleep. They need to be able to trust that their technology partners will always be there when it matters. The right managed service provider should strive to foster closer collaboration with clients, understand their specific needs, and deliver a service layer tailored to each individual partnership that is bulletproof.
Providing a best-in-breed service layer requires technology partners to go above and beyond established standards. Spending time with customers to learn, listen, and gain a deeper understanding of operational requirements is critical to effectively delivering reliable solutions that achieve business goals. Clients need to know that their technology partner is just as invested in their success as they are and are committed to helping them navigate a fast-paced market with continuously evolving technology.
Embracing transition with proven expertise
The media industry is in a transformational phase, with new technologies like IP and cloud re-shaping our understanding of media workflows and unlocking a sea of new opportunities across the content value chain. Traditional distribution models are shifting as audiences migrate to over-the-top (OTT) platforms, and streaming becomes the de facto viewing method for many consumers. Media brands need partners with comprehensive skill sets and a deep understanding of the industry’s past and future to embrace these changes and ensure a smooth transition to newer technologies and business models. Working with dedicated, expert professionals that have both witnessed and played an active role in several iterations of media technology transformation gives media customers a competitive edge throughout this transitionary period and into the future.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work at the heart of media operations through rapid change in our industry. In the face of increased complexity, a tougher business climate, and emerging technology trends, I don’t think managed service partnerships have ever been more important. Today, these partnerships are about far more than just outsourcing operations and technology. They are about trust, accountability, and collaboration that delivers greater reliability, scale, and efficiency for any media customer.