Connections

By Mary Yurkovic, Director, Smart Content Council, MESA –

Now that 2020 has arrived, it’s time to reflect: Has your organization met its expectations for the last decade? Was there a shortfall? Was it so unpredictable these last five years that your organization’s initial vision needed to be changed, or even abandoned?

Among the discussions I’ve had with executives in the M&E space, the huge (and fast-paced) advancements in technology have by far been the biggest disruptive force when it came to achieving goals. Organizational restructuring and acquisitions have played their parts as well.

Some say they feel worse off because their planning wasn’t up to snuff, and while a few lucky executives say they were fluid enough with their planning to keep up with their goals, some executives completely scrapped their vision mapping, and decided instead to just focus on regular annual forecasting. This is all due to the huge paradigm shift in technology, data, analytics, and advancements of artificial intelligence and machine learning, all fueled by demands from customers.

In reviewing what was hot in 2015 and just prior, I looked at the topics that were boiling at MESA events back then.

Here’s what caught my eye:

* Second screen was on everyone’s minds, and while it’s still relevant, it’s not as much a focus today.

* Smartphones were the talk of the town — but the focus was how to utilize them in creative workflow and collaboration, not so much regarding consumer engagement.

* Trying to figure out the “real” cost of production was prevalent. We’re still trying to do this, and the “digital everything” mindset in organizations is getting us closer.

* Home entertainment was king. This will continue to be so, but in ways this evolving and innovative industry had not considered.

* Globalization and localization were just beginning to be recognized as priorities. Smart devices have helped this realization along.

* Virtual and augmented reality as full-fledged entertainment value propositions were just concepts.

* The metadata supply chain was in its conceptual stage, just begging for real- life use cases.

Just in the last two years, the M&E technological advances have come fast: The need for content and data protection has exploded, leaving gaps that must be filled; analytics have become a required part of every organization, bringing large teams of data scientists and analytical experts to the forefront, to dig in deep to the data that has been captured; consumer engagement is a driving force, and giving them more of what they want has become crucial in an increasingly competitive content landscape.

2020 is upon us, and as anyone trying to roadmap a decade-long plan in 2010 could tell you, predicting what’s next isn’t easy.

Still, here are some ideas on what’s on the horizon:

* Wrangling and deciphering data is beginning to take an army of experts, and that means the growth of chief data officers and divisions.

* Diversity and inclusion on all levels is required, a cultural shift for traditional organizational thinking.

* Enabling new forms of content and delivery means looking at emerging micro- demographics, getting down deep into who your viewer is.

* Cybersecurity and content protection have become mission critical and will continue to be so.

* Look for real use cases for AI and practical applications for machine learning.

* And realize that just because you collect data, doesn’t mean you own it. Be aware of liabilities around consumer data protection laws, here and abroad.

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