“BUDGETS KEEP GOING DOWN. BUT PROJECT REQUIREMENTS KEEP GOING UP!”
Have you heard yourself recite this common complaint?
I’m constantly being asked what to do about these types of seismic shifts occurring in our industry. Studio and production company owners feel trapped by forces beyond their control.
Sometimes my answer isn’t what they want to hear. I might say something like:
- “Sorry, but you know the broadcast / cable industry is in decline, right?”
- “What did you expect? Advertising agencies are getting squeezed.”
- “Your client base is lousy. You need to work directly with brands.”
These owners don’t much like hearing this. The reason is threefold:
- They saw warning signs a long time ago
- They thought about making changes… but didn’t
- Making changes now will be painful and scary
Now consider this analogy: If you knew an earthquake would SOMEDAY destroy your home, what would you do about it TODAY?
Here’s the thing about earthquakes. Although there are tectonic forces at work right beneath your feet, you never see it coming.
Until it’s too late.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t see the warning signs and prepare. It just requires a bit of honesty, intention, and discipline.
Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like the seismic shifts happening in our industry. Here are just a few examples of questions we are all asking:
“WILL OTT (NETFLIX, AMAZON, HULU, APPLE, ETC.) GROW WITHOUT END?”
“WILL BROADCAST AND CABLE MERGERS (E.G., NBCUNIVERSAL, DISCOVERY/SCRIPPS, ETC.) CONTINUE?”
“WILL ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONS BUDGETS BECOME EVER-INCREASINGLY FRAGMENTED?”
The answers to these questions are a lot like the answer to the question, “Is an earthquake coming?”
It’s not a question of “if” but rather “when.”
And since we know our industry is shifting at a tectonic level, your solution is to start building a stronger business sooner than later.
How?
First, connect regularly with your peers at conferences and masterminds like QOHORT.
Second, broaden your perspective with outside experts. It only takes a sliver of time to do a weekly skimming of key blogs, trades, and magazines.
FYI one of my favorite resources is Andrew Rosen’s weekly PARQOR newsletter. Exciting news: as of January 2019, Andrew has partnered with RevThink to align his insights with our 7 Ingredients of a Creative Firm™ in a weekly newsletter called Earthquakes. And it’s free. Subscribe at https://revthink.com/andrew-rosen-earthquakes/
Stay alert. And stay strong!
Joel
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