Digital Content, Experiences and Monetization in the Digital Industry: Taking the Pulse

The developments in digital content, experiences and their monetization are disrupting the status quo at a rate and extent we have not seen before. No media or entertainment business will remain untouched by their influence. New technologies, data, tools and applications are giving the consumer unprecedented control and influence over the content they choose to consume, along with how, when and where they do so.

Innovation in devices, platforms and delivery is shaping new ways of doing business. In this executive summary and in other materials on the #pulseofmedia site, we give our views on what this means for players in the industry. By examining the changes we see taking place, we hope to provide a fresh perspective of how business and operating models will need to respond and change to accommodate them.

The complexity of this still emerging industry ecosystem is considerable. Our aim in this study is to provide clarity where possible, but also to raise the key questions that we believe all businesses will need to address as they navigate their journey to the future.

By taking the pulse of the industry today we are not claiming to provide an exact prognosis. Rather, we’re seeking to raise critical questions and provoke the debates that leaders in media and entertainment will need to engage in as they re-examine and shape their agenda for the future.

For more information, please visit www.accenture.com/pulseofmedia to view the Prezi for more data supporting these trends, watch industry commentators, operators and disruptors as they offer diverse perspectives on what these trends mean for the future of the media and entertainment industry…and to join the conversation.

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The study is based on a collection of hypotheses developed by Accenture subject matter advisors, strategy consultants, architects and engineers working in the field. The hypotheses have been screened against inputs from an array of other sources including relevant Accenture research, third-party data analysis, academic literature, the flow of venture capital funding and dialogue with industry commentators, operators and disruptors.

Our industries are in a state of continual transformation. New connections and relationships create significant disruption. What used to be the linear progression of content from creator to consumer is now a more complex web of interactions. The rules of the game are being changed by new forms of digital content, easy-to-use creation and editing tools, and integration across and between devices and screens. Consumers, no longer beholden to schedules, tethered to one location or tied to a screen, are in charge and at the center of everything.

In this fast reconfiguring ecosystem, consumers have become creators. Passive consumption has become active participation. Mass media has become personal. As established norms are overhauled, traditional and nontraditional media and entertainment companies alike are adjusting and preparing for a consumer-driven, social-veined, ultra-personalized future. And those that aren’t, should be.

As businesses develop their strategies, using yesterday’s version of the content value chain will not help. Rather than just focusing on distinct core capabilities, businesses will need to understand the interplay of a broad range of creative, commercial and technological skills. To create value they’ll need to work in new ways. Experimentation and testing of new approaches will become part of business as usual. Hybrid business and operating models will be tested and adapted as market needs shift. Legacies may be in danger as past success will be no guarantee of future performance.

This report takes a look at some of the major developments driving change. We examine how these may impact media and entertainment businesses and suggest the critical issues all companies—established and new entrants—will need to address as they develop their strategies for the future.

Any one of the trends we describe in this study has the power to disrupt and change today’s business and operating models. The combined impact of all developments is shaking everything to its core. Some businesses will struggle to survive the impact of these seismic shocks. But there’s everything to play for. Consumers’ appetite for new digital experiences continues to grow. Those businesses that can understand and in turn satisfy those needs with compelling new services and propositions will have their efforts amply rewarded.

Related Research:

• The Eyes Have It: Guess Who Controls the Future of TV

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