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Building Better Digital Experiences for Media and Publishing

August 15th, 2019 Andrew Warren-Payne

Across all sectors, the role of technology is shifting from driving efficiency to being an enabler of innovation, and the media and publishing industry is no exception. The boundary between media and technology is blurring every day – some see it as a crisis in the making, others are convinced it opens up unprecedented opportunities. One thing is undeniable: technology can help build better digital experiences for media and publishing companies — the kind audiences crave.

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Leading companies in this space have adopted a tech-first approach from the very beginning and have stayed true to their tech-powered roots. For Netflix, the technology is just as important as the content and this is what gives the company an edge over its competitors. Technology and data underpin everything Netflix does, as it uses anything from powerful recommendation engines, to AI-powered compression algorithms to ensure the best possible picture quality using the smallest amount of bandwidth, to a content delivery network specifically tailored to its needs. Netflix’s success has led to ‘content bingeing’ becoming a normal and enjoyable way in which audiences consume media.

Three Ways To Build Better Digital Experiences for Media and Publishing Now

The ads of the future will be highly immersive and non-intrusive

Advertising is not defunct, but its future hangs in the balance. Bring advertising and storytelling together in a way that resonates with your customers and is an extension of their media experience.

Keep the communication going with your customers

Providing high-quality content is no longer enough to build a successful media brand. Your audience expects you to have an in-depth understanding of their wants and needs, and go the extra mile to deliver a seamless experience. Use webinars to open a dialog with your customers and build a customer-centric experience based on robust engagement and content performance insights.

Use technology to build a direct relationship with the consumer

With the direct-to-consumer race heating up, getting ready for a tech-driven future is critical. Explore how emerging technologies can help you transform content creation and distribution processes, attract and retain fickle viewers, and deliver personalized media experiences that make them feel known and valued.

The Power of Technology

“One of the things that’s really challenging in our space,” said Chris Goss, Director of Studio Technology at Netflix, “is the fact that the business of content creation is very, very slow to adapt to new technology. Bringing in these two sides gives us a unique opportunity to fuse the world of Silicon Valley and Hollywood together. It comes with a lot of challenges, and one of those challenges is the fact that traditional IT has always been seen as ancillary, not integral to our process, [but] there’s all this room for growth and innovation in entertainment.”

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Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and virtual reality (VR) are expected to revolutionize the media and publishing industry and influence all parts of the value chain. Pioneering brands have already started to reap the rewards. Swiss news publisher Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) and the Wall Street Journal used machine learning to build flexible paywalls and individualize the experience. Intel and NBC provided the first ever live-VR experience from the PyeongChang 2018 Games, with more than 50 hours of live VR content.

How Media and Publishing Can Execute

Technology use cases in the media and publishing industry are far-reaching, such as automating workflows and processes, supporting data-driven decision-making, personalizing the customer experience and predicting demand. Most importantly, technology will help boost creativity – arguably the power engine behind any media business – and optimize content monetization strategies. According to Guy Finley, Executive Director at the Media and Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA), organizations equipped with an “AI-enabled feedback loop based on real-time, consumption metrics will up their creative batting average, which will thus increase production and commercial ROI”.

Discover how webinars can help media and publishing professionals improve their digital experiences with the ON24 Webinar Benchmarks Report for Media and Publishing.