The changing trends in media behaviour and consumption have been the key topic over the last year and hundreds of webinars and articles cover the changing media landscape updates.
While the media shifts certainly make for a very vibrant, exciting and data-heavy time to be in media, there are other positive shifts that we hope will also have a lasting effect on the way we go about our daily business.
These are linked to the ways we do business and have not received much airtime. These shifts fill us with a lot of positive energy for our industry; and we are confident that we can build on these to ensure a more robust, inclusive, intelligent, transparent and fun industry.
We are also finding a true partnership model where media owners are very flexible and open to the needs of clients when it comes to rates, sharing research, being accommodating – there is certainly a sense of “we are all in this together.” Media agencies and Media owner working together is a crucial link in the media eco-system. Unfortunately, this link has taken a knock as workload pressure builds on both sides and we simply don’t find time to talk and connect with each other.
Let’s hope that with this new “reset” these relationships will be nurtured beyond Covid these to keep finding best solutions for clients.
But, during Covid we have definitely found that media agencies are the ones seen as the team that “brings the facts” and add significant value when we own up-to-date data around consumer.
Media agencies need to continue to invest in resource to bring client the most useful data signals. We need to keep demonstrating in a very clear way to clients of the value that we bring.
My hope is that these positive steps will cement the media industry path beyond Covid-times – it is a good time to be in media right now! Never should we waste a crisis.
Contributed by Rita Nel.