Welcome Steve Grubbs our newest MediaBizBlogger
For years I've been counseling young people seeking career advice to find the intersection of what they're passionate about and what they do well. I've preached that as the formula for a successful career. So, it's ironic that I am now writing a blog… because I've never been passionate about writing, nor do I do it particularly well.
However, I am passionate about the media and entertainment business. It is a wonderful, fun and dynamic business, and it has been very good to me. I have some strong opinions about its current direction and concerns about its future. I have joined MediaBizBloggers to voice those opinions, to offer some insider insights, and suggestions on how to improve the state of our state.
The business probably doesn't need another media blogger pontificating on the digital media transformation, cool new apps or branded content. I may write about some of these things, when I see something compelling. But mostly I will talk about people and relationships. Specifically, the relationships among the four core constituencies of the media business: the agencies, the marketers, the media companies and the entertainment community. These relationships are largely misunderstood, and they have been frequently maligned. I will try to set the record straight. I will try to address and dispel some of the myths and maybe expose some of the dirty little secrets of our business (well, not the really dirty ones).
Recently, the business relationships among the core media constituencies have become increasingly strained. The reasons for this tension are mostly tied to the financial challenges all of us have encountered over the past eighteen months, and the pressure on senior execs to meet financial goals. I get it. I have been there.
We've also allowed this strain to break down the bonds of trust that were once critical to these relationships, and this has had some disturbing side effects. We have become accustomed to a new norm for bad behavior ranging from rudeness and arrogance to a subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ruthlessness. (Anyone else see the irony that Wall Street's Gordon Gekko of "greed is good" fame will be returning to the Big Screen just after the Upfront TV buying season?)
But back to the breakdown in trust… besides the altruistic reasons why it's not good for our business, it's also hurting worker productivity. Granted, there are probably no hard data on this, but people are being required to spend more and more time covering their backsides ("CYA") and those of their bosses. There are increasing numbers of man-hours committed to providing support and justification for all decisions and recommendations. And when decisions are reached, they are second-guessed, prompting even more CYA activity. Certainly some of this is necessary in the course of due diligence… and some healthy skepticism is a good thing. But at some point the pendulum has swung too far, and we are asking the experts to continually prove they are experts, because we don't trust them. There is a disturbing parallel here to DTC advertising, where up to 50% of the ad is a CYA disclaimer. No doubt those ads would be more effective if that time were focused on promoting product attributes.
In an environment where marketers, agencies and media companies have cut personnel and expenses, we need to maximize worker productivity. In an environment where brilliant thinking and creative ideas are demanded from all of our partners, we can't afford to bog them down re-proving the proven. The pendulum has swung too far. The only way it swings back is if trust and respect between partners is restored. And if you don't trust your partners… then find new ones.
Next topic… the state of relationships between agencies and media companies.
Steve Grubbs is President and founder of Second Act Media consultancy. Second Act Media is an advisor to companies working in the media, marketing, entertainment and sports industries. Steve can be reached at steve.grubbs@secondactmedia.com.
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