In this blog post, we explore some of the ways in which today’s evolving demographics, ecosystem challenges, consumer behaviour and technologies are helping to reshape the media industry.
1. Demographic Changes
As more and more people around the world enter the middle class, demand for media platforms that are easy-to-access and educational with plenty of video-on-demand content will accelerate. Demand is certain to grow exponentially in global regions with emerging economies.
Simultaneously, as more millennials enter their 30s and 40s, demand for media services promising instant access to new content, memorable experiences, business mobiles, and stress-free user interfaces is growing. In addition, the global population is also aging, creating accelerated demand for services offering entertainment, education, and health, fitness, and wellbeing content that is specially designed for those in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. Furthermore, urbanisation is contributing to rising demands for content designed for consumption during busy people’s commutes and limited free time.
2. Evolving Consumer Behaviours
Demographic changes are also impacting consumer expectations of media in the virtual world. Today’s consumers expect a lot from content creators and media delivery systems. Younger generations are seeking out more international content as well as content that provides instant gratification. They also want immediate access to the latest productions.
Since boundaries between different industries are becoming increasingly blurry, consumers no longer just judge a media service against its competition in the same sector. Consumers are bombarded with investigative journalism, propaganda, advertising, op-eds, entertainment, and academic studies, and as a result, are becoming masters at spotting marketing passed off as editorial content. An increasing number of web users now use ad-blocking software, which means marketers are having to find ways to reach consumers through storytelling and educational content.
Content Curation: Consumers like the authenticity of curated content and clean reading experiences. Platforms that offer such services reach new audiences and as a result, are able to charge advertisers more for native ads.
Consumers are taking their online security and personal data a lot more seriously these days and are aware that such data is being tracked, analysed, and monetised. Platforms with opaque privacy policies and targeted content promotion algorithms may cause consumers to migrate to services with more transparency and enhanced data privacy policies.
3. Ecosystem Hurdles
As marketers and publishers adapt to evolving consumer behaviours, the media industry has undergone significant changes and the landscape now looks almost unrecognisable from two decades ago.
Startups around the world are booming as more people gain access to technology and are able to share their talents. These new businesses are growing fast and many have already reached a scale large enough to be a threat to traditional media companies, with some even outcompeting traditional broadcasters and publications for audiences.
Restricted access to financial resources has always been a hindrance to many being able to showcase their talents and get paid for their work in the media industry. Nowadays, however, people are finding creative ways to fund the development of new content and media services. For example, many content creators are abandoning traditional media networks and using crowdfunding platforms to finance their work.
Digital transformation is having a big effect on employment and while there are now more jobs for highly skilled virtual workers, many jobs in the world of traditional media have been lost forever. As the digital economy grows, there is likely to be a requirement for lifelong learning for employees as technology continues to evolve.
The legal frameworks around intellectual property have lagged behind evolving consumer expectations and technological developments in the media world for years. Today’s audiences want to be able to access content immediately from any location in the world. To get around the regulations, many consumers are using VPN services to access content blocked in their own country. For example, many consumers in the United Kingdom use VPN services to watch US TV series on Netflix.