Future Media Business Concept Announced at the Twelfth Institute of Media Environment Forum

TRANSFORMING MEDIA BUSINESS

The media business is expected to undergo massive changes as a result of new, stronger desires among “sei-katsu-sha” as well as the arrival of innovative services and technologies. In response, the Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Institute of Media Environment, located in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and headed by Masaki Mikami, announced the key factors in this transformation as well as approach strategies during the Twelfth Institute of Media Environment Forum, which it hosted in Tokyo on November 17.

1.The media business is undergoing a “transformation” as a result of new, stronger desires and the arrival of new technologies 

The media business is expected to undergo massive changes as a result of new, stronger desires among “sei-katsu-sha” as well as the arrival of innovative services and technologies. These shifts look nothing like gradual, sustained change; rather, they represent a clean break from the past and seem to be propelling us upwards into an entirely new level. We have chosen the word “transformation” to signal this idea of the media business taking on a completely new form.

2.The three key drivers of this transformation are “the desire to immediately engage with information”, “media services offering a high degree of freedom”, and “devices that extend media spaces”

We have identified three key drivers bringing about this transformation. The first is an increased desire to immediately engage with information among “sei-katsu-sha” as well as more information-engaging behaviors—changes that are themselves being driven by the ongoing shift towards mobile devices. The second driver is media service platforms offering a high degree of freedom, such as the fixed-rate music and video streaming delivery services popping up one after another this year. Finally, transformation is being driven by the advent of devices that extend media spaces. As the Internet of Things (IoT) develops further, even household appliances and robots have become forms of media.

3.Each driver demands a corresponding action: “condense”, “entertain”, and “integrate”

What should companies and other involved in the media business do in order to respond to the transformation that is taking place? We have identified three crucial actions, one for each driver. First, information should be “condensed” to address the increased desire to immediately engage with information and increased information-engaging behaviors among “sei-katsu-sha”. Second, “sei-katsu-sha” should be “entertained” through media platforms offering a high degree of freedom. Finally, steps towards “integration” must be taken to deal with devices that extend media spaces.

4.These approaches to transformation are grounded in the original core values of the media business
The idea of condensing is grounded in ideas like keeping information short and using editing skills to provide combinations of text and images. The basis of “entertaining” is having the content development skill to figure out what “sei-katsu-sha” want and when they want it—and then give it to them. “Integration” comes from providing reliable information through a variety of devices. All three actions taken to address transformation can ultimately be said to rest on the core values that have always underlined the media business. As such, they are not subject to change even with a complete transformation of the media business; instead, the changes will actually come out of these original core values.