Media Execs - 5 Reasons To ACT Despite No Proven ROI (with Mobile-First Video)

Media executives, this one's for you.  I meet with many of you on an ongoing basis.  Some of you "get" it (i.e., that we are in the midst of an era of fundamental digital/mobile-driven media and entertainment transformation) -- but many others still don't (or simply won't even try).  Those in denial -- those who choose to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the clear data (and obvious reality) of our brave new mobile-driven millennial world of media -- consistently use the same justification for their failure to take action.  And, here it is -- "Peter, we need to know that any action we take is ROI positive and proven."  Here's a corollary to that -- "Peter, we are judged and compensated on making our numbers now."  And here's another one that flows from the first two -- "Peter, no one is making any real money in the digital, mobile-first game right now, and all we need is one hit movie.  Then we are fine.  Just fine.  We are still a hits-driven business.  We can sell that."

But, here's the thing -- while that may sound logical to media traditionalists (and is understandable to a certain extent given the human incentives involved) -- it is divorced from the very non-traditional forces at work today and is a luxury that you simply can't afford.  This is no time for extensive spreadsheets created by teams of internal B-school strategists manufacturing numbers from outdated assumptions.  We can all make up numbers to justify our actions/in-actions.  These are new times that demand real action, real innovation, real investment right now.

HERE ARE 5 REASONS why having no ROI proof doesn't mean you shouldn't act:

(1) MOBILE AS THE FIRST SCREEN IS THE NEW REALITY!  Yes, the data proves it -- and, your own personal experience proves it!  Look around you.  The kids -- those who matter to the big brands and marketers -- exist on their mobile devices.  I have two kids -- 15 and 12 -- and I live it.  Don't ignore the obvious.  Trust your instincts.  If that's where the market is, that's absolutely where you must be, plain and simple.  Don't have a proven business model or established ROI story?  Join the club.  Nor do your competitors.  But, they recognize that they must "play" where the game is today -- and is going tomorrow at an even more accelerated pace.  And, that game is mobile.  

(2) YOUR COMPETITORS ALREADY HAVE ACCEPTED THIS REALITY.  They have already internalized it.  That means they are already ahead of you.  Don't let them extend that lead.  Jump into the game.  And, don't go quietly into that good night.  This is a time for bold moves.  Disney's acquisition of Maker Studios is the poster child for that kind of bold move.  I continue to applaud it.  Just because you can't see its ROI positivity today, doesn't mean that it isn't there.  It is.  And, it will reveal itself over time.  The next Star Wars alone may single-handedly do the trick.

(3) IT'S EXPERIMENTATION TIME.  Business models and user experiences are unproven -- and are being worked out as we speak.  In any new period of disruption, business models struggle to find a new point of equilibrium -- which is frequently at a higher level than the original one (more on that in my movie/television example below).  That struggle is happening now.  And, only those who act -- and boldly experiment - will lead and profit (rather than follow and potentially lose ... big time).

(4) WE'VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE.  Literally.  First, we had the movies (ruled the day 100 years ago).  Then, 50 years later, enter the world of television.  Doomsayers predicted the end of movies.  But, guess what?  Both movies and television thrived -- and movies reached an entirely new level.  Why?  Because they represented fundamentally different experiences -- different modes of content consumption.  And -- importantly -- television itself was harnessed to drive more movie consumption via marketing.  Movies and television entered into a symbiotic relationship, from which both profited ... massively.  So, here we are about 50 years later once again -- with the smallest of those three screens now mainstreaming new modes of video "packaging" and consumption.  Faced with this reality, why not live in a world -- and mindset -- where this transformation is viewed as being a positive rather than a negative?  Harness the power of mobile to monetize more effectively -- and holistically -- across all screens.  Treat digital-first, mobile-driven video content (and the personalities behind them) as opportunities, not threats.

(5) WE'VE ALSO SEEN THE "DEER IN HEADLIGHTS" MINDSET DOOM ONCE-GREAT COMPANIES BEFORE.  Other massive players -- who once proudly wore the hat of being market leaders and innovators -- also failed to act.  They froze amidst new technological forces that enveloped them -- and banked on the past (and their existing then-lucrative business models) -- to justify their own in-action.  Blockbuster Video anyone?  They could have owned it!  But, where are they now?  Certainly not in your neighborhood ... or in any 'hood period.  Kodak?  Another cautionary tale of rationalizing a failure to act in the name of ROI -- and another great brand that has left our lexicon.  Just think about all of those jobs ....

LESSON -- Take action.  Make bold moves.  Hire leaders with vision and experience in both the content and technology worlds.  Make sure they live and breathe media and technology and live it, authentically and passionately.  Make sure they know how to partner, since this is no era of going it alone.  Trust them and their instincts (but, yes, use evermore sophisticated new technologies to measure performance ... patiently).  Compensate/incentivize them to invest in the future, not just the past.

And don't look back ... because that media past ain't coming back.  As I said in a recent Los Angeles Times piece, "Once technology is developed, you can't rein it in."

Harness it instead!