Reinvention, Consumer Relationships Seen as Post-Pandemic Priorities

A new survey by EY of media and entertainment executives has found that reinvention and new methods of consumer engagement are keys to success in a post-pandemic world.

The report, Building a resilient media and entertainment enterprise, found that 48 percent of media and entertainment executives surveyed listed resilience as their biggest post-pandemic priority. In addition, 45 percent said that without reinvention their companies would cease to exist in five years, up from 37 percent in a pre-pandemic survey. Meanwhile, 42 percent admitted they were uncertain about what strategies to prioritize to achieve that transformation, up from 25 percent last year.

“For media and entertainment companies, building more resilient enterprises requires rewriting corporate DNA,” said John Harrison, EY Americas’ media and entertainment sector leader. “To do that, leadership teams must address the operational and strategic changes occurring in the industry. Reinventing an organization’s internal processes—making them fit-for-purpose and future-proofed—must occur within the context of reexamining the entire business model.”

Covid-19 has served as an accelerating factor, with 52 percent of execs surveyed noting that the pandemic has permanently changed how their businesses operate. One key area of focus has been on innovating business models, particularly in distribution strategies. For example, broadcast and cable network operators are stepping up their D2C approaches, while film studios are shrinking windows to get titles onto streaming platforms.

“Covid-19 has accelerated the pace of long-running changes taking place across the M&E industry, including cord-cutting, the explosion of streaming and the non-stop growth of targeted digital advertising,” said Harrison. “For many of these companies, this is the first time they have a direct relationship with their customers. They understand that they will have to continue to simplify, reinvent, secure and future-proof their businesses to retain customers and stand the test of time.”