MANY IN THE MEDIA BUSINESS accept the fact that there is a dire need for business and management training and workforce development.
Media Business Institute president Patricia Scarlett (pictured below) is one of those. She has built a career in television sales and distribution, starting with TVO as an international sales executive. From there she set up her own distribution company, which then led to TV and film consulting in sales and marketing. Through those experiences, Patricia Scarlett says she viewed first-hand the gaps which need filling by training in this marketplace. And that was the impetus towards the creation of the Media Business Institute (MBI).
This is the second in a series of exclusive interviews from mediaINTELLIGENCE.ca’s president and CEO, M. Michelle Nadon, profiling innovators in the media marketplace who concentrate on career management, professional development and training.
Mitch Nadon: What do you see as the current state of the labour market in TV and film?
Patricia Scarlett: The current state of the labour market is that there’s been tremendous shrinkage and it’s a very challenging labour market in terms of employment. Many media professionals now have to rethink their careers and job expectations. That said, there are still opportunities in the business areas of the in industry, particularly sales and distribution, business affairs administration and executive producing.
MN: And at this stage of your career, which area of the media business holds the most intrigue or has the greatest promise in your view?
PS: At this stage, I’m still interested content creation and of course the flip side, which is the sales and distribution of content. When I started out, there were only a handful of ways in which we could exploit content. Seemingly, overnight, there has been an explosion in the number of delivery systems and platforms. Today, there is greater segmentation in the market as content is consumed on multiple platforms — This is a very exciting time for the creators of content with cross platform applications. The business side of content is the inspiration for MBI as the actual business of TV/Film/New Media is the foundation on which the technical and the creative rests.
MN: Who’s doing it right, who’s doing it wrong?
PS: While it would be prudent not to name specific companies, suffice to say that companies that are blending traditional media with digital media are better positioned to benefit from digital media once they figure out how to monetize digital media. The fact is, there are only so many banner ads that you can sell and a limited amount of content that can be embedded any given website. Yes, traditional media is being impacted by digital media, but I personally think we have a ways to go before one is supplanted by the other. They will co-exist for some time yet. You look at what has happened at YouTube, where they reduced their workforce significantly. Facebook too has reduced staff. In both instances these companies are not yet profitable.
MN: What’s the current state of training in the media labour marketplace?
PS: There’s a kind of "same-ness" to much of the training and professional development that is geared towards adult learners in Canadian media — seminars and workshops. Most are informational rather than practical. They do not provide hands-on, in-depth training for specific jobs. For individuals seeking in-depth training for a specific job, I think there’s till a gap that needs to be filled.
MN: Where do you see your own unique niche in the marketplace?
PS: MBI was created to provide hands-on training for individuals who want to build successful careers doing three specific things: 1) buying and selling content; 2) business affairs administration for film, TV, and digital media; and 3) executive-producing – i.e., finding the money and structuring the deal. What is unique about what we’re doing is that it’s not just theory – we use a hands-on approach, like that of a conservatory – not just breadth but depth as well. Our training is market-driven.
A number of studies have shown the gaps in skills where our industry doesn’t have enough people who know and understand the business of TV, Film and Digital Media.
There is no entity that I know of, that teaches people how to buy and sell content. Most people in our industry fall into it – that’s how I learned. But these are skills that can be taught: how to negotiate a deal, and how to exploit content to maximize revenues. We’re also unique in offering a complimentary component in career management in partnership with MI. Career management is tied-in to training as it’s all about getting people focused on their careers. Getting people to think about other ways in which they can use the skills, experience and knowledge they have in growth areas of our industry.
Many people who have lost their jobs will not get into to the same employment situation they had before, so how are they going to use the skills they have? Career management skills are a value add to the areas MBI is offering – how do you go forward in the marketplace? By getting to know yourself and acquiring top notch interview skills so that you can get out there and land that job. MBI can give them one set of tools and skills to actually do the job, but how are they going to land that job? This is what’s unique about our approach. We give them the skills. The in-depth knowledge. And then we help them get a competitive edge in the labour market place.
Another area where we hope to distinguish ourselves is around standardization of our curriculum – we’re designing it based on what we know is needed in the market place. We’ll work with subject matter experts (SMEs) and curriculum designers to ensure curriculum is based on sound pedagogical principles. This means that the curriculum, including the lesson plans, are not left to the SMEs to develop and deliver in any manner they wish to. Standardization facilitates consistency. Ultimately, the content will not be left up to the facilitator/instructor, as has been the case in our industry.
MN: What do you hope to accomplish through MBI?
PS: I’d like to see MBI train individuals for the three jobs identified earlier and then assist them in landing positions for which they are trained. I think we can do this successful by offering quality in our curriculum and instructors and by also genuinely caring about our students. MBI is a small boutique training institute that will bridge the skills gaps in the business areas of the industry with people who are properly trained, who are competent, and who can go into the indie producing or broadcast communities and hit the ground running. The only thing newcomers will be lacking is a network, but that’s something they can build over time.
MN: Why do you feel this service offering is so important and why do you feel it will succeed?
PS: For the last five years I have been mentoring a variety of young people who have graduated from community colleges, or young people holding university film and television degrees, acquired in environments that don’t match up to the realities of working in the industry. An example is by the third year of any program, first year information in this marketplace is already outdated. There is a need for the training that MBI has to offer and I think it will succeed because we are not seeking hundreds or thousands of students. We are a boutique operation offering unique training opportunities, in real time.
MN: I understand you’re placing a strong focus in your business model on serving international markets. Can you tell us a bit about the international partners and/or clients you’re planning to work with?
PS: Because I know the same skills gaps exist in many countries around the world, we’ve begun by forming an alliance with a company in India. Everyone’s focused on creative and technical, but there is a real need for training in the business side. We are also in discussion with various organizations in South Africa, Barbados and Jamaica where there considerable need for training around distribution. We’re focusing on countries where we know there is a skills deficit and we can fill that gap.
MN: What are the steps you will take as a nascent business to ensure your product and brand will reach its’ intended market and not only survive but thrive in the marketplace?
PS: A lot of grassroots advertising and promotion and word of mouth. We’re in the process of having ad spots produced – they’re being shot and edited now, designed for posting on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, all of the major college and university message boards, and trade magazines. The internet is going to be a major marketing vehicle for us along with the institute’s website, and of course, using the same vehicles through our partners.
MN: Are you using any traditional media to advertise?
PS: Very little. Reach is important to a new business trying to build awareness. The internet is a cost effective vehicle for reaching a wider pool that we give us a greater chance of getting the numbers that we need to succeed. As a boutique training institute, we don’t need hundreds of students annually to be a viable business. We’re going for quality over quantity.
