TORONTO – While giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon appear to dominate the globalized environment, there are advantages that come with collaborating with these platforms and the means for exploring niches and reaching audiences without them, according to a new report from the Canada Media Fund (CMF).
The Trends Report: 2017 Mid-Year Update provides an in-depth look at the developing trends affecting the audiovisual industry in Canada and around the world.
“Being nimble in the hypercompetitive digital content environment is first and foremost a question of knowing how to play on all fronts”, reads the report. “Get space and visibility on mainstream platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and Netflix— because they are popular with users and advertisers. But also know how to develop your independence and be able to navigate between the multitude of niches that open up onto more selective audiences.”
“Good news” highlights from the report include:
– It may prove to be affordable to reach audiences that have been ‘filtered’ and targeted by algorithms. That first pool of ‘converts’ can then facilitate the marketing of content to other audiences;
– Users are increasingly inclined to pay for the cultural and entertainment content that they consume online;
– Despite the impressive number of users on the dominant platforms, large swathes of the population remain poorly served by these major players which offer too little diversity;
– On a global scale, there will be great potential in the French-language market over the coming years, and it’s a potential that is worth exploring;
– Creativity and talent, rather than technology, remain the assets that are most sought out and the most susceptible of creating long-term value. In this regard, Canada is very rich in both creative and technological talent.
This edition is the tenth Trends Report published by CMF Trends since 2013.
