How to use Big Data to reach your audience

Broadcasters need to digitise their operations and gather relevant data to retain consumer loyalty, says Partho Bhattacharya, MD & president, Invenio Business Solutions.

Over the past few years we have seen huge changes to the way people consume media. Customers can now watch their favourite shows on catch-up, download them to view later, and even access programmes via streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Whilst the breadth of choice is great for consumers, this ever-crowded media landscape makes it difficult for broadcasters to differentiate themselves and establish a loyal customer-base. Because of this, broadcasters must find new and innovative ways to reach their audience and stand out from the crowd.

As we saw in 2015, the UK media industry will continue to feel the pressure as digital services grow and develop at a rapid pace over the next year. This shift is driven by the connected consumer, craving 24/7 access across multiple devices from iPads to smartphones. But for broadcasters the key issue is maintaining and growing their audience which in turn, with the right finance strategy in place, will help generate much needed revenue.

The broadcasters that have a digital first mentality, and have the tools and technology in place to utilise data in the most effective way, will win in 2016. We’re already seeing innovative management teams reimagining the business models of their organisations. Netflix and Spotify are just a couple of examples of businesses with a successful digital first approach.

It is therefore, more important than ever that broadcasters digitise their operations in order to gather data and build a more accurate image of their audience’s viewing habits and compete in today’s crowded market. This ability to paint a picture of who is watching a TV programme, what device they are using to do so, and where in the world they are, is invaluable. Every video viewed, TV show streamed and page read provides huge quantities of data that tell them what their audiences want.

With this in mind, to be successful, broadcasters need to use this data to meet the digital consumer’s demand for instant and relevant content anytime, anywhere.

The key issue is therefore not the lack of data, but the ability to extrapolate, analyse, interpret and convert data into information, broadcasters, can exploit to derive value and deliver content in a personalised and targeted way. Implementing and configuring the appropriate technology solutions to enable this is paramount. For years, businesses have been collecting data but not using it in an intelligent way to inform strategic decisions – this is where companies fall short with data. It has boundless potential to help broadcasters provide customers with a more personalised service which will increase their likelihood of them returning.

It’s clear that in today’s always on world, the content itself is only part of the story. Yes, it needs to be interesting, engaging and relevant to the appropriate audiences, but the creation and dissemination of content should be part of a wider strategy of incorporating user preferences to inform strategic decisions. This allows businesses to identify and select the most popular platforms and channels to enable rapid delivery of relevant content, to the appropriate audience, at the right time.

While some media companies are ahead of the digital curve, there is a need to get better at analysing data from disparate systems, whether that’s newer digital sources or more classical platforms such as print to better understand what customers want.

It is crucial then that broadcasters implement the right technologies to use and analyse data in an intelligent way to differentiate their offerings to provide insights to develop new products and services, and lead in the media and entertainment industry against a back-drop of disruptive competitors, as well as future-proof operations, as the ascent of the digital economy, continues unabated.

2016 looks set to be an exciting year for broadcasters, it will be interesting to see who will be making the most of big data and who will fall by the digital wayside.