apropos-audio

25. June 2021

The digital transformation of business, of our entire lives and times, is already well underway. Digital shopping, dating, conferencing, coordinating, learning, booking appointments, listening to podcasts, streaming films and so much more – all this is a normal part of our everyday lives.

Users, or rather customers, are used to getting where they want to go with just a few mouse-clicks. They have no idea what complex transformation processes go on behind the scenes, or rather, what the various companies had to do and still have to do to offer all the services and still do business efficiently. But specifically, because everything has become so fast and so simple thanks to digitization, the pressure is building on industries and sectors that are not yet or not fully transformed. Take online sick leave slips, for example. Until recently, inconceivable and then controversial, they became standard practice virtually overnight during the pandemic as well as a sought-after technology. Conversely, businesses, for example, that still did not have an online shop, were at a particular disadvantage during the lockdowns. But even without this extreme situation, I bet you almost anything that companies that can't or don't want to keep pace with the digital transformation will not survive.

Wenn also heute von Digitaler Transformation oder häufig auch von „Industrie 4.0“ geredet wird, geht es nicht um etwas, das ganz weit weg ist und vielleicht irgendwann kommen wird. Wir sind mittendrin! Und die Frage lautet nicht, ob man den digitalen Wandel im eigenen Unternehmen forcieren will, sondern wie?

However, I'm not interested in talking about shops and medicine. That should be no surprise. But I do want to talk to you about the audio industry. And I don't want to talk about new consumer wishes and demands, or what listeners want. I do want to talk about the need for and the opportunities of digital transformation within audio companies as well as in their B2B relationships.

Zwar sind die Akteur*innen der Audiobranche – sowohl Vermarkter, als auch Agenturen und Publisher – bereits in vielen Bereichen digitalisiert. Doch andere, wettbewerbs- und umsatzrelevante Bereiche sind es mitnichten. Nehmen wir z.B. den privaten Lokalsender „Radio Irgendwo“. Er nutzt Softwaresysteme schon eh und je, die mehr oder weniger vernetzt miteinander sind. Zum Beispiel ein Sendeablaufsystem (oder Radio Automation), ein Dispositions- und Abrechnungssystem, ein E-Mail-System und andere mehr. Die Frage ist, ob diese digitalisierten Prozesse optimal ablaufen und ob sie den Herausforderungen, die künftig aus dem Markt kommen werden, gewachsen sind. Der Fokus liegt also nicht auf den einzelnen Systemen an sich, sondern auf deren „Vernetzung und Zusammenarbeit“. Nicht deren jeweilige Eigenschaften und Funktionalitäten sind ausschlaggebend, sondern vielmehr die orchestrierte Abbildung von effizienten (digitalen) Workflows.

Darüber hinaus hinkt die digitale Transformation ausgerechnet in dem Bereich hinterher, der für private Radiosender existenziell ist: die Werbung oder genauer die Werbeplatzvermarktung. Nicht so sehr, was die internen Abläufe anbelangt, die schon seit Jahren von Softwaresystemen unterstützt werden, sondern vielmehr in der modernen Anbindung des Marktes „da draußen“. Während der Mediaberater von „Radio Irgendwo“ zum x-ten Mal beim „Autohaus Irgendwo“ vorstellig wird, um einen weiteren Spot zu verkaufen, haben Facebook und Co. mit automatisch erzeugten, situationsangepassten und elektronisch gehandelten Werbebannern weitere Millionen verdient.

Other opportunities are also missed out on due to a lack of digitization. For example, producing audio content from a decentralized location and affordably, exchanging and/or selling audio content electronically with partner stations and using it multiple times lucratively: in radio, in podcasts and streaming services, on social media, etc. This is one way of tapping into new sources of income – largely fully automatic and cost efficiently. Large audio companies are not much better in this respect than our fictitious local station Somewhere. I see this every day. We still have a long way to go in this respect.

And that brings me to my next topic: How can you push digital transformation in your own company? How can the opportunities that digitization offers companies in the audio industry be put to use to develop and test new digital-based business models?

Most people understand that complex processes and work sequences can only function with the help of digital technologies and automation, for example, finding the right advertising spots among millions and broadcasting them at the right time and the right place within seconds. Just as many, however, underestimate how complicated it is to translate simpler workflows like dynamic booking and price negotiations for an advertising slot or the approval process for audio content (advertising spots) into digital processes.

The honest truth? Because most companies do not have a specific digitization plan, because the complexity of their processes and consequently the effort of the digital transformation is underestimated, because they believe or would like to believe their own staff would be able to handle the digital transformation in addition to their normal jobs, many initiatives run out of steam halfway through.

According to a study by the Project Management Institute (PMI), these are the reasons why up to 14% of all IT projects fail – depending on the branch. Numerous others fail to completely reach the targets they've set, overshoot their deadlines or overrun their budgets.

Wer würde ein neues Bürohaus bauen mit dem eigenen Personal, statt externe Spezialist*innen, also Architekt*innen, Statiker*innen, Baufirmen usw. zu beauftragen? Wer würde das machen? Keiner! Wieso kommt man dann auf die Idee, frage ich mich, ein komplexes elektronisches „Bauprojekt“ nebenbei laufen zu lassen? Mit den vorhandenen Mitarbeiter*innen, ohne zusätzliche Ressourcen und spezialisiertes Knowhow? Das ist nicht nur eine riskante Vorgehensweise, nach meiner Erfahrung sind Probleme, Verzögerungen und oft genug das Scheitern solcher „Projektchen“ vorprogrammiert.

This is the reason why I urgently recommend the movers and shakers in the audio industry to bring in expertise and resources from the outside, to bring in consultants and to seek help in managing and supporting the digital transformation process professionally.

I know, I know. Consultants have been getting a bad rap because they seemingly got out of control on the political stage, but this is naturally not true for all of them. There are several advantages to an external consultancy, provided, of course, it is a team specializing in the audio industry and information technologies: It is a team not blinded by routine. It brings experience from similar projects at other companies to the table and, last but not least, it is as familiar with the audio market as it is with IT development.

Digital transformation is an ongoing process that can and must be broken down into steps, individual projects and intermediate targets. Existing personnel is already busy with everyday tasks in lean structures. This is important because it is the everyday that secures today's business.

Projects, however, are designed to secure the business of the future. And as stated: You need capacity, knowhow, time and focus, a realistic project schedule and an experienced project management team. This is why I urgently recommend bringing in professional external support. It is a – predictable – investment that is worth making!

3 good reasons why audio publishers should bring external consultants/project managers on board for the digital transformation:

A company specializing in consulting and project management knows what´s happening on the market and how it will most likely develop. It knows the fine points of the industry and what the competition is doing, what the new ideas are and how problems can be solved. Everything starts with an exchange. It is not the function of a consulting firm to tell audio publishers how to do their jobs, but to show them what they can do.
Once an audio publisher has set a certain target or decided on a new business model, the consulting firm undertakes the foundational planning and ensures the project is tightly controlled, runs parallel to daily business and does not stress the customer's structures. The external firm is responsible for the project's success.
Every project has a beginning and an end and a defined scope that can be budgeted accurately. It is in the interest of the external consulting firm to do everything in its power to make sure the project runs to plan and concluded successfully. The best guarantee for the audio publisher to make real progress also in the digital transformation.

Yours, Nico Aprile

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