The un-negotiated contract: Why the fight for access to data and information has never mattered more
The media model has been rewritten in the past decade, but Chris Stephenson asks should the industry do more to make sure the consumer is on board with it.
At some point in the last decade a long-established contract between people, media and brands fundamentally changed. What is gradually and incrementally replacing it is an un-negotiated contract – in which information is the new currency, insights and utility are the new value, and the fight for the control of data -whether you realise it or not – is one in which you are already engaged.
Love the piece Chris. As you’ve highlighted the main barrier to the progression of such a model / negotiation is that of ownership of data. Who owns it, how much they are prepared to share, and at what cost owners put on it vs what others are willing to play. We have to start somewhere though exciting all the same.
Excellent article Chris, As I’ve been saying all this year, people have learnt to avoid the old “ad breaks” by either recording and zapping through, or by simply jumping onto the internet if the are watching or listening to something live. It’s also never been easier to change channels or switch stations to avoid ads. People that say the old ad breaks will be replaced by product placement are wrong, because consumers are very aware of it, and there’s only so many coke cans of pizzas you can have on set! We live in very interesting times as fragmentation continues to change the landscape, faster than you can say “Netflix” or “Spotify” The days of tribalism are over and if you don’t believe me look at the nightly TV ratings, as more and more shows fail to crack the magic million mark.
All rather obvious really, circa 2009
Great article. Love the logic of the argument.
hey @Marteau @Geoff thanks for the comments … @Richard yes I think whilst the new model has been with us for a while, its the battles and negotiations for the new currency – the data – that is being played out now in new fronts all around us, but thanks for the comment