Data Monetization (III) – Content Play

This is the sequel to 2nd part on Base Management

DATA democratization & monetization are two words almost as powerful as “Glasnost” & “Perestroika” and with the rapid digitization of everything around; it’s a cause of excitement and anxiety amongst many.

For a traditional telecom MNO, it also means growing CAPEX. The laps in the race, from 2G to 5G, are becoming shorter and faster! And perpetual quest to improve data monetization (especially in developing markets) remains.

Here is my personal reflection on 5 Factors and I shall cover it in 5 short articles, The ABCDE of Data Monetization:-

A – Availability & Awareness

B – Base Management

C – Content Play

D – Device Ecosystem

E – Experience & Engagement

THE C FACTOR : CONTENT PLAY

“In 2011, an empirical research done in collaboration between the Internet Society(ISOC), OECD and UNESCO shows there is a strong correlation between development of network infrastructure and the growth of local content, even after controlling for economic and demographic factors”.

And vice versa Content plays a significant role in data monetization. In fact CISCO VNI report 2014, estimated that Audio & Video would constitute 89% of total consumer data traffic by 2018.

As a marketer we all can see and feel that content is driving the usage and possibly also understand the content needs to

–         Snack-able / Bite size

–         Locally relevant

–         Shareable (High viral factor)

A farmer needs as much information as a businessman. A housewife needs as entertainment as a college student. Relevant and local content shall appeal to the target segment.

Imagine a BOT who can recognize crop disease in the picture shared by a farmer and suggest remedial medicine or guide to a wiki page with all the information. The price of the content, it being relevant and contextual, increases manifold.

To put theory into application, here is the list of few things marketers in telecom may do;

Redefine the 4P’s = Product, Pricing, Platform and Partnership

PRODUCT – Largely driven by passion points and local interest, all markets are witnessing tremendous increase in content consumptions in different format of media Episodes, films, short form content, news, gaming, social interaction and education.

Product not only defines WHAT but also HOW is it delivered hence following aspects;

–         adaptability to screen type and size

–         format of streaming or on demand or download; broadcast or offline or side-load

–         quality in terms of bit rate, availability and latency

From example above even if we have products like “AGRI-DOCTOR” and it is adaptable, formatted and of good quality it may not be relevant to a particular market.

Simply put, please do some research through A/B testing, to understand what content would work with your audience?

PRICING – Monetization models are many and still it is the biggest challenge in developing markets. The biggest wallet connected to the users is the telecom wallet. In few markets mobile money wallet has significant penetration.

Subscription or advertising or hybrid would depend on the category of content, market of operation, competition and content access (own created content or partnership or bought rights to use)

Sachet pricing usually works well in developing markets and Go to Market needs to be defined based on the analysis of the ecosystem. The only recommendation would be to keep it SIMPLE and TRANSPARENT (no conditions apply)

PLATFORM – Sometimes it may make sense to invest in creating own platform to be able to monetize efficiently at other times partnership is more effective.

Own platform can be build using aggregation of content from various sources or it could be to create content using exclusive rights around sponsored passion point like football, cricket, music etc.

While investing in platform or content creation, the most pertinent question arises – “Why would the consumer pay for the content since similar content is available online, free of cost?”

As a marketer we must find the value addition we are doing else monetization would not be successful. Value addition could be in form of providing convenience, simplicity in use, easier to discover and access, exclusive, relevant or mode of delivery.

Ex. ManU fans can get free content on the club across different online/digital channels but still ManU has spent resources to build a massive ecosystem targeting the fans. The biggest value addition they do for their content is the seal of authenticity and then there are many more advantages which enables them to monetize their channel.

PARTNERSHIP

Based on the consumer needs we should target partners so that resource requirement for content creation is optimized.

I’ve seen craze for Turkish tele-serials dubbed in vernacular in Bangladesh and I’ve also seen music videos being blatantly pirated leaving artists out of the economic monetization models.

Simple small partnerships help in monetizing such opportunities and providing relevant solution to the growing demand.

It’s the right time to think Mobile First in defining our content play.

** Please share and give feedback from your experiences **

Author:

Prasoon Lal is the Chief Marketing Officer at Bangalink, one of the largest cellular service providers in Bangladesh. Prasoon is a marketing professional with 15+ years of telecom experience in Africa & Asia. He has extensive people management experience in large, multi-faceted, multicultural and international settings.